Distinguishing between individual and mass communication strategies

Regardless of your core beliefs about war, I think there are questions of strategy we need to discuss.

The peace movement and the antiwar movement are distinct. One is intent on moral and social improvement of the whole society to preclude war, and the other is intent on stopping the greedy and unethical people at the top of our institutions who work so hard orchestrating wars.

In either case, you have to decide whether you are involved in a mass communication strategy, or a strategy of reaching people personally, one by one.

I've concluded that there is little hope of progress with the individual approaches. I think you have to work with the 3 institutions of mass culture to replace the message and doctrine they are pushing out.

Since we have no money, we can only work with ideas. So, we have to identify which of the militarist beliefs are critical to the decisions and the behavior of the mainstream, career people working in the military industrial complex (including the 1.5 million active military employees) and demolish those. Given the fact that time is so limited, it is necessary to directly criticize those core positions, every time, in our personal and media interactions.

The MICC is a closed loop system. Here is a diagram, http://rosehill.net displaying the congress, the military, the contractors, lobbyists, the media, schools, churches, and other components of the MICC. The MICC is a closed loop system, in which people and institutions make deals with each other, and go on merrily for decades. They do not need *anything* from anybody outside their arrangement, because it is composed of stable, long established, mostly bilateral exchanges.

With substantial control over media, schools, and all layers of government, the military is the most powerful special interest group in the United States by far. With one flick of its mighty tail, it can reach 100 million people and undo all the work of the antiwar movement in a year. And if they fail, they'll pass a law.

I respect all of the work people are doing in the peace movement. I just don't think it is sufficient, or even necessary, for the goals of abolishing war, ending the foreign aggressions of the US, and downsizing the military to 20% or less its current size.

Since we don't own the media or the schools we have little choice but to be sharply dissonant, dissident, and noticeable, and newsworthy. As many of us have-- Nicholas Baptiste http://exposetheleft.net/video/scarpappy.wmv or even Ruth and I. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5714577555627102730 in which we did a rather poor job, and so would most antiwar people if you don't listen up. We are blowing it, in all these exchanges and we need to excel. We need to control the outcome better.

Before we examine the "core beliefs" that the MICC people tell us, I just want to make one more point: their talk, their ideology, is fake. It is a rationalization serving useful social and internal, psychological needs and purposes.

These are the "persona", as CG Jung would say-- these are artifacts. While their actions are made at a much more primitive level-- the subconscious mind, the reptilian brain, from the gut (same as most people in every industry). Incidentally, you are reading from Todd Boyle's persona, as well. My real self and my real actions, are as base and egoistic as the next guy.

So, I think the most useful strategy is to demolish the *rationalizations* and *justifications* for war, that exist widely in the population. Break em down.

1. That "the nation" is a legitimate enterprise for Americans to assert any force or threat on people outside our jurisdiction, our population and political system. For example, the belief is already deeply established in the U.S., in "no taxation without representation". So, it is like a sacred cow, it is unthinkable to tax other countries.

And it's just as wrong to enforce any other law, or impose any other force, since they did not have a vote. Right?

What this means is the entire foreign policy of the United States is profoundly wrong and immoral. Huge elephant in the living room. 700 bases all over the world, a $trillion dollar military completely designed for foreign expeditionary force... etc.

Obviously they have layers upon layers of supporting hoo haa. They're going to jump up and say "We have to defend ourself".

- That preemptive invasions are the new "self defense" doctrine.

- That there is a terrorist threat. I want you to go to the nearest window, and open it, and yell "There is NO TERRORIST THREAT". Because if you can't be comfortable with this, you need come in off the counter recruiting line and think it over. Once you concede there is a large scale, WMD terrorist threat, you're bagged. Long version, available on request.

2. That the people in the MICC have done *anything* good since WW2. They haven't. Every single war and invasion has been an illegal aggression, motivated by money and business interests. They have distorted the entire economy and the culture.

3. That these wars originate in the American character, the democracy, etc. THEY DON'T. The preconditions and precursors for these wars are deliberately cultivated, on a permanent basis, by well known, highly visible indoctrination programs. and the triggering events are orchestrated and controlled entirely from the top, by well known people, the same people who have caused the last ten wars.

Again, there is a long rebuttal of why we are all NOT responsible for the wars, why the oligarchy IS responsible for the wars, and why it is perfectly rational and achievable to end wars by containing these sparkplugs, these detonator people, who keep igniting and unleashing the passions of wars.

Todd