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5 Jul 2005 @ 16:37, by craiglang. Diary
I had some very mixed emotions as I watched the July 4th parade in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. On one hand, it was neat to see the sense of esprit de corps and civic spirit that seems to have come together in the last year or two in home-town America. The attendance this year - at this and other civic events - seemed to be way up from previous years.
In addition, I noted a deep sense of patriotism - perhaps even deeper than I observed following 9/11. It is a sustained, deep-seated sense of identification with homeland. And I'm willing to bet that it is something we haven't seen since World War 2. Unfortunately, that's just the problem - it's because of war that we have this coming-together.
The dark side of partriotism and nationalism is that it usually means that you have to have an enemy. It seems that we can't have an "Us" without a "Them". And that's what gave me such a mixed feeling.
It is great to see such patriotism and comraderie. I, too, felt that stirring sense of national pride. Yet beneath it lurks the knowledge that, at present, much of it is based upon a lie. We are at war based upon a deception. And because of it, we have have invaded another nation. Yet, what I saw this weekend was resounding support for this very same "fight for freedom". To me, it was the rousing support for the mistake we are mistaking - enthusiastically affirming the wrong road our nation is travelling.
It is clear for all to see how the war was launched via deception. A reading of the Downing Street Memo and other evidence should be convincing to anyone. Yet people still support the war. Does the aggregate population simply "not get it"? Why is there so much support for the war? Why is Bush so popular? The information is out there for all to see. Why are there no (or at least very few) cries for his impeachment?
As the local National Guard unit (those that are not in Iraq right now) paraded past, there were loud (nearly unanimous) cheers from the crowd. It was moving to see the support for those who are presently oversees, and I know that if I were off in battle somewhere, I sure would want such support from the folks back home. And yet, mostly what I felt was sadness. Because the only reason that these kids are now facing ambushes and roadside bombs is that we were all lied to. And in spite of the evidence of the truth, the aggregate "Us" still prefers to believe the lies.
I deeply love this country, and so I feel even greater pain than I did on 9/11. Because it is from within, by our very own leadership, that the damage is being done. And yet still we cheer loudly and beat the drums. Boldly and with great national pride, we march with flying flags - straight into the abyss. Read More
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18 Mar 2005 @ 19:12, by craiglang. Thoughts
As I've described in my log over the last few months, I've been taking a few classes in creative writing. During the Fall, I took a more general class which surveyed writing genres and styles. This term, I am taking a class in writing novels - specifically to get direction in the writing of my book "The Fifth Key". And I have found some interesting relationships between fiction and nonfiction. What I have found is that writing fiction is much harder than writing non-fiction. Read More
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16 Mar 2005 @ 22:10, by craiglang. Articles
I just got done reading Whitley Strieber's new journal entry: "The Year of the Death Wish." And it is a chilling read. Unfortunately, I beleive it is all too accurate. Read it and cringe. And then act your conscience... Read More
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14 Mar 2005 @ 16:01, by craiglang. Reports
I did a Google search this morning on:
(Cheney OR Wolfowitz OR Rowe) + Armageddon
Interesting results - got 84,800 search hits. Click here to go to the Google page and see for yourself... Read More
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10 Mar 2005 @ 17:04, by craiglang. Diary
I have often been fascinated by various personality typing tools such as Myers Briggs, and the Wilson Social Interaction Types.
Just as a background, in the Wilson model the primary types are Analytical, Amiable, Expressive and Driver. The sort is by ask vs tell assertiveness and task vs people focus:
- Analyticals have a task direction, ask assertiveness,
- Drivers have a task direction and tell assertiveness,
- Amiables are more people directed with ask assertiveness,
- Experessives are people directed with tell assertiveness.
(Note: my own type is largely Expressive/Amiable - people focus with a borderline tell/ask assertiveness. This translates to a focus on ideas and people)
What I have noticed recently is that many more people seem to be showing Driver type of mannerisms. This constitutes a "tell" assertiveness, but a task focus. In short, it becomes a "bossy" or directive interaction. Getting the job done with a minimum of discussion seems to be the most important. There is less tolerance for discussion, etc...
Typically this interaction type seems to show up alot under stress. One often sees intolerance of questions or ambiguity - and in cases of disagreement, a tendency to "lay down the law". I have noticed this alot in multiple aspects of life. This leads me to ask the question - is there alot more stress in the world at large in recent weeks/months?
I have noticed this among people in the day job and at school. I have also seen it on the road as road rage seems to be increasingly prevalent - drivers honking and flipping eachother off, etc... And I simply get the sense that there seems to be a wave of this ornery/agressive attitude as each person seems to be percieving other as elbowing into his/her personal space.
I have been wondering if others have percieved this, or if it just my own perception. And if this is really the case, then I wonder what is the "driver of the drivers". Read More
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7 Mar 2005 @ 16:43, by craiglang. Thoughts
This weekend, I did a series of presentations at the MarsCon science fiction convention. I did talks on the UFO/close-encounter phenomenon and first contact, as well as conducted a meditation/guided-imagery workshop.
This year I did my First-Contact talk jointly with Kathy Sullivan, an SF author who is also interested in E.T. contact topics. She did a survey of the SF literature on alien contact, both past and present, while I talked about (real or potential) non-fiction scenarios of contact. We had not jointly pre-planned our talks, so they were not particularly coordinated with eachother. But what I found was that they particularly dovetailed anyhow. Read More
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2 Mar 2005 @ 15:23, by craiglang. Information
Richard Dolan has just released the second half of his article
"UFO Secrecy and the Death of the American Republic - Part 2 of 2."
I talked about the first part in an earlier article "More by Richard Dolan", but here again is the link to part 1 of 2.
Also see my original article on RD's book and his 2004 lecture to Minnesota MUFON: UFOs and the National Security State
In addition, here is RD's response to the Peter Jennings Special. Read More
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27 Feb 2005 @ 23:51, by craiglang. Diary
Tired old cliches can be such fun... :-)
In reality, I am finding that, while fun, writing is not always easy. When one tries to channel creativity into an actual work, one finds that it does not come quite as easily. And so it is with my current project. Read More
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25 Feb 2005 @ 21:56, by craiglang. Information
Here is Whitley Strieber's response to the Peter Jennings special.
His response is far harsher than mine. I tried to be somewhat kind in my review. But his view was basically that the Jennings special was a mixture of disinfo and outright lies. A little truth was sprinkled in to make it palatable, but in the end, the result was just what it seemed - the official line from those who fear the truth.
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25 Feb 2005 @ 03:30, by craiglang. Reports
It was with very low expectations, but a slight bit of hope that I watched the special this evening (7PM CST) on the ABC network, "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFO's, Seeing is Believing." Unforunately, the one thing I came away with was that my expectations were met. My overall sense was one of disappointment. I got the overall impression of business as usual - largely a repetition of the official line. Yet though the lid still seems to be tightly clamped down, there is, perhaps, a tiny crack in the artifice - and through this shines a faint glimmer of light. Read More
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