Governments control people through fear. This seems to be a basic truth about ruling people. It is easy to control scared people. Just offer them security, and they will accept any measures taken, in its name.
Let's start with a look at the Israeli-Palestinianconflict. I am strongly against the Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. I strongly agree with those who call the Israeli policies "state terrorism". I do not, however, unlike many critics of Israel, hold this against Israeli Jews, or Jews in general.
There is no fundamental difference between Jews and other human beings. Jews respond in the same way as other people do. The problem in Israel is neither the Jews nor the Arabs. The problems are fear, terror,surveillance and control. Most Israeli Jews are afraid of Palestinians, and of Palestinian terror. This fear is large created, and supported, by the Israeli government and its so-called anti-terrorism measures.
Anti-terrorism measures actually work against their(supposed) goals. Common anti-terrorism measures are surveillance (tapping of telephones, reading E-Mails,text messages, etc) and limitation of the freedoms of movement, press, association and speech. These measures are per se government terrorizing the population.
Israeli anti-terrorism measures cause reactions fromboth Jews and Arabs. The Arabs, or Palestinians, are discriminated against by the Israeli government. They are not allowed to move freely. They are denied their freedom of association. Their houses are bulldozed down by the Israeli army. They are tortured and thrown in jail. The Palestinians learn to fear and hate the state of Israel, and since Israel is a self-declared"Jewish state", they learn to fear and hate Jews, too, just like Israeli Jews learn to fear and hate Palestinians.
What I stated about Jews above is true about Arabs, too. There is no fundamental difference between Arabs and other human beings.
If we leave Israel, and look elsewhere, we can look at Iran. Iran is practically a theocracy, where the government decides what can and cannot be printed, said or expressed. The Iranian people is constantly threatened to be bombed by the U.S. and Israeli governments, and the president of Iran is using the fear to achieve his own goals, and to make the people obedient. The Iranian president is pointing at Israel and America, and through the common Iranian's fear of these countries, they are controlled. It would not be hard to argue that the external threat from the U.S.and Israeli governments keeps the Iranian president in power. When people feel threatened, they often side with the leader. This happened when Clinton bombed Serbia. The support for Milosevic skyrocketed, because the Serbs felt threatened.
Now, let's look at America, the so-called land of thefree. 9/11 was the best thing that could happen for the U.S. government. I do not think that the U.S.government were behind it, but it was the best thing that could happen for a controlling and power-hungry government. When Twin Towers fell apart, President Bush got, and seized, the opportunity he needed. He could, and did, use this to spread fear in America,and gain support to attack and conquer Afghanistan andIraq.
Not only has president Bush used the fear of terror asan excuse for his imperialist agenda abroad, but also to increase government control of the American people. He started with Patriot Act, and continued by abolishing Habeas Corpus. The U.S. government has pressed charges against reporters, allegedly for exposing war secrets, and has thus de facto abolished the freedom of press.
I'd like to end this article with a look at what is known as one of the world's most peaceful regions, Scandinavia. In my native country Sweden, which hasn't been involved in any wars since the Swedish army forced Norway to join Sweden in a union in 1814, the government has now decided to start to use tapping of telephones, "to fight crime". Once again, the government is using fear (in this case, fear of criminals) to control the people, and in my present home country, Norway, strong forces want to establisha DNA index of convicted criminals. Again, governmentis using fear to gain control. The proposed DNA index is supposed to contain DNA from every convicted criminal, no matter if the conviction is murder, rape or a speeding ticket. I fear how this could be used.
Although Norway, unlike Sweden, is a NATO country, and has troops in Afghanistan, I do not fear Islamic terror. I do not feel threatened by al-Qaeda or their likes. I feel threatened by government, which is theworst terrorist organization there is.
Labels: Bush, conflict, control, fear, government, Iran, Israel, Norway, Sweden, terrorism, the state
