Monday, September 10, 2012


1906 CHE

I watched another documentary this weekend.

It was the story of Che Guevara.

Che is well known today as a sort of symbol of the revolutionary youth movement. 

He embodies the persona of those who defy ‘Imperialism/Colonialism’.

Che was an Argentinean doctor- who at a young age took a motorcycle journey thru Latin America [South- Central America] and he saw the extreme poverty of the people.

He would see one of the main factors of this poverty being the influence that the U.S. held over these nations thru corporate agreements with the ‘puppet’ leaders of these nations.

For instance- many of the poor of these nations were peasant farmers- they worked the land for rich land owners- and they subsisted on a few dollars a day wages.

Yet the owners of the land- they were rich.

Likewise- Che believed that the leaders of the nations were ‘in bed’ with the U.S. - and they allowed U.S. corporations to rake their countries of wealth- at the expense of the people.

Now- I am not saying I totally agree with Che.

He has many critics- as well as supporters [he’s dead of course].

Jean Paul Sartre [remember our philosophy posts?] supported him- others did not.

The point being- Che saw a system- the U.S. govt and American corporations- as an all powerful system that polluted the nations to her south.

He felt the influence of greed and corruption were the main causes of the plight of the Latin American people.


His revolution- Che literally left his duties as a doctor and led an armed rebellion against the U.S. - would eventually lead to his execution by Bolivian forces [Bolivia is just north of Argentina- Che’s homeland] backed by the CIA.

Che was a key factor in the Cuban revolution that deposed Batista- the U.S. backed leader of Cuba- and installed Castro.

Che’s influence lives on today in many of the leaders of south/central America.

If you ever hear Hugo Chavez [Venezuela] speak- you hear the words and thoughts of Che.


This last week I have been reading Revelation- the last 5 chapters or so.

The apostle John writes about the Mystery- the ‘Whore of Babylon’- this great city- that pollutes all the nations of the world with her lust for wealth.


This city [nation] lures the other nations of the world by her wealth and power.

She has all types of merchandise- even the Souls of men.


As you read the account- it’s easy to see a type of what Che saw when rebelling against U.S. interests in his homeland.



I had a talk with my street friend Dirk the other day.

Somehow we got into a discussion about the U.S. prison system.

I mentioned to Dirk how over the last 5 years or so I started cutting out of the news paper all the cases of people from this region who got sent to prison.

I regularly pray for them- now hundreds of them- every week [just did this morning].


I try and pick the cases that I think are really tough.


There was one lady- in her 60’s.

Sandra Briggs [I remember her name- and her face].

She was sent to prison for a DWI that killed a person.

Mrs. Briggs was a widow- she owned a jewelry store for many years with her husband.

He was shot and killed a couple of years ago by a burglar.

One night she went to a bar- I guess a place where she would stop in and have a few drinks before going home.

She had a couple of drinks- and on the way home [I think at night?] there was a wreck- and one car was in the middle of the road- and she hit it.

Now- as I read the case and followed the story in the San Antonio paper.

The person who was killed was a young off duty cop.

The other car that hit him cut him in half.

Yeah- a very bad accident.

His body was lying over the barrier- it looked like someone was bending over- to pick something up.

During the testimony- they said how when she was standing there- after the wreck- she was kind of laughing.

I guess it was a nervous laughter type thing- she did not know she killed a person.

The prosecutor made it sound like she was laughing- right over the severed body.

Now- I’m sure the lady had no idea that this guy was dead- and cut in half.

But they gave Mrs. Briggs 45 years in prison for it.


Now- I make no excuses for what she did- she messed up- she should not have been drinking and driving- we all agree.

But I have seen cases where a gang kid shoots another kid in the head- on purpose- and gets less time.


So these are the tough cases.


As I talked with Dirk I told him I was surprised about the large amount of cases where guys get sent up for solicitation of minors.

I never remember hearing about it- years ago.


But the development of the internet- and the availability of everyone on line- well the cases must be up a million %.

Now- here's the rub.


In the U.S. - you have legal porn all over the net.

It’s legal for 18 year olds to be in porn.

The U.S. says this is freedom- this is what we are all about- if you don’t like it- you don’t have to view it- but the U.S. has made it available all over the world- even to countries that outlaw it [Iran- and many Muslim nations].

But- many of the cases I have read- are cases where men tried to contact under age girls for sex.

Yes- wrong- we all agree.


Legally- if you view- or try to contact an 18 year old- this is deemed okay.

A 17 year old- 364 days- and 1 minute form her 18th birthday- this is a crime.


Okay- yes- this should be a crime.

But why does the U.S protect this [the viewing of the 18 yr old]?

Our country calls the exploitation of the 18 year old- ‘free speech’.

Huh?

You mean viewing or contacting an 18 year old is considered a right- a part of our freedom- yet the 17 year old is a crime.


There are many nations who outlaw it all- now- there are ways people in those nations get around it- but the nation itself does not actually encourage it- like we do.


In some of these nations- we are militarily involved- on the basis of some type of moral judgment.

Yes- all of our wars- in some way- come down to the fact that we deemed some act- like 9-11, as immoral.

Of course most of us would agree that 9-11 deserved a response.

But what about a situation like Libya.


After the rebels rose up- we eventually had an air campaign under the guise of NATO- and it led to the killing of Gadhaffi.

Most people could care less.

His grandkids were bombed and killed in a civilian home- we said it was a legitimate target.

His daughter- pregnant- was on the run to a neighboring nation for safety.

If the rebels caught her- who knows- they might have ripped her baby out right there.

Yes- the rebels we backed have done stuff like this- and much worse.


Okay- the point?

When we- as a powerful nation- make moral judgments and intervene in the affairs of other nations- we justify our actions.

Even though some of these nations abhor our values [the above 18 year old example].

We- in our nation have in a way ‘increased the sins among men’ [a description of Babylon in the book of Revelation].

Because we simply deem the distribution of porno- to all the nations of the world- as ‘freedom of speech’.

Yet- as we ‘protect’ this right- at the same time hundreds of thousands of cases of on line crimes have increased over the last few years.

Are our values in any way contributing to this?

And then we at the same time interfere in other nations- at times militarily- because of a value judgment.

Do you now see why the Che’s of the world have such a following?


Don’t misread this post.


Che is a popular figure among many socialist groups- I am not one of them.

I simply want you to see the ancient war that has been going on since the days of the apostle John.


John described Babylon [any human govt. that becomes corrupt] as a system that increases the sins of men- that pollutes other nations based on her own skewed value system- and that uses it’s extreme wealth to bribe the other ‘kings of the earth who have drunk from the cup of her fornication’.

Yes- as I read the many cases of people being trod off to prison- because they viewed a 17 year old girl- who is being exploited by some money hungry corporate interest- and this is all protected- vigorously- by the U.S. govt. if the girl is 18.

I wonder if our values have contributed to the ‘sins among men’.

A quote from Che  ‘man truly achieves his full human condition when he produces without being compelled by the physical necessity of selling himself as a commodity’

A quote from the apostle John ‘in her were the souls of men- she made all nations drink of the wine of her uncleanness’.

Yeah- some things never change.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







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