You should know, for starters, that we’re already at war. We have been attacked not only by the Taliban, but also by people within our own society who would see the downfall of freedom. Many of these people are good at heart, and think they’re defending their own liberty from an oppressive tyrant.

It’s been said that there is no right or wrong, there’s only point of view. It’s been said that there is no truth, that the victors write history. I’ve been studying these issues all of my life, and I have concluded that this is an erroneous philosophy. In order for humans to have civilization on this planet, with peace, liberty and justice for all, we do need to teach ourselves to follow just laws. We need to make a choice, that one way of living is honorable and right, and then proceed to live that way.

It’s been said that all religions are the same, and that all gods are the same. This is most definitely not true. This is not to say that there are no gods, or that there is only one. In my lifelong study of this subject, I have concluded that there are many gods and goddesses. There are demons and spirits and angels and ghosts. I was raised as a Unitarian, to be a seeker after the truth. I was taught to question everything and believe in nothing. Now, I am a Catholic Christian. I am convinced that there is a living force in the Universe that cares about us and is trying to teach us to live healthy lives. And, there are evil entities too. I believe that everything people have claimed to see, from a good and just Jaweh, to monsters, space aliens, and Evil, actually does exist.

Each of us has to make a personal choice, whether we will live our lives in support of one or the other. By not choosing, we are used by one or the other without our consent, usually the latter. But, it’s not always easy to tell which is which. Sometimes Evil comes dressed up as Good. How can we tell them apart?

Here’s a basic test that works for me. There are exceptions to the rule, but it’s a good place to start. If you take an action to it’s extreme and it leads to death, or the death of others, it’s evil. If it leads to health and prosperity, it’s good. If you kill others to get what you want, that’s Evil. If you free others and empower them to make their own choices, that’s Good.

Now, some things that are evil in excess can be good in moderation. I’ll grant you tht. But, quite often you can avoid them altogether and you do quite well. Like alcohol, and sugar. Things that are good can be overdone, too. These include compassion, obedience, and even faith. And, sometimes suffering and death are necessary, so that others can have liberty and justice. It’s not evil to defend liberty, or to contain and isolate a tyrant or a serial murderer. Sometimes, it must be done.

If we are simply kind and loving and obedient, we are easily herded around. Those who would control and dominate us have no trouble at all, and continue to do so for generations. We have lived, as human beings, for countless centuries under these conditions, ruled by tyrants of all races, beliefs, and opinions. Buddhism, Hinduism and even Islam are religions that teach their people to be passive, not to complain, to make do with whatever they are given. Some sects of Islam even teach that it is right to kill anybody who will not convert to their way of thinking.

What we want, especially as Americans now, in 2003, is liberty and justice for all. As Werner Erhard said back in the ‘70’s, we want a world that works for everyone in it, with nobody left out. As Americans, we want to put an end to suffering not only here, but everywhere.

We think it’s our responsibility because we’ve been raised with a Judeo Christian heritage. From Judaism, we get the Law. Basically, that’s the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt honor no other God before me. Thou shall not lie, steal, or covet another’s possessions. Honor thy Father and Mother. Do not murder. As Christ summed it up, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Take care of each other. The Jews gave us the law, Christ underlined compassion. Christ granted equal rights to people of all races, genders, incomes, and nationalities. Those are the basic ideas on which this country was founded, and they are the secrets of our success. We haven’t always lived up to them, but they are our mission statement, and we return to those principles time and time again.

This is why we’re the only country on Earth who rebuilds the countries we’ve conquered, and give them back to their people. We teach them how to make their individual voices heard, and to govern themselves without Emperors, Kaisers, Kings and Commandants. We don’t take everybody who opposes us out and machine-gun them to death, as did the Nazis, Socialists and Communists. We show people how to live free, and to prosper. And then we let them disagree with us if that’s what they decide to do.

In this country, we consider it our right to dissent, and it is. But, we need to do so responsibly. We need to know with whom we’re going into alignment. We need to do our homework, not just go along with the crowd.

The people in Iraq have been brutally subjugated, as were the people in Afghanistan under the Taliban. People who disagree with Saddam are shot. This is not Republican propaganda. It is fact. Find somebody who’s escaped from there, and ask them. Women are treated as property, with no rights. And yes, Saddam and Bin Laden do want to take over the world. They have openly stated that they want to conquer not only the United States, but all of Europe. They want to wipe out all “infidels,” which is everybody who is not a Muslim of their narrow sect. They think they can do it, too.

You laugh? Don’t be naïve. They can do immense damage by spreading disease, poisons, and even nuclear fallout. They think it’s going to be easy, because we’re so morally bankrupt that we’ll give up without much of a fight. We’ll get to bickering among ourselves, and maybe even cause our own downfall. They may have a point. They certainly have enough of a reason to motivate themselves and each other.

And, they’re not the only ones who want to see America fall. Just because Communism doesn’t rule the Soviet Union any more, doesn’t mean it’s dead. It’s alive and well in China, in North Korea, and here. The Communist party has long been active in the anti-war movement, ever since Viet Nam. I know, because I was one of them back then.

Yep, I’m what Michael Savage calls a Red Diaper Doper baby. I was raised to believe that our system of government is oppressive, and that the military-industrial complex is out to dominate the working people of the world. The rich oppress the poor. The whites oppress the blacks, the browns, and the Indians, like me. Part of my family comes from the Cherokee tribe. We were cheated out of our lands, after the Civil War. This trick was pulled by Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, who socialistically re-assigned all our property to his followers in a lottery. We were sent to Oklahoma in what’s known as the Trail of Tears. My family didn’t figure out that he was a Democrat, apparently. They just associated cheating with all white people, even though we’re over half Caucasian blood, and all governmental bureaucracies. (They may have been partially right.)

During the Viet Nam war, I was very vocal in my opposition. My brother was a conscientious objector. I married my first husband after knowing him only six weeks, to keep him from being drafted. It was years later, after that marriage had ended, that I learned the damage I had done. I couldn’t understand where all the “boat people” were coming from. Those are the Vietnamese shop keepers and religious people who fled the country in small boats (or whatever they could find) to keep from being killed by the Communists.

I actually thought the Vietnamese people wanted the Communists to win. I was wrong. I had been misled by my own media. I actually had been duped. The real atrocities of the war were hidden from me, and I believed what I saw on the television, that the United States was wrong. My whole family believed that we were right, in fighting against that war. But, Vietnam is now ruled by a dictatorship, partially because of us. The people of Vietnam are not free. They can not worship as they choose, even to this day.

There are many people now who are rallying to that same anti-war propaganda we fought for in the ‘70’s. Please, friends, especially those of you who call yourselves liberals, don’t fall for that trick again. The people who organize those rallies are not anti-war, they’re anti-United States. They want to see this government turn into a socialist state, where decisions are made for us, not by us. That includes decisions about where you live, what kind of work you do, what education you get, what skills you learn. They believe that “the experts,” (which means them) can make your decisions better than you can. They’ve been brainwashing you for years now, telling you you’re not smart enough to take care of yourself. You need somebody else to tell you what to do, what to drive, what to eat, what to say, how to raise your children.

Maybe it sounds wonderful to you, not to have to make any decisions. You might think it would be grand to be cared for from cradle to grave. To always be a child. Maybe you think that sounds like Utopia, the perfect Heaven on Earth. But, it doesn’t work. It stifles your creativity. And, when you lose that, you lose your individuality. And, you lose your freedom. Besides, we need entrepreneurs to keep us prosperous. When we’re coddled too much, we lose that hunger that drives us to be inventive. Communism didn’t fail in the Soviet Union for lack of trying. It failed because it doesn’t work.

It’s funny, people think of astrology as some sort of hocus pocus, that tells people what’s fated to happen. And, here I am, an astrologer, telling you not only that you have free will, but that you’ll have to fight to keep it. And, I’m telling you that there really is a God, a caring Universe, who wants you to be free, healthy, creative, and productive. I’m even saying there is Evil, which must be resisted. And, that it’s up to you, personally, to figure out where it is and how to stay away from it. I learned a lot of this through my study of astrology, actually.

And, that’s why I’m confident in giving you this last bit of advice, as you choose which side to support, which leader to follow, and even which god to believe in.

I’m asking you to pray. Open your heart and your mind. Listen, in the quiet of the early morning, or during your busy day, or at the dinner table, or after the kids are in bed for the night. Let your life become a prayer.

If you’re a Christian, pray the Our Father. If you are a Catholic, pray the rosary. I do that sometimes, but since I come from an agnostic background, I’ve found a non sectarian prayer that works too. I do feel it’s best if I’m specific about the side I’ve chosen, so I often pray the mantra, over and over, “stay away from me, Evil. I belong to Good.” And, then I think about what’s worrying me. And, then, I listen.

No kidding, people, this works. I don’t have to tell you how to vote, or where to protest and where not to protest. I can tell you what I’ve discovered, but you can discover it for yourself. And, you can really make a difference in whether or not we get into a horrible war, one that ends civilization on this planet as we know it. I do think it’s possible that’s what we’re facing. I think that “do unto others as you’d have them do unto you,” really is a Commandment, and not just a Suggestion.

But that doesn’t mean we should lie back, and let Saddam and Bin Laden and their followers, and others who would dominate us, have their way. We must take a stand for liberty and justice, again. Not just our President, or our military, but each and every one of us.

To find out what that means for you, I challenge you to have the courage to pray. Ask what you can do to help the word heal. Ask for mercy. And, listen.

Yours for the Triumph of Love,

Linda

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