I came to truly appreciate and cherish our freedom while living and working in two Middle Eastern countries in the 1970's and 1980's: Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a foreigner, I was exempt from some of the societal restrictions (to some extent), but had to otherwise be very wary of anything I said or did and there could be absolutely zero criticism of anything political, not in public. Media was censored heavily. Certain Western magazines were allowed into these countries, but they actually had censors who went through every single magazine and either tore pages out entirely, or used a black marker to censor text or photos that were deemed unacceptable. When you flew into the country, their customs officials pawed through your luggage and removed items as well. Overall, there was an underlying feeling of oppressiveness that is hard to explain to those who have only lived in America. So many people just don't appreciate the fragility of our hard won freedoms nor do they realize how quickly and easily they can be lost, and finally, they don't realize how important these freedoms are. As for that oppressiveness I last felt in the Middle East, I have started to feel it again here, it is starting here and we must stop it before it crushes us all beyond redemption.
Freedom is definitely not FREE! It is used as a tool to force, entice, deceive and ensnare people to function as expendable minions for the Ruling Class and Elitists. In life, nothing is really free; everything comes at a cost.
I came to truly appreciate and cherish our freedom while living and working in two Middle Eastern countries in the 1970's and 1980's: Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a foreigner, I was exempt from some of the societal restrictions (to some extent), but had to otherwise be very wary of anything I said or did and there could be absolutely zero criticism of anything political, not in public. Media was censored heavily. Certain Western magazines were allowed into these countries, but they actually had censors who went through every single magazine and either tore pages out entirely, or used a black marker to censor text or photos that were deemed unacceptable. When you flew into the country, their customs officials pawed through your luggage and removed items as well. Overall, there was an underlying feeling of oppressiveness that is hard to explain to those who have only lived in America. So many people just don't appreciate the fragility of our hard won freedoms nor do they realize how quickly and easily they can be lost, and finally, they don't realize how important these freedoms are. As for that oppressiveness I last felt in the Middle East, I have started to feel it again here, it is starting here and we must stop it before it crushes us all beyond redemption.
Sadly, Noam Chomsky has gone to the dark side and advocates for forced vaccinations.
Thank you Mello. You deserve to be widely read.
Freedom is definitely not FREE! It is used as a tool to force, entice, deceive and ensnare people to function as expendable minions for the Ruling Class and Elitists. In life, nothing is really free; everything comes at a cost.