Greetings from the Land of Enchantment

Censorship and the Death of Democracy

There is a great article on Salon today comparing the radical right-wing Republican agenda to extremist Muslim fundamentalists--both are distortions of the religious rhetoric from which they are derived and both are said to be working in the 'name of God'. But not my God and not your God--only theirs. There is but One God--Ek Ong Kaar--and we're all participating in what and how that God gets expressed in the world.

Much has been talked about Sarah Palin's endeavor to ban books from the Wasilla Public Library and the subsequent firing of the librarian. Some of it is true and some isn't; but for Palin to have inquired at all about banning books is frightening enough in today's political climate. Censorship is just the beginning of a historically repeated practice: governments slowly eroding the rights of the people in the name of doing what is 'best' for them--security, safety, morality, what have you. But in reality it's just another name for power and corruption and the absolute erosion of every principle that 'America' stands for.

Anyone recognize the pattern? Or do I have to spell it out? (Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Lenin, Stalin, Mugave, Pol Pot, to name a few--and if we're not careful, we'll soon begin to add the names Bush, Cheney, Palin and McCain to the infamous list; but this time it's on us--fellow citizens of what we like to think of as a democracy that is America--not anyone else.)

posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 11:04 AM