Эрик Питерс о рабстве

Slavery, we are told not infrequently, was a horrible wrong. True. But what, precisely, was horrible about it? The assertion of ownership by one person (the master) of another (his slave). The slave was the physical property of his master, which meant the master had the lawful right to control his property – to do with it as he wished and contrary to the wishes of the slave himself. The slave was not at liberty to choose where to live, nor where (or when) to work. He was certainly not free to retain the product of his labors. He needed to obtain permission to marry. The Master allowed the slave to live in a certain cabin, to work at a certain kind of work, to perhaps keep a small garden for his own use. But ultimately, he was not free to do as he wished – and faced physical reprisals that were fully “lawful” if he disobeyed his master.

And what are we allowed to do today? We are allowed to work – under certain terms and condition -  the rules laid down by Master. We are allowed to keep a certain portion of the product of our own labors – but Master claims ownership of all of it, in principle if not in actual fact. He may – at at any time – take whatever he wishes. There is no limit – in principle – to the extent of his control over us, to what he may do to us.

Like the slave, we own very little – not even our own bodies. Perhaps we are not whipped for disobedience. But we do face electro-shock (Tasers) and cages if we assert ownership over ourselves. If we disobey in any meaningful way. We certainly do not control our lives. Our lives are controlled by others. And therein lies the subtle genius of those who do control us – who own us. Instead of the all-too-obvious Master in the great house, we have millions of nameless masters – and believe we are free because we are permitted periodically to vote for some of them. But are we any less in their thrall?

Just a few thoughts to consider as we approach the day when we celebrate “our freedoms.”                   http://ericpetersautos.com/2013/06/20/sanity-is-not-statistical-but-it-is-uncommon/                                                                                                  

адекватное мнение

http://engimono.livejournal.com/829594.html      Солидарен с написанным. Вообще удивляет эта смена генеральной линии пацифистов всех направлений по отношению к Обаме. Теперь они критикуют его за дроны и прослушку. Но на некоторых американских сайтах мне встречались одновременные обвинения Обамы  в пацифизме, одностороннем разоружении и милитиаризме и шпиономании. На сайте фридомфайтеррадио размещен баннер - "Сноуден новый американский патриот". Удивительно. Но только на первый взгляд. Будем разбираться и ставить вопросы. Ссылки и подробности завтра.