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Rob's Blog

Sunday, September 18, 2005

The Pen Is Mightier

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword?

The last few weeks have shown us a lot about who we think we are and who we’d really like to be as the Press in the United States has finally shown some signs of life and we’ve discovered, to the extent that our consciousness allows, that what we’re told by “official” sources and what is actually happening on the ground may be two very different things.

By extension, the modern “pen” includes the electronic media and the internet as our major means of accessing the current reality. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the reality was that we were seeing pictures in real-time that told of human suffering and disaster juxtaposed with press conferences showing a clueless government congratulating itself on a job well done before it had begun. A week later, I received emails forwarded from a friend of a friend detailing the horrendous story of two San Francisco EMT’s trapped by Katrina while attending a conference and efforts to get out of New Orleans, subsequently put out in a letter form. It’s an amazing account by Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky revealing the nasty truths of how officials hindered more than helped. (To read their story go online to: http://www.socialistworker.org/ 9-19-05 issue #557, or http://www.counterpunch.org/bradshaw09062005.html )

Larry and Lorrie’s letter lit a fire in me. I started investigating more closely the claims made by our representatives and discovered a lot that I couldn’t support. There were unending accounts of governmental neglect and abuse, heartbreaking accounts of cold-hearted bureaucratic bungling and a general lack of common sense, and oh yes, an abysmal lack of compassion. Various NGO’s as well as individuals were now reporting the truth of the situation and how their efforts were not only frustrated, but often thwarted by official government actions – all of which are done in our name. We sent our money to the organizations that were dealing directly with the people and animals most severely affected and then caught our breath, reflecting on what it all meant.

The first waves of truth came from video demonstrating an incongruity with official accounts, then various organizations intersecting the disaster at the “rubber meets the road” level, and individuals regaining access to the means of communication, then finally, even by the mainstream media. I thought, optimistically, the pen might once again prove its worth and power and move what has become our intractable tendency to collectively hide our heads in the sand and deny the truth of how far we have wandered from our professed American ideals and compassion.

And then another thought emerged. In this age of abandoning personal responsibility and collective unity to the clamor of religious separation and patriotic subterfuge of the “you’re either for us or against us” variety, perhaps the pen has become the sword. The close control of media by only a few and their cozy relationship with government leaders has made the Fourth Estate more a propagandistic arm of power rather than of truth. Perhaps we need to re-learn how to read between the lines and deepen our analysis beyond the level of clique and slogan. We need to look to our hearts.

Maybe we need to change the old slogan to “The Heart Is Mightier ThanThe Sword”. What I’m thinking about this week is that the pen is indeed mighty, but it is just a tool that can be used by either side to win an argument. What we need to look at is not winning arguments, but expressing who we are and who we want to be. Much of what we have seen in New Orleans and around the world is not who we are. It is time to express and act on what is in your heart and live in real security where we truly “do unto others”. What we know in our hearts… that is truly who we are and what actully moves us. Let’s have our “talk” truly become our “walk”… and ask everyone you know to do the same. Take up your pen and speak from your heart to those that represent you.


Rob Spears


HEAR ROB SPEARS AND BRENDA MICHAELS ON
CONSCIOUS TALK RADIO
“radio that makes a difference”
KKNW 1150 AM Seattle’s Alternative Talk Radio
“Streaming” on the net 7:00AM and 4:00PM PST
www.conscioustalk.net

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Welcome

Welcome to my new space, “Rob’s Blog”. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m the Co-Host of Conscious Talk Radio, but I think I’m often more comfortable with writing than the spoken word so I’m excited to move in.

What am I going to talk about? Anything under the sun that is touched by consciousness… which pretty much encompasses everything. Oh, yes, I’ll talk about the show and the guests we talk to each week before and after their visits, but I’m not looking to limit myself. You see, metaphorically speaking, consciousness includes the un-peeling of our personal and group onion; not only for finding our selves, but for designing and manifesting a new path to replace the old crumbling one.

Why consciousness? It is the “stuff” from which our lives are made. That is why we created Conscious Talk Radio, and it will be the driving force of this blog as I examine the consciousness that creates this experience on spaceship earth.

How many of you recognized the difference in consciousness between our armed forced entering New Orleans with guns high, pointing menacingly at the evacuees as compared to the way they looked and acted with their weapons slung, their arms holding rescued babies instead? Had the consciousness of General Honore leaned toward accepting the energy of the former how different would the outcome of that first encounter been?

Stay tuned.

Rob Spears

Hear “Conscious Talk” on 1150 AM, Seattle’s Alternative Talk Radio
7:00 AM and 4:00 PM PST Monday – Friday
“streaming” on the net at: www.conscioustalk.net

Rob Spears
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