I was on a train a few days ago.

A young Asian man with a beard and skull cap got on with a backpack, made his way down the aisle and sat down.
Some of his fellow passengers watched him all the way.

I was standing on this train with my mountain bike, and as such, had a clear view of the length of the carriage.
A few passengers on that train were directing furtive glances his way.

It occurred to me that because of his appearance, some of my fellow travellers had already marked this man out as someone to be viewed with suspicion.

In today’s society, our Government, working in tandem with the media, tell us repeatedly that we should be afraid.

There are threats everywhere; people are plotting to destroy our way of life.
All this propaganda results in the population viewing others with suspicion – whether it’s the current witch-hunt against Muslims, or the population being told that vast groups of immigrants are coming to Britain, taking our jobs, benefits and housing.

Where I live is a relatively quiet area.
When I stroll around, I’m not expecting to be blown to bits, stabbed or robbed.
But look into most newspapers and you’d believe that we live in a war zone.

The so called “War on Terror” is a sham.

A convenient sound bite which enables governments to change the law at will, and in the process taking away more of our civil rights.
This is a “war” that cannot be won.

Our leaders bomb some country that has never actively threatened the UK, and when the dust clears, the people who have been affected by our murderous rampage around the globe might be more willing to exact revenge upon the UK.

And the cycle continues.

We become complacent to the killing carried out in our name as the countries are not anywhere near us, and are usually de-humanized by our media.

We don’t get the see families destroyed when the bombs are dropped, the drones deployed, whole generations wiped out. Our politicians continually lie to us, telling us that this person or that was some high ranking official in whatever group is popular that week.

Ironically both the USA and the UK have in the past bankrolled and assisted a lot of the groups that we are now condemning.
But our Government tends to gloss over that.

The lies continue.

And we continue to believe our government is acting in our best interest.

Trouble is – they are not.

And while we continue to ignore this fact, nothing will change.

Copyright © Mark A. McPherson 2013.
All Rights Reserved.