Examples of Parallax Views – Page 53 – Glen's Parallax Perspectives

The real problem of violence is NOT mental illness. The real problems are ANGER and ACCESS TO GUNS.

February 25, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

When mass shootings occur, many politicians try to shift attention away from the gun and blame the shooter for mental illness. Yes, our society should provide more adequate funding and services for mental health. But the problem is not “mental illness” per se. The problem is ANGER. Our society needs to explore and implement a wide variety of ways to reduce anger throughout our society. Consider this article about ANGER: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/04/anger_causes_violence_treat_it_rather_than_mental_illness_to_stop_mass_murder.html Do not let gun supporters avoid responsibility for the too-easy access to guns. They want to blame mentally ill persons. Instead, we must reduce access to guns, so consider […]

U.S.’s violent foreign policy leads to gun violence WITHIN the U.S.

February 25, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

We keep seeing how ALL ISSUES are INTER-CONNECTED. Among the reasons why the U.S. has so much gun violence is that the U.S. government sets a bad example with our violent militaristic foreign policy. On July 9 2016, I wrote about how President Obama was in Poland meeting with heads of NATO nations and expanding NATO provocatively to Russia’s borders and expanding NATO’s militarism into other part of the Eastern Hemisphere and pushing NATO’s member nations to spend more on militarism. During his press conference there during that visit, Obama praised those military escalations and at the same time he […]

We must DEBUNK “the Myth of Redemptive Violence.”

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

U.S. culture has long perpetuated what has been called “The Myth of Redemptive Violence.” Look at the plots of movies about the Wild West, about cops & robbers, about spies, etc. Nearly every movie ends with a big shoot-out in which “the good guys” use violence to defeat “the bad guys.” The U.S. assumes that our military is “the good guys” and we can use violence to defeat “the bad guys” just like in the movies. The problem is that reality does not work that way. The U.S. LOST the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Violence is also PROFOUNDLY […]

Military “solutions” are really the problem!

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

Military “solutions” are really the problem! Instead of solving problems, military violence actually makes problems worse! It causes more threats to us and weakens our national security! Military violence provokes more people to want to attack the U.S.! Militarism creates new enemies faster than we can kill them. Militarism is a “domino theory” in reverse: the U.S. keeps spreading chaos into more and more countries. Sometimes high-level reports from the Pentagon and CIA conclude that militarism is doing this. (Indeed, the term “blowback” came from the CIA before Chalmers Johnson wrote a great book by that title.) Since 9-11-2001 the […]

Oppressors are ALSO our brothers and sisters. Nonviolence recognizes this.

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

“Nonviolence isn’t sitting back with your arms folded. It is first recognizing that the very person who is your oppressor is also your brother or sister. One day he or she may stop being your oppressor, but they’ll never stop being your brother or sister.” — Jose Maria Pires, in Mev Puleo, The Struggle Is One: Voices and Visions of Liberation

Prayers sponsored by governments or schools UNDERMINE authentic religion!

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

Many conservative persons, religious advocates, government officials (including some in charge of public schools, as well as local, state and federal governments) want prayers at local government or legislative meetings – or in public schools. ACTUALLY, THESE GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED PRAYERS UNDERMINE authentic religion. Prayer should be a personal communication with God, but making it mandatory or obligatory – or a mindless public ritual – destroys the personal faith aspect and makes it a meaningless governmental routine. It’s ironic that conservatives who oppose “big government” want government to cram someone’s religion down everyone else’s throats. Instead of protecting liberty, they are taking […]

A smart, unexpected way to move voters to our side

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

Liberals and progressives keep expressing amazement and confusion when working-class people vote for people like Reagan and Trump, whose economic policies and other policies actually make things worse for working-class people. George Lakoff, an expert in how people think, says voters vote their VALUES, not their interests. Typically, we assume that if we explain how a political issue pertains to people’s objective interests (e.g., their economic well-being), they will act or vote the way we want them to. However, Lakoff says we would be more effective if we would pay attention to people’s VALUES and frame our arguments to appeal […]

Reverse the “burden of proof” for joining military vs. applying for Conscientious Objector status

February 24, 2018 GlenAnderson 0

For many decades it has been easy to join the military: Just sign up and go through the process. But if you are a Conscientious Objector, it has been VERY HARD to get the federal government to recognize your human right — whether you are facing the military draft or whether you had previously enlisted in the military and now discover that you are a Conscientious Objector. We should REVERSE THE “BURDEN OF PROOF.” Our nation should recognize: Of course a mentally healthy and morally healthy person would not want to kill other people. This should be the default assumption. […]