Seeds and Weeds

Chapter 2: Power and Peace

Prose & Poetry by JJ Johnson

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Power and Peace

(excerpts)

1000 Keys & Pay For The War

plus all prose from chapter 2

Seeds And Weeds is a philosophically expressive compilation of poetry and prose, offering progressive views on politics, peace, nature, fate, faith, family, friendship, introspection, and poetry itself.

Seeds And Weeds is more than simply a collection of verse with splashes of imagery. This book challenges the mind and heart to find a better way through observations and feelings on the rise and fall of character, creatively expressed in rhyme and reason.

Peace!

Do you know of someone who has allowed pride to grow into a colossal weed and strangle those who will not bow down before his regime? Will we silently witness the simultaneous strangulation of Humanity and Mother Nature at the hands of the foulest fertilizer in the world?

It's time to weed the garden....

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            I would like to believe that no one wants war, but as I have seen in my own neighborhoods, many people seem to thrive on gaining power over others. On a larger scale, nations want to be stronger and wealthier than others. When a country finds itself in need of natural resources or land, taking it from other countries has always been the simplest solution. Down through history, wars have been waged and the winner takes the spoils when the war is won. War seems to be a survival instinct for cultures. In today’s world, there are new variables that for thousands of years never came into play. The survival factor is still there, but now other considerations complicate matters. Terrorism is one of the more recent issues.

            It would seem on the surface that terrorism is a good reason to go to war, but the problem with this idea is that it is not easy to identify who the terrorists are and which ones have done which act. Also, finding those responsible even when it is known who they are is not a simple task. Many terrorists belong to organizations that have more than one national origin, so bombing countries is not a sure method of removing the groups that are targeted. And to add to the problem, often innocent civilians, many of whom are children, wind up being killed in the attempts to root out the terrorists. When this happens, the survivors of the lost innocents become a threat as they seek out revenge for the wrongful deaths of their family members. Of course the terrorists rely on this as a method of reducing potential retaliation against them for their own deadly actions.

            Sometimes nations become more like terrorists when they begin wars of aggression. Not for self-defense or survival, but to take another countries resources, or remove a government that does not bend to the will of the stronger nations beliefs. It has happened many times down through history and continues to this very day. Often, the nation that wants to go to war will rationalize all sorts of reasons why the other country must be attacked. Lies are created, truths are twisted, facts are distorted, situations are manipulated, stories are exaggerated and propaganda is spread using every method of communication at the disposal of those who want to go about their conquering with as little interference as possible.

            So it is left to those of us who are free to voice our descent to speak out with our own methods of communication. Journalists use the press, musicians sing songs, poets write poems and citizens assemble to be heard as one voice but the strength of many. Attempts are made to silence those who speak out against the government, rights are rescinded, laws are changed or abolished, marches are denied, interfered with or restricted in size and location. When a nation faces its own people as its opposition, the choice becomes compromise or civil war. And for those who thrive on war, who have shown their willingness to kill innocent children of other nations, how far of a leap is it to making war on it’s own citizens?

            We cannot allow our government to take away the very freedom that protects us. Freedom of the press is the one component of freedom that prevents our chosen leaders from silencing decent. When we put our elected officials to task before the people, it prevents them from secretly shredding the Constitution behind the shroud of national security. The press must never be put on trial for revealing the truth unless it truly causes a danger to our society. But to stop the presses because of political differences is un-American.

            When Americans lose the right to privacy and their freedom of speech, we must not be silent. Allowing politicians to pass laws that strip the Constitution of its ability to protect us from illegal wiretaps, unlawful imprisonment, due process, the freedom to speak out against those who are doing this very thing to us, is to accept for ourselves the oppression we have denounced from governments such as China and the the Soviet Union. The things they did to their citizens are what we were taught to fear from Socialist Communism, and yet now we are allowing our government to impose the very same conditions on us, unless we are with them, that is.

            Retaliation has been used against those the government fears most. Smear campaigns pop up at a moments notice, even after a person has been investigated as a matter of course just to obtain the job they have. When they speak out and become a threat to the government and its agenda they suddenly become rapists, child molesters, tax evaders, draft evaders and various other types of criminals. Now we who live in “the land of the free and the home of the brave” are being forced to make choices, to put ourselves in harms way and speak out against our leaders for crimes of their own.

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1000 Keys

The globe is warming day by day
And a burning Bush will lead the way
Then from behind the Bush a chilling breeze
Comes to blow us all away
When Mother Nature's tears can freeze
He rapes her till her spirit leaves
Blazing with pride for all he strips away
Like the bark of fallen trees
A single sound of a thousand keys
Unshackling those hung there by his deeds
Soldiers falling to their knees
A mother found her child today
She wished the dead could pray
One hundred thousand silent pleas
Echo unheard by God through Heaven's haze
Still Allah heard each sing his name in praise
No missing souls, no WMD's

Created On: 09/09/2004

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            A nationwide candlelight vigil was held in silence to honor the first one thousand American soldiers killed in the war in Iraq. I attended one just across the river from my home in Schenectady, held in Freedom Park in Scotia. Silence can be very inspiring while it lasts and when I arrived back home afterwards, I wrote 1000 Keys. One year later, the death toll had reached 1888, not including civilians in Iraq and soldiers from other nations. The silence in our hearts was not loud enough to be heard by those who will not listen, but still, it beats with the rhythm of peace and harmony.

            How many lives can be given, how many can be taken and how many are lost before war is won and lost? Will the casualties continue to add up or should they be subtracted from the census and our senses? Do bodies pile up or just require deeper graves to silence the voices of the dead? Are there distractions that can take our minds off the destruction of war like kicking ones shin when your elbow hurts? And rather than fixing both injuries, the Doctor allows your shin to get infected so you won’t be reminded of how much pain your elbow is in. Then, before you know it, the immune system is overwhelmed from trying to fight off infections coming from the outside but growing with. And to think all that was necessary was a little preventive caring, common consideration and healthy dose of equality before it all started.

            The answer has always been in each one of us, at the core of our being. We must learn to let go of the external sources that penetrate our hearts, making them compete to lead the band with the drum major instinct that craves a volume louder than the skin can withstand. Inevitably, we break through into silence and fool ourselves into believing it is peace and quiet. But when the beating begins again, we come to realize it was only the calm before another storm. Our seasons cycle around in circles as we recycle the seeds that become the weeds that poison the house that God built.

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Created On: 09/03/2005

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            Many people felt before the war began that there was no legitimate reason to go to war with Iraq. And as time went on, it began to become more and more obvious. Those of us in the peace movement have been well connected and informed by various sources throughout the past few years and were aware that several things the President had said before Congress in his State Of The Union address were not true. At one point, I recall getting an e-mail about a story that was being reported in some of the smaller news media, about an Ambassadors wife who worked for the CIA.

            At first it seemed shocking to me that it wasn’t being reported on any of the TV stations or in major newspapers. But up to that point, most of the media was siding with the Bush administration on the war and I suspected wouldn’t report the story even if they knew about it, which I assumed they must have. It took nearly four months before the mainstream news began to report the story, and after more than two years, it still hasn’t been thoroughly investigated and dealt with. As long as the government is controlled by the Republican party, it likely will not be resolved, and if the President is anything like his father, he will give a pardon to everyone who might be involved just before he leaves office.

            I am of the mind that the President, Vice President and others who have conspired in this illegal war should be impeached and the power to pardon be rescinded until after the hearings are over and it is decided if they should be removed from office or not. The list of reasons for impeachment has grown steadily over the last three years and has reaffirmed my belief that it must be done. It has gone beyond the war to the invasion of the privacy of American citizens. The war profiteering almost seems insignificant compared to the most recent developments. No one is above the law, and the Constitution Of The United States of America is what gives the power to the people to keep our elected representatives working for us and not their own agendas. It’s all we have and we cannot allow it to be disrespected and undermined by corrupt officials, no matter what their office.

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pg. 43

Created On: 06/17/2003

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            The issues of war and hatred make me wonder if there will even be people on the Earth a couple hundred years from now. Our methods of fighting wars have gotten to the point over the last 60 years that we could very easily kill everyone in another world war. The precision of the weaponry is hard to fathom considering how we fought wars just one hundred years ago. With all our technological advances, the thing that makes war disgusting is the casualties. From soldiers who lose their innocence in battle, to innocent civilians who choose not to fight yet have no choice but to die when the liberating forces sent to set them free, only free them of their Earthly journey.

            And the survivors don’t seem to be much better off, whether it is soldiers who have been physically, mentally and emotionally injured, or people left homeless, living in impossible conditions, without food, water or much of anything. Iraq is not the first place to suffer the same result at our hands and the hands of nearly every aggressor down through the history of humanity. You’d think we would have learned by now. All we have really learned is how to make better weapons, but what we need to make better is humanity.

            Is God on our side? God is love, or so I’ve been told. How can anyone who seeks God find hatred? Those who find hatred from faith seem instead to be seeking power. How many pray when times are good? How many give thanks for all they have and the good things that happen to them? Is anyone ever satisfied? It seems to me that those who have plenty always want more. Yet, when things are not so good and life becomes a struggle, what do people pray for? People ask God for the strength to overcome whatever overwhelms them. But I do not believe God gives strength. Strength is power, which I believe is for God alone to wield. Shouldn’t we instead ask God for help? If we are humble before God and allow him to use his power through our faith, I believe his judgment will be just.

            If God helps us, that is his decision. If not, why do we so often circumvent his verdict by making war? Helping one another as individuals is not so complex, but between nations, it can be. If, in helping an oppressed nation we kill the very people we were trying to help, we have broken God’s law. There is nothing in the Bible to support war, yet we claim God is on our side when we wage it. If God were on our side in war, we wouldn’t need guns, bombs or gas masks. If God is love, then it seems to me, all we need is love.

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pg. 45

Created On: 03/30/2003

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            America has no more claim on God than any other country, so why is his name on our money, the symbol of financial wealth? Why do our Presidents always end their speeches with God Bless America, as if God does not bless other nations? There is more than one nation under God, yet it suggests otherwise in our Pledge Of Allegiance.

            The flag is a symbolic representation of our nation, but it is not the nation. Nations are made of people, not of the land beneath them or the flags flown over them. All the land of the world is not a nation without people bringing humanity on it. The flag represents all that a nation is, not just the good and the glory, but the mistakes and the wrongs. Soldiers may feel it represents those who have died for this country, as well it does, but it also represents those who died at the hands of our soldiers, and not all of those who fell to our soldiers might did so justifiably. What child has ever deserved to die? Not all of the blood spilled for our flag has been American.

            Leaders always claim God on their side when wars are waged, even if Allah is on the other side. In a country where so many religions are represented by its people, we cannot have any one placed over the other, regardless of the number of worshipers any particular religion has. We have one flag for the nation, but the people of this nation have come from countries all over the world that fly flags of their own.

            I wonder if God flies a flag of his own. I wonder if he has flags from all over the world, flying around him in a big circle, or maybe he has them lined up in a row, with his favorites closest to him. Maybe he just likes the way the stars and stripes look next to one another and that’s why he loves America more than all the others. Or maybe that’s just a bunch of bullshit. Maybe God sees flags as just another way for people to allow pride to consume their hearts and wave in the faces of their enemies. What was that I read about loving thy enemy?

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pg. 47

Created On: 04/14/2003

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            One thing about flags that I always keep in mind is that no matter what flag it is, it is a representation of something, it is not the thing. Symbols are not sacred, the feeling behind them is. If someone broke into a church and destroyed statues of the Saints, Christ or God, there would be reason for anger, but we also know that those statues are not to be worshipped. Even if they are original works of art, as opposed to made by a machine in some factory, they are still not the objects of worship. These representations of our faith are no different than those of our patriotism.

            It hurts when one is destroyed, but no ones faith or patriotism is reduced by the act. We may be insulted when others tread upon our flag, but only when they destroy what the flag represents is the flag truly burned. New flags can always be made, but freedom is not something a machine can manufacture. If our freedom is taken away or minimized, then the flag is being burned by those who take it from us without smoke or flame.

            Flying a flag is a sign of allegiance, flying it higher than someone else’s is when pride grows beyond love and transforms from within into hate. Always let your flag fly along side your neighbors, no matter what color they may be.

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pg. 49

Created On: 09/12/1989

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            I went to the mall one afternoon and purchased a shirt that had a ragged American flag printed on it. I liked the shirt so much, I decided to wear it that day. As I was walking through the mall, an old man wearing military clothing and war medals began yelling at me for having the shirt on and saying it was disrespectful to Americans who served in the war. And I thought the flag was for all Americans, not just those who go to war. And how about American Olympians wearing sunglasses with stars and stripes on the lenses?

            I felt he was imposing his version of patriotism on me. It was not, after all, an actual flag cut up to make a shirt, it was just a print. When I saw it, to me, it represented the damage that had been done to America through the 1980’s. The tattered flag was a way for me to express my opinion on the state of the nation. It hurts me personally when I see those who have been elected to represent the people using their offices to impose their agendas on us, rather than for the people.

            Coincidentally, this happened in the same mall where Steven Downs was arrested for wearing a shirt that read, “Peace On Earth” on one side and “Give Peace  A Chance” on the other. Because the mall is private property, they can set whatever dress code they wish. Mr. Downs refused to take off his shirt, which he purchased at a store in the mall, and so was arrested. I never heard of anyone being arrested there for wearing shirts that promote violence and depict other objectionable material.

            Another issue, aside from the discriminatory aspect, is that malls are not particularly private, even though the property is privately owned. The doors are open to the general public and the food court where Downs was arrested is a place where people go to meet, not just eat. In-door malls have become community gathering places. Once a place becomes part of the community, shouldn’t the private rules become secondary to that of the community?

            No matter what the outcome of that debate, if a man can say I should not wear a shirt because he finds it offensive, I should have an equal right to offer an opposing opinion. The question of what is offensive is the heart of the matter. Some view burning the flag as offensive, others see it as a form of protest. As I said before, the flag is not the country. Freedom is not burned because a flag is burned. Freedom is lost when there is prohibition placed on burning the flag. When you lose your right to protest, you lose your freedom.

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pg. 51

Created On: 08/12/1989

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            Though I wrote “There’s More Than One Way” nineteen years ago, I could very easily have written any time during the past few years. In 1980, I wrote my high school senior essay on the Nixon driven, FBI investigation and illegal wiretaps of John Lennon. Some said Lennon was crazy when he claimed Nixon had his phone tapped and the FBI was watching him until his file was made public. I wonder now, as a war protester, if there is a file on me in the FBI. I wonder if there might be one on you. Do you?

            I haven't forgotten the lies of Richard Nixon from Watergate, Viet Nam, and the Oval Office tapes to the conspiracy to deport John Lennon. Now we have another President who thinks Executive Privilege applies to anything and everything he does or wants to do. No one is above the law and it is clear that the President and his administration believe they can do whatever they want without any ramifications. That they believe this to be true makes them even more dangerous. I wonder how far the secrets go and the files grow.

            There is no justification for violating the Constitutional Rights of American citizens, nor is there a need to do so when legal loopholes exist for the administration to use to do everything it did. If those loopholes did not apply to the particular situations, perhaps there is a good reason not to violate our rights. The potential to use information against political opponents or protestors is too high to allow eavesdropping on Americans without a court order. If you have to change the law to make it legal to do what you have been doing all along, then you know what you were doing was illegal.

            Nixon had his men break into Watergate because he wanted to see if there was anything in the Democratic parties files that he could use against them to gain the upper hand in the upcoming elections. I wouldn’t doubt it if the current wiretapping plot was created with the intent to sway upcoming election results.

            How many young Americans will grow up as I have, unable to trust our Presidents because they are allowed to undermine the Constitutional Rights they are supposed to protect. How many will suffer at home and abroad, how many will die because he mislead the entire nation to believe that Iraq was pursuing nuclear weapons and we couldn't wait for the mushroom cloud to take action? I will not forgive or forget the lies of George Bush and all of his men, and women any more than I have forgotten what Nixon and his did.

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pg. 53

Created On: 07/04/1987

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pg. 55

Created On: 07/11/1995

            I am not sure exactly when I began feeling that war was something terrible and wrong. It may have come from my Catholic upbringing, or at least from going to church when I was a toddler and hearing Priests read about Jesus Christ dying for what he believed in while not raising a hand or organizing his followers to revolt against their oppressors. It could have been while listening to Bob Dylan and other artists who sand out against war, or it might have been something I heard Reverend Martin Luther King Jr say about the war in Viet Nam. But whatever it was, I have felt for as long as I can remember, that war is Hell. I don't know anyone who wants to go to Hell.

            I was reading about families that found themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War and got to wondering how often it happened that brothers may have met on the battlefield. I wondered if any had ever come to the point of having to shoot and kill his brother. And then it occurred to me, we are all brothers and sisters under God. No matter what our nationality, color, religion or whatever else might be a dividing line between us, God sees us all as his children. God has already given us his commandment on this, so who are we to ignore his pain when we raise arms against each other, brother against brother?

            Since the second generation of humanity, brothers have been killing one another. I suppose that makes it all right in the eyes of those who want something the other has, or wants to keep the other from having something they possess. But in retaining these things, are we willing to lose the one thing that each of us has been granted by God, that no other living creature, not even an Angel has. Are we willing to give that eternal spirit to one who has none, and makes practice of collecting ours for his torturous amusement?

pg. 57

Created On: 03/03/1985

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            Perhaps it is the desire of those who go to war to save their people. Perhaps they are willing to die in order to be more Christ-like. But no matter what, no war has ever stopped evil or put an end to the birth of new wars. Though the spoils may indeed go to the victor, and they in turn write the history of their battles for future generations to marvel at their bravery and perseverance, the truth that war leaves only casualties in its wake is undeniable.

            What is our ultimate goal in fighting wars? What are we preserving by conducting them? It seems to me to be a misguided attempt at self preservation, or perhaps the preservation of a way of life for those who think they have achieved a better condition of existence. Do we think that we will eventually be able to create Utopia on Earth? But Paradise has already been built for us, and instead of preparing ourselves for an eternity in it, we diminish our chances of ever getting there.

            Even still, we have been offered a second chance, a way out of our sins. All we have to do is repent for all we have done wrong and accept that the man who suffered and died that we might take advantage of that second chance, is our savior. Faith is the key to Heaven’s gate, so why is it so hard to turn the key when it’s already in hand? If I had the answer, I wouldn’t have any doubt about my own fate, so I can at least understand why we needed the Passion of the Christ. I only wish we could all be grateful for it, I wish I could be grateful.

pg. 59

Created On: 01/22/1985

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Information on purchasing this book can be found below the index.

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Seeds & Weeds main page: Seeds & Weeds index (click link)

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 3: 3 Seeds ** (on main page)

 4: 4th Independence

 5: Matthew 5:5

 6: Knot In The Loop

 7: Segregation *

 8: Separation *

 9: Where Will You Aim Your Hate?

10: NYS OCFS Graduation Speech, Parker Training Academy, 12/10/99 *

11: The Boyz At Tryon

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The following A-stores present books, CD's and DVD's that reflect concepts put forth in Chapter 2 of Seeds And Weeds. Each chapter-page on my website has A-stores that follow the themes of each chapter in the book.