Globalism, Terrorism, and Cheese.

So it's come to this. "American's believe suicide bombings fall low on list of dangers to America", proclaims the New York Times. It's only been five years since the last successful terrorist attack on American soil with a mortality rate over four. The odds of death from a shark attack, lightning, and a falling television are better than those involved in a terrorist attack on American soil based on current data.

Now, if suddenly a great wave of them occured, killing the same numbers of people that have died in Iraq from same, they still would not top the numbers killed by the Iraq and American combined military forces which comes to a happy estimate on the low end of 38,355 over 3 years from all combined causes, including bombs. The population of Iraq is roughly (an estimate taken from several census reports) 25.3 million. America's population as of 2005 is roughly (an estimate taken from several census reports) 295.7 million and change.

Last year there were 38,112 smoking and cancer related deaths caused by smoking in the USA. What this means is that we had as many people kill themselves with carcenoma causing tobbacco of their own free will, knowing full well what it would do to them in the US than have died as a result of war and suicide bombs in Iraq over the last three years.

Lets add one more number to that. The final body count for 9/11 has been said to be just over 3000. That means, our bloody American revenge has butchered nearly ten times that in Iraq and as well, we're killing ten times that many in our own nation annually by continuing to legalize the abuses of tobacco companies on our own population. So, New York Times, lets keep them in fear, keep the Ugly American afraid.

Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once

-O God, that I may be avenged upon the Philistines for one of my two eyes." And Samson grasped the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and he leaned his weight upon them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." Then he bowed with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain during his life.

Samson tore to the ground the temple of the Philistines, according to this long held biblical myth. One man, to tear down the place of commerce, of belief, of principle, of law and order. One man to unmake the order, the fine creations of men. A super man. Nietzche coined the term and Hitler had no doubt to whom he was referring.

Now we have a situation. The Ugly American, William Borroughs instrument of control, could certainly be Samson, bringing down a global temple of oppression, the axis of Evil. Certainly, it's possible and it's nice to think of oneself as the hero, bringing light to the ignorant, giving shelter to the weary, doing right for right's sake and damn the consequences. But Samson was one man, one idea, to bring down the temple and America has no such united ideas except that single one which over-rides all other, the idea of America itself.

You can say Samson was a methaphor, certainly, but when we stand in the Temple and the temple is the American ideal, to spread the ideals of democracy and freedom throughout the world. It is no longer the ideal that we spread, but the actions that the ideal brings, corporation, consumerism, and security above all and these are spread with the ideal as their figurehead until the ideal becomes a hated thing. Now the American people stand in the temple, looking dazedly around, wondering why it's collapsing and who this monster is who pulled it down on our heads alongside those who would abuse it as a figurehead. We benefit from suffering of other people and now wonder, wonder greatly, why our temple is falling.