RichardHarlos.com

This is a verbatim excerpt from a letter that I wrote to a friend earlier today. I’ve changed the name for the sake of anonymity but otherwise, it is exactly as I wrote it to my friend.

As for the title of this post, it comes from 2 sources:

1. “Resistance is futile” comes from Star Trek’s “Borg”. For those not familiar, Wikipedia says this: “The Borg are a fictional race of cyborgs in the Star Trek universe, first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series. They are characterized by relentless pursuit of targets for assimilation, their collective consciousness that enables rapid adaptability to almost any defense, and the ability to continue functioning properly despite seemingly devastating blows. They have become a powerful symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against whom ‘resistance is futile.’“
2. “Pass it on” is just a word-of-mouth idea that’s been with me since childhood. You know, it’s where one kid whispers to another, “Hey! Jack’s got cooties! Pass it on!” That idea gets developed in this letter to my friend, who seems to see current circustances in a very hopeless, helpless way, as if the Borg itself had taken over America (I know, I know… don’t EVEN get me started - LOL!).

Since you’re not one to talk about things like this, I won’t ask you to reply to me. What I will ask from you, as a friend, is that you give yourself 5 minutes of uninterrupted time and read what follows… read it in such a way that you actually take it in… that you actually think about it.

Jack, whether you realize it or not, your part in this situation is critically important. You, my friend, are critically important.

Please read with an open mind and heart…

I understand your feelings about not wanting to talk about politics, especially when you have friends whose lives are being put at risk in the midst of all this.

I also have friends at risk and I suppose, people being different/unique, that my response is just the opposite of yours (not YELLING *AT* YOU, just EMPHASIZING my PASSION here ;-)

I WANT MY FRIENDS TO COME HOME and to STOP being put in harms way for some greedy, power-hungry politician’s agenda (mid-east oil) that he (or she) safely advances from the comfort of a cushy office on American soil; meanwhile, my friends — your friends — risk serious injury and death for months, sometimes years, at a time !!!

{{ there, I feel better now… well, barely…. }} :)

Jack, you don’t have to reply if you’d rather not but I do feel strongly about this and I hope you will give me just a moment’s more of your attention.

It’s precisely *because* I have friends at risk that I talk about this stuff… that’s why I write letters to my representatives… it’s the reason I blog about these kinds of things on my NON-MySpace blog at RichardHarlos.com … and, as you’ve no doubt realized, I share my feelings here on MySpace as well, with varying degrees of civility and passion.

:)

Jack, in all of this, my intention is to inspire people to remember that…

It’s only the idea of “WE, THE PEOPLE”, banding together as *one* voice, with *one* agreed-upon outcome (”stop killing our friends and family for the power and profits that you, the United States government, believes it needs to acquire by controlling mid-east oil!”), that our government will again become a government *of the people, by the people, and for the people*.

Jack… if I don’t stand up and talk about these uncomfortable things, *our friends and family* who are being put in harms way — over oil — have NO voice to represent them HERE… no one to stand beside them and look out for them and petition the government to bring them home NOW!

It reminds me of a poem that you may’ve heard before:

“In Germany
they came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Communist.”

“Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Jew.”

“Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a trade unionist.”

“Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up
because I was a Protestant.”

“Then they came for me,
and by that time
no one was left to speak up.”

That’s a quote from Martin Neimoller, a German pastor during World War II, speaking about Nazi oppression.

Everyone just tried to be quiet and ignore what was happening because they didn’t want to be the next victims. But their *silence* only *guaranteed* that they would be the next victims.

Sad — and scary — but true. And I’m sure you’ve heard the old cliche that those who don’t pay attention to the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.

I don’t want to be a victim of government running rampant, Jack… do you? I don’t want to be the quiet one who survives this round of oppression, only to find out that I get caught in the next round and that no one is speaking up for me when I get snared… do you?

Jack, the simple fact is that unless people like me can convince others to stop turning away in silence, and instead, to start caring, and to start sharing this information with still other people… government in the United States *WILL* continue marching toward tyranny and dictatorship; it has done so, and is doing so even now and it *will* continue as long as we, the people, do and say nothing as *one* voice.

Jack, if you think the battle against government tyranny now looks tough today, it will be virtually impossible if we allow it to reach the point of being an official dictatorship.

I know that sounds like a strong, fear-mongering statement but it’s not. This is no conspiracy theory of a panicked fanatic, my friend. The facts are there, and visible to anyone who will look at them.

And so, my friend, I do what I do. And today, that includes my earnest plea for you to be brave… to be strong… for your friends, and for my friends… and to take a baby step in this grand scheme of things.

That baby step, Jack, is to allow yourself to face these horrific facts… to realize that NOT being informed doesn’t make the world a better, safer, happier place.

How many more Americans must die at the hands of this power-hungry government’s insistence to do what more than 70% of the American people have said “no” to? The majority of citizens (including many, many soldiers!) have spoken and we’ve said, NO MORE WAR.

In a truly representative government such as ours was designed to be, that would be the final word! So why, if American government is working just as our Founding Fathers had intended, are we still at war?

Only tyrants and dictators ignore the voice and will of the majority, Jack… this is SUCH an incredibly powerful idea to realize!

As for you, you don’t have to be some ranting activist with an agenda, carrying signs and throwing rocks ;-)

You just need to be willing to be informed. And as you become more and more familiar with the issues, you may choose (at some point) to pick a person… on MySpace, at work, who- and where-ever is up to you. But pick a person, today, and share something with them that was shared with you.

You don’t even have to write it yourself (although, seeing your writing, I’m sure you could craft something awesome in this regard! :)

In effect, you become a pass-it-on person. And though that may not seem like a lot to you, right now, imagine if it was you that passed on information like this to some key person who, eventually, is inspired to take a stand… a charismatic person, strong, well-funded, smart, politically astute and who understands, even more than you or me, how to unite Americans in a way that once again, as our Founding Father’s intended, brings government into accountability to we, the people.

In other words, if the United States Constitution was actually the “law of the land” that it was intended to be!

What a fantastic country it would be if one day — soon — we could wake up to that United States! :)

Steadfastly your friend,

Richard