JUNE 1, 2009 8:06AM

The Eve of Destruction (then and now)

Rate: 6 Flag

There is little that I have add to this.  It is pretty much self-explanatary:

 
 
Then (1965 ):
 
 
 1965

 

Barry McGuire: "Eve of Destruction"

 

The eastern world, it is exploding

Violence flarin', bullets loadin'

You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'

You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'

And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'

 

But you tell me

Over and over and over again, my friend

Ah, you don't believe

We're on the eve

of destruction.

 

Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say

Can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?

If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away

There'll be no one to save, with the world in a grave

[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]

 

And you tell me

Over and over and over again, my friend

Ah, you don't believe

We're on the eve

of destruction.

 

Yeah, my blood's so mad feels like coagulatin'

 

 

 

 

 

I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation.

Handful of senators don't pass legislation

And marches alone can't bring integration

When human respect is disintegratin'

This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'

 

And you tell me

Over and over and over again, my friend

Ah, you don't believe

We're on the eve

of destruction.

 

Think of all the hate there is in Red China

Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama

You may leave here for 4 days in space

But when you return, it's the same old place

The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace

You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace

Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace

And... tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend

You don't believe

We're on the eve

Of destruction

Ah, no no, you don't believe

We're on the eve

of destruction.

 
 
 
 
 Now:
 

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:

Comments

Type your comment below:
Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
Dream Big! Become an Israeli Spy!

by Mark R. Crovelli,
June 01, 2009

A couple of days ago, during a pleasant lunch-hour chat, my good friend treated me to a charming story about his 8-year-old son. Essentially, the story involved my friend asking his son what he wanted to be when he grew up, and the son responded, with endearing, childlike innocence, that he wanted to grow up to be either a professional basketball player, a doctor, or a roofer, like his father. My friend was understandably proud of his son, who had demonstrated that he was capable of "dreaming big" yet obviously still revered his father.

As my friend was relating the story, it occurred to me that we have done a rather poor job in America of inspiring our children to dream about their future careers. If all we have managed to do is to inspire our children to dream of becoming professional athletes, doctors, or marine biologists, then we have been remiss in teaching them what it really means to "dream big." There are bigger and better things to do in the world today than treating diseases, playing sports, and studying humpback whales. At the top of the list is becoming a spy on American soil for the Israeli government.

Israeli spies in the United States, (unlike American doctors, athletes, and marine biologists), are privy to information about what the federal government of the United States is actually doing. American citizens, on whose purported behalf the federal government exists, are not granted access to a great deal of information labeled "classified" by their betters, but if one becomes an Israeli spy, then all that changes.

Want to know whether the federal government is considering starting a new war with Iran? You are not allowed to know such things as a mere citizen of the United States, but if you simply join a nefarious Israeli spy ring you will be privy to everything! Want to find out the federal government’s most secretive data on building a nuclear weapon? Don’t waste your life filing Freedom of Information Act requests, just start spying for Israel!

Israeli spies are not merely restricted to reading classified information about our government, however. On the contrary, they are able to take an active part in the "governing" process that is denied to mere citizens of the United States. If you are an individual American citizen seeking to influence, say, the appointment of an important official in the current administration, your chances of doing so are infinitesimally slim. But if you join the Israeli spy network or its enabling front organization, the sky is the limit! Don’t like a certain appointee? Just voice your concerns (and smear the candidate as an "anti-Semite"), and your wish shall be the U.S. government’s command. No one will worry one iota about the fact that you have admitted to handing documents over to a foreign government, because you are an Israeli spy – not the bad kind, you see.

It might be thought that the perquisites of becoming an Israeli spy would be outweighed by the obvious dangers involved in espionage on behalf of a foreign government. The fact is, however, that becoming a spy for Israel in America is arguably less dangerous to one’s life and health than becoming a doctor or a professional athlete. Doctors can catch contagious diseases, and professional athletes can get killed or paralyzed. Israeli spies in America, on the other hand, don’t really have much to worry about – even if they get caught red-handed. Indeed, as long as they are somewhat modest in the amount of material they steal from America, it is very unlikely that that will even be punished if caught. The charges against them will miraculously go away, or they will be allowed to mysteriously and anonymously disappear before serving jail time. They might get deported to Israel, but that can hardly be deemed a harsh penalty for their perfidious actions. Some are even able to get American congressmen and other administration officials to act on their behalf when they get caught spying for Israel. Try doing that as an ordinary American doctor or professional athlete seeking clemency, and see how far it gets you!

In conclusion, what I am suggesting here is that American parents need to broaden their children’s horizons and encourage them to dream outside the American box when they consider their future careers. It is restrictive and provincial to think that your children are "dreaming big" when they aspire to become lowly doctors or humble professional athletes. These professions, after all, will always lack the special rights and immunities that are granted to agents of a foreign government. If you want your children to be truly respected (even feared) by their rulers and have some actual say in the governing process in America, tell them to start planning for a powerful and privileged career in the Israeli intelligence service.

http://original.antiwar.com/crovelli/2009/05/31/dream-big-become-an-israeli-spy/
This is a good companion piece for the one I just wrote Mark. Forty-four years in the pantheon of millions of years of earth's existence must seem like the "eve". I fear that we are now there with Americans turning on Americans and doing the work formerly done by other armies.
Rated
Though I know this is true, I know it in my heart, I cannot dwell in that land everyday. I dwelt there as a child, and it nearly killed me - almost literally. I visit from time to time, but refuse to live my life in duck and cover mode, nor as a hedonist. I choose to live, seeing that it is the eve of destruction, and going forward to bring what I can to prevent it, even if it is a paltry little. In the face of it all, it is all I can do.
You couldn't be more right. There's also rather a lot of money being awarded to certain US companies, supposedly for funding mine clearance, when it's abundantly clear, (and common knowledge) that the majority of it is spent peeking at Afghanistan.
Thank you all for coming to visit.

I agree with Your comments kB sama, but am not sure what the 44 years refers to - will visit your post and perhaps that number will become more clear.

Owl, does your comment indicate that you, like me are living outside the states? Please correct me if my presumptions on your comments are false.

Maggie, the gargantuan amounts of money the government says is spent on a. and is actually spent on b. is just another aspect of the horrors inflicted on we the people - I couldn't agree more.

Thank you ALL for seeing fit to rate the post.
Humans have become masters in the soul destroying art of killing, not only each other but the earth that surrounds us.

We are truly lost creatures.

Rated.
It took me a minute to understand your question - I guess I was a little cryptic without intending to be :~).

I live in the states. I grew up in the seventies, in a church which reinforced over and over again how very doomed we are, that Jesus was coming any minute, and that the world would be consumed by the antichrist. Height of the cold war, in the middle of a recession . . . it gave my little mind a whole lot to worry about, especially since we could all be sinning without even knowing it.

What I meant was that I cannot dwell in the mental space of the eve of destruction for very long without reliving the rest of the apocalyptic panic. It's a little like PTSD without a specific trauma attached.
DEAR JOHN,

Thank You so much for Your kind words - I don't think You can imagine how much they mean to me.

I knew i wanted a visual depiction of the song - the lyrics are powerful, but not enough, so when I went to You tube; I found the two.

I thought the visual impact of Barry McGuire's strength of conviction necessary to the blog, but then when I saw this more recent depiction, which I labeled "NOW," I felt that the two videos
sandwiching, if You will, the lyrics would most accurately convey the message.

I will, most certainly, visit the Cambridge lecture.