Originally written by Fat Mike, El Hefe, Smelly and Melvin in the cover notes of the NOFX CD ‘The war on errorism’
[B] Hello, and greetings from NOFX. How are things with you? That’s nice. This would be a good time to start an introduction to this CD. There’s a bunch of punk songs and some other kinds of songs (I guess we do still play ska) and plenty of sophomoric lyrics, but unlike other NOFX CD’s, this one has some bonus stuff. We’ve included an enhanced CD featuring some videos and some political commentary. Yeah, we’re not really known for our politics, but maybe it’s time we are. You don’t have to be a political analyst to see that America is suffering from a general lack of knowledge. In fact, Americans seem to have a limited knowledge OF knowledge. Lots of opinions floating around, but very little actual knowledge. For being one of the wealthiest and supposedly greatest nations on the planet, one would think that the people of this great country would reflect that greatness. They don’t. Compared to other western countries Americans rank among the lowest when it comes to education and general knowledge of world affairs.
The first question one would ask is why? Why are Americans so ignorant? Could it be that the American government wants them that way? If they didn’t, they might spend more money on education. The best way to keep the status quo is to keep the majority of pepole happy. The best way to keep them happy is to keep them ignorant. Ignorance is bliss and the blissful don’t revolt.
How do you keep 300 million people from knowing or caring what is going on in the world? Well it seems pretty easy. First, you make sure that people spend most of their time concerned with their own security. You make sure local news shows cover all the local shootings, kidnappings, and armed robberies. Then thrown in the sports, weather, and the ever changing price of gasoline. It seems that ALL major news sources provide the same one sided stories. When all you get to see is one side, it’s hard to understand the complexities of an issue or have empathy for the other side. Someone such as Bill Maher from the canceled TV show Politically Incorrect was ostracised for giving an honest yet unpopular viewpoint on the subject of terrorism, and his show was subsequently canceled. Somehow one of the most inherently American pastimes of criticizing the Government is now considered to be completely un-American. It’s our responsibility as Americans to excercise our right to civil disobedience and dissent. These are the principles on which our country was founded.
Anyway, this is the reason we have included the enhanced CD. People need an alternative source of information. This is our way to help inform the public on how we are all getting ass f***ed. The movie “Un-precedented” clearly illustrates how the 2000 presidential election was rigged in Florida. For being the so-called leader of democracy, the United States is now the butt of a worldwide joke. The republican party stole the election and illegally moved into the White House. It’s pretty much the biggest scandal in US history and no one seems to be talking about it. All everyone keeps saying is “Get over it” or “That was so two years ago”. Well, we are not getting over it and neither should you. If enough people see what really happened, hopefully we can make sure that it never happens again. Hey, the truth about the Cuban missile crisis didn’t come out for over 30 years, but it was just as important when it did. Please watch the trailer for this documentary and show it to as many people as you can. If you would like a full length copy, go to WWW.UNPRECEDENTED.ORG to get one. Things are not going to change on their own. We need to work together to take this country back from the criminals (currently war criminals) that have stolen it from us.
A lot of you reading this might be thinking we are assholes or American traitors. Well we may be assholes, but we are certainly not traitors. We are the actual patriots in the true sense of the word. WE ARE THE ONES calling attention to the faults of our Government and trying to fix them. WE ARE THE ONES trying to expose mistakes in order to learn from them instead of covering them up. WE ARE THE ONES who have concern for more than just ourselves. WE ARE THE ONES trying to educate people. WE ARE THE ONES who question authority instead of simply obeying it. WE ARE THE ONES who are patriotic… F*** THAT! Did I just say that? Let’s go back. Patriotism is a little too close to nationalism. Or is it the same thing? Either way, we are fing better than patriots. We are world patriots. Not only do we care about our own country, but we care about the whole fing planet. We are human beings with the capacity to care for more than just ourselves. So let’s use that capability. It’s not enough to simply think locally or nationally. We must think globally.
Americans are so concerned with their personal safety that they’ve turned their backs on this country and this planet. They put an american flag on their SUV and figure they’ve done their part. They’re more concerned with their FEARDOMS than our FREEDOMS (hey, that’s pretty good!) so let’s stop with the “WE ARE #1” bullshit. America is not #1. We’re like #11 or #12. For the 91% of Americans who haven’t travelled outside this country (such as George W. Bush before he was “elected”), there are several countries that are arguably better than this one. I would put Australia, Canada, Sweden, Holland, and Denmark on the top of the list for sure. Some of these countries have all the freedoms the US has* plus a whole lot more of 'em (prostitution, socialized medicine, euthanasia, gay marriage, legalised recreational drugs, gay military enlistment, abolishment of death penalty, etc.) Don’t get me wrong, #12 is still pretty damn good out of over 250 countries, but there’s still a lot more room for improvement. That’s what this is really all about: positive change. We don’t want to bash America, we want to make it better. In order to make it better, you must first point out what is wrong with it. Well, we got a big pointing stick and we are aiming it right for the eye. We’re looking to poke that sucker right out of its socket. Thanx for reading our rant, and thanx for buying burning, borrowing or stealing this CD.
Sincerely.
Fat mike, Melvin, Smelly, El Hefe
*Not sure if Australia has more freedoms, but the weather and surf are great, and the people are really nice.[/B]
