Todayโs American History Lesson: Puerto Rico has been part of the U.S. since 1898, and Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 ๐ต๐ท ๐บ๐ธ
Weโve cheered many non-Americans at the #SuperBowl. Bad Bunny isnโt one of them.
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athlete: so if triathlon is running, biking and swimming, that must mean biathlon is running and biking?
coach: [taking out skis and a gun] haha yeah youโd think so
It's important to acknowledge how potent war propaganda is. It's been developed over centuries and stimulates the most visceral tribalistic impulses.
The days and weeks after every new US war or "regime-change" operation are triumphalist. We're always vanquishing The Bad Guys. We're freeing the repressed peoples of the world. It makes everyone feel noble, purposeful and, most of all, brave and strong (even though they're not the ones fighting).
The media only shows the people who cheer it. The costs are concealed. The motives aren't questioned. Patriotic pride swirls. It's been like this for decades.
During this initial burst of war intoxication, there's no persuasion or reasoning possible. It's like trying to talk to a drunk person. They're inebriated on the war glories (of others).
This dissipates only a few months or a year later when the whole thing falls apart, when it becomes obvious none of the motives were benevolent or the ones stated, when only a tiny fraction benefit at everyone else's expense, when the only outcome is bloodshed, autocracy and misery.
By then, most people who supported it won't admit they did (or they'll blame "poor implementation" or a failure to carry it through).
But those regrets don't matter. By then, it's just time to sell the new war, and the war propaganda process just starts anew.
This time, it's the good war, the one that will work, the one that will bring us prosperity and purpose, etc. etc. And the only ones opposed are ones who hate all that's good. That's how a country stays in a posture of endless war.
@SeanFennessey Best shot to shake the voodoo is a reverse jinx. I think Woody Johnson will NOT be apprehended for massive tax fraud and the Jets franchise will NOT become a publicly owned non-profit like the Packers. ๐ค๐
Now that @PresidentBio has launched the medium-term national development plan (2024-2030) of #SierraLeone and aligned with the regional and global instruments like the SDGs, we are all focused on delivery. We need all partners, civil society groups, and citizens so #WeWillDeliver