Why We Fight

/ othalafehu

If you have never sat down and watched the old ‘Why We Fight‘, you should carve out some time and pop some popcorn.

Heavy on the propaganda of wartime America, it is a fascinating look at our stance on involvement in World War II.

I keep thinking of these videos and it inspired me to model some new school pro FIRE propaganda. As I have said before, I look at this like a war for the hearts and minds of my fellow Americans.

There are tons of appropriate quotes all way better though out than anything I could spit at you, so here are some gems;

― Franklin D. Roosevelt  “We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.”

― George Carlin  “Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea you have freedom of choice. You don’t, you have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything.

The owners own all the important land, they own and control the corporations that’ve long since bought and paid for, the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pocket, and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and the information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want.
Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else. But I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them.”
 –
* I for one think the rise of corporatism in America and the heightened sense of distrust of business interests involving themselves in politics is a good thing for FIRE even if it is a bad thing for our country. Gone are the days were a responsible citizen should look elsewhere for their long term financial security.

Natural self-preservation should cause people to think more critically about their own resources.

“Everyday is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we’ve got 24 hours each.” –Christopher Rice

FIRE is a fundamental shift is how we think about money and success.

“Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.” –P.T. Barnum
“How can well-educated, high-income people be so naive about money? Because being a well-educated, high-income earner does not automatically translate into financial independence. It takes planning and sacrificing.”
— Thomas J. Stanley (The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy)
“It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” –Robert Kiyosaki
* Spreading a revolution in thought begins with clarity of purpose. We need to take back and rethink some of the very definitions of the words we use everyday. What is the value of money vs. the value of time? How do we define words like wealthy?
 –
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” –Steve Jobs

 

* We are beginning to look at our world with a new perspective. Money is only a tool not an end in itself.

Chasing money is not a life. 

“Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for.”
— Vicki Robin (Your Money or Your Life)
 “If you have debt, you’re not a free person. You’re explicitly owned by your debt and implicitly owned by the creditor.”
— Jacob Lund Fisker (Early Retirement Extreme: A philosophical and practical guide to financial independence)
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” –Bruce Lee

― John Pilger  “The major western democracies are moving towards corporatism. Democracy has become a business plan, with a bottom line for every human activity, every dream, every decency, every hope. The main parliamentary parties are now devoted to the same economic policies — socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor — and the same foreign policy of servility to endless war. This is not democracy. It is to politics what McDonalds is to food.”

Lastly, A word from our Sponsor, Mr. Tyler Durden.

“Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

Feel Free to sound off with any Quote you like that sparks a cord with you in your quest for FIRE.

6 thoughts on “Why We Fight”

  2. F.E.A.R. has two meaning – Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours.

    Reply

  3. I didn’t think I could love a post so much! I didn’t catch it was George Carlin and I was just reading the words in my head going…”I have never heard anything so heartbreaking and depres…OH Carlin said that?!” Wow when you take his voice and tempo away, in my head, it sounded more like death poetry 😅

    Reply

    • Delivery is everything in comedy. You really can’t not hear it in his voice and cadence once you know it is him.

      Reply

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