Ever had anyone ask you what your favorite movie is? Of course you have. Most people have. It is one of those questions people tend to ask one another just to keep the conversation going. I play that game too—I answer the question in that same manner: to keep the conversation going. When someone asks me about my favorite movie I usually reply Enemy of the State, where Will Smith is the target of a full-scale NSA hunting operation. Or I could say I really like The Forgotten, where Julianne Moore is the victim of an alien experiment sanctioned by the State.  

Why do I like these movies? Because they are realistic in the sense that they picture the State as it really is—no illusions. I know the stories are fiction, but the interesting thing with these movies is that it could be true. There could be a full-scale NSA hunting operation for an innocent man who just happens to be in the line of fire. In its daily operations, the government would never hesitate to sacrifice some or all of its subjects for the sake of power. And there is no reason why the government would not help aliens, if there are any, performing experiments on its citizens.  

People usually think I’m crazy, of course. The State would never do this to people, especially not to its own citizenry. “It’s a democracy, stupid. We are the government.” Well, now we have something to talk about.  

The government sends thousands of innocent people to die in wars on foreign soil; it invests billions of taxpayers’ dollars to supervise its own population; it makes up new and terrible diseases as a means of “defense”; and it manages a domestic army (the “police”), trained to hunt down and kill citizens not subjecting to its many rules and regulations. It is simply naïve to think of government as it is portrayed in Independence Day, yet this is the common view.  

People are generally aware of these facts but still refuse to put the pieces together. This is what is real terrifying—the ignorance brought about by government’s immeasurable success in brainwashing people. How else would you explain people rushing to vote for the guy in charge, just weeks after their sons and daughters were killed protecting some untold State interests in a country never heard of? The facts available simply seem to have no effect on people. After years of public schooling, people seem unable to do the most obvious of puzzles.  

As I see it, the number of pieces is overwhelming—more than needed to see the full picture—yet most people fail to see; the history of governments is the history of wars, terror, and coercion. That’s why I respond to their question—in order to keep the conversation going. If they are so anxious to talk, they might as well talk about something important and real. What is your favorite movie?

June 7, 2005