I’ll admit it, my political ideas could be considered by some to be radical. Certainly not mainstream, anyway. I grew up a hippy kid in Berkeley, CA in the 70s and was surrounded by people who didn’t trust the government. Oddly, as I write this I remember being raised “liberal” which is pretty much the exact opposite of the definition of liberal used today. They were crazy hippies with their government protests, home schools, living at a commune with an organic garden. Well now I’m an adult and I still subscribe to those same “crazy hippie” ideas – protest government and attempt to grow my organic garden. But now those ideas are not classified as “liberal” at all. It’s weird. By today’s standards and codes, I’m now, gosh, I don’t really know what I am. I’m a bit of a square peg.

Here’s what I do know: I believe in personal freedom. And I still don’t believe the government is the answer to all life’s problems. In fact, I believe the opposite. I believe in our humanity. I’m anti-war but pro 2nd amendment. I don’t personally believe in abortion but support every women’s right to have sovereignty over their own body. I’m the “left” and the “right” – which is why I don’t honestly subscribe to either.

So what does all this have to do with Jim Marrs? Well he’s an author who has been writing about all of this for ages. He’s been very influential in shaping my personal education around why I don’t believe in government as the answer to our problems. The level of detail found in his research will literally blow your mind! For example, did you know that in WWII, the Nazi’s put fluoride in the drinking water of their camps to keep the prisoners more docile? Why is this interesting, you ask? Well did you know that most cities in the United States put fluoride in the public water supplies? Even though the Center for Disease Control have deemed it unsafe for pregnant women and infants to drink.

Anyway, I won’t bore you with my personal thoughts on all this and just get down to the event pictures. All I gotta say is that maybe those crazy hippies had it right. And once a hippy, always a hippy. :)

Love and Peace!
Rita

If you’re actually interested in this stuff, you should definitely check out Jim Marrs. He was asked by The Citizens Commission on Human Rights. The Texas CCHR office is located here in Austin and has been responsible for the closures of many of the inhuman psychiatric facilities in the state and actively lobby state legislature in defense of our personal freedom and health. Jim was asked to speak at their event because he has uncovered loads of data on how bad government folks have used the drugging of people for their own eevvill plans for decades. {bwwahaha}. Seriously, it’s worth checking out.

Here’s Jim Marrs with the CCHR Texas Executive Director, Claudia Smith, and Jerry Boswell.

Jerry Boswell from CCHR addressing the crowd.

Jim Marrs talking with attendees afterwards and signing books. I’ve meet him a few times and he’s really just a great, down to earth guy.

And here’s my husband, Val, with Mr. Marrs. Just had to include this one – Val admires Jim’s work as much as I do.

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Photojournalism is probably my first love in photography. Years before taking pictures of bouncing babies and people laughing, I was attending anti-war rallies in my home town, San Diego, and getting in the thick of things to capture all the emotion and candid moments I could find. I LOVE storytelling images and get physically energized trying to hunt them out.

So… I never miss an opportunity to attend an event that I know will be emotionally driven, one where deep seated values and ideology are on display. And, for those who know me on a personal level, I especially love events that bring up topics that share my own beliefs about freedom and independence. You could say I’m somewhat of a “radical” in my viewpoints, and I love it! (I guess I could blame it on being raised by a hippy mom in Berkeley.) I’ve never subscribed to the status quo and don’t believe anything I read in the newspapers. Which now that I think about, is probably another reason I love photojournalism: it allows me to see first hand what is happening so that I can make my own decisions.

Anyway, all this brings me to my thoughts on the Nullification Rally I attended this past weekend. Basically, a bunch of Texans gathered at the Capitol here in Austin to demand that Governor Rick Perry call a special session of our state legislature to officially proclaim that Texas will not comply with federal government acts that are not in the best interest for the citizens of Texas. This is an interesting topic for me, because I personally feel that expanding the size of government is never the answer and have pretty strong opinions on limiting the reach it has into the homes and lives of us all. Put simply: I don’t believe in coercion or force. Call me an idealist…(or an anarchist)… all I can say is that my favorite song IS Imagine. “Some say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”

So even though I really don’t believe in the “right/left” paradigm of politics (which just makes people focus on fighting each other vs tackling common issues that we can all agree upon), I do attend different events that will bring attention to things I find important. I’ll be the first to admit, sometimes I really get frustrated when people at these political rallies preach about unity and standing together and then discover they are just political mouth-pieces who are really only interested in getting up and yelling about the problem and not genuinely working together.

Sadly, that is pretty much how I felt about the organizers of this Nullification Rally. I personally even chatted with them to try to come to a common ground on ideology vs political party and was basically shunned. Which just solidified in my mind how we need to break out of the right vs. left and left vs. right attitudes and remember that we’re all just people who want to be supported in our goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And, in my opinion, remember that the only purpose of government was to be a necessary evil put there to defend “we the people” in those individual goals, not enforce what they feel is “right” for us, without our consent, (or worse yet, outright refusal to even listen to the will of the people) in an effort to accomplish their own selfish ends and fulfill back-room promises made with lobbyists.

On this day I really take to heart the message of Martin Luther King, a true hero and someone who understood the real meaning of freedom. And Rosa Parks who said “I’m free! Free to say this law is wrong and sit where I want to sit.” Such inspirations to me. They knew that government does not give us freedom and is often the enemy of freedom. Freedom resides in our hearts and minds, not at the permission of people who do not know you, yet want to control you. Like them, I choose freedom! And I invite you all to do the same.

PEACE!
Rita

I just love this picture of a Debra Medina supporter I saw in the crowd.

As you can see, Texas Gubernatorial candidate, Debra Medina had lots of support in the crowd.

Once the rally was over, some of the Debra Medina supporters showed their frustration with the event organizers for excluding the candidate as a speaker. They believe that she is the only candidate who will fight for the citizens of Texas and restore the ideals of freedom. The organizers actually blasted country music to drown them out, which I personally thought was incredibly juvenile. As it turned out, the organizers were actually die-hard Rick Perry supporters who had already said he would not call the special session they were supposedly there to demand.

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