Free eBook

The eBook derived from this blog is available in the Amazon Kindle store...wait for it...for FREE! From 3/15/13 to 3/18/13. Got get it for yourself for free!

The Building Blocks

I wrote a short story (about 9,000 words; it's short, relatively speaking) about gun control. The book is called "The Building Blocks." It is an allegory, I suppose. It has been published to the Amazon Kindle store. From March 8 to March 11 it is available for free! If you own a Kindle, please go get it for free. If you don't own a Kindle, please go get the free Kindle reader app and then get the book for free. The Kindle reader app is functional on nearly all devices (PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, tablet, Android OS).

This is my first published work of fiction and I'm hopeful that lots of folks will download it and read it. If you do, please come back here and leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you think. Or head over to my other blog and comment there, paulbrodie.wordpress.com.

Thanks!

What does a revolution consist of?

There are good revolutions and there are bad revolutions. Success or failure doesn't make a revolution good or bad, morality does. As such, revolution qualification as good or bad is entirely subjective. I will now tell you what good and bad revolutions look like according to my point of view. 

Revolutions typically start by the voice of one person drawing attention to the need for a change. People then join in with the idea and move forward in united action. In the case of a good revolution this will look like securing freedom, liberty and access to natural rights for an oppressed population. In a bad revolution this will look like a subset of the population looking to vaunt itself and introduce oppression to others. Good revolutions result in more freedom for the majority. Bad revolutions result in less freedom for the majority. 

Good revolutions require awareness and education for the oppressed group in order for them to understand their oppressed state and obtain the necessary skills and abilities to conduct the revolution and overthrow the oppressors. Bad revolutions seek the opposite: make the people ignorant, keep them ignorant and remove anything they might have in order to defend themselves, physical, emotional or intellectual. An ignorant population is easier to control, especially if unarmed and unsure. 

Animal Farm (1945), by George Orwell, is a remarkable example set in a fictional story of how revolutions work, both good and bad. Essentially, the book relates the idea that a good revolution can quickly turn sour, or what seems like a good revolution at first may actually only be a front for the underlying current of evil that is actually moving the effort along. The book is easy to read and not very long, I encourage everyone to read it. Even if you read it in high school and think you remember it, read it again. You will see these elements of good and bad revolutions in it. You will see the use of propaganda. You will see that the elements of total control are never very far from any governing body. If you don't like reading, you can watch a cartoon version for free on YouTube.

We all need to stay informed, gain all the education we can and voice our concerns. There is no need for violent revolution. Good revolution can come in the form of changing policies and attitudes and all without anyone getting physically hurt. 

Watch this video about some recent news items regarding schools and gun control. Even if you don't like the commentator, just watch and listen. If you really don't like him, pretend he is Ralphie from A Christmas Story, he is all grown up and now has a satirical news/history commentary show. 

The Ajax Saga

Some months ago I retired this blog and focused my creative energy on a new blog using the WordPress platform. I began blogging under my given name and used the new platform as a launching pad for all of my creative endeavors. However, just like Jean Grey from Marvel's X-Men, tucking away a powerful force into the recesses of my mind simply wasn't good enough, and now Ajax rises again. Like Michael Jordan fresh out of retirement, I am returning to this blog format. I don't know what I'll be writing about. My WordPress blog is an outlet for philosophical and theoretical pondering interspersed with social commentary. I'm using a Facebook page to share cartoons. I've undertaken a self-publishing initiative through Amazon's Kindle store. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what I feel needs to be written and doesn't fit into any of those nooks or crannies.
I sure hope I don't fizzle out or turn into a crazed murderer with this return, like Michael Jordan and Jean Grey, respectively, of course.