It's called a WAR on terror

After 9/11 we all took a hit to our civil liberties, especially at the airports. Security crack downs and new procedures meant longer delays, new practices, and fewer freedoms as we just tried to move from one city to another in a reasonable amount of time. Where once it would be just a casual stroll to the gate, often with loved-ones in tow to say farewell, now we had to deal with face recognition scanners, armed military personnel and the humiliation of what is practically a strip search in the middle of a public place. We can't even joke about it without the possibility that someone will tap us on the shoulder and detain us for a few hours of questioning.

The recent attempts at sneaking explosives onto international flights using common items have just made this worse. Now I can't have shampoo or toothpaste in my bag? I can't have deodorant? I can't even bring my latte on board?

You hear about the complaints but they are always, continuously countered by one statement. Usually it's said by some mother of two or some guy who looks like a hiker - "Well, it's inconvenient but I'm just glad they're protecting me (and my kids, family, friends, etc.). I'm willing to give up a little personal freedom for the sake of being protected."

We are obsessed with "being protected" from terrorists. It so dominates our thinking that it allows us to turn our gaze away from what we're losing. We can take it, we can adapt, we can put up with anything as long as our government continues to protect us from the terrorists!

We are LOSING the war on terror.

Terrorists have gotten so good at their job that now they don't even have to DO anything. The mere threat of violence is enough to make us roll over and offer our freedom as a price for protection.

Who said that government had to protect you? That's not what a government is for. Government is for management and administration. It serves as the will of the people. But in times of war it's up to the citizenry to fight, to take up arms and defend the nation. It's our responsibility to safeguard our homes, our lands, our freedoms.

"Protection" isn't something we're entitled to. Neither, for that matter, is freedom or liberty. But our rights are not something we should barter with in exchange for protection from a threat. That price is too high.

We are losing the war with terror because simply by threatening us the terrorists are curtailing our liberties. They don't even have to go through with the threat anymore. They just have to make it known. So their operatives get to live, get to behave as they wish, get to threaten and bully us and we turn over our freedoms one by one, in the name of "protection."

The truth is that if you want your freedom protected you can't turn to your government. You have to take the responsibility onto yourself.

Congratulations...you're a conscript. You've been drafted into combat whether you like it or not. You are a soldier in the war on terror, and your only weapon is to refuse to let your freedoms be yanked away from you.

We can no longer whine about being protected or safeguarded. We can no longer allow the fear that our wives or children might die dictate how we live. Don't you see? That's exactly what our enemies want from us. They are winning the war because they know we will stop being free, stop being "Americans," all in the name of saving ourselves and protecting our loved ones.

Until we are all willing to say "NO," and to challenge these assaults on our freedom we will continue to lose. We will become enslaved by the very government that was designed to serve us. We will turn our lives over to a bunch of murderous monsters who were smart enough to figure out that if they give us the rope we'll not only hang ourselves but everyone else with us.

I just want to be able to take my drink on the plane. It's a small freedom but it's mine.

I want to be able to make a joke. I have the right to free speech and it doesn't end at the airport.

I want to be able to carry my pocket knife with me when I fly. It's useful to me and I am not threatening anyone with it. You have my permission to SHOOT ME if I do.

I want to continue to live my life with my civil liberties and freedoms in tact. Don't mutter "freedom's not free" to me and use it as an excuse to take away what I had. By God, I know freedom is not free...it costs me every single day. It's a fight, not a sacrifice. You don't get to tell me what freedom costs for myself. "Inalienable" means "incapable of being alienated, surrendered or taken away." It means I don't have to give up. My inalienable rights come as part of the package of being born and no one can take them from me unless I give them away.

To the government I say stop surrendering to the will of terrorists.

To the public I say stop feeling entitled and demanding protection. Fight! Stand up and tell the government that works for us that we will not tolerate any...ANY... of our freedoms being taken away. Stand up and tell the terrorists that we will not tolerate a war fought in the background.

To the terrorists I say if you want me, come and get me. If you want me to stop being the way I am then you knock this chip off my shoulder. If you don't like my personal outlook, if you don't like my views, if you don't like my freedom, my lifestyle...come and get me. Your fight is with me, not my government. It's personal.

Until every single individual decides to take responsibility for the power that is their freedom, we will continue to surrender that power to a group of evil men and women. Until we are willing to take the fight personally we will continue to lose the war. And until we decide to say "enough" to a government that is serving itself rather than us, under the guise of "our best interests," then we will continue to hand this country and our lives over to those evil men. We will surrender. We will lose.

"Liberty and Justice for all." That's the way MY pledge of allegiance ends. And to take away even one small liberty from me is to betray me. To surrender it is intolerable. And to depend on my government to protect it is just ignorant, stupid, and a horrific lack of judgment. I am a soldier in this fight against terrorism, and so are you. And on the field of battle there are only two types of soldiers...those that are alive and those that are dead.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor of ViewOnline Magazine and a Writer/Producer for Hat Digital Media. You may contact him at kevin@viewonline.com. He has a chip on his shoulder.

posted by Unknown @ 9:11 AM 1 comments

Professional discourtesy

I think deep down most people want to be a producer. They want to call the shots, get behind the camera and get a movie made.

Of course, the reality of my world is that you rarely get to make an actual "film" as a freelancer. Sure, you can get hooked up on a production. If you're really good you might get called on for your services. Most of the time, though, it's a game of "first come, first serve" versus "I know a guy." It really is who you know in this industry, but it's also about being at the right place at the right time or making the right phone call to the right college buddy.

Being a freelance producer has its perks and it's downside. But I think no one really cares about the reality of the whole thing. They're caught up in the fantasy. They want to be Spielberg.

That must be why video editing software has taken off the way it has. Ten years ago you were lucky if you could even buy a useful editing program. And if you could get it, you probably didn't have a way to get your footage onto your computer. Not without spending a lot of extra money. Now, though, with firewire coming pre-installed on just about everything and with operating systems coming preloaded with some kind of basic video editing software it's become common place for every teenager with a miniDV camera to be a movie maker. Good news for dreamers and would-be film-makers, bad news for we freelance guys.

It used to be that if you wanted a quality television commercial or training video or presentation piece you got out the Yellow Pages and hired a professional. No more. Now, you ask the neighbor kid. Or you sit down and do it yourself.

Now that 3-chip video cameras are getting cheap and every computer coming off the line has iMovie or Windows Movie Maker anyone with the time can put something together. So who needs a pro?

That's the dilemma I'm facing these days. As a freelance writer and producer I have to compete with every iBook toting college kid out there. And since technology improves with leaps and bounds about every six months, I can't even count on my professional gear giving me the upper hand. I own two of the best 3-chip cameras on the market and I have access to several others, including HD equipment. I have a complete video editing suite with the latest software. But since Jr. next door can get dad to pop for a Sony HDR-FX1 high-def camera and an Apple MacBook Pro for under 10 grand I'm kind of left out in the cold. I have to explain to clients that they're paying for my professional skills, and that the equipment is a "means to an end." Try that and see how far you get when Joe College Boy can underbid you by over 3/4 of your quote.

The video industry seems to be going the way of the amateur. Even sacred cows like special effects are no longer out of reach for the budding film maker with a camcorder. Software like FXHome is just as good as AfterEffects or Maya for doing cinema-quality special effects. And frankly video editing isn't exactly rocket science. As long as you stick to tried and true transitions and have any instinct for story telling you can probably splice together something watchable. Truly good editors have the ability to weave a spell with their work, but any hack can slap a few scenes together and call it a movie. I cite the majority of Hollywood releases over the past twenty years as a perfect example.

The only thing we industry folk have left to cling to is our experience, knowledge and skill. Selling to a client has now become a game of convincing them that we're worth the money because we'll produce a better product. It's tantamount to asking a hungry man if he'd rather have a hamburger or fillet Mignon. It kind of depends on how hungry he is.

But it's not just the video and film industry that's taking a hit. Advances in technology have allowed the amateur to get into making his own music, creating his own web pages, doing graphic design, photography, animation... you get the picture. All things that once were exclusively in the domain of "professional."

So where is this leading? I shudder to think. Since the Internet provides a place for this flood of content to find a home I can only think that we're heading for a world where "professional" no longer applies.

In some respects, this may even be a good thing. The flow of ideas is getting richer. There's a freedom of expression going on. People are now free to create in any way they'd like. So maybe, just maybe, when it's all said and done the cream will float to the top. The truly talented, the truly genius creators out there will be able to get their work out and seen, and the world we be a better place for it. Of course, no one will pay to see it, but at least you're famous.

And I guess that's all that really matters in the end.


J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor of ViewOnline Magazine and a writer/producer for Hat Digital Media. You may contact him at kevin@viewonline.com. He is producing a documentary about amateur documentary film makers.

posted by Unknown @ 4:37 PM 0 comments