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The War on Error

Posted: 09/10/11 08:00 PM ET

Citizen's log 09/11/11

As the search for General Terror continues, Citizens begin to question the decision to wage war against him ten years ago.

Victory, like General Terror, is nowhere to be seen. According to a Gallup poll, Americans' views today on who is winning the war are the same as they were in October 2001.

Major Confusion, a key member of General Terror's senior command, is largely blamed for the setbacks. From the crackdown on the Uighurs in China, to the controversial anti-terror legislation in the UK and the US, Major Confusion continues to blur the battle-lines of the War on Terror.

The whole search for General Terror has been plagued by controversy from the outset. The United Nations Office on Drugs & Crimes and the former head of British Intelligence service MI5 are among the sources to criticise the whole concept of a War on Terror, and the subjectivity surrounding General Terror's identity.

Now, 10 years after the tragic events of 9/11, concerned Citizens around the world are renouncing our roles in the War on Terror. It has emerged that it is neither General Terror nor Major Confusion who is the real enemy, but a low-ranked officer, Private Error.

Private Error has has been spotted thousands of times since 9/11, but he continues to fuel the fire of fear between us.

Citizens, it is now time to declare our own war, The War on Error. The War on Terror, which President Bush once said was 'a task that does not end', is finally over.

The War on Error is a non-violent campaign to rid the world of media and political misinformation. It is a war against the mistruths of Weapons of Mass Destruction, a battle against Dodgy Dossiers, a fight against General Terror's terms 'Muslim Terrorist' and 'Axis of Evil.'

Our strategy must be sound - Private Error is a dangerous enemy. He will willingly use our lack of knowledge against us, feeding on our apathy to further his own specious agenda.

Sun Tzu in 'The Art of War', stated that the most effective strategies are ones that transform our enemies into allies.

The War on Error will have a strategy based on facts: to search out different perspectives to our own: to question, discern and discriminate. Before we face the enemy, we must first have the tools of discernment to make informed decisions about the issues that effect our lives.

But the War on Error will also have a non-violent strategy. Mohandas K Gandhi, said

'Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.'

Gandhi's Satyagraha, 'the force of love or truth which is born out of non-violence,' was born on September 11th in 1906. This non-violent movement, born on 9/11, has helped free over 3.3 billion people in the last 100 years. A noble strategy for the War on Error.

By arming ourselves with these weapons - Weapons of Mass Instruction - we strengthen our capacity to find and confront Private Error. We will not defeat the enemy, we will listen to him, confront his mistruths, transform his heart with love and compassion, and embrace him as our ally.

But first we must find him. We need to enlist more soldiers to join the War on Error. If you think you spot any signs of Private Error - on Twitter, in the classroom, the board room, or the mirror - arm yourself with Weapons of Mass Instruction, and share your corrections with the hashtag #WarOnError. Join the War on Error: Your Citizens need you!

 

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01:13 AM on 09/14/2011
Nice work Mr Cohen. With such martial execution, perhaps you yourself need a military rank as well?

I humbly suggest Colonel O. Truth...
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Simon Cohen
Founder and MD of global tolerance
06:58 AM on 09/14/2011
I like it, but one man's truth is....How about Field Marshall Freedom Fighter? Who would you be?
09:28 AM on 09/15/2011
Private First Class Healthcare, reporting for duty!
06:04 PM on 09/12/2011
Each day -- each moment -- we have the choice to live from a place of love, or from a place of fear. It's that simple, tho simple is not the same as easy. The more we resist love, the more the fear increases and tries to take over. Each of us, each day, must love the fear within us and let it go...
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
bcbailey64
05:37 PM on 09/12/2011
Krugman happens to be correct. The US made a fundamental error in the weeks following 9/11 which cost it the world's good will and trillions of dollars which are now bankrupting the country. It should have maintained a stiff upper lip like the British in WW2 and carried on with everyday life rather than succumbing to fear (I knew the latest so-called terrorist threat on 9/11 was just a mirage - very convenient to justify contiinued suspension of civil liberties in the US - your airports and borders now resembling third world dictatorships). You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Remember that and adjust course accordingly before it's too late and you've destroyed your formerly great country and democracy.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Edward Wilkes
Poet/Stage Actor
04:39 PM on 09/11/2011
Who will be the ones to fight the war on error?
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
tacevad
American SS Card Carrying Socialist
05:09 PM on 09/11/2011
Rachel Maddow for one is on the frontlines
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Simon Cohen
Founder and MD of global tolerance
04:33 AM on 09/14/2011
TV personalities are ideal warriors. How do we sign her up?
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Simon Cohen
Founder and MD of global tolerance
06:44 PM on 09/11/2011
I will. Will you? #WarOnError
08:24 AM on 09/12/2011
Ah, but "how do you wage war on an abstract noun?"

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0112-02.htm