We Americans are entering the seventh year of wars two oceans away, wars that have cost the lives of over 5000 of our sons and daughters, not counting American mercenaries (yes, that's what such as Blackwater are) as well as such allies as we've coerced to join in the bloody mosh pit of the Iraq-Afghanistan theater. And this tragic number is historically and morally inconsequential as compared with the million-plus innocent indigenous people slaughtered.
Now, anyone with the brains of a gnat (with possible exception of war profiteers and Republicans) is by this time fully aware that these "ventures" were launched by a cabal of treacherous government and commercial interests and "justified" by their blatant lies in nefarious endeavor to pursue their greed, lust for power, or madness.
Then, with our barbarians at the gates of the Cradle of Civilization, our attention and our morality are engineered to Support-Our-Troops, who, however perhaps originally innocent and manipulated, are in fact the instruments of the evil masters of historical treachery. With all this, of course there can be no objection to exhausting our financial resources for fear of violating the S-O-T mantra, nor can we permit nitpicking at the abuse of awarding multi-million dollar no-bid contracts at extortionate profit to the weapons makers, all the while diverted from any attention to the largest of our banks and investment houses, who in turn destroy our economy in a less militaristic but severely damaging attack on the finances of the republic.
Mortgages are foreclosed, hundreds of thousands per month. Innocents who never really understood all of the terms (does anyone?) are put on the street where they encounter the burgeoning millions of unemployed. Our fine government responds by awarding the inept, amoral if not corrupt yacht-owning financiers with packages of money that promise to dwarf even the total monies spent on the Wars of Lies, which the financiers then celebrate with inter-coastal parties, executive bonuses, and loans out to foreign enterprise, whilst our fine government advises it would be a mistake to "tie their hands," while at the same time planning an escalation of the stakes in Afghanistan.
Everyone who has read thus far comprehends if not fully understands what HAS happened. What moral and intelligent citizens do not understand is what HAS NOT happened. One of the most perceptive activists known to me implores: "Help me please understand what is going on." In clarification, what he asks is not understanding of what has happened, but why do the citizens of once the world's oldest democracy PERMIT THIS TREACHERY TO CONTINUE, WHY HAVE THEY NOT LONG SINCE STOPPED IT?
In response to my friend's plea, I can but try, initially by advising that he has no doubt attained Stage II of the necessary reaction.
Perhaps a bit of explanation would be beneficial --
Stage I is the realization that something has gone terribly wrong in America, firstly in its leadership and its alignment with or control by dark forces, and -- more perilously -- with its electorate (the constitutionally certified selectors of our leaders and agents of change as required) most of which is insensate to what has and continues to happen or which responds with endorsements in the form of flag-waving, sloganeering, bumper-stickering, and condemnation of any concern voiced by honest, intelligent, anxious citizens.
Stage II: Having successfully achieved Stage I, decent and even patriotic citizens are often and perhaps helplessly moved to Stage II, which is (a) anger -- a commonly denigrated emotion, but here much desired, indeed an impulse of virtue -- and (b) a befuddlement of what to do. These angry people are not -- contrary to popular condemnation -- bad people, but those who have been gifted a glimmer of light upon the treachery and would like to deal with it rightly, set things straight and constitutional again. Anger in fact appears to be the necessary catalyst to achieve Stage III. (I must confess to over-achieving Stage II, having advanced to scarlet-outrage level.)
Stage III is to DO SOMETHING THAT MAKES AN ACTUAL DIFFERENCE. Lamentably, NO ONE IS THERE YET, despite our signs, our marches, our shared complaints, our national organizations, and our declarations of determination, conviction and virtue, and most pitiably our claims of progress -- much of which we Stage II-ers have been carrying on for five, six, seven, and even more years!
That's too long, Citizens, too long for treachery to rule, and perhaps long enough for treachery to become indelibly entrenched for our lifetimes, dependent upon how long our masters suffer us to live.
So, without further ado, and the usual attendant bullshit: We should (a) now give up and suck up the fates dictated for us, or (b) for the first time DO SOMETHING THAT MAKES AN ACTUAL DIFFERENCE.
My recommendation to get to ACTUAL DIFFERENCE -- although peaceful -- has been generally poo-pooed by the peace movement (and quite curtly by the national orgs, as if it were a threat to their sole prerogative, command or very existence) as "unrealistic." (One can at times but wonder if perhaps double-agency may be involved here.)
But I would be interested in hearing of yours, or of anyone else's. Please spare us Stage II-ers, however, more mutual commiseration and virtue on parade. It is time to get REAL, time for us to pay the price (NO, we have NOT yet!) time to convince the masters of treachery that we have the courage of our convictions, and we will not give up until Peace and Decent Government are ours!
Or we should give up.
Let us know.
