|
What we are in need of now is more wisdom than is being
offered in the halls of our government or in the mainstream media.
Perpetual war threatens our country because both Democrats
and Republicans refuse to put historical facts into proper
perspective and lay them out before the American people. There
is no way that we can build a useful national strategy for
achieving peace and prosperity using as raw materials,
ignorance, lies, fear, and disinformation.
911 was “blowback”
due to policies of which the American public at large was
never made aware and never understood. Their ignorance
persists.
Our illegal attack of Iraq was a totally inappropriate
response to 911 and resulted in the recruitment of a whole new
generation of enemies. Reading correctly how corrupt our
government is and was, Osama bin Laden was able to accomplish
his goal of retribution. At the same time, the corrupt
leadership of the United States used 911 to accomplish their
goals as well: the overthrow of the US Constitution in
favor of what Paul Craig Roberts calls the “The
Return of the Robber Barrons.”
The Bush policies, by creating a new army of insurgents and
Al Qaeda recruits, used the threat of terrorism, (which they
created out of nothing), to execute a strategy that will
result in the impoverishment of the US middle class and the
transfer of middle class wealth to the already wealthy elite
among us. The result will be the destruction of what we once
called the American Dream.
Every day that this reality goes unexamined and
unexplained, the threat to the people of the United States
increases. It may already be too late to reverse the dynamics
now in play. Too many people might hate us now, forcing us to
defend ourselves against attacks that our leaders orchestrated
for their own purposes… purposes inspired by greed for
undeserved wealth and power.
The transformation of the United States from a first world
country to a failed
state is well under way and perhaps close to complete when
you consider the dynamics in play.
No one in government is suggesting a strategy that would
reverse these dynamics.
In my view, the only strategy that will now reverse these
dynamics must necessarily include the following four
components:
- The American people would have to be properly informed
as to the accurate historical context in which current
events are now playing out.
- The American people would have to conclude that they
want to repudiate the policies and behaviors that our
government has pursued which have contributed and are contributing to
the present state of affairs.
- The American people would have to take action to remove
from power those individuals who planned, carried out, and
facilitated these strategies, and hold them accountable in
a way that would convince the world community that we seek
forgiveness and intend for justice to be done. It would
mean that the American people would have to acknowledge
that other human beings on the planet are entitled to the
same consideration, respect and dignity, and have the same
claim to justice, that we claim for ourselves.
- The American people would have to acknowledge
responsibility for, and restate their commitment to, the
highest ideals expressed by our founding fathers, poets,
and writers in such a way that the larger world community
could be convinced of our sincerity and would therefore be
willing to forgive us. Our commitment would have to be
real and not a public relations ploy. For if we cannot now
make friends with people we have grievously harmed, we
will not have the allies we need to stop and then reverse
the trend that now is moving us towards perpetual war,
impoverishment, and destruction.
The question is, is it too late for these four things to
happen? Do we actually believe that we will get away with all
the crimes we have committed without paying the price? Do we
really think we can fight our way to victory and at the same
time survive as a constitutional democratic republic?
I don’t know the answers to these last few questions.
They are not for me to answer. Each of us has to answer them
for ourselves. Each of us has to take responsibility for the
answer we come up with. But finally, the answer will come in
the form of what we then do as a community.
In my opinion, all of the information we need to become
properly educated and informed is now in the public domain. We
only have to access it, talk about it, and come to an
appropriate understanding if we want our children and
grandchildren to ever live in peace and prosperity.
But we can only succeed if each of us recognizes that the
part we ourselves play is crucial. If any of us thinks that
what we (you and I) do doesn’t matter, the chance of success
is greatly diminished.
Return to
Commentaries
|