You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around.
America was created by violence. Violence is woven into the very fabric of our divided nation. Pull any thread and blood flows.
It appears to me that the American experiment is over. Capitalists who control the US don't really need us anymore as they are maximizing profits internationally - cheaper labor can be found overseas.
Disinvestment in America has been going on for the past 30-40 years as the corporate oligarchy has moved their $$$$ and jobs out of the country and the government (under corporate direction) has slashed spending on human needs and vital infrastructure. So the nation is falling apart.
Knowing that at some point the public would rebel against all of this the local police have been militarized to look like the Pentagon. Many local police departments have been trained by the Israeli military in occupation tactics that were refined during the long and brutal occupation of Palestinian lands.
Hollywood for the past 30 years or so has increasingly ensured that upcoming generations have been fed a steady diet of non-stop grotesque violence on TV and in the movie theaters. The federal government has kept the nation in a succession of endless wars that has further militarized our culture, the economy, and the public consciousness.
The nation now reeks of violence to the point that daily episodes of mass shootings and police killings of innocent people take place. At some point we know that the rubber band will snap and there will be a response from the public. Several police just shot in Dallas....how ironic that the city where the CIA's assassination of our beloved President John F. Kennedy happened then becomes the place where this sad reaction to unrestrained police violence occurs.
The oligarchy does not want the American people to collectively realize that our real enemy is the corporate criminal syndicate that is currently destroying our country. Better that races are pitted against one another in a new version of American civil war.
Who should be surprised that America has descended into such violence? Violence is at the very core of our nation - we live it and breath it.
In our recent July 4 parade here in Bath, Maine one of the floats was a giant model of a US Navy aircraft carrier. The crowd cheered as it was towed along by a truck. It represents the largest manifestation of 'forward deployed' American muscle and violence imaginable. When we do violence against others it is seen as noble and about 'freedom and democracy'. When the guns get turned inward people become confused and angry.
The chickens have come home to roost. America - created by extreme violence against the Native Americans and hundreds of years of brutal slavery - is now coming apart at the seams.
If we truly want to end this mad race to hell we must begin pulling back the US military empire of 1,000 bases around the world and de-escalating our local police forces.
We should also take back control of our government from the corporate oligarchy. Use our tax dollars for human development and things will change for the better.
It is all about choices we make - and particular choices have consequences.
Bruce
5 comments:
Very well put as usual Bruce. Thank you for your courageous leadership & for constantly sharing your wisdom with us. May God bless you & the good work that comes from your peaceful heart.
Thank you.
Agree with Kevin's comments as your essay offers a clear & vivid explanation as to how this country has lost its soul and its humanity. If I recall correctly, when a nation's government melds with corporate "leaders," the fascism results. From our creation as a nation (where not all were considered equal) to the writing of the Constitution, has America ever been what we thought it was but has yet to become - a government/nation - "of, by, and for the people?"
The great radical pacifist, A.J. Muste once wrote:
The world waits for a great nation
that has the common sense,
the imagination
and the faith
to devote to the science and practice of nonviolence
so much as a tenth
of the money, brains, skill and devotion
which it now devotes to the madness of war preparation.
What is that nation waiting for before it undertakes its mission?"
Aren't "we the people, the people we have been waiting for to transform America, to turn from the darkness to the Light?
I try not to hate. Seriously. When it comes to cops it's really damn difficult. I've been beaten while handcuffed so very often. My sister is angry right now, because I cursed when I heard our local sheriff talking about what heroes they are and how much they protect us.
Who would protect us from them?
If there's a test for me to pass, it's this one. So far in my life I have never taken a life. And I intend to keep that record. Having friends, even or maybe especially ones I never physically met, that's a really good start. Those who organize and teach for peace, that's a blessing beyond price.
The corporates look down on the street level cops. To them, they're expendable. A commodity like the rest.
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