Repeat after me: George Bush is a good president and represents my best interest....George Bush is a good president and represents my best interest....
Is it working? Have you slapped a "W" sticker on the back of your forty-foot SUV yet? If you have, you are in Bush country now, partner. Tell the terrorists to "bring it on--
Social welfare programs, the Judicial Branch of the government, and Iran are now targets of the Bush machine. Despite rapidly declining support for the war in Iraq, and the pending investigation concerning possible treason committed by Karl Rove, America is on the precipice of unbridled tyranny. As many Americans passively watch, what is left of our republic is completing its ugly metamorphosis into oligarchy, blended with a strong tinge of theocracy which emanates from the Religious Right.
While many of the poor, middle and working class continue swallowing the fiction of the "American Dream", the rich and elite, whom I will call the Oligarchs, own and manipulate the media machine which continues to propagate the Horatio Alger myth. What the Ministry of Truth does not tell us is that for every Bill Gates "rags to riches" story, there are millions of Americans who put their hearts and souls into success and stay mired in the quicksand of perpetual poverty. True social mobility is rare in America, and the Oligarchs under Bush aim to make it rarer still. They comprehend the truth of the maxim that "he who has the gold makes the rules." Oligarchs have most of the gold, and they are strengthening their capacities to make the rules. Media perpetuation of hubris, xenophobia, and homophobia enable the Oligarchs to convince Americans that despite genocidal acts against Native Americans, the enslavement of the black race, the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II, imperialistic policies in the Middle East since the end of World War II, support of numerous ruthless tyrants around the globe throughout the history of the US government, and ongoing discrimination against women and minorities, that America is morally superior to the rest of the world. Despite creating 25% of the carbon dioxide responsible for the Greenhouse Effect, denying its existence, and withdrawing from the Kyoto Treaty; defying the UN by invading Iraq and sending an antagonistic "serial abuser" as our new UN ambassador (without Senate approval); and hoarding 35% of the world's wealth while only representing 5% of the world's population (shockingly, of that 5%, 1% controls one third of the wealth), the Oligarchs somehow convince Americans that our nation was an innocent victims in 9/11. America has engaged in various forms of state terrorism for years, and the victims are finally retaliating. Rather than taking the rational steps of changing their narcissistic and imperialistic behavior, taking reasonable steps to defend the American people, and implementing justice against the true perpetrators of crimes against humanity (including both individual terrorists like bin Laden and the state terrorists who are at the helm of America's government like Bush), the Oligarchs continue with imperialistic actions that fan the flames of hostility. Perpetuating this cycle of violence feeds America's dependence on the Oligarchs' cash cows, including the military industrial complex and Big Oil.
They want the whole world in their hands.....
Bush and the Oligarchs will not be satisfied with absolute power in America. Their ambitions extend far beyond our borders. One need look no further the Project for the New American Century and its Statement of Principles (both readily found on the Internet by Googling) to see that world domination by the American military industrial complex is their ultimate goal. Several of the signers of the statement of principles are now serving in high level positions in the Bush administration, including Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Paul Wolfowitz.
Americans who support Bush have passively handed the keys of the kingdom to a pack of ravenous megalomaniacs bent on world domination. Much to the delight of Bush and company, fear and the media/propaganda machine are not the only factors keeping the working classes from breaking free of their economic and psychological shackles. Ongoing "cultural wars" over issues like abortion distract ordinary Americans from important economic and foreign policy issues, leaving our leaders to their own devices. Convinced that false dichotomies limit their choices, many in America expend their energy fighting one another rather than aspiring to individual freedom, working to develop their potential as human beings, and allowing others to do the same.
Beware the False Dichotomy
In Bush's America, if you are not for the "war on terrorism," you are not a patriot, and thus you are "against America". In this 1984-like atmosphere, it is no coincidence that a law that gives the federal government virtually unchecked power to violate our civil liberties is called the Patriot Act. In Bush's vision of the "New American Century," whether you are American or not, you are either for us or against us. There is no room for constructive dissent against the almighty "W". Bush's loyal subjects see the world in black and white, and support the illegal war in Iraq because they are terrified of being labeled as unpatriotic. Unwittingly, Bush supporters pledge their allegiance to a paradigm that enables the rich to maintain dominion over the poor and middle classes. Perverse use of the concept of "patriotism" ensures a steady supply of tax dollars and warm bodies to feed the war machine.
With numerous states having passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage and Bush pushing for an amendment to the US Constitution, gay rights in America are under siege. Under the Oligarchs, you are either "straight" or "gay", and if you are "gay" you are not entitled to Constitutionally-guaranteed civil liberties. Hitler used the Jewish people while Pol Pot preyed on intellectuals. In homosexuals, the Oligarchs have found the scapegoat on which a successful tyranny depends. Offering their minions a group to blame for the moral decay of society provides a powerful cause around which the Oligarchs can mobilize their faithful to rally.
For a serious laugh, consider the notion that Americans have a real choice when they go to the polls to elect a president. Dominated by two monolithic parties, both of which are beholden to corporations and wealthy campaign contributors, the political arena allows scant room for meaningful participation by the poor or working class. Despite the superficial differences between the Republican and Democratic parties on some issues, the two parties share the common goal of perpetuating the power of the wealthy elite. While the poor and working class have historically fared better under Democratic rule, there is little evidence that there is an appreciable difference between the two parties. In the end, the Oligarchy still rules, whether they don the guise of an elephant or of a jackass.
Are you a liberal or a conservative? Political pundits, pollsters, and their masters in Washington thrive on people defining themselves as one or the other. Their objective is to pigeonhole people into narrowly defined groups. Having accomplished this, the powerful media machine sows seeds of discord that draw people into a perpetual ideological battle between fictitious groups. The reality is that no human being fits neatly into either category. People fall on a spectrum somewhere between liberal and conservative. Their views on some issues may tend toward liberal, and move towards conservative on others. Yet the Oligarchs successfully manipulate many Americans to choose a side, and battle it out with the other side, regardless of what their individual views might be if they were to step out of their liberal or conservative "box". Perpetual bickering amongst the working class gives the Oligarch plenty of cover for their malfeasance.
Secularism versus the Religious Right is King George's favorite aspect of the cultural war. Representing "W" as an Evangelical Christian, the administration mobilized a coalition of conservative Christians known as the Religious Right. The Religious Right's leaders are as power hungry as the Oligarchs, while their followers, fueled by feelings of victimization for their beliefs, vindictively pursue the "Christian" agenda. Riding the Right to re-election, in spite of the obvious incompetent and criminal nature of his first term, Bush was rewarded with another four years to commit crimes against humanity. Employing a classic "divide and conquer" strategy, Bush and the moneyed class enthusiastically promote spectacles like "Scopes II". In fact, Bush recently gave a public endorsement for teaching Intelligent Design in public schools. While their subjects squabble over the validity of Evolution and argue about the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Oligarchy counts the stacks of cash in its counting room.
Peace and Social Justice are NOT Mirages
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