Consider but a few examples of abominations for which we, as a nation, are responsible:
We have committed war crimes analogous to those of Nazi Germany through our pre-emptive invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. How many hundred thousand or million civilians must die before we realize that “collateral damage” is an Orwellian euphemism for mass murder?
We have long been complicit in the brutal oppression of the Palestinians. When the final Palestinian is imprisoned, obliterated, or driven out of Gaza and the West Bank will we then recognize that we facilitated an ethnic cleansing?
We employ economic tyranny and manipulation to make de facto colonies of developing nations, harvesting and consuming 25% of the world’s resources to “sustain” 5% of the world’s population. Isn’t gluttony one of the Seven Deadly Sins?
We listened to the likes of Ronald Reagan (a reactionary who never met a socially redeeming policy, law or public initiative he didn’t want to eliminate) when he moronically asserted that enacting universal health care would undoubtedly lead to “Godless Communism.” So we continue embracing a system enabling cynical wealthy elites and amoral corporations to generate outrageous profits derived from the administration of health care. As a result, there are 50 million uninsured US Americans, we have the highest infant mortality rate in the industrialized world, we are 37th in the world in health care quality, HMO’s and managed care entities often refuse to provide necessary medical procedures, insurance companies routinely deny claims based on technicalities, and hospitals dump indigent patients on Skid Row rather than treating them.
On the subject of indigents, how is it that a nation awash in prosperity has over a million homeless human beings on any given night? Or that cities like Orlando and Las Vegas have made homelessness a crime? How can a significant percentage of those condemned to sleep under bridges and eat from dumpsters be veterans who fought for our country? Could it be that chicken hawk ruling elites like Dick Cheney used them as cannon fodder in their wars necessitated by capitalism’s endless demand for new markets, cheaper labor, and more resources, and then disposed of them like so much rubbish when they came home?
We strong-arm developing countries into implementing neoliberal economic policies and free trade, deepening the impoverishment of their citizens to further enrich ourselves. This leaves them little choice but to migrate here, where virtually all of the money and resources are flowing. Now that 12 million “illegals” have established residence in the US, we are arrogantly preparing to perpetuate their employers’ capacity to exploit them or to implement a draconian plan to rip their families and lives apart, imprison them, and eventually send them back to the abject poverty we created.
Climate Change? We simply deny we bear an ounce of responsibility and rev up our gas-guzzling SUVs, pick-ups, and Hummers.
Yes, in spite of the extreme moral poverty reflected in the myriad wounds we continue to inflict upon the Earth and its sentient inhabitants, we have the audacity to call ourselves a Christian nation. Whether it is conscious or not, we organize our existences around the abhorrent beliefs that “it’s all about me,” “get them before they get me,” “he who dies with the most toys wins,” and “blessed are the rich, the joyous, the well-fed, the aggressive, the merciless, the heartless, and the warmongers,” thus manifesting the virtual antithesis of Christ’s teachings.
But what can you expect from a nation of unsupervised ids?
Thank you Mr. Miller. I always enjoy your writing. Keep up the pace.
Is George Bush a sociopath? Probably, to a greater or lesser degree. You can speculate whether he is or not, but there seems to be no doubt that his "demons" are sociopathic. And that is exactly what you reveal in your essay. The dominant spirit in America, which guides the powerful moneyed elite, feeds off of the fears and weaknesses lodged in the id. It's a mutually dependent system, closed and cut off from the world, until some external force eventually comes in to shake things up.
Americans have a superego. They do suppress the healthy pleasure-seeking id within in order to serve some purpose larger than themselves. It's just that they have a very strange idea of what that larger purpose is.
The rabbi once said:
"What does it benefit a man to gain the whole world, but sacrifice his soul?"
That's quite the sacrifice. Talk to a soldier suffering PTSD. Losing an arm or a leg is pretty horrible. But losing your "soul" -- ?!!! My god.
We've heard it said many times that the majority of people in America live like domesticated animals. They follow the herd, moo when frustrated, and never bother to consider what the latch on the gate is for. In this context, America's moneyed elite must feel completely justified in butchering a few "man cows" every now and again. They must figure "why not?"
'It's commonly believed that serial killers cannot stop, because their compulsion is so strong that they're literally addicted to murder. In addition, they feel no remorse so they have no reason to refrain from indulging their hunger for blood - or else they're just plain psychotic. In fact, to assist in the defense of Wayne Adam Ford, a psychiatrist stated that no serial killer had ever before turned himself in.
'On that point, he was wrong. Both before and after Ford surrendered in 1998, there have been cases of men who have stopped themselves from killing again by going to the police to confess. Some actually express remorse, and might indicate that they'd been on drugs or were in some other state of diminished mental capacity during their crimes. They might also have come to the realization that, try as they might, they cannot stop themselves.
'The most famous example of this is William Heirens in 1945. While he did not actually turn himself in, he did leave a message on the mirror of one of his second of three victims, written in lipstick: "For heaven's sake catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself.' In other words, he appeared to be horrified by what he was doing when he shot and stabbed Frances Brown, leaving her body draped over a bathtub. However, he then went on to strangle and dismember a 6-year-old child, dumping her remains in such a way that it would be difficult to pin the crime on him. Soon a police officer chased Heirens down after a burglary and he did stop; he was put behind bars, where he is today. While he did not surrender voluntarily, he made it clear with his message that he wished to be free of his terrible compulsion to kill.'
If even a sociopathic serial killer can feel this way, then I assert that it's possible for the inhabitants of the Great American Pyramid of Power to feel this way, as well. Who knows? Maybe in the secret places of their hearts, they actually mourn the stupidity and cowardice of the American people. I mean, can you imagine what it feels like, believing that the vast majority of people, who share 99.9% of your own genetic makeup, are little more than a herd of animals?
What I'd like to raise is the question of whether we, who are active thinkers, of the people, can change the game such that the moneyed elite have cause to actually respect and value the people's lives and dignity? What can we the people do, to help America's power elite, retain (or regain) their humanity, and their connection with all life - our lives? Rather than us being passive, or us simply returning "force and fraud" with more "force and fraud", is it possible for we the people to conquer the evil with the good? Can the American demons be replaced with American angels?
Comments? (Star Wars analogies?)
by
Zen Master So so (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments)
on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 1:27:13 PM
Another excellent essay from Jason Miller. As to how to pre-empt the Armegedon these "crazies" are steering us toward, I can only suggest that those of us who KNOW, those of us who not only sense danger, we're cringing in horror; we have to speak up. Write "Impeach Cheney First" on every dollar bill that leaves your wallet. Or "911 = Police State". I'll be marching on the Kennebunk home of the criminal Bush family July 1, when Vladimir Putin visits. Put an "Impeach" sticker on your car, on your front door, mailbox. There are a lot more of us than you might think, especially if you spend more than 2 minutes a day watching MSM "news".
by
dalton (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 17 comments)
on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 8:52:09 PM
Forgot to mention the most important weapon we have: stop buying their shit. Literally. Giving up recreational shopping is effortless when you move out of the hell that is suburbia into a walkable community. O.K., not everyone can do that. But we can stop supporting the PE's need for more of the pie. Don't buy their stuff, laugh at the ads that tell you which disease you have that requires their medicines, eat less of the bad processed food that offers no nutrition but stimulates your appetite, drive less, I could go on and on. Basically reject their version of what your life should look, feel, taste and cost. In fact, they can keep their damn pie. Let's make our own. Commercial-free, fear-free. THEY will have to adapt to us, bullying will be considered aberrant behavior for which they will be shunned. Imagine that world, huh??!
by
dalton (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 17 comments)
on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 9:07:13 PM
You say "they will have to adapt to us". That's the attitude. The sociopathic profit-mongers don't have the kind of power they try to make you think they have.
As the Beastie Boys once said: "Don't believe the hype."
by
Zen Master So so (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments)
on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 9:40:32 PM
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