Asserting a just society's obligation to lift (or to provide the means to lift themselves) the less fortunate from their wretched conditions, Paine wrote:
"It is not charity but a right, not bounty but justice, that I am pleading for. The present state of civilization is as odious as it is unjust. It is absolutely the opposite of what it should be, and it is necessary that a revolution should be made in it. The contrast of affluence and wretchedness continually meeting and offending the eye, is like dead and living bodies chained together."
Paine may have been offended by the "contrast of affluence and wretchedness". But gross inequalities obviously didn't bother the wealthy elites, in Paine's time or as Capitalism eclipsed Mercantilism. Federal laws eventually eradicated many severe abuses like the child labor Spargo described. And publicly funded programs like Social Security have helped to alleviate destitution. Yet were it not for wars, powerful social movements, economic depressions, fears of widespread social unrest, and the vexing Constitutional rights afforded to "We the People", those wielding the punishing cudgel of economic domination would have maintained the status quo.
Each time the opulent surrendered a degree of power or afforded additional rights to the underclass, they became increasingly restless and insecure. They realized that exploitative Capitalism, their principal mechanism for exerting and maintaining their dominance, was under siege.
Marx and Engel's Manifesto calling for the abolition of private property and a revolution of the working class scared the hell out of the Bourgeoisie. To counter the "Red Menace" in the United States, they waged war on organized labor, initiated the Palmer Raids, so demonized Socialists that their political influence was virtually extinguished, and imprisoned or ruined thousands of suspected Communists during the McCarthy Era.
Reactionary forces wielding powerful tools of psychological manipulation have trained most US Americans to reflexively reject virtually any publicly funded programs that would be socially beneficial, idealize material success, and embrace grossly exorbitant military spending as "necessary".
Endless rhetoric and propaganda, the Cold War, free trade, and a multitude of murderous military interventions resulting in the deaths of millions of innocent human beings have kept the world safe for the "democracy" that serves as cover for remorseless seekers of profit at the expense of others.
Having suffered years of pained silence under the yoke of neoliberal economic policies emanating from the United States, the presence or action of the US military, and ruthless dictators supported by the "leader of the free world", individuals and factions in the Developing World are finally resisting.
Some are employing asymmetric warfare to counter the overwhelming military power of a bellicose nation that invades nations preemptively and dismissively refers to murdered civilians as "collateral damage". Others, like Hugo Chavez, are empowering and uplifting their poor, terminating the exploitation of their resources by multinational corporations, and forging alliances with other nations to challenge the regime in Washington.
Not surprisingly, those who rule by virtue of the size of their bank accounts have reacted to the latest threat to their stranglehold on power in a manner reminiscent of their attacks on Communism. The "War on Terror" has already claimed hundreds of thousands of victims and billions of dollars worth of civilian infrastructure. And on 10/17, the Bush Regime celebrated its crowning victory.
Mass hysteria generated by an Orwellian onslaught of propaganda paved the way for the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. When Bush signed the Torture Bill into law, America's de facto noblesse realized their dream. They finally attained the means to eliminate the perpetual tension between a political system "marred" by democratic components and the tyrannic natures of their brand of Capitalism.
It took 230 years, but an authoritarian regime predominated by the patrician class and corporations has finally seized the means to exercise absolute political power. Their "War on Terror" enabled them to slay their most persistent adversary. The Constitutional Rights of their own people.
The Bush Regime can now truthfully crow about a "mission accomplished".
Yet like the victors in the American Revolution, they may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. Men like Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin are long deceased, but the immortal words born of their dedication to freedom from oppression are trumpeting a clarion call to the world:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Whether the People follow the example of Gandhi or Robespierre, a revolution is imperative and inevitable.
Jason Miller is a recovering US American middle class suburbanite who strives to remain intellectually free. He is Cyrano's Journal Online's associate editor (http://www.bestcyrano.org/) and publishes Thomas Paine's Corner within Cyrano's at http://www.bestcyrano.org/THOMASPAINE/.
The five or six corporations that own or control the mass media are nothing but the propaganda arm of the Republican party and the Military Industrial Complex. Multinational Corporations, the Republican party and the Military Industrial Complex have been melded into one entity and this diabolical trinity of power intends to rule America, and by means of our Armed Forces, the world.
An international militaristic plutocracy already has the power to impose their will on most of the world and no one should underestimate their willingness to crush any one, any people, any country that stands in their way. They feel no allegiance to nations or the people, their only allegiance is to themselves. This is the New World Order and it is dedicated exclusively to the preservation and perpetuation of their wealth and power.
The rulers of the wealthiest, and most militarily powerful nations have joined forces to divide the spoils and dominate the world. There are no significant differences between the rulers of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia or China anymore, they are all despots. However, no one should assume this will lessen the threat of World War III. Rather, it will increase the threat because all despots want to be Genghis Khan.
by
rabblerowzer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 227 comments)
on Monday, October 23, 2006 at 9:39:00 AM
The United States of America has never been a true democracy, but that doesn't mean that it will never become one. Along with bread and circuses, the democracy myth is useful to keep at bay the killing rage of the mob. Of the people, by the people, and for the people, is true democracy, and it is only the united will of the people that will secure it. We need to forget about electoral colleges and let the people determine who serves us in Washington. No gov't can withstand the determination of 200 million citizens, and so the question is, can we wrench ourselves out of our apathy and send these odious pretenders packing? "Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country!"
by
Regina Carpenter (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 38 comments)
on Thursday, October 26, 2006 at 2:20:51 PM
