No, this is not a rehash of the Ward Churchill/Little Eichmann witch-hunt. But I have been contemplating the sentiment behind Churchill's original essay. In Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt wrote, "The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many wereneither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal." She wrote of a "new type of criminal," who "commits his crimes under circumstances that make it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he is doing wrong." Raise your hand if this sounds frighteningly familiar. The time is long overdue for all of us to be actively and relentlessly reminding the criminals that they are criminals. Until we do, they have the freedom to live in denial.
I sent the above paragraph to Rosemarie Jackowski (RMJ) to start a conversation.
RMJ: All over the United States people are working at jobs that result in the deaths of innocent people. There are military contracts and sub-contracts in small towns and villages, big cities, etc. Any job that supports the war machine is a real problem. I understand why people take jobs like that, but it would be a much better world if everyone just made the decision to do no harm.
MZ: You know what that line will provoke...the inevitable "so what can we do?" question.
RMJ: I am not sure what we can do. Sometimes I feel that it is hopeless. A big part of the problem is 'the system'. Ever since the Black Budget was created by Congress in the 40s, we have had a secret government operating. Individual citizens can try to do as little harm as possible. As I say often, even buying a pair of socks does some harm because it supports the war economy. Think of it as a moral continuum. The shopper who buys the socks is doing a slight harm. The voter who votes for a member of Congress who votes to finance the war, well that voter might be closer to the maximum on the scale of evil. The military sharpshooter who kills a civilian and the guard who tortures a prisoner are enabled by irresponsible, uninformed voters. Are we becoming a culture that is totally devoid of compassion and empathy?
MZ: Becoming? Our culture views compassion and empathy as nothing more than masks, disguises to hide the harm we're all guilty of.
RMJ: Yes, it would be a big help if the average US citizen had an accurate understanding of history. Teachers could play an important role. Too many teach that the pursuit of war is an honorable career option. All students should see the Fisk War photos before they graduate from high school. The sanitized view of history that is taught leads to a culture of entitlement - 'it is our oil under their sand.' The perfect formula for creating a killer is to teach him that the US never does anything wrong, expose him to a lot of violence in the media, video games, etc., and then apply peer pressure. After that, it only takes a few weeks of basic training.
MZ: So we agree: Little Eichmanns do exist. But I'll bet if Ward Churchill had used a different term, he would have remained as obscure as ever. The way I usually phrase it in articles or talks is that with few exceptions, there are no innocent bystanders in America. Any closing thoughts?
RMj: Well, I disagree that Ward Churchill was obscure before, but the "E-word" did bring a lot of additional attention. I knew about him because he is a fellow member of Veterans for Peace. Churchill's use of the "E-word" and the controversy that resulted was a valuable national learning opportunity that was missed. The media attention was misdirected from the facts of history and what Churchill really said. Instead the media focus was directed toward ad hominem attacks on Churchill. It just happened again when Rev. Jeremiah Wright made his comments about US history. Instead of having a national discussion on the merits or flaws in what Wright said, the media was consumed with ad hominem attacks on him. Basically it boils down to this - in the US if you speak the truth you will pay a high price. Mickey, you make an important point. There are no innocent bystanders in the US. We are all complicit - every one of us.
MZ: And that goes double for anyone who has fallen for the Obama hype.
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net. Rosemarie Jackowski can be reached at: dissent@sover.net
http://www.mickeyz.net
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
A American Citizen would have to be hiding under a rock to be able to ignore the fact that the government he works for 3-plus months every year (that's how long a wage-earner spends to pay his taxes...not that the rich have that problem) is actively engaged in the practice of torture. A case could easily be made that We the People also actively support wholesale murder with a modicum of incidental rape sprinkled in. We actively support it because we PAY for it....there is no way around it, the blood is on all our hands. No, I ain't happy about it.
Veteran '66-68
by
Roger (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 359 comments)
on Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 6:50:48 PM
The voter who votes for a member of Congress who votes to finance the war, well that voter might be closer to the maximum on the scale of evil.
Those who no longer wish to lend their conscious support to crimes against humanity might be interested in this, and this.
People who carry signs and get themselves arrested protesting the wars that they themselves vote to authorize by giving their mandate to war criminals, are either hypocrites or schizophrenic.
But it isn't just who you vote for. Any vote cast in a rigged election can be flipped to a war criminal. Third party and independent candidates are frequently surprised to find themselves getting lots of votes in areas where they have little or no support, and no votes at all in areas where they have a lot of support. That's because the central tabulators often use third party, independent, write-in, and other votes to smooth the spread when they reallocate the results. There is no safe way to vote in elections where 80% of the votes are tallied by computers using undetectably mutable software, no way to prevent fraudulently elected candidates from taking office, and no way to remove them once they do.
If you don't like what your government is doing, don't vote in its rigged elections.
by
Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 97 diaries, 1300 comments)
on Friday, July 25, 2008 at 4:27:27 PM
2 comments
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