OpEdNews - Article: Harvest of Pain and Sorrow

War without end. Rape of Mother Earth by faceless corporations. Exploitation of the poor. Subjugation of the masses. 9/11/01 marked the beginning of a new era of profound fear and suffering for the human race. Contrary to the Ministry of Truth of the United States government, the terrorists are not the source of this misery. A malevolent force has taken root in the United States. This force is rendering damage terrorists can only fathom in a dream, and is actually responsible for creating the terrorists. Psychological manipulation and economic enslavement of Americans have enabled our government to covertly inch the United States closer to tyranny with each passing day. With an arsenal of weapons which include a complicit mainstream media (i.e. Fox), an obscenely wealthy plutocracy (i.e. the Bush clan), and an equally affluent consortium of monolithic corporations (i.e. Haliburton) at their disposal to extinguish individual freedom, the US government becomes less of a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" with each passing day. While the murder, mayhem and destruction perpetrated on 9/11 was wicked and tragic, the spiritual subjugation of hundreds of millions of Americans is a travesty with much broader implications. Our Whitehouse warns of the dire consequences of "rogue nations" attaining nuclear capabilities, but fails to acknowledge that the nation with the most potent nuclear capabilities is governed by rogues.

Bush spreads fear and loathing, not "freedom and liberty"

Much of the rest of the world takes a very dim view of the United States. I draw this conclusion based on opinion polls, numerous foreign media publications, the existence of Hugo Chavez (and others like him who dare to challenge the American regime), the hatred that has inspired terrorist attacks here and abroad, and direct feedback I have received from many citizens of other countries. It does not take much analysis to reach the conclusion that people of other nations are justified in their antipathy toward the Unites States. Our leadership is corrupt, imperialistic, and morally reprehensible. Imagine living in another nation, under the menacing shadow cast by a bullying nation which possesses a nuclear arsenal large enough to destroy the world many times over, attempts to force its form of government on other nations covertly and overtly, clearly outlines its imperialistic designs for global domination through The Project for the New American Century (http://www.newamericancentury.org/), and which wields its immense military and economic might with a profound spiritual emptiness, a narcissistic disregard for the well-being of humanity, and a profound ignorance concerning other nations and cultures.

Many Americans find themselves captive to the invisible chains binding their psyche, which is not an enviable position. However, people throughout the rest of the world are subject to economic and military attacks orchestrated by the twisted puppeteers Americans call leaders. Examples are numerous, and include Iraq, My Lai, Dresden, Hirohsima/Nagasaki, the Philippine-American War, the slaughter of Native Americans, and the numerous ruthless dictators the United States government has installed and supported in the interest of "defeating the Communist threat".

Rotten at the core

America's leaders rule by propaganda and lies. Virtually every word which Scott McClellan, George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld utter is a lie. Propaganda of Orwellian proportions perpetually emanate from the White House, channeled through enthusiastic cheerleaders masquerading as journalists (i.e. Michelle Malkin). In his 1983 novel exploring the essence of evil in humanity, People of the Lie, the Hope for Healing Human Evil, Scott Peck could easily have been describing the people who are governing America today when he stated that evil is:

"The exercise of political power --that is, the imposition of one 's will upon others by overt or covert coercion ... "

Peck asserted that human evil exists predominately in the seemingly ordinary, benign people with whom we interact on a daily basis. Hitler was an extreme example of one who was overtly evil. In a sense, people like Hitler are less dangerous than those who engage in evil practices in a disguised manner. Hitler's malevolence was blatant and discernable. Peck's "people of the lie" are wolves in sheep clothing. They live and work amongst us wearing the guise of respectability and "goodness". Beneath their cloak of benevolence, their obsession with attaining their definition of success and preserving their positive image in the admiring eyes of others is the root of their evil. It ensures that they will live in a nearly perpetual state of distorted thinking and lies. A nearly insatiable narcissistic need for the recognition and validation of others drives them to act without empathy or compassion. "People of the lie" aggressively act to harm those who get in their way or threaten their image. As common wisdom indicates, lies compound themselves. "People of the lie" engage in a vicious cycle of committing iniquitous acts to further their goals of success followed by weaving an intricate web of deceit to convince themselves and others how good they are. Once they have "covered their tracks" and sustained their image, they begin the cycle again.

Behold a flesh and blood example

Karl Rove, an incarnate example of those profiled in People of the Lie recently reared the ugly head of his narcissism when he remarked:

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

"[Conservatives] saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Ironically, it is Rove who desperately needs the therapy. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the world desperately needs for Karl Rove to seek therapy. Rove, the architect of both of Bush's seizures of the Oval Office, and a man with discrete yet incredibly powerful influence within the Bush administration, is the principal person of the lie amongst the many people of the lie who rule the United States. Partisan politics and ideology are irrelevant. Some very sick and dangerous people are at the helm of the most powerful nation in the world, and Rove is at the nexus.

For evidence of Rove's spiritual and intellectual illness, one needs to look no further than his statements concerning 9/11. Creating false dichotomies are typical rhetorical weapons used by people of the lie, who are afflicted with a psychological illness known as narcissistic personality disorder. With broad brush-strokes, Rove essentially limited the response of 9/11 to two possibilities: invite the enemy over for a tea party or launch a war. There are multiple possibilities that exist beyond these two.

One example would be to pursue justice against the responsible parties. Someone needs to remind Mr. Rove that instead of capturing Osama Bin Laden and impeaching President Bush for his negligence in allowing the attacks to happen, our government launched a war against a sovereign nation which had nothing to do with the attacks.

Another possible response, which this highly narcissistic administration is incapable of considering, would be for the United States to change its imperialistic, domineering ways. In an evasion of responsibility typical of those with a psychological malady, the administration refuses to acknowledge that their behavior caused the emergence of hatred and terrorism against the United States. By fighting the war in Iraq, our government continues to exacerbate the problem by creating a terrorist breeding ground and affording the terrorists a chance for live training in urban combat. Besides creating terrorists, the United States is inciting the wrath of the moderate Arab world with our leaders' decision to continue the occupation of Iraq indefinitely.

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