Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 22 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Iraq and Wounded Knee-- Over 130 Years of US Criminal Behavior and Erosion of Democracy

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   11 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Rob Kall
Become a Fan
  (295 fans)

I just watched the HBO docu-drama, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. It is impossible to not compare the story of the treatment of America's indigenous people, the behavior of the military and the leadership of the nation, with what we've been subjected to by the Bush administration and the Republican hawk leadership.

It is also a bit wierd that Fred Thompson, much touted soon to be GOP prez candidate was casted as the President of the United States in this movie-- as Ulysses S. Grant.

But let's stay with the comparison. We see, repeatedly, treaties that are broken, rules that are changed, the indigenous people provided with far less than they are supposed to get, far less than they are funded to receive. There are crooked businessmen, hateful soldiers, and to balance things out, members of the tribes who are stupid, dishonest and foolish.

It is a tragedy squared that we face today-- a tragedy on its face and a tragedy that we must repeat the stupidity of history-- again and again and again.

The people of the tribes who were abused so badly by the US government and its troops were stubborn and proud. Over and over again, the troops, the mercenaries, the contractors-- they abused, degraded, ashamed these noble people. And of course, we see the soldiers doing this repeatedly in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yes, there are good people in the WOunded Knee story, and there are good people, somewhere, in Iraq. But the system doesn't support them, and often blocks them from doing the good they would like to do. Too often they end up feeling betrayed, or worse, that their efforts to work within the system is a betrayal of the people they want to help.

Then, in the docudrama, there's the forced adoption of the "white man's" culture-- taking Christian names, individual ownership of property. We know that the Neocon Iraqi experiment includes subjecting the Iraqi people and government to the extreme right wing theories they espouse.

We see, in Wounded Knee and in Iraq, horrendous, savage war crimes that ultimately, must be traced all the way up to the presidency-- Fred Thompson playing U.S. Grant, in this case. Smart move Fred.

We see a sad, repetitive cycle of cowardly, criminal government supported acts that goes back, in this case, over 130 years. This is not a new pattern that suddenly appeared with Bush.

Is there a difference today? Are there more people-- anti-war, equal-rights types-- now, than there were then? Are there more or less people who consider indigenous people-- Native Americans or Iraqis-- to be less than human, less equal than Americans? That's a tough one.

But we do have the net. We have a way for the truth to be accessed, for those who want to access it. There are still tens of millions, or more, in the US, who are not interested in accessing the truth. They watch Fox, read garbage daily papers and buy the propaganda that is put out between reports on Anna Nicole Smith, kidnapped kids and Michael Jackson.

We do have a way for those of us who do care, who do want to make a difference, to find each other on the net, to build digital communities.

When we consider Wounded Knee, we are confronted with a dauntingly long history of brutal abuses. It's clear that doing the "same-old" will not work.

While supporting the Democrats may be better than supporting Republicans, American democracy is not going to survive if it depends upon the two party system. We need really big picture thinking and long term visions. We need full adoption of instant run-off voting or some similar form of elections that allow third parties to run, yet require majority wins for elections. That's a bare foundation, along with, of course, clean, honest elections-- meaning the computers get thrown out altogether. And then, there is a huge, crying need for genuine progressive, well funded organizations that operate like those on the right, with ten figure annual budgets.

Currently, there are a handful of "progressive" thinktanks that are composed primarily of former Clinton Whitehouse staffers-- DLC right wing democrats, or, to be generous, moderates. The only way democracy has a future is if real progressives bond together and build organizations, like think tanks, which are also advocacy organizations, which, frankly, the big right wing think tanks really are. It takes a lot of money to make that happen.

The money's out there. If the 500,000 people or 100,000 people who go to a demonstration, would spend the $50 to $1000 they spend on the travel, food, hotel, etc., many millions could be raised. Of course, instead, the big groups of people send money to Moveon.org, or to Democratic candidates or the democratic party-- the DSCC, the DCCC or the DNC.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Rob Kall Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

A Conspiracy Conspiracy Theory

Debunking Hillary's Specious Winning the Popular Vote Claim

Terrifying Video: "I Don't Need a Warrant, Ma'am, Under Federal Law"

Ray McGovern Discusses Brutal Arrest at Secretary Clinton's Internet Freedom Speech

Hillary's Disingenuous Claim That She's Won 2.5 Million More Votes is Bogus. Here's why

Cindy Sheehan Bugged in Denver

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend