5. defying the Geneva Conventions by arbitrarily arresting, detaining and torturing at least 14,000 alleged "enemy combatants"
6. significant expansion of Executive powers by adding signing statements (which direct the Executive branch to implement laws as the president sees fit rather than as Congress intended) to over 750 laws.
In Failed States, Chomsky provided many examples of America's elites' actions that demonstrate their disregard for domestic and international law, tracing the roots and progression of such behavior back to World War II.
A Hideous Despot Lurks Behind the Facade of Lady Liberty
The most disturbing aspect of Chomsky's treatise defining the United States as a failed state is his exploration of its "democratic deficit".
In stark contrast to our forefathers' blueprint for a constitutional republic in which the Constitution exists to limit government power, the people elect their leaders, and an independent judiciary exists to review the Constitutionality of government actions, America has devolved into a nation governed by the elite for the elite. The Constitution has been reduced to "just a goddamned piece of paper."
Consider Chomsky's analysis:
"The reactionary statists who have a thin grip on political power are dedicated warriors. With consistency and passion that approach caricature, their policies serve the substantial people""in fact, an unusually narrow sector of them""and disregard or harm the underlying population and future generations. They are also seeking to use their current opportunities to institutionalize these arrangements, so that it will be no small task to reconstruct a more humane and democratic society."
US corporations contribute greatly to the American democratic deficit. Possessing rights exceeding those of human beings and bearing limited accountability, powerful corporations enable wealthy shareholders and executives to place profits ahead of people and the environment to a sociopathic extent. Corporate moral compasses are consistently drawn off course by the powerful pull of money.
Deregulation leading to decreased environmental and consumer protections , a stagnant minimum wage, skyrocketing pay for executives relative to workers, diminished benefits for the working class, and a significant decline in the power of labor unions are but a few results of corporate power in the United States. Political manipulation through unbridled lobbying combined with a revolving door between corporate suites and government offices ensure that corporate interests supersede those of the poor and working class.
Corporate-controlled media has interests which are closely aligned with those of the "substantial people", as Chomsky called America's elites in Failed States. Chomsky observed that in Nazi Germany, Goebbels used mainstream media's "American advertising methods" to "sell National Socialism". And it worked.
History is repeating itself as mainstream print and broadcast media work tirelessly to sell America's "unsubstantial people" on grossly immoral and illegal government policies detrimental to their well-being, such as concentrating the wealth and power in the hands of a few and fighting for global hegemony. And it is working.
America's mainstream media has two powerful weapons at its disposal, both of which are deeply embedded in the psyche of many Americans.
As Chomsky pointed out in his book, the media wins the hearts and minds of many Americans by reminding them of their "nobility of purpose" in bringing "the Spirit of Civilization" to other peoples and nations, even if it means killing millions in the process.
Americans have also demonstrated a repeated vulnerability to the media manipulating them with fear. Throughout history, America's elite have contrived or grossly exaggerated foes such as Native Americans, Blacks, Communists, Hispanic narco-terrorists, illegal immigrants, terrorists, and street criminals. Manufactured irrational fear has led to compliance, subjugation, and the creation of a host of industries benefiting the "substantial people". Long live the military and prison industrial complexes!
One of Chomsky's most startling and often over-looked observations about America is the chasm between political will and the popular will.
6. significant expansion of Executive powers by adding signing statements (which direct the Executive branch to implement laws as the president sees fit rather than as Congress intended) to over 750 laws.
In Failed States, Chomsky provided many examples of America's elites' actions that demonstrate their disregard for domestic and international law, tracing the roots and progression of such behavior back to World War II.
A Hideous Despot Lurks Behind the Facade of Lady Liberty
In stark contrast to our forefathers' blueprint for a constitutional republic in which the Constitution exists to limit government power, the people elect their leaders, and an independent judiciary exists to review the Constitutionality of government actions, America has devolved into a nation governed by the elite for the elite. The Constitution has been reduced to "just a goddamned piece of paper."
Consider Chomsky's analysis:
"The reactionary statists who have a thin grip on political power are dedicated warriors. With consistency and passion that approach caricature, their policies serve the substantial people""in fact, an unusually narrow sector of them""and disregard or harm the underlying population and future generations. They are also seeking to use their current opportunities to institutionalize these arrangements, so that it will be no small task to reconstruct a more humane and democratic society."
US corporations contribute greatly to the American democratic deficit. Possessing rights exceeding those of human beings and bearing limited accountability, powerful corporations enable wealthy shareholders and executives to place profits ahead of people and the environment to a sociopathic extent. Corporate moral compasses are consistently drawn off course by the powerful pull of money.
Deregulation leading to decreased environmental and consumer protections , a stagnant minimum wage, skyrocketing pay for executives relative to workers, diminished benefits for the working class, and a significant decline in the power of labor unions are but a few results of corporate power in the United States. Political manipulation through unbridled lobbying combined with a revolving door between corporate suites and government offices ensure that corporate interests supersede those of the poor and working class.
Corporate-controlled media has interests which are closely aligned with those of the "substantial people", as Chomsky called America's elites in Failed States. Chomsky observed that in Nazi Germany, Goebbels used mainstream media's "American advertising methods" to "sell National Socialism". And it worked.
History is repeating itself as mainstream print and broadcast media work tirelessly to sell America's "unsubstantial people" on grossly immoral and illegal government policies detrimental to their well-being, such as concentrating the wealth and power in the hands of a few and fighting for global hegemony. And it is working.
America's mainstream media has two powerful weapons at its disposal, both of which are deeply embedded in the psyche of many Americans.
As Chomsky pointed out in his book, the media wins the hearts and minds of many Americans by reminding them of their "nobility of purpose" in bringing "the Spirit of Civilization" to other peoples and nations, even if it means killing millions in the process.
Americans have also demonstrated a repeated vulnerability to the media manipulating them with fear. Throughout history, America's elite have contrived or grossly exaggerated foes such as Native Americans, Blacks, Communists, Hispanic narco-terrorists, illegal immigrants, terrorists, and street criminals. Manufactured irrational fear has led to compliance, subjugation, and the creation of a host of industries benefiting the "substantial people". Long live the military and prison industrial complexes!
One of Chomsky's most startling and often over-looked observations about America is the chasm between political will and the popular will.
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