In the Afterword of my book I wrote that "The road to peace for America will have to go through the Middle East." I then went on to say "An editorial in The New York Times raised the question of "where do we go from here" in that region? My answer was published as "an all editors' selection" for being among the "most interesting and thoughtful comments that represent a range of views." Here was my answer: "The question needs to be broadened and five answers courageously debated. How can the U.S. stop alienating the Middle East and thereby provoking unnecessary threats not only to us but also to that region? This question should constantly be on the table for serious diplomatic discussion. The first answer, persuade Israel through incentives and appeals to international harmony to return the land acquired in the 1967 war. Second, tell the Palestinians we will help them build their new state if they ask us. Three, renounce our dependence on oil and feverishly develop alternative sources of energy. Four, stop subsidizing our defense industry. Five, stop acting aggressively and unilaterally and start acting peacefully, diplomatically, and multilaterally through a strengthened UN and a reoriented and revitalized State Department wholeheartedly supported by the president and Congress. Ever happen? Let's hope so. Future generations blameless for our inactions and bad actions today deserve a world we ought to be rebuilding for their arrival into whatever faith, culture, and nationality they may be born. Peace, Shalom, Salam."[22]
Implementing the reform plan
Any plan is nothing but paper or online document until people start implementing it. I look to the present-day 27 percenters and future local and national chambers of democracy to do just that.
In closing
America's history has been a checkered one to say the least. She has had her finer times but they are eclipsed by her worst times of domestic and foreign exploitation and brutality. We are living and suffering through one of those prolonged worse times.
The odds against turning America into a peace loving and practicing nation are astronomical. So are the odds against winning the lottery, but there are eventual winners. We need to buy into a lottery for a better America where peace always wins and war is never an option; where there is social and economic justice; universal health care; thriving small businesses and cooperatives; a right to join a union and to bargain; healthy and safe products and services; sustainable growth; and a sustainable environment. I'm not talking utopia here. There are a few countries in the world, the Scandinavian ones mostly, that could serve as models for a future America. Mention those countries and the kneejerk reaction of many is to cry "socialism." My response to them is that there is such a thing as socially responsible capitalism. [23]
Obviously we can't leave America's destiny up to a lottery anymore than we can let her current conduct and destiny be up to the deadly monster. So let's put the "we" full force into organizing and launching democracy power. If we do not try what does that tell the subjugated world and our descendants about us? Poet Dante reserved the worst inferno for people who don't try. I'm not going there.
Sources
[1] A Deadly Monster: Part 1. An overview of the military-national security, industrial,
political triumvirate. By Gary Brumback, OpEdNews, December 12, 2012.
[2] A Deadly Monster: Part 2. Its Outmatched and Divided Opposition. By Gary Brumback, OpEdNews, December 31, 2012.
[3] Brumback, G. B. The Devil's Marriage: Break up the Corpocracy or Leave Democracy in the Lurch. Bloomington, IN: 2011, p. 135-146.[4] Drone Strikes Widely Opposed: Global Opinion of Obama Slips, International Policies Faulted. Pew Global Research Center, June 13, 2012.
[5] Danaher, K, 10 Reasons to Abolish the IMF and World Bank. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999, p. 20.
[6] www.uschamberofdemocracy.com
[7] U.S. Chamber Watch. http://www.fixtheuschamber.org/issues/local-chambers-vs-us- chamber .
[8] Vermont Towns Vote to Arrest bush and Cheney, Reuters, March 3, 2008.
[9] Anti-War Industry Naked 'Accessory After The Fact' To US Crimes Against Humanity. By Jay Janson, Countercurrents.org, December 13, 2012.
[10] More than 30 Top U.S. Officials Guilty of War Crimes, Boyle Says. By Sherwood Ross, OpEdNews, December 11, 2012,
[11] Amato, T. Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two Party Tyranny. NY: The New Press, 2009.
[12] An Unsent Letter to the President's Chief Counterterrorism Adviser. By Gary Brumback, OpEdNews, May 17, 2012.
[13] The Martin Luther King Conspiracy Exposed in Memphis. By Jim Douglas, Probe Magazine, Spring 2000.
[14] E-mail, January 3, 2013, from Debra Sweet, subject: "The World Can't Wait. Stop the crimes of your government. www.worldcantwait.net
[15] Bush Convicted of War Crimes in Absentia. By Yvonne Ridley, Foreign Policy Journal, January 15, 2013.
[16] Is Impeachment Gone for Good? By David Swanson, OpEdNews, November 14, 2012.
[17] The Devil's Marriage, ibid. p 40.
[18] Anarchism and the Anti-Globalization Movement. By Barbara Epstein, Monthly Review Online, September 2001.
[19] DoD, Defense Contract Dollars by Congressional Districts (109th Congress), USA, 2006, http://geocommons.com/overlays/137 .
[20] Nader, R. The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future. New York: Harper Paperback, 2012.
[21] Derber, C. Regime Change Begins at Home: Freeing America from Corporate Rule. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2004, p. 117.
[22] The Devil's Marriage, ibid. p. 188.
[23] America needs a socially responsible capitalism. By Gary Brumback, OpEdNews, December 28, 2011.
Subject: Pacifying a deadly monster
Deadly monster? Absolutely. I'm talking about the war-national security, industrial, political triumvirate part of America's corpocracy. That's a mouthful and it will eventually eat us up if we keep acting like sheep.
Article Description 430 characters max This 407
This article is the third in a trilogy about the war-national security, industrial, political triumvirate. The first overviewed it. The second overviewed its divided and weak opposition. This third piece highlights the two stages of an intensive and extensive campaign proposed for "pacifying" the triumvirate by 1) mobilizing its opposition; and 2) developing and implementing a strategic plan of reforms.
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