From the – to the +

 

Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!

Whine! Whine! Whine!

What's the point?

I agree. 

If all we do is bitch and whine and stop there, there isn't much of a
point. It's just more pain and frustration piled on devilry and
dysfunction.

But . . .

It doesn't have to and shouldn't stop there.

From my perspective out here in Expat Land, the biggest obstacle there in
America is that people don't understand the problems. Often they are so
overwhelmed, they just bury their heads in the sand. Americans are
misinformed, disinformed, and in the throes of massive collective
denial.

Understandably, everyone just wants to go on with their lives, do their job 
__ if they have one __ take care of their kids, mow the lawn, watch some TV, 
and try to eke some fun and comfort out of their often miserable and tense lives.

And if things in America were on track, this certainly wouldn't be too much to ask.

But things are not on track. In fact, the country is heading 180º in the wrong direction.

People sense this. Every day there's some new crisis. Prospect of another war.  
Scary stuff everywhere. New terrorist threats. ISIS. Russia. China. Iran. Contagious 
diseases. Ebola. Killer Avian Flu V. 3.0. Violence by the police. Counter-violence
by angry mobs. More arrests and police killings. Ranting and raving in
Congress. More gridlock. Shutdown of the federal government.  Ranting
and raving on TV.  Muslims, beheadings.  Immigrants. Same-sex marriage,
abortion. Climate change. No climate change. Moreguns. Fewer guns. 
Stand your ground. Arm teachers. Arm bus drivers. Bring a gun to church. 
Bomb Syria. Arm Ukraine. Bomb Iran. Sanction Venezuela. Bomb North Korea. 
On and on . . .

Beyond the anxiety and outright fear caused by this ongoing tsunami of chaos and
trauma, there is a growing sense that all this calamity is not just a
string of bad luck __ that there is something fundamentally wrong!

The problem is that with all of the yelling, finger-pointing, and verbal
mayhem, no one can keep any of it straight, and anything resembling a
constructive conversation is impossible. The lunatics have taken over
the asylum.

We no longer have time for this. There are three challenges which if not faced squarely and honestly pose an existential threat to our nation. They ultimately could destroy us.

The three existential threats?

• Collapse of the economy
• Destruction by war
• Climate change
  

Insiders know where we're heading and what's coming if some things don't change very dramatically, very soon. Vast stores of ammunition have been set aside in anticipation of internal unrest. 
We increasingly see the police being militarized, being authoritarian and unaccountable.
Some observers suggest we are already on the threshold of being a
police state. Those responsible for maintaining the status quo __ i.e.
the standing configuration of power __ know where the incipient chaos
and dysfunction is taking the country, and understandably are preparing for the worst.

But they are not heading off the potential catastrophes. In fact, they are largely to blame!  
They are the reason we're in the mess we're in and plunging toward even worse times.

This bleak future is not inevitable. We can turn this around. 

We! 

Not our current crop of myopic leaders. You and I. But it will take some doing.

And doing starts by getting people to pay attention.

Maybe that's where the bitching and whining comes in.

But it can't stop there. Out of the negativity of recognizing how bad off things 
are now, there can and must emerge a positivevision of what should follow. 
That means each and every one of us deciding what's important. We start 
by asking ourselves what makes our country great . . .

Is it having the biggest military?

Is it having the most billionaires?

Is it having the largest economy?

Is it winning the most gold and silver medals at the Olympics?

Is it the freedom to buy all sorts of stuff __ a seemingly infinite selection __
because television ads tell us that will make us happy?

Is it our entertainment industry __ envy of the entire world, cranking out movies,
TV shows, video games, music __ into which we can escape and live rich
fantasy lives?

Is it how easy things are __ meals we can pick up at drive-thru windows, credit
cards we can swipe when we're broke but want something really bad,
social sites where we can find out what our friends are doing every
waking moment of our lives?

Is it all of the instant gratification __ drugs, fast food, smart phones, Instagram, 
Twitter, free porn, online shopping?

Is it the seemingly endless variety of spectator sports __ football, baseball,
boxing, cage fighting, basketball, hockey, pro wrestling, the amazing
spectacle of the Super Bowl?

Is it the American Dream __ though the vast majority of us don't get to live it?

We also must decide how we are going to go about shaping our society and
country, how our democracy will function, how decisions will be made,
how much of the responsibility to ourselves and future generations we're
going to entrust and delegate to our leadership elite, the elected or
de facto pillars of society . . .

Can we just depend on "experts" __ corporate CEOs and our political leaders __
to make the right choices for our communities, our schools, every aspect
of our lives?

Can we let corporations decide everything for us __ what to buy, what is safe,
what is healthy, what products and services are constructive and
sustainable, what makes for a better society and positive future for our
children and our children's children?

Can we let expensive campaign ads during election cycles substitute for meaningful
debate and serious discussion of critical issues that effect us, our
safety, the quality of our lives?

Can we in good conscience permit the privatizing of everything __ schools, roads,
water, sewage, electricity, libraries, the internet __ because some
corporate-owned demagogues say government is bad bad bad and private ownership 
is good good good?

Should we allow our leaders to worship at the altar of "free trade" __ NAFTA, TPP,
TTIP __ if it means surrendering national sovereignty and handing over
the design and control of our entire future to multinational
corporations?

Can we continue letting our schools, towns, roads, bridges fall apart and
become worthless because we have wasted so much money on unnecessary
wars and military bases, that now we supposedly don't have any funding
left for education and crucial infrastructure?

Should we allow capitalism and pure unfettered pursuit of profit trump individual 
and community needs and values?

Can debt-based currency creation __ the privatization of the right to "coin money" 
by ceding that power to private banks __ over the long haul serve the greater good 
of the country and provide equitable distribution of our national wealth?

Can the monopolization of production and services by large multinational
corporations fulfill the long term goals and aspirations of our country?

After our humiliating record of defeat on the battlefield __ Korea, Vietnam,
Afghanistan, Iraq __ can we trust that our leaders, locked into a
feckless 'war-and-more-war' approach to foreign policy, will do the
right thing on the international stage going forward?

After being lied into the war in Iraq, after having the economy completely
mucked up, after seeing our factories and jobs shipped overseas, after
being conned into bailing out the big banks and watching the wholesale
looting the Treasury and Federal Reserve to stuff the wallets of Wall
Street fat cats and corporate CEOs, can we trust our current politicos
with respect to anything at all?

In theory, nothing in our democracy is written in stone. We __ you and I __
can change the priorities. If our country is headed in the wrong direction,
we can turn it around.

At least . . . in theory.

I'm currently writing a political tome, a concise but powerful, practical
manual for change, which I believe can make a difference. It is my
attempt to help put 'We the people' back in the political
equation, giving the majority of American citizens say in shaping the
future of the country. It's about taking power back from those who
driven by greed and hubris have bankrupted the country and made us the
most feared and hated nation in the world, then assigning that power to
its rightful owners __ you and I.  It is not about tossing
power capriciously into the filthy hands of an unruly mob, but a plan
for thoughtfully and respectfully placing it in the guiding hands of a sane 
and sensible majority.

I hope to have it out late May or early June.

Working title . . . 

Candidate Contracts: A Manifesto (A New Front and Perhaps Last Stand 

in the Battle for True Representative Democracy in America).

Do you see now? At the end of the day __ and it has been a long day for sure __ 
I don't mean to merely be negative.

I actually intend to be quite positive.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Militarizing The Police – Part 4

Kelly Thomas was killed by police brutality.

Let me be clear about something here. When I talk about militarizing the
police, I'm not just referring to equipment. I'm talking about a
mentality __ a world view.

Militarizing anyone is a tough, convoluted process. As they grow up, even if boys
are taught to be boys, they are also taught to love thy neighbor, be
respectful of human life, thou shalt not kill, and so on. Then when
taken into the military, everything is turned upside down and they are
told: Okay, now forget about all of that, at least with respect to some
subset of the human race __ the Japs, the Nazis, the Arabs, the Gooks,
whoever. They are told that none of those old rules of kindness, even
God's sacred commandments, don't apply. Those people over there
are your enemies. You will show them no respect, no mercy, in fact, you
are to destroy them, kill them without hesitation or remorse. And if
you do a good job of slaughtering them, you will be lauded, decorated
with medals, become a national hero, the object of admiration and
praise. Chicks will dig you.

Okay . . .

What happens when the police start seeing themselves as an extension of the
military, here not to protect and serve, issue the occasional traffic
violation, give talks to kids in school about being good citizens, but
to PROTECT THE HOMELAND against THEM?

And then what happens, when the average American citizen comes under suspicion?
Suspicion of being a misfit, a troublemaker, a dissident, a traitor? Of
not being "with us" but "against us"? Of being a commie-sympathizer, a
towelhead, a jihadist? What happens when databases are being kept of
potential threats, of people who allegedly fit some profile of being a
terrorist, lists of citizens who allegedly fail to fall in line, and may
well be trying to undermine our great country, sabotage the government,
destroy the land of the brave, home of the free? What happens when the public is now seen as the potential enemy?

That's the kind of militarization of the police we most have to fear. Because here's what you get . . .

Enough said. I don't want to be accused of being a fear monger or some wild-eyed Chicken Little paranoid. There's more than enough of that going on already. But we've all been put on notice. The signs are there and we've been given fair warning.

Given how far along I believe the militarization of the police has already progressed, what is the government __ both the law enforcement branches and many agencies who provide non-security related services like the Social Security Administration and postal service __ preparing for?
Social order breaks down when people become desperate or angry. When they are both desperate and angry, the doors for massive insurrection swing wide open. What could precipitate such catastrophic and violent breakdown of our society?

In my view, there are a number of scenarios which are not entirely out of the question __ some say they are likely __ which could drive desperation and anger. These are, I might note, what the government think tanks themselves say they're worried about.

1. The abandonment of the dollar
   as the world's reserve currency or machinations by private banking and
   investment resulting in the complete collapse of the American economy.
2. The foundering of delivery mechanisms or severe interruption of the supply chains for the critical necessities for survival: food, water, electricity, heating oil, natural gas, gasoline.
3. Violent insurrection or civil war based on widespread discontent and hysteria.
4. World War III or any far-reaching global conflict precipitating any of the above.

The U.S. dollar as the reserve currency is already under assault. We have become grossly irresponsible and abused the enormous privileges we enjoyed for decades. Now the BRICS and several other nations are trying to get out from under the oppressive thumb of the U.S. banking cartels.

The supply chains for food and other necessities are long and fragile. It has been claimed, for example, that if the trucks, boats, planes and trains supplying the supermarket were to somehow be compromised, the shelves would be completely empty in just a few day. Then what? Hunger is a virulent and uncompromising enemy of social order.

The government has created such a vast pool of fear and paranoia, people have armed themselves to the teeth. Back in the 90s, the police beating of Rodney King set off huge riots across the country. Those were much calmer days than we have now post-911. With the grotesque polarization of the population on a vast array of issues, the U.S. has become a tinderbox. It's hard to predict what the spark might be that will set it all off. But it sure doesn't take a Nostradamus to see what's coming.

With Syria, Iran, the Ukraine, the encirclement of Russia and China by the U.S. military, it is obvious to anyone looking that there's a psychotic rogue element within the architecture of the U.S. government that is itching for a war. When it happens, with economies across the landscape on the brink of collapse and the fragile balance of peace in the world ready to shatter, this will mean conflagration and chaos like never before in history. If America in the midst of this insanity, were to go nuclear __ and yes, my friends, there are plans for it __ even if there's no sizable retaliation and we survive, the U.S. will become a leprous pariah in the international community. However you stack it up, if we continue on our present course and are the instigator of a major war, America will end up bankrupt, scorned, isolated __ a pathetic shell of a once glorious nation.

Though you wouldn't know it, with all of the "exceptionalist" blather and chest-beating jingoism that passes for patriotism in the media and spews from the pulpits of political power, America is widely resented, feared, despised. When the rest of the world can't handle any more of our belligerence and turns on us, it won't end well. We'll go down kicking, screaming, throwing an epic tantrum.

That's how federal agencies responsible now for civil order see things.

That's what the local police are being militarized for.

That's what they are preparing for.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]