Since leaving America August 2006, I have traveled to sixteen countries. A great deal has happened. This site is to share my thoughts, photos, music, writings, travel experiences, and developing political/social commentary with you. I hope you find it interesting and informative.
Showing posts with label military-industrial complex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military-industrial complex. Show all posts
Since 2006, I’ve been in 35 countries. Total over my lifetime is 44. I’ve been in extremely wealthy countries with sky-high standards of living — Sweden, Norway, Monaco, Switzerland, Austria — and been personally immersed in extreme poverty — Uganda, Kenya, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal. When I was in Kenya, I lived in a community called Mbita, that had no running water, no electricity, and we went to the bathroom in a hole in the ground. I bathed with the locals in Lake Victoria. All I had to bring was a bar of soap and a towel. But we had to be on guard. The local hippos were temperamental and often very aggressive.
Granted, compared to the extreme poverty in Kenya and other 3rd World countries, for most people life in the US is luxurious.
So . . . how can ‘war be making us poor’?
‘Poor’ is a relative term. The US constantly trumpets itself as the richest country in the world, the richest country in history! And via carefully compiled spread sheets prepared by neoliberal economists, we can find strong evidence for the claim.
However, facts on the ground for millions of American citizens, tell a different story.
The simple truth is that, yes, there are a handful of Americans who are doing incomprehensibly well. They have vast piles of money, huge stock and property portfolios, accounts in tax haven countries bulging at the seams. But this is at the very top of the economic ladder. This opulence and affluence is not shared with 99.9% of the rest of us. The brutal truth is, wealth inequality has become so extreme, it has gutted our economy of vitality, undermined what used to be a diverse and robust manufacturing base, inaugurated “casino capitalism”, i.e. rabid financialization and speculation, and stranded ordinary citizens without what many other countries consider the “basics” of a healthy functioning society. For everyday people, while they may not have to bathe in local streams and lakes, these changes — which only benefit the wealthy elite — have made life increasingly difficult. Opportunities are disappearing and for the middle and working classes, just surviving and maintaining an acceptable living standard has become an increasingly daunting challenge.
Travelers from America, gone for extended periods of time and traveling in some of the better-off countries — including, by the way, Russia and China — report being shocked when they return to the US . . . shocked at the condition of our basic infrastructure, by the filth of our cities, by the level of homelessness, by the general quality of life they see. They are shocked and appalled by the level of anxiety, depression, and often anger and hostility which has become the norm. People are anxious, confused, frustrated, often frightened.
I’m not going to compare the US with Bangladesh or Haiti. Or Monaco or Switzerland. But I think it’s realistic to contrast what the US has become, first, to what it claims to be; and second, what it, as the “richest country in the world”, by its own reckoning should be.
I suggest you read my book. It’s very eye-opening. It’s not just a catalog of misery. It both takes aim at the primary cause of our economic malaise and decline — endless war, unnecessary and accelerating militarization of our society — and points the way for citizens to directly intervene and reverse the disintegration, before the US can no longer function as a nation.
The decline is almost imperceptibly gradual but there’s no doubt about what’s happening: War is bankrupting the US politically, spiritually, socially, and economically.
My latest book is a powerful and empowering collection of commentaries and insights by some of today’s most respected political thinkers. The world is a mess and America is in big trouble. Despite the finger-pointing, it is the U.S. itself which is causing its own problems. Perpetual war is destroying our nation. To stop the unfolding disaster, we must honestly look at how our own leadership and policies have led the country astray. This book is the perfect place to start.
Featuring interviews of Noam Chomsky, Larry Wilkerson, Paul Craig Roberts, Mark Skidmore, Coleen Rowley, William J. Astore, Abby Martin, Dan Kovalik, Lee Camp, Finian Cunningham, Michael T. Klare, Cynthia McKinney, Scott Ritter, Joe Lombardo, Bruce Gagnon, Norman Solomon, Peter Kuznick, Ajamu Baraka, Margaret Kimberley, Matthew Hoh, Garland Nixon, and Dennis Kucinich.
As an eBook (75% off … $1.99 USD, May 22nd – 29th) . . .
Why should this come as a surprise? The ruling elite has over five decades contributed millions of dollars, tens of thousands of hours, gone to great lengths to take our democracy apart, skew the laws to maximize their profits, marginalize and silence opposition, reduce the voice of everyday citizens to a pathetic whimper, perhaps worst of all, promoted war and ecological destruction, bringing us face-to-face to possible human extinction. And we should expect to undo all of this with an article here and there, a few comments, and some Twitter and Facebook posts?
I don’t mean to criticize or mock anyone. But I get this all of the time and every time I’m truly astounded that well-meaning, concerned progressives think there’s some quick and easy defense to the wrecking ball taken to the building blocks of our “democracy” and the value system that underpins it, and to repair the colossal damage already done by the oligarchs to our current quality of life and potential for a decent and harmonious future.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen and everything in between, there’s a lot of work to be done. And with some reservations, I’m inspired by the enormous amount of energy and time devoted by the few sane activists among us.
Unfortunately, almost all of that energy and time is completely wasted. It isn’t going anywhere and never will without some serious rethinking and creative strategizing.
Change is impossible without “the people” and the vast majority of people are pretty much left scratching their heads at BLM, woke, cancel culture, Antifa, QAnon, Proud Boys, build back better, and especially the incapacitating, binary weaponizing of everything into left vs. right, Republican vs. Democrat, and all related iterations: liberal vs. conservative, Trump vs. Biden/Sanders/Clinton.
Here’s the main problem as I see it. People vote against their own interests because they’re overwhelmed, confused, misdirected, brainwashed. They step into the voting booth thinking they’re voting for one thing and end up getting the opposite. The science of messing with people’s minds has surpassed quantum physics in sophistication. Soon we’ll all be implanted with neural interfaces and directly turned into clueless, obedient drones. But that’s for another article.
What I try to do is introduce issue-by-issue some genuine clarity. Remove any possible ambiguity or misinterpretation. If you want this, then do that. To the point of this article, if you want to know if the candidate you’re voting for is truly on your side, then perform a simple, straightforward, sensible test. You can and will know. The result will be a clear and unambiguous ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
That in a nutshell is the whole idea behind the electoral strategy I’ve been talking about for ten years. Another topic for yet another piece, as if I hadn’t already written three books and hundreds of such articles already. But for now let me quickly reiterate, the candidate contract electoral strategy represents issue-by-issue clarity and real choice. A candidate is either for the proposed change, or against it. He or she signs on the dotted line making their commitment crystal clear. If they sign, we know where they stand. If they don’t sign we know where they stand. In either case, we as voters know exactly what to do.
Why don’t current activist demands for real change ever make a difference?
Two reasons . . .
FIRST: They are directed at the wrong people. They are directed at those in power who are not listening, will not act, will never listen, will never act favorably. We only need to look at the record to know this is true. Very legitimate, extremely popular reforms simply NEVER GET DONE. Do I need to mention a few?
• Decent good-paying jobs
• Fair, equitable, livable wages
• Health care reform (Medicare4all)
• Serious attention to climate change
• Election reform (getting $$s out of politics)
• Law enforcement and comprehensive prison reform
• Ending the wars (reversing military expansion)
• Comprehensive immigration reform
Mind you, there are huge consensuses on these and similar issues. How do we know what these areas of agreements are? There’s no mystery. Poll after poll, year after year, point to pretty much the same things. Without exception, concerns about the economy are at the top of the list. People now more than ever are struggling. The American Dream is fading and prospects for the future are becoming increasingly bleak.
SECOND: Many activists are personally committed to a cause, feel enormous passion for that cause, can’t imagine a world without it, can’t imagine any decent, aware human being being opposed to that cause.
Unfortunately, they’re often wrong and despite their best efforts, nothing changes, nor will it ever change. Either the object of their devotion is unpopular and/or it simply doesn’t even get noticed. There’s not sufficient public awareness, perhaps little enthusiasm, for whatever they’re promoting. Such niche issues are important and can be addressed when we have a Congress and White House listening to and on the side of the people. But until we put in power who actually represent the interests of the vast majority of citizens — NOT those of the ruling elite, Wall Street, the MIC, big banks and big corporations — NOTHING WILL GET DONE for the people. PERIOD!
These two undercurrents are intertwined and synergistic . . . in the worst possible way. Making impassioned pleas to our elected officials when they’re not listening is a non-starter and enormous waste of energy and resources. Focusing on issues which have little popular support ends up discrediting activists and knee-capping more promising activism, all too often turning the majority of citizens off. This not only drives away support, but infects the citizenry with cynicism about anything positive ever getting done. Predictably, resignation and apathy sets in. Just look around. Look at the comments we see on articles like this. Hopelessness is growing. Surrender is the new pandemic.
The system is rigged … AGAINST US, WE THE PEOPLE.
It’s certainly foolhardy to think that the people who benefit from the rigging are going to unrig it. They will continue to do what they’ve been doing. Serving themselves. Ignoring us. They will thrive. We will suffer.
Maybe naively I believe we can refocus, unite, change things. Maybe foolishly I believe we can rock the boat enough to get the scoundrels on board into the drink, without sinking the ship.
But I don’t think so.
We can fight this but we have to work together.
So what do we do?
First, we apply the Ultimate Wedge Issue Test. What is that? There are certain issues which are crucial to the survival of our nation as a democracy which “promotes the general welfare.” The test determines who is in favor of a nation that works for everyone, not just a privileged elite, and who is too selfish, myopic or misinformed to want what is the foundation of our society … equality, justice, peace, harmony, opportunity.
This is the wedge. Either you’re for working together as a society . . . or you’re for continuing on the road to oligarchy, tyranny, fascism. This applies both to citizen voters and candidates for office.
I sincerely believe that the majority of citizens want a country that works for everybody.
Issue-by-issue we find out what we as citizens think is important, then issue-by-issue we see which candidates are willing to commit to getting the job done.
We only vote for those candidates who are on the side of the vast majority of Americans.
No excuses. No compromise. No exceptions.
While applying the “wedge test”, we always keep in mind, this has nothing to do with party or label or ideology. It’s strictly about where candidates come down on those items which the vast majority of citizens have targeted as essential — in most cases things we’ve needed all along — things across the board that haven’t been getting done.
As I said, we all already know what these issues are. And we know those now in office have not nor will they ever support us in promoting and instituting the necessary reforms, such that WE THE PEOPLE get what’s long overdue . . . a fair stake in the vast wealth, blessings, and opportunities of the allegedly richest country in history.
Not just talk about it. Not just say pretty words and make empty campaign promises. Not just continue to spew out sound bites and pleasant-sounding word salad so we will again trust them, fall for their shallow rhetoric, and vote these hypocrites back into office.
It’s that simple. I didn’t say easy. No way will this be easy. But it’s certainly simple.
It starts with us no longer being gullible fools. Those in power will continue to lie to us, continue rigging the system in their favor and that of their patrons, the privileged elite, if we let them.
But we can stop this right now. By getting serious about installing a government of the people, by the people, for the people. By electing “people’s candidates” who have proven themselves worthy of our vote.
Ron Ridenour’s masterfully-written indictment of U.S. militarism and its take-all-prisoners imperial project is of such breathtaking scope and astonishing depth, it would be hard to exaggerate its value and timeliness, as the foreign policy of the Empire of Chaos now as never before in recorded history, steers the world toward apocalyptic confrontation and puts the survival of the entire human race at risk.
Those readers still in the embrace of the most toxic pile of propaganda ever assembled by a world power, that America is a force of good, spreading democracy, defending human rights, standing with the oppressed and marginalized, should have medics in the room with them to apply emergency procedures as the truth pours off the pages of this book. Ridenour pulls no punches and with meticulous research and documentation, leaves little doubt that his narrative offers nothing less than the explicit and savage truth of over a century of exploits and exploitation. We see brutal, barbaric, merciless application of military and economic power, with the clear and unambiguous goal of world domination — the U.S. as the ultimate empire blessed by God and history and the Fates, exempt from the rules of international law and judgment by anyone who would challenge it. While the focus is Russia, this book covers a lot more ground, offering glimpses into many theaters of confrontation and conflict: China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, of course the Middle East, as well as many countries in its more immediate sphere of influence, Central and South America. With its 800+ bases currently sprawling across the planet, we’re hard-pressed to find anywhere where the heavy foot of American power does not exercise its self-serving prerogative.
Those readers who already are familiar with the scope of U.S. hypocrisy, who understand that behind the smiley face of official beneficence and goodness lies an agenda that serves a ruling elite at the expense of the vast number of everyday citizens, both inside the U.S. and out, will still benefit enormously from this book. Much of it might constitute a refresher course, but I suspect many, myself included, will be pleasantly — or unpleasantly — rewarded with both disturbing factual knowledge and Ridenour’s fresh insights and analysis. It may be for such readers “preaching to the choir” but I’ve never heard a choir that didn’t need to be tuned up from time to time.
Ridenour quotes “The Naked Human”, a poem written by Gustav Munch-Petersen.
I am only a human but I shall one day raise earth’s mountains and let them shake in the ears of those who sleep
I am only a human but I shall one day take the sun down from heaven and light up all the dark holes with merciless white light
I am only a human but I shall one day steal the gods lightning and sweep the earth clean of dust
If I may do some metaphorical borrowing, I’d say that with The Russian Peace Threat: Pentagon on Alert Ron Ridenour has raised some mountains, taken the sun down from heaven, and stolen lightning from the gods. Let’s hope his exceptional scholarship and writing wakes up some people, lights up the dark holes, and sweeps away the dust.
Our survival as a species depends on it.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
I'm
addressing this article to the "professional left" and to the typically
white middle-class point-and-click political activists who are at the
insular core of today's peace movement. They do keep trying -- we give
them all the much-deserved credit for that -- yet keep doing the same
things over and over -- wash, rinse, repeat -- never pausing to look
objectively at how ineffective they're being.
[ Insert Einstein's definition of insanity here. ]
It's
a veritable cacophonous roar out there these days. If what's being
trumpeted is not pitch perfect and outrageously spectacular, it's just
more white noise in the din.
To
get people to pay attention, you need to get their attention. That
means fresh, exciting new ideas; galvanizing calls to action; relevant,
achievable payoffs. The peace movement can't survive anymore on high
fives, or peace sign t-shirts and bumper stickers. People just aren't
buying the old tropes.
Mind
you, when I talk about 'people', I'm talking about tens of millions of
people. I am talking about creating a true 'people's movement' of
'people power', not just a marginal slice of the population which
happens to have a lot of time on its hands. This unified bloc can
change everything, especially if it is fashioned into a voting bloc.
I'm
talking about the 'people power' of the bottom 160 million Americans
who are hurting much more than you and I, much more than anyone who has
the time and luxury of participating in marches and bake sales for
peace, sit-ins, teach-ins, or online petitions. These folks are
struggling and are those whose lives are most devastated by our war
economy and pursuit of empire.
THESE
FOLKS ARE FRUSTRATED, ANGRY, BEGGING FOR A COHERENT SOLUTION TO THEIR
MISERY. They live paycheck-to-paycheck, day-to-day, just trying to
survive. Am I imagining all of this? I direct you to the orange
imbecile sitting in the Oval Office. The folks I'm talking about put
him there. You don't think they can make a difference in the political
direction of the country? You don't think they can be mobilized? You
better guess again.
This is the principal reason why my Peace Dividend
initiative targets Trump voters, the very same folks who are becoming
increasingly disillusioned with the orange demagogue, as he blithely now
jettisons the campaign promises he made to get their votes. With the
unfolding Mad Hatter military confrontations in the Middle East and
North Korea, the risky intimidation of Russia and China, the increasing
likelihood of WWIII, and growing potential for nuclear annihilation, the
urgency is obvious: We need EVERYONE on board!
The Trump supporters are, as they say, low hanging fruit. And there's a lot of fruit.
By
design the Peace Dividend strategy is about reaching HUGE NUMBERS of
politically marginalized, dispossessed, previously ignored -- until
Trump came along -- voters. The Peace Dividend talks their language,
their needs, addresses their immediate concerns and growing rage with
the system. And it does it honestly! Everything in my proposal is
based on available data, most of it directly from government sources and
speeches by our elected officials. I've taken the official data and
the promises, just reconfigured it, reinterpreted it, refashioned it,
turned it into a weapon to take apart the military machine. It's
completely legal, it's in the best traditions of our alleged democracy,
it's completely consistent with the Constitution, in fact, it even
reinforces much of what our leadership has stated in the past -- Google
'peace dividend 1992’ -- at a time they found that particular version of
reality politically expedient.
Most
of the folks in the bottom half of the economy are not going to have
PhDs in Political Science. We will confront some big differences of
opinion, demeanor, vocabulary, basic courtesy, open-mindedness,
instincts, mutual respect. It's a rough crowd. Many will be racist,
homophobic, superstitious, ultra-religious, misinformed, and just plain
ignorant.
Granted,
it would be nice to try to work out our differences in world view, our
political philosophies, our sense of where the nation should be headed.
But with the crisis we face right now, we don't have that luxury. We
must act immediately to stop the military madness, the march to war, the
complete takeover of the country and its political and economic
institutions by the menacing and deranged neocon/neoliberal junta. The
Peace Dividend is a battle cry, it is a call to action to 200 million
Americans to DO SOMETHING, TO ACT NOW, before it's too late -- if it
isn't already. It gives concerned citizens something specific they can
do, starting today.
Moreover,
as facts on the ground now alarmingly demonstrate, there is no longer
much room for conversation. Effective, unbiased reporting has been
abolished, public dissent increasingly is being squashed. More
devastatingly, talk has become so cheapened, most of the people we need
to reach, don't want any more talk. THEY WANT ACTION!
It's
easy to blame Trump for the deterioration of the national conversation,
relegating it to empty nonsensical utterances and abrupt Tweets. But
let's be honest. This degradation has been in the works for a long time
and had a good head start long before he took office.
That's neither here nor there. Here's what we need to keep in focus.
As
Trump's neoliberal/neocon assault troops continue to wreak havoc --
picture coming military conflicts and the inevitable crash of the
economy this year or next -- the masses will be singularly outraged,
hungry for REAL ACTION. They will be crying both for heads to roll and
for something to be done. All of the necessary incentives will be there
to get them on board with constructive activism.
The Peace Dividend offers a simple, direct, decisive plan of action. It's as simple as voting.
This is our chance
for a non-violent coup d'tat. We need to be prepared. We can't
squander this opportunity by being safe or boring. We must be bold and
decisive, yet affable and receptive, sensitive and sensible. We need to
listen, then talk to others in their language, on their terms. We must
play down differences, seek understanding, unite in a common purpose.
Most of all, we need to welcome everyone who shows the slightest
interest. We need everyone on board to defeat a determined and ruthless
enemy . . .
A bloodthirsty military and their ruling class puppet masters.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
The West, with of course America itself in the lead, loves color revolutions!
I say: Game on! Let's go for it.
But
instead of another color revolution posing as a victory for democracy
but which in reality is more colonial subjugation by the Greater
American Empire, let's have a color revolution that will really make a
difference. Let's install democracy in a country now truly desperate
for real citizen empowerment and the vast saving graces of
representative government, transparency, freedom of the press, respect
for human rights -- you know the list, since its trumpeted 24/7 by our
propaganda machinery, whether these inspiring and noble ideals have any
basis in reality or not.
Yes, we'll call this one: The Red White and Blue Color Revolution!
It will be regime change, of course, because that's what color revolutions are all about.
But
this one will take place in Washington DC, putative center of the
Universe, the grand "decider" when it comes to all things global, the
bright beacon of hope and freedom and enlightened leadership.
If
it isn't already obvious, U.S. citizens now live in a police state
under the oppressive and ruthless rule of an authoritarian oligarchic
elite. Everyday citizens have no voice in their government, their most
vital constitutionally-guaranteed rights have been nullified, their tax
dollars are being used in service to a kleptocratic cartel of
corporate/banking/energy industry/Wall
Street/military-industrial-government-complex insiders, they are under
constant surveillance by a sprawling Stasi-like security state.
Anything resembling basic social services are under siege and being
slashed in the name of austerity, and promoting the general welfare as
chartered by the Constitution is dismissed as socialist daydreaming. Our
essential infrastructure is crumbling, the result of gross indifference
and neglect. The quality of our air, drinking water, schools,
communities, even our daily life, continue their steady decline. While
the rich immerse themselves in greater opulence and grandeur at the
banquet table, the rest of us dumpster dive for what scraps we can
scavenge in the alley in back. They snidely reassure us: "Buy a
lottery ticket! You might win."
So what about our elections? How is hope and change holding up in the voting booth?
The
simple truth is that the dismal array of prospects we are now forced to
select from to "represent us" in their official capacities shows no
prospect for any of this turning around. Choice at the polls is an
illusion. It's always between one corporate lapdog and another
corporate lapdog, regardless of party affiliation.
This is intentional. The major party duopoly is configured to maintain the status quo.
Those
in power intend to stay in power and use that power to enrich
themselves and their wealthy benefactors who will use their wealth to
keep their minions in positions of power. It's an unforgiving
closed-loop feedback system, the political engine of crony capitalism.
It keeps "them" in and "you and I" out.
There is only on solution . . .
Regime change in Washington DC.
Translation:
Replacing every elected representative who does not guarantee absolute,
non-negotiable, unambiguous loyalty and service to those who elect him
or her to office.
The Red White and Blue Color Revolution!
I'm dead serious. Because America is in dead serious trouble.
We need a clean sweep. We'll "drain the swamp" . . . for real this time!
Let's
not fool ourselves any longer. Anything less will doom America to
further rapacious exploitation, and consign Americans to total
enslavement under ruthless totalitarianism: One nation under God . . .
by the rich and for the rich.
As revolutions go, they can be peaceful or violent, responsible or bloody.
That will not be our choice to make. It'll be up to those in power.
Either they'll go quietly, respectful of the democratic will of the people.
Or . . .
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
How do you deal with a shark attack in a swimming pool?
You drain the water and watch the shark suffocate.
The Peace Dividend strategy does exactly that.
It
drains the pool of funds which our insane neocon-infested military
establishment -- which includes the DOD, NSA, CIA, DHS, Congress, and
the White House -- abuses with its never-ending wars and delusional
monomaniacal pursuit of world empire.
We take back all of the money they've defrauded us out of
for the past 24 years -- we could go back further but two-and-a-half
decades is a good start -- then watch them desperately gasp and struggle
as they try to persist in their aggressive bullying of the world.
No money. America will start waging peace instead of waging war.
Peace is something we can actually afford.
The Peace Dividend, the pool of money totaling $4.82 trillion which was paid in taxes -- by you and I
-- under false pretenses, collected on the basis of lies told us by our
government in support of wasteful D.O.D. extravagance and military
aggression on no less than eight foreign countries since 1992, is money
which will be distributed as a refund to each and every single American
citizen. It is our money, tax dollars paid in good faith by
decent hard-working folks who trusted their government to put it to
correct and proper use.
We were fooled.
We were lied to.
We were conned.
We were defrauded!
We were callously ripped off!
The Peace Dividend refund comes to $14,952 for each and every living U.S. citizen, paid out over three years.
That comes to almost $60,000 for a family of four.
This
is money which should have been ours to spend, and recovering it -- as
is completely within our rights in a government of the people, by the
people, for the people -- unlike the military madmen, we'll put it to
good use. We can buy some news clothes for the kids, pay down our
credit cards, replace that car that's falling apart, take a long overdue
vacation.
Am I crazy?
No . . . we are crazy if we don't stick up for ourselves.
We are crazy if we don't stop the abuse of power and hold our government accountable.
We are crazy if we don't reject and reverse this gross misappropriation of our tax dollars.
As victims of the worst crime in history -- the biggest tax rip-off ever -- we deserve full and immediate compensation.
Let's get started.
By the way, if anyone is tempted to ask me how a shark got into the swimming pool, I have a question for you . . .
The
Peace Dividend strategy is a direct attack on America’s systemic
addiction to war by appealing to the self-interest of its citizens,
literally INCENTIVIZING people to redirect their thinking and start
WORKING FOR PEACE!
The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World is now available both as an ebook and deluxe paperback at all of the usual outlets . . .
As
anyone who is familiar with my writings knows, for the past four years
I've expressed my alarm at the systematic disempowerment of everyday
citizens -- the 99% -- and the destruction of our democracy. I'm never
content to merely identify a problem without trying to identify a
solution. Thus my books Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy (June 2015) and Fighting for the Democracy We Deserve
(September 2015) focused on ways to address these critical challenges,
even given the shredding of our personal liberties and the sabotaging of
normal mechanisms for implementing reform.
In
developing the ideas for these books, at some point I realized that the
militarization of our domestic police forces, our communities, our
media, our foreign policy, in fact, just about every aspect of our lives
and everything America now collectively does, was central to the
control the oligarchy now has over the country and its citizens. This
militarization finds its most obvious expression in the constant wars
and the insertion of U.S. troops all over the world, the open-ended and
ubiquitous War on Terror, and the pursuit of world domination by any
means necessary, all of which are steadily driving the country to its
own cataclysmic unraveling.
But
it also occurred to me that not only was this militarization the main
mechanism for reshaping America into an imperial autocracy, it offered
at the same time a phenomenal opportunity for its citizens to reclaim
their country. I believe that the war machine is its own Achilles heel
-- at least until voting has been outlawed and we're all locked away in
work slave camps -- in that its abuse of power is so ham-fisted, at core
so contrary to the best social and political traditions of our nation,
once the majority of citizens understand what is going on, the whole
destructive regime of the warmongers can be taken down and replaced with
one that serves the greater interests of all Americans. Of course, the
major challenge is finding a way to communicate it in a way that makes
sense and guarantees a significant number of people will pay attention
to it.
This
unfolds as my Peace Dividend concept, a historical and political
analysis of endemic institutional corruption and abuse in the
Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the NSA and other national
security agencies, Congress and the White House, offering a strategy
for challenging and ending the egregious violations of public trust.
The Peace Dividend concept originally appeared and is explored in summary form in both of the two books mentioned above. With
the publication of my new book, it now has its own dedicated volume
with full explication, justification, and documentation . . .
The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World.
Here's
the premise: With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, American
citizens were promised a "peace dividend", i.e. less money for war, more
for peace and a good life for all. The U.S. military under misguided
leadership has attacked eight countries since then. The defense budget
has exploded, buying a lot of junk that doesn't work and military
hardware we don't need.
American
citizens have been grossly deceived about the real purpose and agenda
of our military exploits throughout the world. As I incontrovertibly
establish, we have had over $4.82 trillion of our hard-earned tax
dollars taken under false pretenses and wasted with cavalier abandon on
unnecessary wars and unneeded weapons. This transparent fraud on the
American people has been perpetrated for two-and-a-half decades.
It's
time to change all of that. It's time for a fresh new narrative, and a
vibrant national conversation. It's time to start thinking and talking
about peace again. This book explains why and exactly how we begin.
The
Peace Dividend strategy is a direct attack on America’s systemic
addiction to war by appealing to the self-interest of its citizens,
literally INCENTIVIZING citizens to redirect their thinking and start
WORKING FOR PEACE!
The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World is now available both as an ebook and deluxe paperback at many of the usual outlets . . .
In my recent article Peace is as American as . . .?, I argued that while there have been anti-war movements, there has never been a real "peace movement" in America.
What's the difference?
The absence of war is not peace.
More accurately, in our times the absence of war is a truce.
A truce is the abatement of conflict with no guarantee that war will not break out again.
Peace is a state where no conflict is ongoing or possible.
Big difference!
There are over 15,000 nuclear weapons held ready for use by nine countries.
Just because we are not at this point in time using them does not mean we are at peace.
It's
like living among pallets stacked with dynamite, serving breakfast on a
table-size crate of TNT, and claiming that you feel safe and secure
knowing that if you're careful the whole thing won't blow sky high.
Our Nobel Peace Prize president hascommitted $1 trillion dollarsto
"update" America's bulging nuclear arsenal. Capable of destroying the
planet and every living organism on it 25 times over, it needs to be
made more efficient.
Do you feel the peace?
We occasionally see surges of anti-war sentiment. More recent than the game-changing demonstrations against the Vietnam War,
immediately before the Iraq War, impressively large crowds assembled to
object to the announced attack. While the numbers were in the hundreds
of thousands in Europe, across the U.S. demonstrations drew tens of
thousands of "anti-war" activists. CBS reported protests in over 150 cities. I personally marched in Portland, Oregon where it was estimated that 58,000 showed up.
Even
more recently in September 2013, when pressure was mounting on
President Obama to attack Syria around the false flag use of chemical
weapons -- allegedly by Syria's Bashar al-Assad but later demonstrated
to be by rebels who were trying to hoodwink the U.S. into a full-on
bombing assault -- again impressive numbers of people
voiced their opposition. The White House and offices of our
congressional representatives were flooded with calls, emails, letters.
I
still maintain that a fuss over a particular war, or some misguided
military aggression by the U.S. military does not constitute a "peace
movement".
The truth is that America does not embrace peace.
America promotes war.
“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world: My own government, I cannot be silent.”
Everything
but our most advanced weapons -- we have to keep them in reserve for
when all the other weapons we sell are turned on us -- is for sale. Fighter planes, bombers, bombs, artillery, guns, killing machines and devices of every shape and size.
I could go on for hours citing examples. But here is one from just last week.
Yes, the Pentagon in its infinite wisdom is selling $683 million worth of smart bombs to a country which is destabilizing the entire Middle East.
Though a member of the NATO alliance, Turkey has latelyproven to be a wild card,
its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pursuing his own highly
nationalistic and treacherous agenda. Selling more weapons to this
renegade, arguably psychopathic ego-maniac, is like giving an armed
grenade-launcher to a 3-year-old child to chase the dog around the yard.
The U.S. continues to supply
Saudi Arabia -- one of the most ideologically-extreme, brutal,
anti-democratic monarchies in the world, responsible for horrifying war
crimes in Yemen, egregious crimes against its own citizens, and a major
player in plans to destroy Syria and eventually Iran, even if this
triggers a major war with Russia and carries the possible risk of starting World
War III -- with some of our most advanced weaponry.
Such
decisions to militarily equip saber-rattling, autocratic, aggressive,
dangerous regimes would be the target of a real peace movement in
America. These are clear, frightening and appalling examples of
America's wanton propagation of lethality and potential for hellish
destruction across the face of the Earth.
Our silent acquiescence represents the opposite of peace. It is nothing less than our tacit approval and championing of war.
I
occasionally hear faint whispering from the enlightened but tiny
minority of Americans who understand this -- more like muted whimpering
than a concerted call to action.
This is not a peace movement. It is an anomaly. At the same time . . .
What
can we expect? Americans are addicted to war. The idea of peace does
not even get enough attention to be scoffed at. It's such a quaint,
silly sort of notion, the simpleminded province of "peaceniks" and
"peace creeps", evidence of weakness and cowardice, clearly an
infliction of modern day Don Quixotes and other delusional brainiacs.
It's appropriate and inspiring to revisit the words of John F. Kennedy:
"What
kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax
Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the
peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about
genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living,
the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a
better life for their children -- not merely peace for Americans but
peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time but peace
for all time . . .
Peace
need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining
our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less
remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to
move irresistibly toward it . . .
For
in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all
inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish
our children's future. And we are all mortal."
John F. Kennedy spoke these words at American University, June 10, 1963.
He was assassinated five months later.
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
