Duty to Warn
"If somebody proposes that additional troops be sent, if I was still chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my first question . . . is what mission is it these troops are supposed to accomplish?"
We've been in Iraq how long? Spilled how much blood? Squandered how much treasure? Spread how much toxic waste? Alienated how much of the planet? And even the former secretary of state, who lent his name and dignity to the trumped-up intelligence that made this war possible, doesn't know why we're there.
". . . And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
A strain of humanity has been crying out against the cosmic foolishness of war, articulately and futilely, for as long as there have been art and poetry, with the cries increasing in volume and intensity in recent centuries (e.g., Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," above, written in 1851) - yet we keep waging slaughter on the same tired, transparent pretexts, mobilizing for short-term advantages and trapping the future in the aftermath.
We've been in Iraq how long? Spilled how much blood? Squandered how much treasure? Spread how much toxic waste? Alienated how much of the planet? And even the former secretary of state, who lent his name and dignity to the trumped-up intelligence that made this war possible, doesn't know why we're there.
". . . And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
A strain of humanity has been crying out against the cosmic foolishness of war, articulately and futilely, for as long as there have been art and poetry, with the cries increasing in volume and intensity in recent centuries (e.g., Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," above, written in 1851) - yet we keep waging slaughter on the same tired, transparent pretexts, mobilizing for short-term advantages and trapping the future in the aftermath.
A Global Come-As-You-Are Party
History's Law is that once an empire has shot it's wad, no amount of geo-political Viagra can keep it puissant. Can the GOP help trigger the termination of America's teetering global empire? [ Er, that's Global Orgasm for Peace, not Grand Old Party...although, come to think about it, the G.O.P.'s jingoistic overreach may ironically be accomplishing just that. ] Anyway, you're invited to participate, and this GOP really could be a grand ol' planetary party. Here's why:
History's Law is that once an empire has shot it's wad, no amount of geo-political Viagra can keep it puissant. Can the GOP help trigger the termination of America's teetering global empire? [ Er, that's Global Orgasm for Peace, not Grand Old Party...although, come to think about it, the G.O.P.'s jingoistic overreach may ironically be accomplishing just that. ] Anyway, you're invited to participate, and this GOP really could be a grand ol' planetary party. Here's why:
Dear Friend,
We are living in a time of great tests of our humanity, which also present great opportunities for transformation. The war in Iraq is a veil that shrouds our creativity and our potential for prosperity. It cuts us off from the world at a time when it is imperative that we acknowledge our interdependence and interconnectedness.
This is a moment with a profound feeling of destiny. America has been an extraordinary international power to manifest that which we focus our energies upon. This power is true of individuals as well as nations.
In a way, when we focus on terror, we bring to ourselves that which we fear. We focused on terror in Iraq and paradoxically helped to create the circumstances, which have propelled Iraq into civil war and chaos.
The prestigious Lancet report on excess casualties in Iraq estimates that the war in Iraq has caused 655,000 Iraqi deaths, and that 20% of those deaths are a direct result of the actions of coalition forces.
We are living in a time of great tests of our humanity, which also present great opportunities for transformation. The war in Iraq is a veil that shrouds our creativity and our potential for prosperity. It cuts us off from the world at a time when it is imperative that we acknowledge our interdependence and interconnectedness.
This is a moment with a profound feeling of destiny. America has been an extraordinary international power to manifest that which we focus our energies upon. This power is true of individuals as well as nations.
In a way, when we focus on terror, we bring to ourselves that which we fear. We focused on terror in Iraq and paradoxically helped to create the circumstances, which have propelled Iraq into civil war and chaos.
The prestigious Lancet report on excess casualties in Iraq estimates that the war in Iraq has caused 655,000 Iraqi deaths, and that 20% of those deaths are a direct result of the actions of coalition forces.
Bursting forth with renewed intensity, the “War on Christmas” is back in 2006.
So just what does this alleged war against an impalpable enemy entail?
Have “Islamofascists” captured and decapitated Santa Claus?
Did a US-made IDF “smart bomb” strike Bethlehem and obliterate baby Jesus as he lay in the manger?
Did the Grinch go global with his nefarious thievery?
Actually, the answer can be found amongst the corporate media’s nearly countless obfuscations and deceits.
Divisive, sophistic arguments crafted by “sage” pundits and readily accepted by genuflecting readers admonish that secular forces are determined to eradicate Christmas and its celebrants’ joy with the zeal of a restaurateur exterminating cockroaches. What an ingenious way to divert attention from the ongoing genocide in Iraq and the gutting of our Constitution!
Christmas may not truly be under siege, but our corporate overlords have certainly discovered myriad ways to wield it as a psychological weapon and to administer it as an “opiate of the masses”.
So just what does this alleged war against an impalpable enemy entail?
Have “Islamofascists” captured and decapitated Santa Claus?
Did a US-made IDF “smart bomb” strike Bethlehem and obliterate baby Jesus as he lay in the manger?
Did the Grinch go global with his nefarious thievery?
Actually, the answer can be found amongst the corporate media’s nearly countless obfuscations and deceits.
Divisive, sophistic arguments crafted by “sage” pundits and readily accepted by genuflecting readers admonish that secular forces are determined to eradicate Christmas and its celebrants’ joy with the zeal of a restaurateur exterminating cockroaches. What an ingenious way to divert attention from the ongoing genocide in Iraq and the gutting of our Constitution!
Christmas may not truly be under siege, but our corporate overlords have certainly discovered myriad ways to wield it as a psychological weapon and to administer it as an “opiate of the masses”.
It was early evening when my assistant, Little Red, and I disembarked. Coming into New Orleans I felt like a lost character from the set of the Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson film romp motorcycle classic “Easy Rider”. The vibe was light despite the abrupt fatal ending of the sixties epic. But these thoughts quickly slipped into the ether as we picked up our luggage and caught a cab to our hotel, The Royal Sonesta, which is located right on Bourbon Street. I was still feeling the ill effects of head congestion which was compounded with wicked cabin pressure and left me hard of hearing. The poor cab driver attempted to have a conversation with me, but I simply didn’t hear most of what was said. Little Red jumped in and tried to discreetly tell me what he was saying so I could respond, but my responses came out in whispers that the driver in turn could not hear. Unfortunately, I believe the man was left with a bad impression, but I tipped him a Jackson so that should assuage any and all slight my unfortunate condition might have caused.
Over a year after hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans and the Golf Coast region at large, a multitude of problems still exist. Some of the troubles currently facing the Crescent City include high rent, FEMA/insurance companies being slow to pay, contractor scam artists, squabbles over land rights, the West Nile Virus, citizens not returning from their “surrogate” cities, lack of employment opportunities, and the oh-so-popular and pervasive government inaction. While brilliant political pundits will debate the veracity and severity of the multitude of problems, I really have no desire to throw my hat into that ring. Instead, my dispatch from the former flooded plane of the Mississippi delta attempts to get to the bare, naked truth of the matter. At the heart of this story are the human hearts of the people and the very soul of the New Orleans area.
Pelted by a perpetual hail of electrons fired through a cathode ray tube, the pixels on my PC monitor feed me a generous intellectual bounty of words and images emanating from virtually infinite points dotting the globe. Enabling me to interface with the Internet at will, my computer serves as my window to the world and as a portal through which I can unleash my writings upon the unsuspecting.
Earlier this week as I peered into cyberspace through my ostensibly one-way aperture, I happened upon a picture that my imperialist indoctrination had conditioned me to reflexively dismiss or ignore. However, I’ve grown increasingly resistant to the “charms” of the pathological delusions of American superiority, invulnerability, impunity, and entitlement to decadence. Something about this particular assemblage of glowing pixels left me flailing in a raging river of emotion. As I negotiated the tempestuous feelings surging within me, I made the conscious decision to forgo the American Way of dismissal and distraction. Instead, I connected and contemplated.
Earlier this week as I peered into cyberspace through my ostensibly one-way aperture, I happened upon a picture that my imperialist indoctrination had conditioned me to reflexively dismiss or ignore. However, I’ve grown increasingly resistant to the “charms” of the pathological delusions of American superiority, invulnerability, impunity, and entitlement to decadence. Something about this particular assemblage of glowing pixels left me flailing in a raging river of emotion. As I negotiated the tempestuous feelings surging within me, I made the conscious decision to forgo the American Way of dismissal and distraction. Instead, I connected and contemplated.
In the Wizard of Oz tale, the Tin Man is in search of a heart to make himself more human. Our technology faces a similar challenge.
Not only has our intellectual capacity for invention shot way ahead of our physical and psychic need for the latest and greatest gadgetry, but most current technological advancement has little to do with what we care about most: connecting with ourselves and others in a meaningful, heart-felt way. It''s not just that we still can''t figure out how to program the VCR (now DVR), but you can''t get a hi-5 or a hug from one even when you have figured it out.
Our tech wizardry can help us see or talk to another person across the globe in real time, or shoot us into outer space, but does little to help us relate better to our loved ones. Nor does it console us in times of suffering, and offers us no great solutions to ending war after millennia of repeating our brutal mistakes.
Not only has our intellectual capacity for invention shot way ahead of our physical and psychic need for the latest and greatest gadgetry, but most current technological advancement has little to do with what we care about most: connecting with ourselves and others in a meaningful, heart-felt way. It''s not just that we still can''t figure out how to program the VCR (now DVR), but you can''t get a hi-5 or a hug from one even when you have figured it out.
Our tech wizardry can help us see or talk to another person across the globe in real time, or shoot us into outer space, but does little to help us relate better to our loved ones. Nor does it console us in times of suffering, and offers us no great solutions to ending war after millennia of repeating our brutal mistakes.
“What kind of a society isn't structured on greed? The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm; capitalism is that system.”
---Milton Friedman
What kind indeed? Certainly not a prodigious society such as ours. Thanks to Capitalism, the United States is replete with opulence, might, and benevolence.
Guided by the brilliant foresight of Hamilton, manacled by men like Keynes, Galbraith, and FDR, and ultimately granted a refreshing degree of freedom by the heroic intellectual efforts of Rand and Friedman, Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” has wrought a citadel for those wishing to pursue healthy greed, self-interest, and enlightened oppression. While Capitalism in the United States is still afflicted with the diseases of a mixed economy, government regulation and socialistic tendencies, America’s socioeconomic system is far superior to any rival, past or present.
---Milton Friedman
What kind indeed? Certainly not a prodigious society such as ours. Thanks to Capitalism, the United States is replete with opulence, might, and benevolence.
Guided by the brilliant foresight of Hamilton, manacled by men like Keynes, Galbraith, and FDR, and ultimately granted a refreshing degree of freedom by the heroic intellectual efforts of Rand and Friedman, Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” has wrought a citadel for those wishing to pursue healthy greed, self-interest, and enlightened oppression. While Capitalism in the United States is still afflicted with the diseases of a mixed economy, government regulation and socialistic tendencies, America’s socioeconomic system is far superior to any rival, past or present.
[Author's Note to Establish Context: I composed this on 11/24/06, the day after Thanksgiving]
"Tell me where do I belong in this sick society?
....Look at yourself instead of looking at me. With accusation in your eyes. Do you want me crucified for my profanity?
....Tell me the truth and I'll admit to my guilt if you'll try to understand. But is that blood that's on your hand from your democracy?"
--Ozzy Osbourne, You're no Different, 1983
Bow your heads and drop to your knees, brothers and sisters! Feel the power of the Holy Dollar coursing through your being as you humbly offer your prayers, exaltations and gratitude to Mighty Mammon!
Lay the perpetual argument to rest. There is no separation of church and state.
It is indisputable that the United States is one nation, under God. Our nation worships the unholy trinity of the Dollar, Acquisitiveness, and Opulence with the fanaticism of the Inquisitors.
‘Tis (officially) the season to be greedy...
"Tell me where do I belong in this sick society?
....Look at yourself instead of looking at me. With accusation in your eyes. Do you want me crucified for my profanity?
....Tell me the truth and I'll admit to my guilt if you'll try to understand. But is that blood that's on your hand from your democracy?"
--Ozzy Osbourne, You're no Different, 1983
Bow your heads and drop to your knees, brothers and sisters! Feel the power of the Holy Dollar coursing through your being as you humbly offer your prayers, exaltations and gratitude to Mighty Mammon!
Lay the perpetual argument to rest. There is no separation of church and state.
It is indisputable that the United States is one nation, under God. Our nation worships the unholy trinity of the Dollar, Acquisitiveness, and Opulence with the fanaticism of the Inquisitors.
‘Tis (officially) the season to be greedy...