The fourth of July, 2011
The most topical issues in the USA and many other countries in the world today, relate to the quality of life of the common citizens. This is due to prevailing high unemployment, loss of social benefits, and other factors that are negatively affecting the wellbeing of the people; a state of affairs that has been deteriorating with no clear end in sight. Recent demonstrations in the USA, the Arab world, Greece, Spain, France, the UK, and other countries around the world confirm the pervasiveness of these conditions. Some have sacrificed their lives in their strive to achieve a decent living, starting with the young Tunisian martyr who burnt himself, to the martyrs in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria. Therefore, I decided to write this article which builds on the results of “Planning for Survival” and focuses on addressing current topical issues regarding the quality of life, especially as they are unfolding in the USA. The article is longer than what is usually expected to be posted on this venue. I beg for your patience to read it to its conclusion.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America affirms the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This affirmation reflects the intent of the founding fathers to address certain conditions that have historically beleaguered the rights of the people. Starting with the earliest organizations of human society in Egypt, the pharos enslaved their people to build pyramids. Chinese and Japanese Emperors, Indian Maharajah, European kings, Inca potentates and other oligarchs around the world generally used and abused their people to attain their ulterior motives of maintaining power and enriching themselves. As we have recently witnessed, the rulers of many Arab countries were no different; including Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi, Saleh, Assad, etc. The founding fathers proposed a form of representative democracy to address these conditions. Today, in spite of their efforts, the wealthiest 1% of Americans control 90% of the country’s assets leaving the remaining 10% to be shared by 99% of the population.
The assertions regarding the unalienable rights of the people can be expressed in the goals: to “preserve life”, and to “affect conditions that promote liberty and equal opportunity to pursue happiness”. Considering conditions exclusively from the point of view of preserving life reveals that the Federal Government is allocating roughly 600 billion dollars to military ends which lead to death and destruction, as it is allocating to preserving life through the healthcare services of Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, the “discretionary” outlays of $600 billion or so to military ends do not include hidden costs, such as those involved in taking care of our veterans for life, and the interest that we have to pay on the money we have been borrowing to wage war. Some, who cover these hidden costs, estimate the cost of the Iraq war alone at over three trillion dollars. Thus, the government is spending more of our resources towards death and destruction than on the preservation of life. Furthermore, such computations do not cover the untold suffering of those who are disabled or maimed, and the agony of the families affected by war both here and abroad.
The rational conclusion is obvious: stop the killing and suffering, and instead, reallocate the resources that are being used to affect these heinous conditions to badly needed constructive ends. Saved resources could be used to cover the costs of providing healthcare to the poor, addressing the threats to life from natural hazards –such as the bombardment of earth by comets and meteorits- and the potential degradation of the environment, and to numerous other worthy causes, including education and sundry social programs that would help in providing equal opportunity to the citizens to ‘pursue happiness’.
It must be noted also that the imperial ways of our government that are reflected in our military expenditures have led in recent years to numerous serious impingements on our liberty. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our support of Israel in its abuse of the Palestinian people, and our seedy dealings with the heads of many Arab states have enraged Arabs and Moslems here in the USA and all around the world. These aspects of our foreign policies contributed to the rise of terrorism by Moslem fanatics, and led to conditions whereby we now have to contend with “Home Land Security” measures such as those prescribed in the “Patriot Act”, and having to take off our shoes and getting frisked if we elect to fly. The government spends roughly 40 billion dollars annually towards home land security; funds that could have been otherwise used to constructive ends.
How come then is the US government not using our tax dollars as suggested above? In fact, current efforts to cut the deficit are moving in the direction of cutting back Medicare and Medicaid and other social benefits, and laying off teachers and other social workers, with scant reduction in military expenditures!
The influence of special interests: The answer is that some influential people must have a vested interest in blocking the reallocation of resources from military ends to other constructive ends. For example, those who profit from selling guided missiles at a million dollars apiece, are likely to, and indeed have promoted shocking and awing the poor Iraqi people by dropping a thousand of their missiles within a few days on Baghdad. Besides, those who are affiliated with the largest construction corporations appreciate the destruction that ensues from military action as presenting opportunities for reconstruction business. This is referred to as double dipping! President Eisenhower cautioned us fifty years ago about the influence of the military industrial complex; we did not heed his warning!
Suppose that we leave the -sacred cow- military budget as is, and strive to reduce the cost to the government in covering Medicare and Medicaid. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, and the medical profession lobbies in congress vowed that they will not allow this to happen. They refer to the president’s effort to contain the cost of providing healthcare derogatively, as “Obama Care”! Because they all reap billions from the perpetuation of the status co; note for example the hundreds of millions in ‘bonuses’ that some CEO’s in the healthcare business exact every year.
How about applying government resources to the investigation of alternative sources of energy in order to hopefully, avert environmental disasters? Again, those who sell oil, gas, and coal are reaping billions in profit from selling their products. They are not to be expected, and have made it clear that they will not forego these profits without a fight. Their lobbyists at congress are busily active in this respect.
And how about the banks and financial institutions that are reaping billions in profit, and their CEO’s getting billions in ‘bonuses’, while millions of common citizens are losing their homes to foreclosure! The common citizens’ tax dollars were used to ‘bailout’ these institutions, and what did the citizens get in return, zilch. Again, financial corporations have considerable influence in congress and government. They have perpetuated dire financial conditions internationally, and are pulling strings around the world.
Furthermore, the Republican Party is working in congress to suppress any efforts to get corporations and the wealthiest of Americans to pay more taxes. They even insist on extending billions in subsidies to large corporations, and black mail the president and the whole country by threatening to shut down the government if anyone attempts to oppose them. This confirms the extent of the greed of those who insist on amassing more than their fair share of our collective wealth. No wonder, the average income of the common citizens has remained stagnant for over three decades, during which the wealthiest Americans became richer.
Also, by many accounts Israel pushed for the war in Iraq for its own ulterior motives, and was actively pushing the US to attack Iran for its ill conceived potential benefit. We send Israel about 15 billion dollars a year in all sorts of help and assistance. So, what do we Americans get in return from our so called ‘closest ally’ in the Middle East? Israel’s influence on our foreign policies through their apparent control of congress has been consistently detrimental to us. Our having to support their illegal acts through our veto power in the UN did not earn us any friends in the rest of the world, but rather led to us being hated and despised for our collusion with Israel; by far the uncontested champion of international illegal acts. It is said that the president of the USA is the most powerful man in the world. Trust me, he is not. The most powerful entity in the world is the congress of the USA by virtue of the US’s military might. The most powerful man is probably Benjamin Netanyahu. He recently demonstrated that he can muster more control over the congress of the United States of American than the president! This is shameful, but understandable in light of the Israeli lobby’s influence over congress.
Last but not least, how come did we Americans allow such conditions to prevail? The answer is simple. Most of us have been systematically subjected to propaganda and disinformation by politicians and the corporate news media. Remember that the owners of the corporate media, whether national news papers or TV, are members of the wealthiest oligarchic rulers, and that members of the oligarchy indulge in scratching each other’s backs! The corporate media’s influence is evidenced in the reelection of President G. W. Bush who presided over the most grievous excesses of the US oligarchy that negatively impacted common American citizens, as well as millions around the world. His reelection left the Europeans and others baffled about the American people’s awareness of what is happening in their own country and the rest of the globe! The machinations of politicians that are propagated by the corporate media are also witnessed in the case of Mr. Joe the plumber. Although he obviously had little to gain from promoting the republican agenda, he was blatantly thrust by the republicans in the corporate media as one who supported the republican cause! This particular incident illustrates what I will refer to as the “Misinformation and Disinformation Syndrome” (MADS).
I was myself afflicted with the MAD syndrome. When I came to the US in 1970, I landed in a small town in New Jersey that was a solid republican bastion. It boasted the seventh highest average income in the country; the high score surely was not on account of my living there! I rented a house, and by a ‘miracle’ I was able to buy the house next door after only one year from landing as an immigrant in the USA. As my wife and I worked hard to make a living and to raise our two children, we used to sympathize with the republican agenda of cutting income and property taxes. I used to vote a straight Republican ticket. I cannot brag about my financial situation now. At age 75, my present predicament is typical of the American middle class and is not enviable; savings evaporating, home values plummeting, etc. I am certain that millions are even in worse shape than I am. It took me three decades to rid myself of the MADS. I started to suspect that I was afflicted many years ago. The G. W. Bush neo-conservative administration’s actions finally convinced me that I needed to cure myself from this dangerous affliction. Alas, although I feel that I am cured now, I am convinced that millions of Americans are still afflicted with the syndrome; many -like me in the past- have fallen for the propaganda of their abusers and are still suffering from MADS.
It is clear that all kinds of special interest have succeeded in securing the favors of the Congress of the USA, and that a small minority of Americans has contrived and succeeded in controlling developments to ensure the perpetuation of the conditions that take advantage of the rest of us. The founding fathers strived in the first place to counter the influence of the British Monarchy and Empire. They tried to conceive a political structure to guarantee the ‘unalienable rights of the people’. Their experiment led to some gains for ‘the people’. The gains that have ensued from their work are being systematically eroded.
So what is New? From a historical perspective, perhaps little has changed. With very few exceptions, oligarchs continue to pursue their selfish ends around the world as usual! In the USA we still contrive pretexts to wage wars like other oligarchs and empires have done in the past; to the benefit of the top 1% of Americans and the detriment of the rest of us here, as well as the detriment of those that our empire elects to assail.
Systems of government can be gauged on a horizontal bar with Communism on the far left, and Capitalism on the far right. The Europeans, who had more time than us to develop their societies, have found the middle ground of Socialism. For five decades between Roosevelt and Regan, the US’s position on the bar continued to be somewhat to the right of the middle. As a result, American citizens at all levels of society did well during this period. After Regan –and Thatcher- and the demise of the Soviet Union, the US’s position was pushed continuously farther and farther from the center to the point where it now seems to have reached the end position at the far right of the bar; a position from which I fear that any further movement to the right could topple the gauge and lead to uncharted conditions and perhaps chaos!
In the USA, the Republican Party which most ardently supports oligarchic control over the people seems to be approaching a logical climactic conclusion to its assaults on our ‘unalienable’ rights. Thus, their battering of the people is bound to ebb. I thought that they reached this point near the end of G. W. Bush’s presidency, but no, the republicans regained control of congress in a couple of years, and resumed their assault on the people even with more vengeance. It must be stated that the large majority of democrats who are in collusion with the republicans are also culprit. Now, it is high time to consider and affect meaningful ‘change’; the people are reaching the end limits of their tolerance. This is evidenced in the budding of several independent TV news channels, numerous books and articles that promote progressive views, and in continuing peaceful demonstrations around the country, and around the world.
On the positive side, real change in certain conditions has been taking place here and abroad. Electronic communication via the internet and the social media, and whistleblowers such as WikiLeaks are exposing the abuser’s machinations to ever larger numbers of people. These recent developments contributed to the Arab Spring, as well as to other uprisings here in the US and elsewhere.
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What to do then? The people’s ultimate goal is to affect democratic rule for their own benefit, and to halt the usurpation of their ‘unalienable’ rights by their oligarchic rulers. The following is recommended towards this end.
A Plea to the Oligarchy: Those in power control developments, and thus are in the strongest position to ‘change’ the course of events. I am convinced that they see the writing on the wall. Moreover, I am further convinced that they know where they could let some rope, and what they could possibly do to avert potential calamity. I will cite a few examples of what they could do in the USA: expeditiously contain military spending, allow G. W. Bush’s tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans to expire, stop subsidies to large corporations, force the banks to renegotiate mortgage interest rates rather than foreclose on people’s homes, and reverse the assault on the social net that allows a minimal existence for the most vulnerable citizens.
To the leaders of Israel who have demonstrated beyond any doubt their influence on both our internal and foreign affairs, I suggest that they take the necessary steps that have been expressed in many quarters to achieve peace in the ME to the benefit of the Israeli, American, and Palestinian people.
Generally, pleas are directed to the oligarchs of the world to show magnanimity from their current position of almost absolute control of developments, by demonstrating some compassion with the needs of the common people.
Advice to the People: The true practice of democracy predicates, in the first place, that you avail yourselves of truthful information about current developments in order for you to be in a position to conceive and express your preferences regarding possible courses for action. Politicians and the corporate media typically provide biased views, and tend to dance around issues thus confusing you about relevant critical problems; thus, leading to the spread of MADS and a dysfunctional ‘democracy’. Therefore, the topmost priority for the electorate is to attempt to obtain factual information about current developments and to overcome the MAD syndrome. It is proposed that the people boycott the corporate media. This is one of the few ways that perhaps could persuade the corporate media to change their ways, because such action would compromise their advertizing revenues. The electorate could seek information from other sources, such as for example from: Democracy Now on Link TV, Laura Flanders and the Thom Hartmann Program on Free Speech TV, and The Huffington Post. Those who are inclined to reading could obtain factual information from the Nation, the Humanist, and other magazines and newspapers that promote the cause of the people. Those sympathetic with my views could pass this article to their family and friends.
Action must be taken to block the torrential flow of funds from special interest to buy the favors of politicians. Obviously, politicians -both Republican and Democrat- will not cut their own life lines voluntarily. Therefore, the people must organize to address campaign funding abuses. The people could insist on campaign funding reform by signing petitions and declarations to the effect that: “We the people shall not support any candidate for any elected position who does not aver to support campaign funding reform.” We can also buy the politicians ourselves through mandatory contributions to a national pool; this should prove to be a worthwhile investment.
Since the existing two parties have been thoroughly infested with special interest exploitation, the people could encourage the formation of a third party, liberal, progressive, or better still social democratic; social democratic parties are prevalent around the globe. Of course those suffering from MADS will shudder at any mention of the word “social”; they have been thoroughly indoctrinated to fear what is obviously meant to be in their best interest. A word of warning though: movements by a third party have to be carefully calculated to avoid splitting the votes of those who promote ‘decency’, which could lead to a Republican victory. This would be the worst possible outcome.
Another course to pursue is to apprise ourselves of rational counter arguments to what the oligarchy is constantly trying to talk us into believing, by revealing the inconsistencies in their statements. Following are some examples:
Republican conservatives -and others- who claim that they respect the sanctity of innocent life, tell us that their unwavering respect is reflected in their opposition to stem cell research, and to abortion. Recently, in the case of Terry Schiavo who was medically pronounced ‘brain dead’ but was being artificially sustained to continue to ‘live’, G. W. Bush and a unanimous Senate voted against the decision of local authorities to disconnect her artificial life support systems in an attempt to preserve her life. These people -or at least a majority amongst them- however, urged and/or supported the invasion of Iraq which led to the demise of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children, as well as more than four thousand of our own American troops. Please try to get such conservatives to explain away the inconsistency in their statements and behavior.
Some might claim that our sacrifices in life and treasure are necessary because we care about democracy and spreading democracy internationally. The British have an interesting expression in answering such a phony claim: “my foot”! I will not honor addressing this claim beyond saying that; especially, since I am engaged in demonstrating how our ‘democracy’ is not functional.
Republicans, and others, express their concern over the deficit and the debt to our children and grandchildren; but guess who got us in this mess to begin with!? Recall the surplus at the end of Clinton’s presidency, and the enormous deficit that G. W. Bush brought about through his so called ‘defense’ spending; which I hope the reader appreciates to whose benefit. No doubt we have a deficit problem that is bound to swell due to demographic conditions, and that this problem has to be addressed as a matter of priority; see reallocation of resources above. The oligarchy, by cutting social services, and refusing to pay a fair share of taxes -like other wealthy people in Europe and elsewhere- are trying to reduce the deficit at our expense, to the detriment of our children and grandchildren, while hording more money for their own children and grandchildren.
Our military adventures that are presumably aimed at securing energy resources seem to aim more at maximizing oil corporations’ profits, rather than to delivering gasoline to the people at the lowest possible price. The recent fluctuations in the price of gas at the pump relate more to the work of speculators and to price fixing by large oil corporation, rather to any other factors.
Generally, our so called ‘free market economy’ -as it has been defined and practiced since Reagan- has led over the past decades to the wealthiest Americans siphoning and hording the juice from the economy, thus leaving ever less of the pie to be shared by the rest of us. This has translated into freedom for the wealthiest to maximize their profits in ways that compromise the chances of the rest of us to make a decent living.
To the people of Israel, I suggest that they join their Arab brothers and sisters in their attempt to restore justice and peace in the ME. After all, they originated from Egypt, and it is perhaps time to heal the rifts that developed over two millennia! In this context I suggest that they note that they have been used by the British Empire in its ploy to divide and conquer Semites; a strategy that the succeeding US Empire inherited from the British and continued to pursue for decades after the demise of the British Empire. Also, if they are concerned about the rise of Islamists, I must remind them that Zionism and the State of Israel itself emanated from extreme religious considerations, which in my modest view should have no place in the future of the world; please heed the wisdom expressed in the statement to “separate state and religion”. The people of Israel have an opportunity to change the rules of the game and to make history! Following my advice would lead to win-win results whereby they could live in peace without the threat from the retaliation of oppressed insurgents, with the added benefit of sharing in the development of the rich resources of the region. Following the strategies of their current leaders would lead to short term land grab gains. However, I am convinced that this strategy is bound to backfire in the foreseeable future, to the detriment of Israel, its neighbors, as well as millions of people around the world.
A final piece of advice to the oppressed people in different areas of the world: avoid threatening your abusers with retribution. They hold the reins, and threatening them could prove to be counterproductive; since threats are likely to strengthen their resolve to hold on to power. Instead, while standing firm on your demands for reform, I suggest that you negotiate practicable terms to remove the culprits from power or otherwise, to find peaceful ways to achieve your goals. This applies particularly to conditions in the Arab countries of the ME.
Conclusion: We have reached conditions in the USA whereby the congress is controlled by all sorts of special interest. The Supreme Court contributed to this state of affairs by allowing special interest groups to buy the favors of our so called ‘representatives’ by allowing corporations and special interest groups to extend unlimited election campaign contributions to the kinds of potential representatives who pledge to serve their interests. The executive branch is included in this scheme through contributions to presidential elections. Checks and balances between the three branches of government are no longer functional. The three branches seem to be working in collusion to serve special interest. This is a predicament that cannot be easily rectified. It is worth noting in this context that, in a recent Email message President Obama indicated that he will not seek contributions from special interest, but rather directly from individuals!
In his epic work “The Last Lost Empire”, Professor Ted Becker -with Michael Briand- explains the historical developments that led to our current predicament. He reminds us that the founding fathers owned slaves, and reveals the back and forth tugs between those who strived to guard the ‘unalienable’ rights of the people, and those who incessantly and doggedly opposed them. Ultimately, he points out that representative ‘democracy’ as practiced at present is not functioning in the best interest of the American people. He proposes ways to address this condition. I urge the reader to visit Ted Becker’s website at: www.last-lost-empire.com, and to read his book. “Planning for Survival” which was published earlier and is featured on this web site yielded similar conclusions. You could also check it out.
Reform of conditions in the USA would have positive worldwide ramifications; the US being -still- a preeminent global power. Failure on the other hand could lead to ominous repercussions. In his book “A Short History of Progress”, the Canadian author Roland Wright considers the emergence and demise of civilizations and empires historically. He makes the case about how civilizations have emerged independently of each other in different regions of the world –such as in Egypt, and south America- and reveals the parallels in the circumstances that led to their emergence, and eventual demise; conditions that are reminiscent of what has been taking place here in the USA. His thesis can be summarized in that the seeds of the demise of ‘empire’ are built into the processes of emergence and maturation of ‘empire’. He concludes his book by pointing out that the present global ‘potentially last empire’, i.e. the USA, if it collapses by virtue of its own action, it could conceivably bring the whole world down with it!
Between now and November of 2012, we the people have time to put our act together. Let each of us do what he can to regain and secure our ‘unalienable rights’.