The new American century, RIP
By Richard Sharp
Feb 13, 2007, 00:33
History is usually measured in longer terms but, in just six years, George Bush and his chicken hawk gang of thugs have all but squandered America’s huge potential for global good for the indefinite future.
The United States is the greatest military and economic empire the world has ever known, by far, and also had the sympathy of the world after 9/11. Yet, according to worldwide opinion polls, America’s standing has hit deservedly record lows -- not just in the Middle East -- all over Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere.
Record lows! Since the beginning of polls. Only a few governments are still with him, notably the British, Australian and Canadian. See the connection?
All but the blindly loyal (a.k.a. ideologues) have come to distrust and even hate Bush and the United States to the point of giving up their lives to fight their oppressor, anywhere. His administration’s trumped up and self-perpetuating wars on Iraq and terrorism are in violation of the UN charter and international law, treaties and conventions of all sorts, not to mention the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, several commandments and on and on. This gang of murderers, thieves and liars are deadly proof that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The carnage is outrageous -- 150,000 to 750,000 killed in Iraq alone, according to recent studies, and many times more maimed for life. The cradle of civilization destroyed by bombing and looting and, now, an insurrection and civil war that are out of control. Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine are similar disasters. Isn’t it clear by now that foreign occupations are a bad idea?
It gets worse. The Bush administration and the cheerleading corporate media have been scaring the hell out of us daily about terrorism for years to justify repeated rollbacks and even outright attacks on the freedoms, privacy and dignity of citizens worldwide. We are being watched, lined up, identified, searched and reported like never before, not just when we fly or cross borders, but when we enter public buildings, commute, bank, log onto the Internet and so on. Aided and abetted by corporate snitches (airlines, banks, communications, etc.), the global surveillance society is upon us.
It gets still worse. Bush and his neocon handlers clearly operate for the benefit of Big Oil, Big War, Big Ag, Big Money, etc. They couldn’t care less about protecting the environment, workers or consumers; or about helping the poor, sick and other disadvantaged peoples living and dying in misery, at home or abroad. They have unimaginable trillions of dollars to squander on war, security and business cronies but can’t find a way to share power and wealth with ordinary people. Just about any 5-year old could, in a minute.
What does fascism look like to you? A partial list includes: militarism and an obsession with national security, crime and punishment; propaganda (a.k.a. Orwellian Newspeak) and fearsome enemies; rampant cronyism, corruption and collusion with the corporate sector, including the media (and Big Religion); fraudulent elections; disdain for human rights and dissent (disagreement equals treason); and constant surveillance of law-abiding citizens, demands to show ID, random searches and secret files. Did I mention secret kidnappings, indefinite detention without trial and torture?
Say hello to Big Brother and he is one scary dude. Ask him for ID and when he refuses (national security, of course), ask yourself who has benefited the most from American foreign policy for decades and who is benefiting now? The answer is: huge American corporations, scores of which have more income and wealth than whole countries.
Life is sweet for those at the top: fat cat executives, bankers, lawyers and other hangers-on, not to forget the political and bureaucratic whores who do their bidding. Their obscene salaries and perks don’t match up with America’s economic performance. Their “share” of the take has never been so obscenely lopsided, including golden parachutes when their incompetence, greed and lawbreaking are exposed. Despite the few Enron and other executives who get caught, it’s business as usual for an unrequited capitalist “system” which continues to rob us blind -- of our money, time, privacy and dignity. These guys make the robber barons of yesteryear look like pikers.
By their nature, big government and big business are control freaks and it’s ordinary citizens, consumers and employees they want to control. Thanks to remarkably successful fear mongering, they are succeeding in convincing us to accept and even expect continuing rollbacks and cuts in whatever individual right or benefit is getting in their way.
We are being shafted by our governments and businesses compared, say, to Europeans. We work (and commute) way longer, we have fewer political, workplace and privacy rights, fewer social benefits, greater income disparity, more regressive taxation and so on. Did I mention culture? Which quality of life would you choose?
George Bush got us into this mess and we’re going to let him lead us out of it? Bush as our global chief of police, chief magistrate, prison warden and executioner? As protector of the environment, the disadvantaged and our children’s future? The rest of the world says no thanks. The rest of the world can see very clearly that the emperor has no clothes.
Bill Clinton was practically impeached for twisting the truth concerning a private sexual liaison. But don’t expect the newly empowered Democrats to impeach Bush for lying about Iraq (and many other public “policies”), despite the death and destruction he has caused, and grievous harm to America’s global reputation, not to mention its pocketbook.
We are talking Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in a money-ruled, two-party state with no reform in sight. Jimmy Carter, the most peace-loving president since Dwight Eisenhower, could only achieve a 1 percent reduction in the defense budget, and that’s about how much the Democrats are likely to sway from the Republican Party line.
The Democrats have their eyes on the big prize (the 2008 presidential election), and they are unlikely to do anything that may appear to be soft on “terrorism” (crime, illegal immigration, etc.). The Democratic frontrunner for president, Hillary Clinton, essentially supports Bush on foreign affairs, from the occupation of Iraq to “free” trade (for corporations). Senator Clinton and other would-be emperors are conducting their own political stripteases. America’s naked aggression, coercion, secrecy and other abuses of power will largely continue.
Bush is beyond redemption. Just about any psychiatrist who has examined his statements and actions will tell you that he is a pathological ideologue -- meaning he doesn’t give a damn about truth or logic in his various wars and other patently harmful endeavors. His post-election statements already show that he hasn’t learned a thing.
The military-industrial complex will continue to defend its interests (more money with less oversight), and it has found room for the new kid on the block, the security-industrial establishment hell-bent on creating a global surveillance society. These institutions are the temples of our times and they are so entrenched it would take someone like Jesus himself to overturn their tables.
Don’t count on the fourth estate for help. The mainstream (corporate) media like to pronounce their duty of keeping government accountable, but they have been almost Pravda-like in support of Bush’s wars. They’re sniping a bit more now but it is clear that the American people (and the rest of the world) are way out in front of their politicians and pundits.
Maybe I’m wrong. Harper’s magazine recently published an excellent article by George McGovern on how the US might extricate itself from Iraq. It would cost a fraction of its current military budget, save tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of lives and begin to restore America’s honor. But Fortress America is a ship of state that changes course with great difficulty. The power elite makes sure of that.
One would think that the United States cannot sustain its disastrous ways because even its shrinking number of allies will revolt. There is also hope in the simple truism that a fool and his money are soon parted. America’s debt load may well do it in, at the government, business and individual levels. And what if China, Japan, Saudi Arabia or other nations start dumping the once almighty US dollar and bonds in earnest? Look out.
The United States is being hoisted on its own petard. It is predictable that, whichever political party is in power, it will continue to fight anyone who questions its military or economic dominance. And George Bush may have caused too many global enemies and detractors, numbering most countries and billions of people. As an empire with such promise, it is almost certainly doomed, sooner rather than later. Thanks to Bush and his gang of thugs, “The new American century” is likely over before it really got started.
Richard Sharp has been a privacy manager, consultant and advocate for more than two decades.
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