No, I'm not talking about Egypt, Iraq, or Afghanistan or, frankly, most of the planet that is inhabited by human beings. I am talking about the contiguous states of the continental U.S.
We are living under military occupation. A military occupation that maintains a stranglehold upon our economy; a military occupation that functions through civilian surrogates in the so-called "defense" and "security" industries. Call it, in the words of President Eisenhower, the military-industrial-complex. Call it whatever you like: just make sure that you understand that the people of the United States are not free. We are living under military occupation and, consequently, under the constraints imposed by what Seymour Melman once termed "the permanent war economy."
The "Occupation Movement" will not succeed until it becomes a "De-militarization Movement," or, in other words, an "Anti-Military Occupation Movement."
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Worm In The Apple
On his web-site, Michael Moore shares with us the "vision statement" that he and forty or so other individuals crafted for the OWS "General Assembly." Here it is:
Let me preface my comments by stating that I am a fan of Michael Moore's. I started out somewhat skeptical of him and his motives back when he made "Roger & Me." I am frequently disappointed by the theatrical grand-standing that his films routinely contain. I find such stuff distracting and largely irrelevant; I suppose he feels that he is injecting some light-heartedness into grim subject matters. I am happy to agree to disagree with him on this point and move on.
What is most important for me about Michael Moore is that he is sincere. I believe that his heart is in the right place. If this country consisted of 300 million Michael Moores, I would have very little to blog about--which would be a relief.
My criticism: I find point # 5 troubling to say the least. The worm at the heart of the apple of the American experiment is the doctrine of manifest destiny. The militarization of the federal government of the United States began with the Civil War and has continued to escalate ever since. After WW2, Americans no longer questioned the notion of a "standing army"--something that the architects of the Constitution understood would be the death of our democracy. They were right: it has been. Over 50 cents on every dollar we pay to the Federal treasury goes to the Pentagon to pay for accumulated war debt from the past and present military adventures. Point # 5 is essentially a blank check for the militarized corporatocracy to continue its present course.
Why? Because it implies that it is "our job" to police the world (and McDonalds-ize it while we're at it). The American mythology of the City on the Hill, the Beacon to the Nations, is invoked whenever the corporatocracy wishes to justify foreign "intervention" (read: "open new markets"). The British East India Company had its own militias. Our multi-national corporate conglomerates beat that: they cut costs by having the U.S. taxpayer foot the bill for their "private" militias (the U.S. military).
I notice that Michael Moore's agenda is "domestic." It is refreshingly old-fashioned liberal. Unfortunately, to dissociate domestic and foreign policies is not only schizophrenic, it is blind to the prevailing structure of U.S. politics and the structure of our economy. It is, therefore, self-deceptive. When I was in Egypt in 2004, just after Bush and Co. stole their second election, I found Egyptians very interested to discuss domestic U.S. politics. One person said to me: "I wish that when Americans went to the polls they realized that they do not vote only for themselves but for the rest of us as well." What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. No Imperium is an island entire unto itself, etc.
Leo Tolstoy saw the problem quite clearly at the end of the 19th century: militarization. He called upon everyone who considers him or herself a Christian to refuse military service. Today, we are all servicing the military because, on the one hand, we finance it with our tax dollars and, on the other, we turn a blind eye to the fact that it is in the business of realizing our dreams of manifest destiny. The military's strangle-hold upon our economy is the very heart of the problems that we face; the only viable solution to those problems is de-militarization.
If OWS were to recognize that the problem is the militarization of the U.S. economy and all that that entails, and begin to call for the de-militarization of our culture and society, there would be more than pepper spray used on peaceful protesters. There would be slaughter in the streets. And then it would be over. But so long as the OWS General Assembly and Michael Moore and others continue to talk around the problem rather than confront it, i.e., so long as they continue to recommend just another "soft liberal" rearrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic, they can have their "revolution." Some concessions will be made just to mollify the squeaky wheels. But the underlying structure of rule by violence will remain in place. I read point # 5 as euphemistic; translated it means: business as usual.
The revolution will not be televised, youtubed, or tweeted.
We Envision: [1] a truly free, democratic, and just society; [2] where we, the people, come together and solve our problems by consensus; [3] where people are encouraged to take personal and collective responsibility and participate in decision making; [4] where we learn to live in harmony and embrace principles of toleration and respect for diversity and the differing views of others; [5] where we secure the civil and human rights of all from violation by tyrannical forces and unjust governments; [6] where political and economic institutions work to benefit all, not just the privileged few; [7] where we provide full and free education to everyone, not merely to get jobs but to grow and flourish as human beings; [8] where we value human needs over monetary gain, to ensure decent standards of living without which effective democracy is impossible; [9] where we work together to protect the global environment to ensure that future generations will have safe and clean air, water and food supplies, and will be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature that past generations have enjoyed.
Let me preface my comments by stating that I am a fan of Michael Moore's. I started out somewhat skeptical of him and his motives back when he made "Roger & Me." I am frequently disappointed by the theatrical grand-standing that his films routinely contain. I find such stuff distracting and largely irrelevant; I suppose he feels that he is injecting some light-heartedness into grim subject matters. I am happy to agree to disagree with him on this point and move on.
What is most important for me about Michael Moore is that he is sincere. I believe that his heart is in the right place. If this country consisted of 300 million Michael Moores, I would have very little to blog about--which would be a relief.
My criticism: I find point # 5 troubling to say the least. The worm at the heart of the apple of the American experiment is the doctrine of manifest destiny. The militarization of the federal government of the United States began with the Civil War and has continued to escalate ever since. After WW2, Americans no longer questioned the notion of a "standing army"--something that the architects of the Constitution understood would be the death of our democracy. They were right: it has been. Over 50 cents on every dollar we pay to the Federal treasury goes to the Pentagon to pay for accumulated war debt from the past and present military adventures. Point # 5 is essentially a blank check for the militarized corporatocracy to continue its present course.
Why? Because it implies that it is "our job" to police the world (and McDonalds-ize it while we're at it). The American mythology of the City on the Hill, the Beacon to the Nations, is invoked whenever the corporatocracy wishes to justify foreign "intervention" (read: "open new markets"). The British East India Company had its own militias. Our multi-national corporate conglomerates beat that: they cut costs by having the U.S. taxpayer foot the bill for their "private" militias (the U.S. military).
I notice that Michael Moore's agenda is "domestic." It is refreshingly old-fashioned liberal. Unfortunately, to dissociate domestic and foreign policies is not only schizophrenic, it is blind to the prevailing structure of U.S. politics and the structure of our economy. It is, therefore, self-deceptive. When I was in Egypt in 2004, just after Bush and Co. stole their second election, I found Egyptians very interested to discuss domestic U.S. politics. One person said to me: "I wish that when Americans went to the polls they realized that they do not vote only for themselves but for the rest of us as well." What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. No Imperium is an island entire unto itself, etc.
Leo Tolstoy saw the problem quite clearly at the end of the 19th century: militarization. He called upon everyone who considers him or herself a Christian to refuse military service. Today, we are all servicing the military because, on the one hand, we finance it with our tax dollars and, on the other, we turn a blind eye to the fact that it is in the business of realizing our dreams of manifest destiny. The military's strangle-hold upon our economy is the very heart of the problems that we face; the only viable solution to those problems is de-militarization.
If OWS were to recognize that the problem is the militarization of the U.S. economy and all that that entails, and begin to call for the de-militarization of our culture and society, there would be more than pepper spray used on peaceful protesters. There would be slaughter in the streets. And then it would be over. But so long as the OWS General Assembly and Michael Moore and others continue to talk around the problem rather than confront it, i.e., so long as they continue to recommend just another "soft liberal" rearrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic, they can have their "revolution." Some concessions will be made just to mollify the squeaky wheels. But the underlying structure of rule by violence will remain in place. I read point # 5 as euphemistic; translated it means: business as usual.
The revolution will not be televised, youtubed, or tweeted.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Rather than Continue to Piss in the Wind, this Armistice Day, Dismantle the Wall Street-Pentagon Axis of Evil
An Open Letter to the OWS Movement:
A little guerilla theater never hurt anyone. That said, the 1% have dealt with this sort of thing before, and they have a successful protocol for neutralizing it.
1. Ignore it.
2. Break some heads and see how far they can get with that.
3. Gauge public reaction to the head breaking.
4. Ignore it.
5. If public reaction is too unfavorable, identify some underlings to use as scapegoats.
6. Scapegoat the underlings.
7. Gauge public reaction to the scapegoating.
8. Ignore it.
9. If the public continues to clamor, offer token concessions (e.g., forgive interest on selected college loans or home mortgages).
10. See how many people can be bought off to go home--usually a pretty large percentage.
11. Isolate the remainder that refuses to be bought off and go home.
12. Arrest and/or kill the remainder.
13. Lay low for a few decades.
14. Begin process of slowly dismantling the concessions.
15. Gauge public reaction to the slow dismantling.
16. Ignore it.
Chris Hedges has reported that JP Morgan Chase has donated $ 4.6 million to the NYC Police Foundation. That should keep the OWS stuck behind yellow tape for a good long time.
Even so, the squeaky wheels will be greased.
Just remember: Jesus was sold down the river for 30 pieces of silver.
If the OWS is to become something truly revolutionary, it needs visionaries. An MLK, a Malcolm X, a Bobby Kennedy in his Presidential bid. Of course, that is when the "lone gunman," that recurring figure in American politics, will take the stage.
You're not up against amateurs. They know what they're doing and they have the resources necessary to buy lives, consciences, assassinations and, most importantly, silence and time.
Think how extraordinary a phenomenon was FDR. Born into the 1%, he was comfortably living the life expected of him until one morning he woke up and couldn't move his legs. Crawling across the floor to the bathroom, it suddenly occurred to him that being in the 1% could not protect him from polio. He never forgot this insight; in a sense, he was radicalized. But then radicalism was in the air in the early part of the 20th century. Unlike today.
BHO should have grown up with FDR's insight; he had every reason to. He learned how to talk as if he did. But he's no FDR. He's not even an RFK.
OWS needs friends in high places if it is going to succeed. Otherwise, it will be managed and, eventually, commodified, like everything else in this country.
And one last thing: it's not just Wall Street. It's the Wall Street-Pentagon Axis of Evil. Until OWS makes that connection and focuses its energy against the true enemy of our democratic aspirations--the military junta that runs this country behind the charade of civilian governance--the movement will just be pissing in the wind.
A little guerilla theater never hurt anyone. That said, the 1% have dealt with this sort of thing before, and they have a successful protocol for neutralizing it.
1. Ignore it.
2. Break some heads and see how far they can get with that.
3. Gauge public reaction to the head breaking.
4. Ignore it.
5. If public reaction is too unfavorable, identify some underlings to use as scapegoats.
6. Scapegoat the underlings.
7. Gauge public reaction to the scapegoating.
8. Ignore it.
9. If the public continues to clamor, offer token concessions (e.g., forgive interest on selected college loans or home mortgages).
10. See how many people can be bought off to go home--usually a pretty large percentage.
11. Isolate the remainder that refuses to be bought off and go home.
12. Arrest and/or kill the remainder.
13. Lay low for a few decades.
14. Begin process of slowly dismantling the concessions.
15. Gauge public reaction to the slow dismantling.
16. Ignore it.
Chris Hedges has reported that JP Morgan Chase has donated $ 4.6 million to the NYC Police Foundation. That should keep the OWS stuck behind yellow tape for a good long time.
Even so, the squeaky wheels will be greased.
Just remember: Jesus was sold down the river for 30 pieces of silver.
If the OWS is to become something truly revolutionary, it needs visionaries. An MLK, a Malcolm X, a Bobby Kennedy in his Presidential bid. Of course, that is when the "lone gunman," that recurring figure in American politics, will take the stage.
You're not up against amateurs. They know what they're doing and they have the resources necessary to buy lives, consciences, assassinations and, most importantly, silence and time.
Think how extraordinary a phenomenon was FDR. Born into the 1%, he was comfortably living the life expected of him until one morning he woke up and couldn't move his legs. Crawling across the floor to the bathroom, it suddenly occurred to him that being in the 1% could not protect him from polio. He never forgot this insight; in a sense, he was radicalized. But then radicalism was in the air in the early part of the 20th century. Unlike today.
BHO should have grown up with FDR's insight; he had every reason to. He learned how to talk as if he did. But he's no FDR. He's not even an RFK.
OWS needs friends in high places if it is going to succeed. Otherwise, it will be managed and, eventually, commodified, like everything else in this country.
And one last thing: it's not just Wall Street. It's the Wall Street-Pentagon Axis of Evil. Until OWS makes that connection and focuses its energy against the true enemy of our democratic aspirations--the military junta that runs this country behind the charade of civilian governance--the movement will just be pissing in the wind.
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