America: the new heart of darkness [View All]

[BrklynLiberal]

Our creature comforts have made silent cowards of us all
John Kaminski


February 1, 2005

... absolute power corrupts absolutely.
— Lord Acton

All a man can betray is his conscience.
— Joseph Conrad



"We do it because we can," the military man said smugly. And by such philosophy, the corporate American war machine tries to take the world to its grave.

The former general and recent Secretary of State Colin Powell's words still ring in my ears: "We don't count the Iraqi dead," he said. Perhaps it was because he knew he couldn't count that high.

For a month I've looked around for something positive to say, something encouraging, uplifting, productive ... and failing that, perhaps something consoling, some obvious explanation of the twisted perversion that has wrapped its petrochemical tentacles around the throat of humanity and keeps squeezing.

Across the gray landscape of languid lies and malevolent misconceptions, I see nothing to cling to. No ray of hope. Only lies, self-serving twists of what used to be called logic. Freedom is no longer safe, they tell us. You must have a number. And while you're at it, take this toxic vaccine, and no, you won't be able to sue the manufacturer if you get sick. Just do it, as the slogan commands us.

The right to a fair trial is no longer guaranteed. You can be put in jail or executed for reasons that can be kept secret. And still, on the crumbling streets of America, most people go about their business as if nothing has happened.

Sensible people, who in the deepening darkness of their own secret hearts must realize something has definitely happened, that something definitely will happen. Sensible people, suddenly afraid to speak what they really believe for fear their neighbors will overhear and tell someone with a gun and a uniform, or worse, an employer with an important contract who wants no employees who don't agree with the way things are. And then, they think, paralyzed by fear, who will feed the kids? Scared silence follows.

Who would have thought that democracy would come to mean tyranny? OK, Orwell. And many other now unpopular voices, never heard in our manacled media.

<snip>

By their silent complicity, the American people are accessories to all these horrendous crimes before, during, and after the fact, and deserve the same punishment as its leaders.

It’s a little something to remember when on that fateful day the world finally comes calling to repay America for the gifts it has bestowed upon the world.

Just don’t say you didn’t know. Because people with guns don’t listen.

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