COASTAL POST
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May, 2001
Globalize Democracy
American arrogance and power is obvious to the rest of the world,
leading to fears of us as a “rogue state”. Under corporate mind
management , many Americans believe otherwise. But recent actions give
us cause to wonder about ourselves.
Chiropractors might lose their minds trying to find a spine in the
Democratic wing of our corporate party. And sanity may be the problem
for the Republican wing , if its White House crew is any example. Some
critics think Bush could use a lobotomy, but it would have to be
performed by a proctologist .
How can we explain the behavior of an administration which barely
managed to gain a minority vote, in a minority turnout, and then acted
as though it had a landslide. And that this imaginary mandate gave it
the power to cancel the wimpy days of Clinton, to return to the gimpy
days of Reagan.
Given the obvious signs that we use too much energy and suffer private
power monopolies , does the Bush team propose renewable energy,
serious conservation, and public power? Silly. We need to remove
environmental restrictions, desecrate more of the earth with oil wells,
and further unleash private market forces.
Here, the hypocrisy of some environmentalists must be mentioned. They
will tolerate any abuse , so long as it isn't on their front lawns. The
SUV gas guzzlers reached a market peak under Clinton-Gore, burning
more
fuel than ever while no new wells were dug in the USA, and they were
silent. The Bushmen at least highlight the hypocrisy of talking
environmental reform at home , while pillaging foreign countries to
gorge our commuter-serfs with cheap gasoline .
Clinton’s soothing double speak put many to sleep while he disregarded
the Kyoto accords. Bush blatantly announced that we would not honor
them, which is exactly what we were doing .This honesty about our
previously sneaky policy at least woke some slumbering
environmentalists .
The Bushmen cannot be blamed for our historic institutional racism,
exemplified by the recent ugliness in Cincinnati , but they have
leaped backward in areas of civil and human rights. Their conservatism
is more constipated than compassionate, returning to the faith-based
market god revered by the Reaganoids, and removing the cosmetic
veneer
of liberalism applied to that fundamentalist religion by the
Clintonites.
But their worst performance may be foreign policy . The Clinton clique
was in charge during the revival of “yellow peril” racism , and the
disgraceful Wen Ho Lee episode. That American was locked up as an
enemy
spy, based on less evidence than was available to prove Clinton a
perjurer .
But the Bushmen have gone further, stepping up spy flights over Chinese
waters, and having a plane forced down in Chinese territory. This
created a round of devious diplomacy, with China demanding an apology
for our spying, and the USA seeming to demand an apology from China for
interfering with our spying.
This schizophrenic saber rattling occurs as we run a massive trade
deficit with that nation. Some capitalists drool over cheap labor and
the vast Chinese market for consumer goods, while others drool over
potential weapons sales to Taiwan . This collective salivation does
nothing for the world drinking water problem, over which another group
of capitalists wet themselves in anticipation of marketing that
natural resource, if they gain its control through the FTAA .
And the Bushies simply maintain the long running disaster in
Palestine-Israel, where occupied people in rebellion are “aggressors”
and settlers on their lands “victims”. After several hundred
Palestinian deaths, a Bush official called Israeli military reaction
“excessive”. Our mind managers said this was harsh criticism . If we cut
ten dollars from our billions in aid to Israel , that might be
called severe punishment.
What are we to think? If the serial killers in Washington are to be
believed, we need more tools for mass murder. Employees of the
weapons
industry see danger at every turn, and their irrational fantasies are
purchased at our expense and called “intelligence”.
Americans pay for the world’s lowest military intelligence and highest
military budget , all of it making us less safe and more poor.
Weapons , spies and military personnel do not make a great power. That
should have been learned in Viet Nam. But we’ve outgrown that
experience; by learning the price of imperial injustice? No, by
devastating the weak nation of Iraq. And that stupid and sadistic
policy continues under Bush , even as the wicked leader we supposedly
subdued remains in power.
There was general righteous clucking over another wicked leader ,
recently arrested at our demand, after we all but obliterated
Yugoslavia for his alleged sins.
Saddam Milosevic, or Slobodan Hussein -confusion is understandable - are
symbols of a foreign policy that is an extension of our domestic policy.
Whether in Cincinnati, Europe, China or Palestine, it is based on brute
force, arrogance, ignorance and disrespect . This, in a global
environment falling apart under neoliberal rule that strengthens
corporate capital , weakens government and transforms political
democracy into market fascism.
NAFTA, the WTO and the proposed FTAA are part of a global capitalist
organization , already more powerful than most nations and a major
cause of inequality and suffering . The U.S. operates as its military
force and seems to rule the world, but our system and leadership show
dangerous signs of breakdown. And all of us, not just foreigners and
poor people, will suffer if that breakdown takes place.
There is a global movement of people thinking more clearly than most
governments, especially ours. It is working to take control away from
anti-social profiteers. The problem is a tyrannical collection of
corporate minorities, often feeble minded in their pursuit of profit.
The solution demands a global majority, sound in mind , body and
purpose, and dedicated to democracy and social justice. And Americans
need to play a role in creating that solution , especially since we are
so much a part of creating the problem.
Copyright (c) 2001 by Frank Scott. All rights reserved.
This text may be used and shared in accordance with the
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Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on
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.
frank scott
email: [log in to unmask]
225 laurel place, san rafael ca. 94901
(415)457 2415 fax(415)457 4791
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