Just imagine what the response would have been a hundred years ago if it was announced that the United States Post Office was being given to one of the wealthiest people in the country to do with whatever he liked. The howl of the populace would have echoed through the decades so that it would still be ringing in our ears today. Our correspondence, one with another, is too important a thing to be left in the hands of a single person or corporation. Why, imagine someone a hundred years ago telling you you were banned from sending a letter to anyone for a month because you had sent a letter that did not meet with community (read corporate) standards. Absurd, isn't it? A hundred years ago, they did not have the reverence we do today for the sacred duty of making profit. A hundred years ago, America's wars for freedom were still too fresh in our citizens' minds to allow so much control over the flow of information to be held in so few hands.
Fast-forward to today and the power Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have over the flow of information. Not only has it for the most part usurped the Post Office's role in carrying messages from one area to another, it has assumed other valuable roles as well. For example, 45% of people say that they are getting their news from Facebook. That's a lot of power. That's a lot of responsibility, too. But being a corporation, Facebook has no responsibility beyond their investors. That's not you, the user. Of course, Facebook does need to show a degree of responsible behavior in order to keep their customers happy. But that's not you, the user, either. Unlike the United States Post Office, you are neither the owner nor the customer. You are the product.
Yeah, you should have figured it out when you found yourself getting something for nothing. That's not how capitalism works. Hell, that's not even how the Post Office works. If you haven't been buying a stamp for every Facebook message you share, you should have realized you were doing something for Mark Zuckerberg in return for the opportunity to see cute puppy pictures. You were giving him access to your data, which he in turn sold for a profit. How much? Well, the last I looked, Mark Zuckerberg was worth $60 billion. Depending on fluctuations, he may only be worth $50 billion at the moment, but look for him to rebound as the power of Facebook users declines and the information Facebook provides users continues to be restricted. Mark Zuckerberg is not going to make more money by insuring you are better informed about the issues you should be worrying about. He'll get richer by selling more advertising so your mind is occupied in contemplation of buying things you don't need with money you don't have.
There are people who are financially and politically motivated to make sure you stay stupid, fearful, and impotent. I don't know how to break this to you people, I don't know how to break through the inertia so that it becomes a conscious thought which is capable of directing your actions. The wall of propaganda is immense, the science of marketing and manipulation well-studied and well-financed. And the pictures of animals doing funny things is undeniably attractive. I can only continue what I've been doing, what so many people are doing: point out the lies, the distractions, and the censorship required to have you continue to be unaware of your situation, afraid of change, and feeling unworthy to be in charge of the society to which you belong.
Perhaps there is one more thing I can do. Perhaps it is the most important thing. I want to remind you that you are a human being who has a certain inalienable right to dignity. You are better than what they tell you you are.
You have a right to freedom of speech. When they try to take it away from you, they will say they are doing it to protect you. They are not there to protect you, they are there to profit from you. This is pretty obvious: if they were there to protect you, they would have volunteered to join the armed services and sent their children overseas to serve in the wars they pushed.They didn't and they haven't. If profit were their motive, they would be obscenely rich. They are.
You have the right to know what's going on in the world. They may tell you you're not equipped to deal with clever Russian memes that seek to undermine your confidence in the system. Well, I've got news for you, if you're not equipped to handle the ham-fisted manipulation of Russian propaganda, you've surely fallen victim to the U.S. propaganda machine, the slickest propaganda machine the world has ever seen. If you're worried about Russians and not about homegrown propaganda, it's only because you've been propagandized. If they were worried about getting you the truth you need, Zuckerberg and others would be spending their money in order to insure that Facebook is a top-notch information-supplying company. They would not rely on NGOs (e.g. Atlantic Council) funded by foreign agencies, weapons manufacturers, and oil companies to decide what truths you should be exposed to. Again, the obscene wealth possessed by Mark Zuckerberg shows where his interests lie.
You have the right to be in control of your country. People who have an incurable obsession with obtaining money long after they've had every monetary need/desire/fantasy satiated are going to tell you differently. Don't listen. You're at least as good a person as those who have enough money to buy islands, politicians and spaceships while children starve to death. Stand up for yourself. Be like your ancestors a hundred years ago, who never would have tolerated the means of communication being controlled by a few absurdly rich people. Be like your ancestors over two hundred years ago, who decided that America would not be controlled by a few who had inherited their wealth and position. Be an adult, in control not only of your life but the society of which you are a part. Because people, not money, need to be in control of humanity's future.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Letters From Facebook Jail: Day 1
On Sunday night my Facebook feed was awash in articles about Sasha Baron Cohen calling for social media censorship. I replied on more than one of them that I thought it was not a good idea and that I was more concerned with the lies and misleading narratives that corporate media was using to shape our narrative. On Monday night, I posted the video below with the comment: "The difference between corporate media and social media could not be clearer than this video and the comments made by ordinary YouTube users. It's no wonder why they're so anxious to get social media under control" Assange Arrested And Charged With Conspiracy from The Daily Show
This morning, Tuesday, I received a message that I was banned from Facebook for 30 days. There might not be a connection to those posts, but there is unmistakable irony.
The post which Facebook found objectionable was a picture of Nazi-era Christmas tree ornaments, one with the head of Adolph Hitler, another with a swastika on it. I posted it as a response to someone who shared a picture of a couple dressed for Christmas, the woman with a "Don't Tread On Me" shirt, the man with a Christmasy looking sweater with an undeniable Rebel Flag design to it. The message I sought to convey was how easily Christmas can be co-opted by politics of the worst kind. For the record, I am in no way sympathetic to Nazis, one reason being is their penchant for silencing opposing viewpoints.
I make no bones about it, I use Facebook to connect with people who have political beliefs similar to my own. But even more than that, I use it to engage people in political conversations whatever their positions. I have Facebook friends across the political spectrum and I've always striven to be as open-minded and respectful as possible. I'd like to think if you were to ask any of my Facebook friends of whatever political bent, they would agree.
But now I have been banned from Facebook for posting a picture that I came across while researching a book I am working on. I saved it because it was so striking to me, the notion of Christmas being transformed into a holiday to reinforce Nazi ideology. The idea that a nation of decent human beings could be corrupted in this manner should serve as a warning that it could happen to us, that we are not so unique that we could not fall prey to a government that tells us what to think and how to behave. A government that feels it is their right and duty to go through our correspondence, censor what they find objectionable, and punish those who share unapproved messages.
This is an inconvenience to me, but its repercussions run far deeper than that. For one thing, I am in the process of writing the third novel in a series, which started with the lead-up to World War I and is now in the lead-up to World War II. It deals with Nazis! There is no way around that. I have invested the better part of my free hours for the last three years researching how Nazi Germany came to be, not only because it is the subject of my book but because it hits so close to home in the current political climate.
The main point I want to touch upon now--and I will be dealing with many in the next month as I blog daily while serving my Facebook jail sentence--is that I now have the fear that something I post will result in another 30 day stint in the hole. The image that I had in mind for my upcoming novel would have been a contrast between a peace symbol and a swastika, but now I have to seriously rethink that since the presence of a Swastika might trigger a ban.
But the worst part of it is that I do not know the rules of the game, and nobody is required to tell me. Or you. Or anyone. The rules are arbitrary, controlled no doubt by algorithms that cheaply but inefficiently determine what is permissible discourse on Facebook, which is for me and many others the principle platform for building communities in the 21st Century. To have the thought that anything we might post could lead to our banishment from communities in which we have invested so much time and energy must surely cause most people to adhere to posting only the most banal of posts.
Social media has the potential to bring people together, I have seen it first-hand. I have been a part of communities where people from across the nation and even across the oceans have gathered together in the same geographic location just to have a meet-up. The power of social media and the internet to bring people together and bring about positive change should not be ignored because of the possible negatives. Sadly, as with all other aspects of society, those who are looking for obscene profit and those who desire undue power are shaping the internet to be what they want it to be. I am doing what I can to take this technology and do good with it, as are many others, Sadly, I fear that is a big reason those with wealth and power are willing to take away our voice.
More to come in the next 30 days.
If you liked what I write enough to support me, you can buy me a coffee. If you liked it but don't have a credit card handy, please share. Also, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, sign up for my newsletter, or check me out on Amazon.
This morning, Tuesday, I received a message that I was banned from Facebook for 30 days. There might not be a connection to those posts, but there is unmistakable irony.
The post which Facebook found objectionable was a picture of Nazi-era Christmas tree ornaments, one with the head of Adolph Hitler, another with a swastika on it. I posted it as a response to someone who shared a picture of a couple dressed for Christmas, the woman with a "Don't Tread On Me" shirt, the man with a Christmasy looking sweater with an undeniable Rebel Flag design to it. The message I sought to convey was how easily Christmas can be co-opted by politics of the worst kind. For the record, I am in no way sympathetic to Nazis, one reason being is their penchant for silencing opposing viewpoints.
I make no bones about it, I use Facebook to connect with people who have political beliefs similar to my own. But even more than that, I use it to engage people in political conversations whatever their positions. I have Facebook friends across the political spectrum and I've always striven to be as open-minded and respectful as possible. I'd like to think if you were to ask any of my Facebook friends of whatever political bent, they would agree.
But now I have been banned from Facebook for posting a picture that I came across while researching a book I am working on. I saved it because it was so striking to me, the notion of Christmas being transformed into a holiday to reinforce Nazi ideology. The idea that a nation of decent human beings could be corrupted in this manner should serve as a warning that it could happen to us, that we are not so unique that we could not fall prey to a government that tells us what to think and how to behave. A government that feels it is their right and duty to go through our correspondence, censor what they find objectionable, and punish those who share unapproved messages.
This is an inconvenience to me, but its repercussions run far deeper than that. For one thing, I am in the process of writing the third novel in a series, which started with the lead-up to World War I and is now in the lead-up to World War II. It deals with Nazis! There is no way around that. I have invested the better part of my free hours for the last three years researching how Nazi Germany came to be, not only because it is the subject of my book but because it hits so close to home in the current political climate.
The main point I want to touch upon now--and I will be dealing with many in the next month as I blog daily while serving my Facebook jail sentence--is that I now have the fear that something I post will result in another 30 day stint in the hole. The image that I had in mind for my upcoming novel would have been a contrast between a peace symbol and a swastika, but now I have to seriously rethink that since the presence of a Swastika might trigger a ban.
But the worst part of it is that I do not know the rules of the game, and nobody is required to tell me. Or you. Or anyone. The rules are arbitrary, controlled no doubt by algorithms that cheaply but inefficiently determine what is permissible discourse on Facebook, which is for me and many others the principle platform for building communities in the 21st Century. To have the thought that anything we might post could lead to our banishment from communities in which we have invested so much time and energy must surely cause most people to adhere to posting only the most banal of posts.
Social media has the potential to bring people together, I have seen it first-hand. I have been a part of communities where people from across the nation and even across the oceans have gathered together in the same geographic location just to have a meet-up. The power of social media and the internet to bring people together and bring about positive change should not be ignored because of the possible negatives. Sadly, as with all other aspects of society, those who are looking for obscene profit and those who desire undue power are shaping the internet to be what they want it to be. I am doing what I can to take this technology and do good with it, as are many others, Sadly, I fear that is a big reason those with wealth and power are willing to take away our voice.
More to come in the next 30 days.
If you liked what I write enough to support me, you can buy me a coffee. If you liked it but don't have a credit card handy, please share. Also, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, sign up for my newsletter, or check me out on Amazon.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
The Neoliberal Blame Quiz
Here's a short quiz I designed to test how much of a neoliberal you are. Simply match the numbered problems on the left with the lettered underlying causes on the right. The answers are provided on the bottom:
1. Gilets Juanes Protests In France A. Economic Inequality
2. Columbian Protests B. Government Corruption
3. Trump Presidency C. NAFTA
4. Black Lives Matter Movement D. Police Killing Unarmed Black People
5, Equadorian Protests E. Austerity Measures
6. Bolivian Protests F. Military Coup
7. Chilean Protests G. Russia
8. Lack Of Faith In The Media H. Media Owned By Oligarchs
9. Lack Of Support For U.S. Interventionism I. Military Industrial Complex's Endless Wars
10. Brexit J. Lack Of Sovereignty
11. Opiate Crisis K. Over-Prescription Of Opiates, Anomie
Answers: 1-G, 2-G, 3-G, 4-G, 5-G, 6-G, 7-G, 8-G, 9-G, 10-G, 11-G
If you got one or more of these answers right, you are a neoliberal.
If you got more than five of these answers right, the Democratic Party would be interested in sponsoring you for a congressional seat.
If you got every one of these right, Debbie Wasserman Schultz considers you a threat to her position within the DNC.
If you got seventeen out of eleven right, congratulations, you are Hillary Clinton or a member of the Atlantic Council.
1. Gilets Juanes Protests In France A. Economic Inequality
2. Columbian Protests B. Government Corruption
3. Trump Presidency C. NAFTA
4. Black Lives Matter Movement D. Police Killing Unarmed Black People
5, Equadorian Protests E. Austerity Measures
6. Bolivian Protests F. Military Coup
7. Chilean Protests G. Russia
8. Lack Of Faith In The Media H. Media Owned By Oligarchs
9. Lack Of Support For U.S. Interventionism I. Military Industrial Complex's Endless Wars
10. Brexit J. Lack Of Sovereignty
11. Opiate Crisis K. Over-Prescription Of Opiates, Anomie
Answers: 1-G, 2-G, 3-G, 4-G, 5-G, 6-G, 7-G, 8-G, 9-G, 10-G, 11-G
If you got one or more of these answers right, you are a neoliberal.
If you got more than five of these answers right, the Democratic Party would be interested in sponsoring you for a congressional seat.
If you got every one of these right, Debbie Wasserman Schultz considers you a threat to her position within the DNC.
If you got seventeen out of eleven right, congratulations, you are Hillary Clinton or a member of the Atlantic Council.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Fake Steak Sucks
Sometimes I think of how nice it must feel to believe that one of the
two major parties is actually on your side, fighting for issues that matter to
you. To believe it arrogance to think that the future might ever depend upon anything
you will ever think, believe, say, or do. To believe that the future we all
need will be ushered in by individuals born to lead and to rule, people we need
only give our approval to. To sit on the sideline and shout our encouragement
to those who battle it out in the arena for our benefit.
But I have experienced that delusion, and I know that it has never
made me happy. Because while I can lie to my conscious self, I know that I can
never lie to my true self, my real self, my soul. While I tell my thinking mind
that everything is okay and a certain breed of supermen and superwomen are
shaping humanity's destiny as God or destiny instructs them, some part of me
knows it is merely a story I tell myself in order to avoid speaking up, acting
up, rising up. Holding on to such illusions has only ever caused me pain.
I am reminded of the traitor from The Matrix, the one who regrets
having been awakened to the truth and is willing to betray all his friends and
comrades in order to retreat to the security and small pleasures to be found in
the illusion of the matrix. But I know, as one who used to eat fake food in the
matrix, that it is better to experience all the horrors reality can inflict
upon us for a brief taste of something real.
Awakened, I taste the fruits that I have raised in my meager little
garden, recognizing them for the little miracles they are. I cherish each
genuine connection that I have with other humans, recognizing them as part of
the miracle of existence. I drink in the poems and prose, the lyrics and the
music, the paintings and the movies made by those in touch with something
beyond the matrix—and in turn I am in touch with the miraculous. And I realize
that what I call miracles are merely those moments where I am face to face with
reality, the matrix no longer standing between me and the awesome universe. Once
one has experienced miracles—which is to say, once one has opened oneself up to
miracles, to reality—one need never again fear gazing into truth. And once one
has done that, the matrix no longer has appeal, offers no joy, no temptation.
Having stepped outside the illusions, life is nothing but miracles.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Politics Is A Business, And You Keep Voting For Jack And Jill
A lot of
Democrats feel hatred for those of us to their left who have voted for Ralph
Nader and Jill Stein rather than the Democratic candidate. My question to them
would be, could you ever imagine being given two options, neither of which you
can live with yourself for choosing?
First I
would like to tell you that it was not a decision we made lightly. Almost everyone
who voted for a third party in the last 20 years started out voting for one of
the two major parties. It was only after voting election after election and
seeing things continue to head in the wrong direction even when those we voted
for came to power, that we decided that what we were doing was not working. It was an aha moment we are currently waiting for others to have.
Some believe
that when option A is not working, it is time to Try option B. Others believe
that when option A is not working, you have to try option A harder. Those who voted
for third parties believed it was time to try an Option C. Or D, or E…Let’s not
limit ourselves to what is not working.
Because as
much as some will tell
you that the world is binary, it is often fatal to think within the box. When
you start believing that the only choices you have lie within a small
framework, not only do you forget to think outside the box, the box will
continue to contract until you once again dare to think outside the box. We
who have chosen options outside the box are merely the canaries in the coal
mine, those more sensitive than most to corruption and the consequences of that
corruption. We are those who sit inside a burning building who first smell the
smoke and decide we must leave the party while the rest call us party poopers. We
are those who, sitting next to you in the theater, recognize bad cinema when we
see it, and realizing the plot for the retread it is, refuse to sit through a
movie that insults our intelligence and our moral sensibilities. And while you
may blame us for the theater closing down for lack of an audience, we in turn
blame you for the continued existence of Adam Sandler. Because they are just
going to keep giving us endless uninspired sequels until people stop showing
up.
You have
to understand that the game is no longer politics but business. Those who
donate to the Democratic Party to such an extent that they in essence own it
are not giving in order to create a healthier democracy, they are investing
their money in order to turn a profit. And the way for them to make a profit is
to give as little to the customer as possible. We are the customers, the consumers
of the political product. It is their job to make us satisfied with what will
cost them the least. And the easiest way for them to do this is to convince you
that you have no place else to go, except the Republican Party, which is even
more in their pocket than the Democrats.
This is
where the marketing department takes over. They will tell you whatever they can
think of to make sure you believe your only options are between Coke and Pepsi. Of course, they know you have other options. They know that both products are bad for you.
Their job is to tell you that one has 10 calories less than the other, or that
blind studies have proven that more people preferred the taste of a certain soda. They will
never ever bring up topics like diabetes, tooth decay, or obesity.
The
candidates are products. You are a consumer. Those who make the commercials are
the marketing wing of corporations who are interested in maximizing profit.
They want to give you the absolute least for their money. This is why the
marketing arms come up with evil but effective slogans like “Blue no matter
who.” Their job is to convince you that no matter how poor the quality of Pepsi
is, you don’t opt for Coke. Actually, that is not true, since they own stock in
both companies and will profit regardless of whether you buy Coke OR Pepsi. Their
real goal is to make sure you keep thinking about cola and not other beverages.
And at all costs, they must keep you from thinking that drinkable water delivered
to your tap by public utilities is an idea from the land of unicorns and rainbows.
You are
the consumer. They are the ones with a product to sell. So long as you are
buying what they sell, they will never, ever, ever change. Why would they? You
think they care about you? Now there is an idea from the world of unicorns and
rainbows. No, what they care about is what they can take from you. They want
your public lands, they want to privatize whatever is currently being provided
to you without stockowners getting rich in the process. They want to reduce the
amount they have to pay you to create their profits. They want your money to
invest in their bombs to blow up people like you in other countries who won’t
give them their resources.
To the
degree that you resist, they will be forced to play your game. To the degree
that you claim yourself to be powerful and not at their mercy, they will have
to make concessions. They will have to provide you at least the minimum of what
you demand, or else they will lose you as a customer. You will find there are
ways of surviving without either Coke OR Pepsi, and they will go out of business.
The choice
is yours. There are a lot of people who have already shifted away from the
Coke/Pepsi paradigm. Many more are sitting on the fence waiting for the tides
to turn. Change has to come. It has already begun. You may be afraid of taking
the plunge, may still be under the influence of the marketers who tell you
there are no alternatives than the products they are selling. I can’t tell you
what to do, it’s your choice. But just as you have a choice to make, so do we,
and if Adam Sandler makes a Jack And Jill 2, don’t expect to see us in the cinema.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Jeffrey Epstein And The Silence Of The Media
Those who would bother to listen to my arguments in the
midst of the Russiagate madness—they were few—would ask me incredulously “Do
you think everybody in the media is lying?” I would reply that I had no way of
knowing what was going on inside their heads or their motivations for falling
in with the herd, but their behavior was not the sort that is exhibited by
journalists behaving in a professional manner. People couldn’t understand how
nearly every single news outlet could get a story wrong. I too was astounded by
it, but just because I couldn’t explain how such widespread hysteria was
possible didn’t mean it wasn’t happening. When the news tells me it’s snowing
and I look outside to see it is a warm sunny day, I’m going to go with my own
common sense. I’m surprised more people don’t remember how they were sold the
lie of WMD’s or babies being tossed to the floor from incubators.
Flash forward to August of this year. A convicted pedophile
with ties to incredibly important people in the United States and elsewhere is
found dead in his jail cell. The most important criminal in a United States
prison dies and the two cameras that were supposed to be keeping tabs on him
were not working. His guards were napping. A man who could potentially bring
down governments, royal families, and elites of many stripes is found dead,
allegedly of suicide, and the first response from the media is concern this
will cause people to circulate conspiracy theories. Never once do they declare that it is their job to get to the truth of the matter, only that they have to
help stomp out false narratives. Their job, they proclaim, is to await word
from authorities and report what they are told.
![]() |
| Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell with Donald and Melania Trump |
I have no desire to try to explain their behavior, only to
point out that this is not what news media is supposed to be. Their
task—allegedly—is to provide the facts, dig for the facts, not to silence narratives contrary to
the official narrative. Just who decides what the official narrative is,
anyway? In a healthy society, a little ambiguity and uncertainty is healthy. Only
in abusive relationships does someone demand you accept their version of the
story without asking questions.
Flash forward to the present. The story is over. Despite the
fact that most everyone would like to know more about how Epstein died and
about who and what he was involved with, you are likely to hear his name only
when a non-employee of the media conglomerates slips “Epstein didn’t kill
himself” into a live segment, such as here and here.
This is a story people would tune in to watch. The people
want the truth about this, this would make the media a ton of money. And if
even one mainstream station chose to cover it, every other station and
newspaper would be forced to cover it as well.
![]() |
| Epstein With Bill Gates |
But nobody is. While the media freely floats conspiracy
theories about Vladimir Putin having tapes of prostitutes peeing on Trump,
while Tulsi Gabbard is being called a Russian asset without anyone bothering to
back it up with evidence, there is a conspiracy of silence surrounding the
Jeffrey Epstein story. There is no other option but to call it a conspiracy.
How exactly it works or why it exists are not something I can fully explain,
nor do I care overmuch to speculate on. The only thing that concerns me is that
the media is acting contrary to their stated and observable interests: to
supply truth, generate viewers, and create wealth. It is undeniable that the
people want more information and the media is intent on not giving it to them.
![]() |
| Epstein With Prince Andrew |
Is this the media you are supposed to trust when they tell
you there are necessary reasons to send your children off to war? The
media you are to trust to tell you that the drugs your kids will be put on for
the rest of their lives are safe? That the people in charge of our economy are
making the best possible decisions for all of us? The media you should trust to
ensure your drinking water is safe?
Turn on your television, flip through the channels, and
realize that every talking head you come across has made a choice to keep
silent about Jeffrey Epstein. Know that all of them are okay with protecting
those who have sex with children. Know that whatever banal bullshit they are
talking about is more important in their minds than teenage girls being used as
sex slaves for the rich and powerful. Understand when they attempt to impart
their opinions on current events that they serve the powerful and corrupt, or
at least know enough not to speak out against them. For once in your life, get
it through your head that the job of understanding the world you live in must
be done by you and cannot be left to such people.
You cannot trust those who grow wealthy by keeping silent.
Who grow wealthy by keeping you distracted.
Joy Beyhar, who insists that she cares about women’s issues,
and is silent.
Rachel Maddow, who tells you everything is Russia’s fault,
and is silent.
Sean Hannity, who will warn you about Mexican rapists, and
is silent.
Trevor Noah who cracks a joke about the absurdity of anyone
who would question the official narrative.
Brian Williams, who tells you how beautiful missiles are,
and is silent.
Anderson Cooper, who tells you to trust the system, the same
system that allowed Jeffrey Epstein to die in prison, and is silent.
Ellen DeGeneres, who kisses women on TV to prove she’s a
liberal, and is silent.
Every single person on television who is permitted to
address the viewing public is silent.
Ask yourself how they can all stay silent while pedophiles walk
free. Not pedophiles merely, but those who turn teenage girls into sex workers.
All it would take is for one of them to speak up and demand answers.
And if it all seems quite unbelievable to you, ask yourself why
it is you stay silent? Once you realize that you have not spoken up, you will
start to understand how such a conspiracy of silence could ever happen, how a
society is more concerned with protecting child predators from justice than it
is protecting children from the powerful and corrupt. If we can stay silent, if
we can stay willfully ignorant or misinformed on this issue, what other lies
are we swallowing, what other corruption and abuses of power are we allowing to
exist? How many lies and silences are we allowing the media to feed us?
Don’t ask how it is possible, simply admit that it is real. Once
we as a society have done that, then we can begin to understand how it
happened. Then we can begin to bring justice to those who for so long have felt
themselves above it. But it will be us, not the people on the television, who will have to break the silence.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
A Message To The Democratic Party
Dear Democratic Leadership:
There are a few things I’d like to make clear to
you because it is apparent that for the last 3 years you’ve been living in your
own fantasy world. I know you will not listen. In the 35 years I’ve been
voting, you’ve made it abundantly clear that you have not been listening. For a
while you pretended to, but even that gesture has been abandoned. Where once
you made promises in an attempt to win our votes, you now make threats.
While I know you will not listen, I feel morally
obligated to share my thoughts nonetheless. And while I know you are unfamiliar
with the idea of moral obligation, there are some who may read this who are. I
want to show to them, to posterity, and to myself, that I have certain
principles and am willing to put those principles in writing so that others may
judge me according to how well I stand by them. Again, I don’t expect you to
understand.
The Democratic Party has no set of principles by
which it exists. Where once I considered myself a Democrat because I believed
they were the anti-war party, they have moved to the right of Donald Trump when it comes to war,
goading him to bomb other nations and screaming at any promise he makes to withdraw
troops from places in the world where we kill people illegally.
You set yourselves up as the opposition to President
Trump and all he represents. Yes, I know Trump is an immoral buffoon, a
semi-literate clown who embarrasses our country in front of the world. Yes, the
Republicans have sunk lower than I could ever have imagined by electing him to
be president. But let me remind you that you lost to him. Your presidential
candidate could not even rise to the level of “more appealing than Trump” in
the eyes of the American people. And not only did your presidential candidate
lose, the ripple effect across congressional and governor races was catastrophic.
If I could set aside your moral failings, the facts still remain that even with
your moral compromises, you are still incapable of the very victories you claim
you must compromise values in order to attain. Even purists can lose.
And while you claim the position of the only legitimate opposition to Donald Trump, you never defend any of the positions I care about.
You only attack Trump—and then quite rabidly, it must be admitted—in defense of
your own interests. Trump can engage in attempts at regime change in other
countries, and you are in lockstep with him. Trump can go after journalists and
you eagerly cheer him on so long as they are not servants of the same masters
you serve like Jim Acosta. Trump can gut environmental regulations and the only
resistance you put up is a symbolic one.
No, the only time you truly resist Trump is when
he is going after one of your own. To that end you have pushed the farcical
Russiagate narrative in order to clear yourselves of any responsibility for
your loss to Trump. On that nonsensical position you have hammered away at Trump
for 3 years, an attack that has only strengthened him. And only when he went
after Joe Biden’s son and the undeniable evidence of nepotism did you find it
fit to begin impeachment proceedings.
The environment, peace, clean water for Flint
Michigan, on none of these issues are you willing to fight. The proof lies in
your inaction on these issues when you held the power to do something. It is only when Trump might
harm your interests, or the interests of the unelected intelligence agencies
that you dare not question, that you come to life. You fight tooth and claw over
power in the same way the decadent and detached European royalty once did while
ignoring the interests of the average citizens. And yet you not only ask for
but demand our fealty. It is like being asked to take a side between Pablo
Escobar and the Cali Cartel.
You sell yourself as an inclusionary party,
welcoming people of all races, religions, gender, and sexual orientation, but
you only celebrate women, gays, and people of color so long as they are corporatists
and warmongers. Have them speak out against people of color being bombed or young
women working overseas in sweatshops to make our clothing, and they are cast
out from the homogenous herd. People like Caitlin Johnstone, Vanessa Beeley, Eva
Bartlett, Glenn Greenwald, Cynthia McKinney, and countless people of integrity
are ignored and even actively attacked by the Democratic establishment because
they take seriously principles the Democratic Party once stood for.
The 2016 election and its aftermath has wiped the
last of my illusions from my eyes. I was naïve enough to think that if the
Democrats lost to Donald McDonald that you would be forced to take a long hard
look at what you had become. I had no way of knowing how far your disease had
progressed, how beyond redemption the Democratic machinery had gone. The
inability to beat the worst presidential candidate in U.S. history was
shocking, but it was nothing compared to what followed: 3 years of insane gibbering
about Russian bots and buff Bernie pictures. And from all the maniacal Red
Scare tactics you have engaged in, the only results you have to show for it is
the silencing of dissent from progressives and ordinary citizens by billionaire
social media owners and unaccountable intelligence agencies.
It is apparent
to me now more than ever before that your primary goal is not to push
progressive issues but to marginalize and defeat the progressive movement. That
is what you stand for, that is your raison d’etre. Whatever illusions I once had
that we shared common goals has been irreparably shattered by your actions.
I have abandoned
the last of my illusions regarding the Democratic Party. It is time for the
Democratic Party to do the same. Do not, in your wildest flights of fancy,
believe that those of us on the left with a degree of integrity and honesty and clarity
are in your camp or can be wooed into it. We know now that you are not an ally.
However insistent your words, your actions have shown incontrovertibly that you
are in league with our enemies. From henceforth, we are at war.
Sincerely,
A Pro-peace,
Pro-democracy, Progressive
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