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writing for godot

Wake Up America (NDAA)

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by Maia Newley   
Friday, 16 December 2011 11:19
There are times when I feel we all go on too much about politics and governments. Times when I'd love to be able to sit back and believe that those we elected, actually know what they are doing and have our best interests at heart.

Trouble is, history tells me I am wrong! The Occupy movement has now become so large and spread its tentacles so far across the world that, finally, I have begun to have some hope that citizens around the globe are waking up to the unpleasant fact that the powers-that-be have had it their way for far too long. They've stolen from us, manipulated us, controlled us through a kind of only-slighted-veiled passive aggression, and now they want to lock us up!

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

The passing of the National Defense Authorization Act bill on Thursday really was the last straw for me. Indefinite detention without trial may sound ok if you're talking about a despotic, Middle Eastern, regime but it definitely doesn't sound ok when you're talking about the supposed center of the 'Free World'. What rights do we, as Americans, have any more, to trot about the globe bringing 'democracy' to people when we have so little of our own these days? What does democracy mean to you? I am now searching for a new and up-to-date definition. I know what it used to mean, but these days I'm not sure. I suspect it means something like "I agree with everything the government is doing because, if I don't, then I obviously don't love my country" but, just speaking personally you understand, if that's the new democracy, give me good old-fashioned tyranny any day because at least everyone knows what that is and what it stands for.

As Benjamin Franklin said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

The NDAA is a shameful piece of legislation which has no place on our statute books and tramples over The Constitution. It has no redeeming features in my view. I can't find any anyway but no doubt the politicians will be running hard to present a glossy view of it on Fox News and, equally certainly, Fox News will be open to giving them plenty of airtime to do that!

In my view, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and looks like a duck - well then it IS a duck...
 

Comments  

 
+3 # RMDC 2011-12-23 19:56
Yes, I agree this new law marks the end of the rule of law in the US. The right of Habeas Corpus has been in law for 1000s of years. Now it is gone.

But I don't really agree that America is or has ever been the center of the Free World. America is an empire and has been for all of its history. At first, it only needed to conquer and genocide Indians, parts of Mexico, and Alaska. But around 1900, it was finished with that and began to expand globally.

It is now coming to the end of its imperial phase. All empires collapse sooner or later. Now is the later. Unfortunately, empires don't go quietly. It is going to get a lot uglier before the tyrannical regime is Washington collapses and the whole world can be a "center of freedom." My guess is that the USG will murder, torture, disappear, bomb, and etc. at least a hundred million more people before it finally collapses. Good riddance. The Washington Regime is the "center of evil" in the world.

The American people are OK. We are just like Germans or any other people who have to live through tyranny. We can't stop it. We have no power. By definition empires and tyrannies are not democratic.
 
 
0 # Maianewley 2011-12-24 07:22
I actually agree with more or less all you've said and, in my defense, I did say "supposed" center of the Free World, not that I necessarily agree with that!

I also agree that countries go through an imperial phase and so, in that respect, the US is no different to many other countries.

I wish I didn't agree with your final paragraph but, increasingly, I do. I suppose I still WANT to believe we hold some power or, if not, that we can regain some power (if we ever had any!) and hope that the Occupy movements have at least shown people that total inertia or despondency is not the only possible way.

But your comments are very well made and I concede most or them. I think that perhaps it just makes me feel better to write something, than write nothing and feel as though it's all just passed me by! My central point is really the increasing erosion of our liberties and the NDAA, habeas corpus, even the SOPA, all just speak to the overall situation.
 
 
0 # RMDC 2011-12-25 07:41
I guess I see all of our problems as an educational one. We have had a century of indoctrinating americans that false structures like the "free market" and "national security" take precedence over all human and social qualities. This indoctrination was carefully orchestrated by America's ruling elites.

So in this sense, your writing is the best thing we can do. Voting does not work. I was a strong supporter of Obama who said pretty clearly that the US was going in the wrong direction and needed profound change. But he turned out to be just another tool of the military-industrial-banking complex. We need to educate the american population so that when the USG goes broke and collapses, we can start over on a better thought out foundation. We are going to have to go through the collapse. The american political/economic system cannot be reformed. Someday a real "American Spring" will erupt here. We need to educate ourselves and others to prepare for that day.
 
 
0 # Maianewley 2011-12-26 13:21
Strangely enough, I've just written a new article on this very subject! The political system DOES need a fundamental restructuring and re-understanding. If you're interested, it's here : http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/78-78/9097-will-2012-see-the-end-of-duoplicity-election-2012 . But I have a feeling its length may well dissuade many people from reading it. And that just chips away at the top of the iceberg, it doesn't really get to grips with the much bigger problem of new ways to address a very old problem. However, maybe at least raising the points also serves a purpose?

As someone recently pointed out to me, the educative process in itself has served to promote only the ideas that certain people wish to promote in the past.

This continual dualistic (or two-party) system will always lead to the situation we currently find ourselves in in the end. There really is no other way for it to progress unfortunately.

We need to find new voices and new ways of looking at what we expect from those that we wish to lead us.

The 'American Spring' idea is also something I've written on in the past and I, too, believe it WILL happen eventually and perhaps right now we are seeing the embryonic stages of it. At least, I hope so...
 

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