NVR- America in the Time of Empire
Worth a read. Sobering.
America in the Time of Empire
by Chris Hedges
All great empires and nations decay from within. By the time they hobble off the world stage, overrun by the hordes at the gates or vanishing quietly into the pages of history books, what made them successful and powerful no longer has relevance. This rot takes place over decades, as with the Soviet Union, or, even longer, as with the Roman, Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian empires. It is often imperceptible.
Dying empires cling until the very end to the outward trappings of power. They mask their weakness behind a costly and technologically advanced military. They pursue increasingly unrealistic imperial ambitions. They stifle dissent with efficient and often ruthless mechanisms of control. They lose the capacity for empathy, which allows them to see themselves through the eyes of others, to create a world of accommodation rather than strife. The creeds and noble ideals of the nation become empty cliches, used to justify acts of greater plunder, corruption and violence. By the end, there is only a raw lust for power and few willing to confront it.
The most damning indicators of national decline are upon us. We have watched an oligarchy rise to take economic and political power. The top 1 percent of the population has amassed more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined, creating economic disparities unseen since the Depression. If Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes president, we will see the presidency controlled by two families for the last 24 years.
Massive debt, much of it in the hands of the Chinese, keeps piling up as we fund absurd imperial projects and useless foreign wars. Democratic freedoms are diminished in the name of national security. And the erosion of basic services, from education to health care to public housing, has left tens of millions of citizens in despair. The displacement of genuine debate and civil and political discourse with the noise and glitter of public spectacle and entertainment has left us ignorant of the outside world, and blind to how it perceives us. We are fed trivia and celebrity gossip in place of news.
An increasing number of voices, especially within the military, are speaking to this stark deterioration. They describe a political class that no longer knows how to separate personal gain from the common good, a class driving the nation into the ground.
“There has been a glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders,” retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former commander of forces in Iraq, recently told the New York Times, adding that civilian officials have been “derelict in their duties” and guilty of a “lust for power.”
The American working class, once the most prosperous on Earth, has been politically disempowered, impoverished and abandoned. Manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas. State and federal assistance programs have been slashed. The corporations, those that orchestrated the flight of jobs and the abolishment of workers’ rights, control every federal agency in Washington, including the Department of Labor. They have dismantled the regulations that had made the country’s managed capitalism a success for ordinary men and women. The Democratic and Republican Parties now take corporate money and do the bidding of corporate interests.
Philadelphia is a textbook example. The city has seen a precipitous decline in manufacturing jobs, jobs that allowed households to live comfortably on one salary. The city had 35 percent of its workforce employed in the manufacturing sector in 1950, perhaps the zenith of the American empire. Thirty years later, this had fallen to 20 percent. Today it is 8.8 percent. Commensurate jobs, jobs that offer benefits, health care and most important enough money to provide hope for the future, no longer exist. The former manufacturing centers from Flint, Mich., to Youngstown, Ohio, are open sores, testaments to a growing internal collapse.
The United States has gone from being the world’s largest creditor to its largest debtor. As of September 2006, the country was, for the first time in a century, paying out more than it received in investments. Trillions of dollars go into defense while the nation’s infrastructure, from levees in New Orleans to highway bridges in Minnesota, collapses. We spend almost as much on military power as the rest of the world combined, while Social Security and Medicare entitlements are jeopardized because of huge deficits. Money is available for war, but not for the simple necessities of daily life.
Nothing makes these diseased priorities more starkly clear than what the White House did last week. On the same day, Tuesday, President Bush vetoed a domestic spending bill for education, job training and health programs, yet signed another bill giving the Pentagon about $471 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. All this in the shadow of a Joint Economic Committee report suggesting that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been twice as expensive than previously imagined, almost $1.5 trillion.
The decision to measure the strength of the state in military terms is fatal. It leads to a growing cynicism among a disenchanted citizenry and a Hobbesian ethic of individual gain at the expense of everyone else. Few want to fight and die for a Halliburton or an Exxon. This is why we do not have a draft. It is why taxes have not been raised and we borrow to fund the war. It is why the state has organized, and spends billions to maintain, a mercenary army in Iraq. We leave the fighting and dying mostly to our poor and hired killers. No nationwide sacrifices are required. We will worry about it later.
It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population. This permits the oligarchy to squander capital and lives. It creates a world where we speak exclusively in the language of violence. It has plunged us into an endless cycle of war and conflict that is draining away the vitality, resources and promise of the nation.
It signals the twilight of our empire.
This column was originally published by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I found it here: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/26/5436/
Dying empires cling until the very end to the outward trappings of power. They mask their weakness behind a costly and technologically advanced military. They pursue increasingly unrealistic imperial ambitions. They stifle dissent with efficient and often ruthless mechanisms of control. They lose the capacity for empathy, which allows them to see themselves through the eyes of others, to create a world of accommodation rather than strife. The creeds and noble ideals of the nation become empty cliches, used to justify acts of greater plunder, corruption and violence. By the end, there is only a raw lust for power and few willing to confront it.
Sooo true. All empires come to an end.....
I read so much about "empires".....from wood, to coal, oil, to the industrial revolution, etc.... how many empires in our so called "modern world" ruled...then became who and what they are today.....
I have something to add to this later...a post that relates.....(an article actually)....
Thanks for posting it.....
-d
This is sure to be a popular thread! ::)
I was just reading something in a similar vein:
http://www.alternet.org/rights/68399/
"It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population." Chris Hedges
H.R.1955 was passed in the House and is off to the Senate, but still no one seems to care. http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=4682
This could have implications for anyone considered an 'animal rights activist'.
I'm sure it takes time for an empire to crumble--and though there were subversive plans/actions going on behind the scenes that led up to this...I believe America jumped the shark so to speak the minute that George W was forcibly and undemocratically placed in office by his more shrewd scheming and conniving cohorts, replacing democracy with what I call a cronyocracy.
What has taken place these past seven years was planned out in detail for years previous to George W's installment. The moment the election was stolen was a defining moment in America's history. Our congress, the legal system, the people of America could have risen up and refused to allow it to happen. But alas, the members of the cronyocracy had/have their hands in the cookie jar everywhere, very few were not in some way influenced and fearful of their power. Whether it be congress or corporations, they had something to gain from what took place.
There's no turning back what's done. And the laws (on all different levels, but especially in privacy rights) that are now in place, will take years to turn around. I have felt for many years now that America is on the decline. And it is the powerful few behind the scenes that are controlling events that have taken place, are taking place, and will take place in the years to come. No matter who is the next president, the power is still ultimately in the hands of these people.
Savvy--haven't read your articles yet. Will do so now.
Project for a New American Century (PNAC) called for a Pax Americana (Pax Romana)...
The Fed releasing funds to buoy the sub-prime mortgage industry and the decline of the dollar = the decline of every Chinese dynasty during which they produced massive amounts of currency to fund wars, etc. One could say that the whole sub-prime debacle was allowed to delay the inevitable recession/depression that occurs during a fall. The war/occupation to delay the decline of the dollar to the Euro when oil is no longer traded in dollars.
And to control the masses they have been deconstructing the middle class since Reagan and slowly creating a police state to prevent rebellion and keep theirs once the final ax falls. Peak oil, water wars, and climate change create instability.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html
"It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population." Chris Hedges
H.R.1955 was passed in the House and is off to the Senate, but still no one seems to care. http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=4682
This could have implications for anyone considered an 'animal rights activist'.
And here's the bill introduced in the Senate of HR 1955 (known as S 1959) that hasn't been passed yet so....
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR AND TELL THEM TO VOTE NO...it's only two calls or emails
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1959
That's scary. And so true. I guess scary because it's so true.
Ugh.
A democracy where only about half the country takes place is bound to fail. Americans today are more concerned with sports and entertainment more so than politics. Too many people want to argue about whether the New England Patriots are a dynasty or whether so and so should have been voted off of American Idol. Too many people are too occupied by what football player was killed this week, what celebrity is in jail, or who did what on some stupid reality tv show. More people can probably explain the inner workings of the alliances on Survivor and all the playoff scenarios in the NFL than can describe how a democracy even works.
And when people do talk about politics they repeat the same old worn out facts they here in the media and automatically accept them are true, instead of doing their own independent research on the issue to form their own opinion, not what some media outlet tells them to believe.
A democracy only works when a vast majority of the public is involved and educated about the issues. Unfortunately, a vast majority of Americans care about superficial events and are largely uneducated about political issues.
Well said Foofie! America has a horrible media, one that constantly subverts the truth, preys on people's fears, and focuses on the unimportant so that we, the "herd" will be kept in control, and the money flowing in the right direction.
Take a big step everyone, boycott television and look to the independent media sources located all over the world. The first step is to be informed.
A democracy only works when a vast majority of the public is involved and educated about the issues. Unfortunately, a vast majority of Americans care about superficial events and are largely uneducated about political issues.
*hangs head in shame*
I'm pretty much uneducated on the important stuff but could tell you all about pop culture.
I really need to work on this.
p.s. I agree with Cami, well said, Foofie.
so that we, the "herd" will be kept in control
Are you talking about "sheeple"? :D
Take a big step everyone, boycott television and look to the independent media sources located all over the world. The first step is to be informed.
I don't own a tv. Trust me when I say to whoever owns a tv...you will not miss it as much as you think you will. You'll begin to find yourself doing some of the things that you wished you were doing while you were watching reruns of Seinfeld and Friends.
I don't even know which team won the superbowl this year. Nor do I care.
I agree with Foofie, too. The media does not obviously provide information on what's going on in the world. That is because they are owned by corporations who are in league with the same people who put us in Iraq.
For the period following 911 and our first intrusion into Afghanistan and Iraq, we didn't have any strong courageous reporters like Woodward and Bernstein who might actually dig deeper to get the real story out to the mainstream public. Pretty much everyone was afraid to speak out against the president, even those liberals who had previously been most outspoken against conservatives. It was all this crap about "supporting the president"...and how if you don't, then you support the enemy/terrorism OR you're not being respectful to the people who died or lost a loved one from 911. (Don't talk to me about that shlep Michael Moore....he didn't uncover anything that I didn't know back in 2002 from reading alternative news sources. He is simply effective at getting a movie made...not actually *uncovering it* the information he presents in it...at least not concerning our current administration...and anyway he was a bit late with all his info, don't you think? Where was he in 2001 when people like Bill Mahar was being ostracized for speaking out and making fun of all the shit that was going on?)
Meggs, you've got a great head on your shoulders...and your heart makes the right choices...no need to worry...you are an awesome person. And anyway, you don't seem uninformed to me. Uniformed is the guy sitting around in the local sports bar who grunts and shouts like a prehistoric retard whenever a goal is made.
Meggs, you've got a great head on your shoulders...and your heart makes the right choices...no need to worry...you are an awesome person. And anyway, you don't seem uninformed to me. Uniformed is the guy sitting around in the local sports bar who grunts and shouts like a prehistoric retard whenever a goal is made.
Thank you, SB, I appreciate your kind words. I do not watch TV, I do know about the government putting out what it wants us to hear/see in the media; similar to the milk production companies telling everyone they need calcium and "got milk?"
I just wish I really really knew what was going on-- can y'all recommend some good "alternative" news sources/ sites/ etc? I've got a whole month of no school coming up; I love learning new things and making myself more aware.
I just wish I really really knew what was going on-- can y'all recommend some good "alternative" news sources/ sites/ etc? I've got a whole month of no school coming up; I love learning new things and making myself more aware.
Because of my anger problem with the world (ha!) following years of obsession reading about politics, for the past two years I have taken a hiatus from really delving into it. It disturbs me way too much. But these are some of the sites that I would read (don't know how informative they are now...).
Years ago, I got a lot of info from Bushwatch.com. They are not nearly as good as they once were. But back in 2001 to 2003 they had great stuff and links to other good sources. Then of couse there's The Nation. I know that Davedrum reads Huffington Post, and that's a good source. In fact, I bet he could rattle off quite a few of the more current alternative sites out there. There's NPR and Air America in terms of radio. Reading the BBC used to be good, too...but seems lately it doesn't offer as much of a different viewpoint from mainstream American news anymore for some reason (maybe it has to do with their current administration). Reading the news/media from different countries often helps to give a different perspective. Maybe Kbone can offer some more sources as well? The article from which Kbone derived the above essay is a good site...Common Dreams. I learned a lot from reading mags, too (The Nation, Foreign Affairs, etc.). Once you start getting into it, you'll end up finding more and more obscure sites (at least that's what happened to me). I never got my info from one source...I sort of jumped around on the Internet or read political mags from the library.
Edit: I forgot about books! Noam Chomsky is a good place to start.
I just wish I really really knew what was going on-- can y'all recommend some good "alternative" news sources/ sites/ etc? I've got a whole month of no school coming up; I love learning new things and making myself more aware.
Because of my anger problem with the world (ha!) following years of obsession reading about politics, for the past two years I have taken a hiatus from really delving into it. It disturbs me way too much. But these are some of the sites that I would read (don't know how informative they are now...).
Years ago, I got a lot of info from Bushreport.com. They are not nearly as good as they once were. But back in 2001 to 2003 they had great stuff and links to other good sources. Then of couse there's The Nation. I know that Davedrum reads Huffington Post, and that's a good source. In fact, I bet he could rattle off quite a few of the more current alternative sites out there. There's NPR and Air America in terms of radio. Reading the BBC used to be good, too...but seems lately it doesn't offer as much of a different viewpoint from mainstream American news anymore for some reason (maybe it has to do with their current administration). Reading the news/media from different countries often helps to give a different perspective. Maybe Kbone can offer some more sources as well? The article from which Kbone derived the above essay is a good site...Common Dreams. I learned a lot from reading mags, too (The Nation, Foreign Affairs, etc.). Once you start getting into it, you'll end up finding more and more obscure sites (at least that's what happened to me). I never got my info from one source...I sort of jumped around on the Internet or read political mags from the library.
Edit: I forgot about books! Noam Chomsky is a good place to start.
Thanks, Bunny! I'm going to save this and "delve" into it during winter break. I appreciate your help/advice! :)
www.indymedia.org
www.earthfirstjournal.org
www.chomsky.info
These are some of the places I go to, but if you're worried about being black listed by the government, or are just paranoid, don't go to any EF websites. Same goes with elf.
www.indymedia.org
www.earthfirstjournal.org
www.chomsky.info
These are some of the places I go to, but if you're worried about being black listed by the government, or are just paranoid, don't go to any EF websites. Same goes with elf.
EF websites? elf? Cami, speak English to me, baby! I am but a virgin in this world of indie media sources.
www.indymedia.org
www.earthfirstjournal.org
www.chomsky.info
These are some of the places I go to, but if you're worried about being black listed by the government, or are just paranoid, don't go to any EF websites. Same goes with elf.
EF websites? elf? Cami, speak English to me, baby! I am but a virgin in this world of indie media sources.
Geez, Meggs. You're such a n00b.
:(
...and here's the daily news from bushwatch.com, which has links to many different sources, including foreign news: http://www.bushwatch.com/rss-e-mail.php
This is Bushwatch.com's list of alternative news sources online:
The Nation, opinion
Salon, opinion
Mother Jones, opinion
Alternet, opinion
Working For Change, opinion
Tom Paine, opinion
Democracy Now !, news
Daily Kos, opinion
In These Times, opinion
Huffington Post, news
Crooks and Liars, audio/video
Don't know what elf is...?? Earth Liberation Front?
Edit--I guess those aren't all news sources...some are just commentaries, but informative none the less.
Geez, Meggs. You're such a n00b.
:(
I am.
No, SB, I don't know anything. And I'm not afraid to admit that.
But I will educate myself thanks to mah veg*n peeps.
Ok really, bedtime. Thank you all.
Geez, Meggs. You're such a n00b.
:(
I am.
No, SB, I don't know anything. And I'm not afraid to admit that.
But I will educate myself thanks to mah veg*n peeps.
Ok really, bedtime. Thank you all.
Goodnight friend! :)
Better to be a n00b than a g00b(er), which is what I am. :D
Geez, Meggs. You're such a n00b.
:(
I am.
No, SB, I don't know anything. And I'm not afraid to admit that.
But I will educate myself thanks to mah veg*n peeps.
Ok really, bedtime. Thank you all.
Goodnight friend! :)
Better to be a n00b than a g00b(er), which is what I am. :D
You can't be a g00b(er), g00b(er)s and trolls do not marry each other!!!
You can't be a g00b(er), g00b(er)s and trolls do not marry each other!!!
That's funny and cute! ;) ;D
Wait...let me check my Wiki to make sure...
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