Where We Live

I was watching the “news” the other morning when I heard someone say, “I love my country.”

I put my coffee cup down and yelled at the guy on the television, “You have got to stop hallucinating.”

If there is anything more trite than to tell a returning vet, “Thank You For Your Service” it’s got to be “I love my country.”

No I’m not grateful to someone for participating in a war crime and for the life of me I can’t figure out what America has ever done that could be termed “lovable.” And if you can find something even remotely decent this country has ever done … it is completely wiped off the Morality Ledger Books by the atrocities this country has committed … and continues to commit … daily.

The United States has never in its history intervened to stop genocide and has in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred. The World’s Longest Holocaust In The History Of Mankind took place in this country. Between 10 and 114 million American Indians were killed as a direct result of U.S. actions.

According to the 1860 census there were four million slaves in The United States.

Through genocide and slavery the empire was born.

Since 1945 the government of The United States has waged 9 wars, overthrown 50 governments, crushed 30 liberation movements, intervened militarily in 70 nations, assassinated scores of prominent foreign citizens, and has condoned and used torture abroad and at home.

How many people has America killed? That number cannot be counted. Too many millions have been murdered.

Almost five and a half million Vietnamese were killed during the illegal war in Vietnam. 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. Invasion and occupation of Iraq. How much higher would the death toll rise if we could accurately add the dead resulting from our involvement in Mexico and the countries of Central and South America?

This is our country.

But there have been moments when progressives fought for a better nation and though constantly opposed by conservatives, tried to realize a better America for us all.

They abolished slavery and Jim Crow laws. Their efforts brought us:

Women’s suffrage
Black suffrage
Civil Rights
Healthcare
Social Security
The G.I Bill
Public Schools
National parks
The 40 hour work week
Child Labor Laws
Minimum wage
And The Equal Rights Act

But …

These victories have been almost completely eliminated over the last 30 years. The right to vote was taken away from thousands of African Americans in Florida in the 2000 presidential election and ultimately everyone’s right to vote was nullified by The United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000.

Child labor laws, the minimum wage, and a 40 hour work week are meaningless concepts when U.S. corporations establish their sweatshops in third world countries.

The Bush and Obama administrations have orchestrated the largest transfer of wealth in human history to The Corporatocracy while funding for schools, parks, and our nation’s infrastructure is in shambles as budgets are cut across the board because of huge, paralyzing, mounting deficits.

The two-party system … the three branches of the federal government … are completely corrupt. There’s only a handful of decent members from the House and Senate … a few justices on the Supreme Court … and that’s it. The rest are a bunch of swine who do the bidding of the highest bidder. I have yet to find the right word to describe … “politicians.” What’s the word that means a parasite who lives off of a leech?

Democrats did nothing substantive to stop the Bush administration’s war crimes and continue to follow the Bush/Cheney policies of illegal wars and occupations.

The Democrats could stop Republican obstructionism but do not. They could have stopped the Republican agenda years ago. But they didn’t. The only conclusion I can come to is that the Democrats share the same goals as the Republicans. Take The Money. Do What You’re Told.

The myth of The United States we’ve all been taught since kindergarten bears no resemblance to the country we actually live in. Activists like Howard Zinn did not work to restore the country to the myth … but rather worked to change the country according to the ideas set forth in our founding documents.

We can’t restore the country to the state it never was. We can only work to change it to what it might be. And the odds that working within the system will change the country for the better are right around zero.

So yeah … I’m not an America lover. I don’t know what loving America even means. Unless you’re talking about geography. The Grand Canyon’s pretty cool but I’m pretty sure the people that say, “I Love My Country” are talking about something other than the dirt.

I’m an “America Hater.” I hate what it has done … and what it does. I can’t celebrate national holidays because how exactly does one celebrate invasion, genocide, and worldwide looting? I am against this country’s policies of perpetual war in pursuit of peace. I’m against capitalism. I believed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “…the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government.”

I advocate the non-violent overthrow of the government … but I don’t do anything about it. I’m pretty sure that’s what’s being called a “terrorist” these days. Plus it’s kind of iffy that the new government would follow The Constitution.

I’m neither a radical nor a revolutionary. I have no solutions. The Bad Guys have won and now the only question is to: Adapt or Leave? I guess a third choice would be to embrace Denial. To spend a huge amount of time and energy Unknowing Things.

Forgetting.

But how much television can one watch?

I’ve been told that I’m just … quitting. Is it quitting to leave the casino after you’ve discovered the roulette table’s rigged or the cards are stacked against you? Is it quitting not to go into battle hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned?

The Corporatocracy does lose every now and again. The Vietnamese spent millions of their lives getting rid of the invaders. I’m not ready to make that kind of sacrifice. I don’t know anybody who is. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were willing to risk their lives.

I’m not.

Which brings me back to … Adapt or Leave?

Where We Live February 12, 2010