"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
"The citizen who sees his society's democratic clothes being worn out and does not cry it out, is not a patriot, but a traitor."
-- Mark Twain
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them."
-- George Orwell
I love my country. The people, not the government. In the American ideal, the government is merely a tool for our use, and is not something to be loved or despised, nor something to be loyal to. The US government is the largest, most powerful machine ever built, but it is only a machine. An American's loyalty should be to the people. Not an abstract people, but the people you see and touch every day. Your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, countrymen.
America is a marvellous, chaotic and strange place with all of the wonders and torments that you might expect from a society made up of people from every corner of the Earth. America has all of the glory and grime that results when you really try to maximize liberty for everyone. We have many successes, failures, virtues and vices.
Our worst vice has been neglectfulness. We have neglected our government for a long time now. We are like the driver who ignores the odd noises coming from his car. The car still runs fine, so he lets it go, thinking that he'll look into it another day. That day always comes in the form of a complete breakdown at the least opportune time.
We've all heard the pinging noises and backfires that have been coming from our government, the roughness on idle, the distinctive signs of wear. If we don't take action soon, it's going to throw a rod and we'll have to buy a whole new car.
We have lost control. Instead of being in charge ourselves, our government is now dominated and run by a group of people who are using it for their own purposes, without us. Our government is no longer "of the People, by the People, for the People."
I love my country. I want it back. I hope you do, too.
The people who have taken control are a small, close-knit group who call themselves "neoconservatives" (1). Some neocon names you'll know are Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Perle, but there's many more. The initial phase of this power grab has already been won, but their hold is not yet solid. We still have time to fix this.
I know the neocons pose this threat because they've told us about the whole plan themselves in their various books and writings.
This must be the first surprise that we give to them -- we need read what they wrote. You should at least read "Rebuilding America's Defenses" (2), the document cited by Bush (and very recently confirmed by both Cheney and Rumsfeld) as being the basis of our current foreign policy (3). That document is a good description of what they have been doing, although it is only one facet of the total effort.
The neocons aren't actually very "neo". Their philosophy, methods, and goals are pretty old. They are overtly fascists (4). Their beliefs and methods are essentially identical to those of great fascists in the past. If you doubt this, please compare what they wrote to what Mussolini and Hitler wrote.
The neocons are also not conservatives. They only dress like them. In reality, neocons have little in common with conservative thought (5). They have, however, been trying to make use of bitter American partisanship to their advantage. We have teamed up before, despite differences, to confront a common enemy. This should be the next surprise that we spring on them. Let's unite once again. First, let's put out the fire and save the house. We can argue about the furnishings later.
They literally and openly want global military domination by the U.S. (6) They use the word "hegemon" as if it were a compliment and call their goal "Pax Americana". They've laid out the specific actions they plan to take to make this happen. Yes, attacking Iraq was listed (this has nothing at all to do with Hussein, incidentally. They said that we must attack Iraq whether or not Saddam is in power.) They intend to control the majority of the Middle East, by military force if necessary. That's just an appetizer, though, as they ultimately intend global domination and control. This is not speculation. This is what they've said.
Even countries friendly to the US are not safe. They have plainly stated that any nation, friend or foe, who looks like they're becoming too strong militarily will be subject to preemptive attack. In effect, they have declared war on the entire world.
Since this plan has been in development since at least 1992, it was clearly not a result of the events of September 11. Their plans are not intended to counter terrorism or liberate people, except when those things are needed to bring their vision into reality.
They intend to put the US in the position of being the boss of the world by putting a gun to the world's head. For the most part, they think this is a good thing. They have said this is "America's birthright" as well as "America's duty" or "burden".
This is why the world stands opposed to the US. The world has seen this story unfold too many times in the past to be unable to predict the plot of it now.
The danger is not from us, it is from our hijacked government, and we are at risk as well. The neocons plan strict civilian controls and stripping citizens of Constitutionally guaranteed rights. If their ultimate vision is fulfilled, then every nation will be roughly as free as every other. Which is to say, not very free at all. Everyone will be living under a tyranny where rights are no longer permanent and inherent in man, but are privileges granted by the government.
This is a complete reversal of what the United States is intended to be. It is a violation of our social contract and the core of what the Constitution was intended to guarantee.
The neocon's contempt for us was shown from the very beginning, in their plans for siezing power away from the people. They knew that most Americans would not accept their ideas. They acknowledge this in their papers, even remarking that we needed a "second Pearl Harbor" to scare us into the accepting traditonally unamerican ideas. Yes, this was written prior to September 11.
The neocons decided to infiltrate and take over a major political party (7). They became wolves in sheep's clothing. They subverted the system. They never put their ideas up for the usual public debate and discussion. These things never appeared in a campaign speech or were the subject of a campaign statement. Public debate was discouraged.
They, in short, planned a coup -- American style.
They worked to get themselves and their sympathizers into every key office they could. They worked so hard that there is some question about the legitimacy of a number of those elections (8). They got a sympathizer in as President and even managed to get one of their own, Dick Cheney, in as Vice President. They are ruthless in attaining their goals, lie constantly (9), falsify evidence (10), commit crimes (11), and maintain strict secrecy (12) to hide any outright wrongdoing.
They think they know what's best for us, and they intend to impose it whether we consent to it or not. They are openly setting the US up as a police state (13). They are intentionally implementing the very definition of tyranny.
They are traitors.
All of which brings us to Iraq (14). Iraq is but the latest battle in a much larger war. They wrote that a successful invasion and domination of Iraq would "mark the emergence of a new American century." It is a war that we've been tricked into (15).
For political reasons, it is a pivotal battle and we need to give it special attention. The government and mainstream media have been conspiring to lie to us about it at a level never before seen in the United States (16). The next surprise we should spring on them is to stop relying solely on American mainstream news (this includes Fox & NPR). Instead, start reading news from a broad swath of other nations. If you're particularly xenophobic, simply reading British and Canadian news sources will go a long way. Access to a mind-boggling array of excellent news sources are only a mouse click away. (17)
If the Iraq war goes well, the neocons will be further emboldened and empowered to continue with their policies. Policies which completely remake the United States into something that was never part of the deal. For this reason alone, it is in America's best interest to lose this war. The neocons must be opposed.
A victory in Iraq is a victory for the neocons, not for us. Our fighting men and women are unwittingly serving domestic enemies. They are fighting the wrong people. Until they see that, they are more of a threat than they are protection.
We must redirect and focus our rage and attention to our real enemy - this small group of traitors who have cold-bloodedly taken advantage of our national grief and horror towards September 11 to seize control. We must cut this cancer out of our government. It is a matter, not just of our security and our freedom, but of our very future as a nation and the safety of the entire world.
We must ensure that the plan stops with Iraq. We must work so that even a military victory there results in such a political disaster that the neocons are kicked out of office and into prison cells.
It is our fault, through our own ignorance and lack of attention, that the machinery of our government has been stolen from us and is now being used to threaten the world, including ourselves and our friends. It is up to us to fix it.
After all, we all love our country.
Further Information
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/opinion/0902/29bookman.html
http://www.spectacle.org/1002/hogan.html
(1) "All in the Neocon Family"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15481
(2) "Rebuilding America's Defenses". If you haven't read this paper, then you have no idea what we're doing in the Middle East If you read and understand this, you can appear prophetic to all your friends, because you will know what the next step is. Read it.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
This paper was produced by The Project for a New American Century , which is a neocon think tank and (http://www.newamericancentury.org), which is a neocon think tank and merely one part of whole neocon group.
(3) "Our Hijacked Foreign Policy"
http://www.etherzone.com/2002/raim040102.shtml
(4) I hesitate to use the f-word, as it has been so often misconstrued to mean "very evil regime". I use it here in the technical and descriptive sense, not as a slur. Here's a handy definition: "A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism." Even better, read this description of fascism from the horse's mouth, Mussolini himself: "What is Fascism, 1932"
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html
(5) Real conservatives have a reason to be particularly angry at the neocons: the neocons stole the word "conservative" without just cause. Many conservatives already are upset at this theft and I encourage you to join their ranks. See "The Antiwar Movement Takes Shape"
http://www.amconmag.com/02_10_03/feature.html
(6) "The Pentagon's New Map"
http://www.nwc.navy.mil/newrulesets/ThePentagonsNewMap.htm
(7) "Betrayal of Republicanism"
http://www.originaldissent.com/sartre030703.html
(8) "The Stealing of America"
http://www.votescam.com
(9) "A List of Bush Lies on Iraq"
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/03/27_lies.html
(10) "Some Evidence on Iraq Called Fake"
http://www.endthewar.org/features/fakeevidence.htm
(11) "Bush and the Corporate Crime Wave"
http://www.thedailyenron.com/documents/20020627085542-88008.asp
(12) The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy
http://www.fas.org/sgp/
(13) "USA Patriot Act: A Dreadful Act II"
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0213-09.htm
(14) "This War is Treason"
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j030703.html
(15) "Former CIA analyst: US 'conned into war'"
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/29_03_03/art23.asp
(16) "An Army of Propaganda"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15507
(17) To find sources of news that aren't American, start by looking at the news sources used by Google News (http://news.google.com/news/).
http://www.drudgereport.com also has an impressive list of news links.
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