In this article, John Moyers catalogs some of the most glaring deceits perpetrated by our servants in high government. My problem is this: What the hell is to be done besides the writing of Op-Ed pieces which merely chronicle the abuse? Doing so does not even cover the story completely. I realize there is a space and time limitation; not everything which is wrong can be addressed or digested in a 1000-word editoial. But highlighting only the most prominent obscenities, like the breathtakingly Orwellian Total Information Awareness program headed by a convicted felon, or the blatant paying off of big business through refunds of the Corporate Minimum Tax, or the hijacking of the judiciary for political gain, or the naked adventurism of prosecuting a war for the achievement of very dubious objectives—these stories are only the whitecaps on the surface of a catastrophic flood, which has already washed-away many of the freedoms of people like you and me. Highlighting these stories distracts us from recognizing the greater underlying disaster.
Even now, when so much damage has already been done, still there are no demonstrations in the street. As I sit and type, my country lies quiet; there are no bullhorns, no searchlights, and there is no sound of boots outside my door. Some might say that my ability to say these things without arrest is proof that our democracy is viable, and that dissent is still protected. I might say that it proves my point; that the government which strips our freedoms does so with the consent of the governed and therefore has no need to fear informed dissent.
There is a catastrophic tide among us, sweeping the majority aside for the benefit of a few, and we are complicit in its success. That disaster is the real story. The population elected these monsters. Citizens have tolerated their abuse of constitional authority with nary a whimper, often taking up the abusers’ cause and helping them justify their crimes. In a call to a BBC radio program last week, a Colorado woman cited the September 11 terrorist attacks as justification to invade and conquer a sovereign nation. Again. Iraq has no more connection to the terrorist attacks than Germany; the al-Qaida cell in Hamburg helped plan the attack. I couldn’t listen long enough to find out if she wants to attack Germany as well—I shut her off.
They are Muslim. They are Arab. And they have the oil. These are the reasons that the current Great Empire will attack them. Iraq will never be able to damage us as much as we have already been damaged from within. The land of the free and the home of the brave is neither any longer. We have abdicated our freedoms either in favor of our 401(k) accounts and our personal wealth, or because we are too overwhelmed with poverty to care much about freedom.
And brave? We are bigger and stronger than any of our opponents. Of all the bullies I have ever known, I don’t remember any I would call brave.