The Myth Of American Democracy

On this, another United States "Independence Day," the American
politicians and media feed the public with flag-waving parades,
recitations of "The Pledge of Allegiance," and platitudes about
the United States being for "liberty and justice for all," "the land
of the free," and "the world's greatest democracy."

But are the acts of dissent, individual liberty, and rebellion against
government oppression and injustices which American history books
laud the signers of the Declaration of Independence,on July 4, 1776,
for; REALLY lauded or even tolerated by the United States Government
(& even many individual state governments) today?  And is the United
States REALLY a democracy?

Well, one of the definitions that Webster's Dictionary gives for "democracy"
is the following: "the principle of equality of rights, opportunity, and
treatment, or the practice of this principle." And it adds this: "the common
people, esp. as the wielders of political power."

Do the "common people" wield the power in United States 2013?  Does the
United States offer an "equality of rights, opportunity, and treatment?"  Are
those who publicly demonstrate against United States military actions
around the globe lauded as heroes?  How about those who expose
government wrongdoing?

One only needs to review the events of 2013 involving the United States
Federal and State governments to see that American "democracy" is a myth,
and that, in fact, the United States is very much working AGAINST
democracy, not only within its own borders, but in its involvement
in the affairs of many other nations, through invasions, drone murders, etc.

Briefly, here is some evidence of this:

1) The witch-hunt against whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, who
exposed the massive illegal spying going on against U.S. citizens, by the
National Security Agency (and the FBI and Homeland Security Agencies,
as exposed by others); and Bradley Manning, who exposed murders, torture,
and corruption by the U.S. military; shows that an American (or anyone)
who tries to shine the light on U.S. Government wrongdoing is risking life
imprisonment or death.  Manning has now been incarcerated for years, most
of it in solitary confinement; and Snowden is holed up in a Moscow airport
with the U.S. Government threatening countries around the world who
would dare to offer him political asylum or even permission for him to fly
through their airspace!  Julian Assange, whose Wikileaks has exposed both
U.S. military and political wrongdoing, has been holed up in the Ecuadorian
embassy in London, with the U.S. doing all it can to make sure their English
ally doesn't let him get away.

2) United States spy agencies like the FBI, NSA, etc., are routinely
monitoring the actions of potentially ALL Americans, but in particular,
dissidents on the LEFT politically, who they also infiltrate. They have
drastically increased their labeling of political activists as "terrorists,"
so as to force individuals to plead guilty to any "crime;" rather than be
incarcerated for life through a federal judicial system which often starts
from the premise that the accused is "guilty until proven innocent,"
which, of course, can never be done.

3) While it has been rare for those in local police forces to ever be convicted
of any crime, despite thousands of incidents of brutality, destruction of
evidence, etc. every year; things have now deteriorated to the point where
many individuals who have recorded, by audio or video, acts of wrongdoing
by local police, have not only found their equipment confiscated or
destroyed, but have found  themselves facing criminal charges for their acts
of courage and justice!

4) The possibility of any significant change in the broken, gridlocked
two-party system of government has become less with each passing year
because only wealthy corporations and special interest groups control the
entire political process. (The right-wing U.S. Supreme Court has seen to
that by ruling that unlimited amounts of money can be spent on elections
by those controllers). The idea of a third party (or more, as in parliamentary
systems of government), is not even seriously discussed in U.S. political
circles anymore. Common sense alone tells one that when everything is
either "us or them," a mantra of American thinking as a whole, there is
very little thinking "outside the box" going on; cooperation always fails
to competition, which is why American politicians spend most of their
time planning for their next election or on vacation ("in recess").
Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to win a national election without
being affluent to begin with, and without significant corporate
and/or special interest dollars.  So forget about the "common people"
ever becoming "wielders of political power" under the United States
system of government. The phrase attached to American politicians as
being "public servants" is nothing more than a bad joke!

5) The majority of U.S. states have right-wing controlled state governments
that have increasingly attacked and more and more, eliminated, rights for
women, minorities, immigrants, and the poor; including the right to even
vote. Nationwide there has been an assault on the right of women to
terminate a pregnancy, to obtain contraceptives, to have equal or same-sex
partnerships, to earn an equal wage, etc.. Protections against minority
discrimination have been weakened. More police power has been given
to harass or apprehend immigrants. And needed benefits for the poor have
been cut to pay for increased bureaucrat salaries, more police for the
security of the wealthy, and to make up for the millions of dollars of
federal aid cut to fund U.S. wars and surveillance operations.  A recent
Supreme Court decision also opened the door for millions more, mainly
among the poor and minorities, to be disenfranchised from even voting,
which should become evident in the 2014 U.S. "mid-term elections."


Thus, only a new awakening, among the nations of the world, as well as the
"silenced majority" in the United States, as to the LACK of democracy
practiced by the self-appointed "world's policeman," will lead to increased
DEMANDS for structural change in the United States, and the shouting of
"NO!" to the ambitions of the controlling few who wish to impose their will
on the nation and the world.  It IS time for a "new world order," and a new
"declaration of independence," that is INCLUSIVE rather than EXCLUSIVE;
COOPERATIVE rather than COMPETITIVE; and one that regards its
PEACE SEEKERS as heroes, rather than its WAR EXECUTORS. 







 

EL COMANDANTE Gave Latin American Countries A New Sense Of Pride And Assertiveness

    It is not surprising that within the day following the death of Venezuelan
President, Hugo Chavez, corporate media outlets across the United States
and those within the borders of its right-wing allies, were excoriating a
very rare leader who sided with the poor in his actions rather than the rich
like them.

However, it also was no surprise to hear the praise and genuine feelings of
affection coming from leaders of other Latin American countries and
to hear of several of them quickly rushing off to Caracus to offer their
condolences to the family of Chavez and to the millions of Chavistas
who are also greatly mourning his death.

I believe the latter was true because Hugo Chavez brought a new sense of pride to Latin America as a whole and demonstrated to them what assertive leadership was, and too, what sacrifices and suffering one would have to endure to be an assertive leader.

Just as has been true of Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has been hated by the United States government because he refused to let Washington dictate to all Latin American countries what they must do and not do; who they must associate with and disassociate with; what the rules of trade are; and what space and resources they must give up in their countries to United States corporations and the United States military. Castro's penalties for disobeying Washington have been an invasion of his country in the Bay of Pigs, repeated assassination attempts through U.S. spy agencies, and an embargo lasting more than a half century.  Chavez has had to deal with an aborted CIA coup in 2002; a vast U.S. intelligence operation in his right-wing neighbor, Columbia; constant harassment, demonization, and threats from U.S. backed media and political operatives; and perhaps, as hinted at by Vice President Maduro, and demonstrated by the U.S.'s staunchest right-wing ally, Israel, a deliberate radiation poisoning, as befell Yasir Arafat.

Chavez earned the respect of his Latin American colleagues by giving many of them direct aid, and avoiding the blackmailing terms that come with U.S. "friendship." They were able to meet as a group of nations without the United States present, and they learned that dialogue and attempted cooperation with leaders of nations that the U.S. didn't like was far more preferable than ignoring them, name calling, or making military threats as the U.S. does.

In Venezuela itself, Chavez leaves millions of citizens who truly LOVED
him. How many people does one find in the United States who LOVE their
politicians or even one in particular? I must say that the love of Chavez by
so many of his citizens came because he truly acted as a "public servant" to
those who are ignored, despised, or neatly tucked away out of sight in most
other countries: the poor.  And in the U.S., the term "public servant" has
become a contradiction in terms, since most politicians blantantly serve
only themselves and their wealthy friends every little luxury and perk that
they steal from the tax-paying public.

Let us hope that those appreciative leaders who attend the funeral of EL COMANDANTE on Friday, will keep their assertiveness to help the Chavistas keep their goals for Venezuela alive, and to not allow United States dictating or meddling in their affairs in the future.