| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Arther Miller" |
| Date: |
16 Nov 2003 10:36:34 AM |
| Object: |
''Neo-cons: the modern day Bolsheviks'' |
''Neo-cons: the modern day Bolsheviks''
Printed on Friday, November 14, 2003 @ 00:00:31 CST
By Raff Ellis
YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States)
(YellowTimes.org) – As often happens, current events seem to be torn
from the pages of history and, as Santayana said, those who do not
remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Of course, the places
and names change but a meticulous inspection reveals the same patterns
and the same destructive behavior.
When the Russian Revolution appeared on the world stage, life, which
was already quite cheap, became incredibly cheaper, to be dispensed
with on a whim in the cause of the end result -- an establishment and
solidification of the new regime. Minds had to be changed or the
bodies that housed them eliminated. Independent thought was dangerous
and expressly forbidden. Many people, in order to curry favor with
those in power, informed on their neighbors and adopted the slogans of
"patriotism." Individuals could be incarcerated on an impulse of the
government, tortured, sent off to the Gulag or worse, the firing
squad. There was no Bill of Rights for these people.
To further their ends, the Bolsheviks co-opted communications and
created Tass and Isvestia, the infamous propaganda organs of the
Soviet regime. American students were taught at an early age how
terrible this was, how we couldn't believe what was printed or said by
these despicable people. This could never happen in America where we
were free to think what we wanted and the press would always report
the truth.
So, what has happened? In the glorious USA, we've had a revolution of
our own. No, it wasn't an armed rebellion but an insidious, creeping
change from our former democratic government to one where an oligarchy
of big business interests has seized control. We now have in
Washington our own modern version of Bolshevism. Far out, you say? I
don't think so.
Consider that since the events of 9/11 we have had an administration
empowered to seize people, citizens or not, and incarcerate or deport
them without charge, without due process, without legal representation
and without familial notification. We've created our own Gulag called
Guantanamo and others we know not of. Our Justice Department is
"disappearing" people and blocks all attempts at accountability in the
name of security. We even send people off to countries where we know
they will be tortured. The president, who has been given and has
assumed dictatorial powers, decides whether a person has rights or
whether enacted laws apply to them. Do we, too, like the hapless
Russians, not have a Bill of Rights?
Consider also the monopolistic communications empires that have been
created by "friends" and patrons of the administration. When you think
about it, what is the difference between Fox Network and Tass? They
both spout the party line without regard for the truth. They promote
their government's adventures while reviling dissident opinion. In
short, Fox is just like their Bolshevik brethren.
Investigative journalism has gone the way of the vacuum tube radio.
What doth it profit a newsman to report the actual chaos in Iraq
instead of the coalition-claimed "positive" developments? Or the
serious morale problems in our armed forces, glossed over by
fraudulent form letters sent to the press? What of the true body count
of dead and wounded and images of the dead GIs returning home that
would perchance awaken a compliant, general public? How about the
casualties inflicted on the Iraqi civilians, casualties that aren't
counted because they don't count? Or the numerous lies told by
administration officials to justify their war mongering and pillaging
of the treasury to support their adventures? Where are the juicy
stories of profiteering by corporate friends and relatives of the
administration in the reconstruction of Iraq? Is not the chaos in
Afghanistan, where the "huge victory" is in reality limited to the
occupation of one large city, a reportable event?
Instead of these earthshaking stories, "respected" journalists write
columns that claim the Patriot Act is a benign piece of legislation
that is misunderstood and that the reconstruction contract awards for
Iraq are strictly above board. One newspaper filled its pages with the
breathtakingly important details about the firing of a local college
football coach (217 column inches in one edition) instead of events in
the Middle East (92 column inches in the same edition) that are
supposed to be "vital to America's security interests." Yet, hundreds
of people are being shot at and many are being killed every day in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and this gets a fraction of the ink used about a
football coach being fired. No, the lackey press does not highlight
the nasty things that do not further their interests or protect their
administration friends.
You should also take note that whenever someone rushes to cover up
their bad acts by labeling critics with pejorative names. you can be
sure their actions will not bear close scrutiny. When people tried to
complain in Bolshevik Russia, they were called counter-revolutionaries
and dealt with extremely harshly. When Americans complain about their
country's policies, they are called unpatriotic and subjected to
public ridicule. The rallies and protests of dissenters aren't
reported fairly, if at all. If you criticize George W. Bush, you are
being disrespectful of the presidency. If you criticize the war in
Iraq, you are not supporting our troops. If you criticize the Justice
Department or Homeland Security, you don't care about the defense of
our country. If you criticize America's Middle East policy, you are
anti-Semitic. I could go on but I think you get the picture. All
tyrannical regimes have used the same strategy.
Unfortunately, these tactics always work on a largely docile and
uninformed population, a large number of whom, like their president,
don't read the newspapers and form their opinions from a few repeated
sound bites. When the history of this era is written, it will contain
all the eerie similarities of times past that we refused to recognize
and learn from.
[Raff Ellis lives in the United States and is a retired former
strategic planner and computer industry executive. He has had an
abiding and active interest in the Middle East since early adulthood
and has traveled to the region many times over the last 30 years.]
Raff Ellis encourages your comments:
YellowTimes.org is an international news and opinion publication.
YellowTimes.org encourages its material to be reproduced, reprinted,
or broadcast provided that any such reproduction identifies the
original source, http://www.YellowTimes.org.
Internet web links to http://www.YellowTimes.org are appreciated.
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