Truth-Tellers and Terrorists

The people have no power, this much is clear. Chris Hedges points out that the only hope for powerless people is not to gain power, but to create enough fear that the people in power will act; make concessions in response to social demands and human need.

This is the world we live in. It’s not a new story, but it is a devastating one. The people have no real say in the direction of our country. Policies are written for the interests of the corporations regardless of how greatly opposed the public is. And still the politicians stand up and declare their loyalty and dedication to the people, the environment, and the advancement of our country.

What they really mean is, they are dedicated to their corporate contributors who then are granted special access and influence on policy making through their elite connections to our governing body.

This is, incidentally, exactly what happened with the Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State (SOS). She claimed there was no overlapping interests between the Clinton Foundation and the her role as SOS, but the emails proved the opposite.

Wealthy contributors made massive donations to the Clinton Foundation and were granted direct access to the SOS of the United States of America in return. In fact, over HALF of the meetings scheduled during HRC’s term were with those who contributed to the Clinton Foundation.

The truth is coming to light just as it did for poor Ryan Lochte, with one glaring difference; he eventually told the truth. He admitted his guilt, took responsibility, and apologized for his behavior.

Not so with Clinton. She reiterates her lies again and again in the face of the American public, pointing the finger anywhere but at herself, villainizing and even criminalizing the ones who reveal the TRUTH.  

She has no intention of “coming clean.” She could care less about the American people, integrity, or the truth. Instead she takes up an offensive position attacking the truth-tellers and creating a culture of fear around them. It’s the oldest trick in the book. Make people afraid of each other and they will align behind you.Not this time, Hillary.

Julian Assange is now being referred to as a “tech terrorist,” a term coined, undoubtedly, just for him: Wikileaks deemed a “Terrorist Organization,” both now under threat of attack, and the charge? Telling the Truth.

If the truth reveals a direct connection between powerful elites in government and the decisions and policies that lead to suffering and loss of human life for the sake of monetary corporate profit, who is the real terrorist?

StandOff

It’s easier to deny the reality of a corrupt government and a democracy long dead, when the majority of the population lives in a bubble of privilege, sheltered from the dire and inevitable consequences of such a system, but what happens when that bubble shrinks and the majority no longer exists within that bubble? When the majority is no longer blinded by propaganda and becomes aware of the unsustainable nature of the societal and governmental policies that exist to benefit the few over the masses?

We have a government aware of issues, some of which have simple and reasonable solutions; we have unparalleled access to technology and financial resources that would render many of the economic, environmental and social problems we are plagued with obsolete; and, yet, they refuse to address those issues because the solutions would interfere with corporate interests and profits.

Our government is not a democracy but an oligarchy of corporations who hold the power to coerce and bribe government officials to promote policies that protect the interests and profits of the wealthy over the rights and welfare of the people, or the environment.

The fact that in the US we are plagued with a population that for decades has been painfully uninvolved and uneducated about the workings of our political system has only amplified the corruption and issues in our government. This makes the reality harder to face, the system harder to change, and the solution harder to achieve.

What we have at present is a population divided, but not necessarily in the way we think. Ultimately the people, I believe, are on the same side and motivated by the same things: 1) a desire to live comfortably and peacefully; and 2) a fear of losing their sense of safety and security.

The dividing point is not what we’re striving for or what we’re afraid of but what we think should be done about it. On this point, we are divided in many ways.

Some people would like to shut everybody up about the incriminating evidence tied to the establishment, tow the line, and ignore all factual information regardless of how bad it is in order to not rock the figurative boat. In this case fear of change outweighs the reality that the boat was already taking on water and that’s what the truth is exposing. The people who are pushing for exposure become the threat because they are the ones rocking the boat, even if they aren’t the ones responsible for the hole.

Others want to engage in extreme measures of isolationism believing it’s the “others” that pose the threat to their security and therefore must be removed. Whether they be Muslims, Mexicans, Isis, another country halfway around the world, or simply the people who don’t agree with their views, these people believe that the threat comes from these “other” people and in order to feel safe and secure these “others” must be excluded, deported and isolated. They get a greater sense of security from carrying a bigger gun and building a bigger wall.

Still others want to bring the reality of the corrupt system to light regardless of how hard it rocks the boat and how bad the reality is in order to then make real progress and create real solutions for a sustainable future. In this case, the people who are fighting to maintain the status quo and quietly carry on with life as usual become the opposition.

All of these points and perspectives are valid regardless of whether I personally agree with them or not, and all of them carry the same fatal flaw: an “Us against Them” mentality.

We’re in the middle of an epic standoff not just between political parties but between people.

My question is: based on this reality, how do we, as a people, move toward a solution and progressive action that works for all all of us?

Believe it or not, there are some positive implications associated with this shift in our populace and while the struggle is real and the tensions are high, this is a direct result of a rise in our general consciousness around the state of our nation and our world.

The struggle comes from not knowing how to address or resolve the enormous issues we are faced with.

In my opinion, the only unsolvable problem is an avoided problem. Unfortunately, we have many many problems that land in that category.

A people divided is a people conquered and right now we are a divided people conquered by a corrupt government and corporate interests.

As far as I’m concerned, the presidential race has become a sideshow of second rate actors not worth the price of admission-- something to keep us occupied that has nothing to do with the main event.

Perhaps we should start focusing on the real issues which, as far as I can tell, have less to do with who becomes president, and more to do with how we can communicate with each other to facilitate sustainable solutions for a truly  productive and inclusive society.

A NATION DIVIDED

It feels like doomsday.

Incriminating evidence from wikileaks against the DNC and Hillary Clinton keeps on coming and the main stream media does it’s best to ignore the facts while continuing their barrage of propaganda and fear mongering about Trump.

This is like a sick joke being played on the American people and there is only one outcome regardless of which of these two buffoons gets elected; the people lose.

The establishment has their agenda and it’s been the same from the start. Get Hillary elected by any means necessary. Perhaps they wouldn’t have even had to rig the election if this unpredictable wild card, Bernie Sanders, hadn’t shown up like a monkey wrench in what was a well oiled machine.

But he did.

He showed up and captured the attention, enthusiasm, and the hearts of millions of Americans and we voted. Yes, we did. We voted for him. We not only voted for him, we voted for a corruption free government, for a true democracy, and for a system that works for the people, not the corporations. We showed up and offered our allegiance and energy to the Democratic Party and they turned us away. Instead of listening to the voices of millions (as one might expect from the party who claims to be “the People’s Party,”) they doubled down their efforts to shut us up and shut us out.

Now they are doing what they have always done; manipulate and terrify people through the media to make them feel as if there is only one option, effectively creating their own campaign of hate pitting Clinton supporters against anyone who doesn’t support her. Clinton supporters attack Sanders supporters on social media for refusing to back her, openly ridiculing, intimidating, and blaming Bernie Sanders supporters for the inevitable disaster that would be a Donald Trump Presidency.

This kind of intimidation and attempt to influence another person’s vote is not only undemocratic, according to the voter rights act, it’s illegal.

I get it. We are all scared for our future.

What I’m scared of is that the more I understand about our corrupt political system, the more I feel like a disastrous outcome is inevitable. As far as I can tell, this hand has already been played and what’s worse, I don’t actually think it matters who the people vote for.

That has been proven again and again in this primary election.

The DNC stole the election. There is concrete evidence that even they couldn’t deny and yet they refused to rectify their illegal behavior in a way that restored the voice of the people, or the democracy that clearly no longer exists. They could have given the nomination to the legitimate candidate who polled consistently better nationally than the republican nominee, and they chose to ignore the facts and push their own agenda.

They said it themselves, they don’t need the Sanders supporters to win.

In fact, they’ve proven that they don’t need voters to win.

What they need is a populace that can be fear mongered and manipulated into voting for their candidate despite her ill character and illegal history, and people with a low enough moral code to accept pay in exchange for unethical and illegal practices like: closing polling places, purging voters from the ranks, changing voters' registration status, intimidating voters online, allowing the placement of hackable voting machines in areas where there is no paper trail, training poll workers to hand out provisional ballots to people registered Democrat, and paying off the people responsible for counting those ballots to instead throw them in the trash.

No, Hillary can’t have my vote, but don’t worry; she doesn’t need it to steal the election.

She doesn’t need yours either.