As we approach Independence Day, I find myself with very little to feel patriotic about. My definition may be different from many Americans. To begin, I have tried to shed all traces of jingoism from my personal conception of patriotism. George Carlin used to say that, " I do this moron thing, and its called thinking. And apparently, I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions." I feel the same way. I try to base my ideas and viewpoints on evidence. I believe in empiricism, reason, and looking for the truth.
George W. Bush told us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that he was planning to use against this country. All evidence indicated that Bush and his neo-conservative cheerleaders were lying. For example, as the Administration was making its case for war, and marginalizing dissent ( "You're with us or against us."), U.N. weapons inspectors were scouring the country for the arsenals that were reputed to exist and consistently reporting that there was zero evidence that Iraq had any kind of WMD. Nevertheless, off to war we went. We all know the results. Tens of thousands of American and Iraqis killed. Over a trillion dollars spent on what amounted to little more than a massive national killing spree. Billions of dollars in profits to private contractors for services never provided.
Presently, the country, awash in corruption taught to them by their liberators, has spiraled into unimaginable dystopian anarchy. Thousands of innocents have died, horrific atrocities committed, and a legacy of misery and hate that has helped to flame the sectarian violence currently overwhelming not just Iraq, but the entire region. And all of this horror infecting the world in order to steal Iraqi oil, provide huge "earnings" for corporate criminals and their shareholders. None of it possible without the usual suspects; mendacious politicians and the always craven and complicit media. As Howard Zinn, a true patriot, wrote, " there is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."
Iraq, like Vietnam, will be portrayed in the history books as a noble attempt to bring democracy to oppressed peoples. How many people throughout history have died for the very same abstraction.
Yesterday, I read that thousands of people living in Detroit had their water shut off because they could not afford to pay their bills. Detroit is currently bankrupt. According to Detroit's mayor, Dave Bing, and the Detroit Free Press, Detroit's real unemployment rate is close to 50%. So called free trade agreements have have resulted in a massive exodus of very unpatriotic companies relocating to countries where labor is cheap, worker's rights nonexistent, environmental regulation a joke, and a workforce so desperate they will be exploited without complaint.
Back to Detroit. The U.N. called the denial of drinking water a violation of human rights. The neo-liberals see Detroit, as poor as it is, as a petrie dish for the privatization and austerity policies known as shock doctrine. Publicly owned utilities, resources and treasures will be sold for pennies on the dollar to mitigate Detroit's indebtedness. Of course, the people of Detroit will lose, and investors win. Any long term mitigation of Detroit's fiscal woes will not be addressed. That is the entire point of the shock doctrine.
The media has promoted the lie that Detroit's problems are the result of corruption and the greed of omnipotent unions. The average city pension for Detroit's retirees was $18,000. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's bankruptcy restructuring program will result in the promised benefits to Detroit retirees being cut by about 34%. How does anybody pay rent, medical bills, house payments or even the water bill on $12,000 dollars? Obviously, nobody can, nor should be expected to especially after working most of their adults lives for stolen promises. So Detroit now is at the mercy of the same Wall Street Banks that created the global financial crisis and took Detroit along for the ride. Detroit is not the only city to have become insolvent. There have been others, and there will be many more. Also look for public employees around the country to continue to be scapegoated, and pension funds to be gutted because they are too " generous". Read Mike Taibbi's great piece on the evisceration of Rhode Island's public pension fund.
Ralph Nader wrote that our schools should teach students to think rather than to believe. We are a nation of believers. He also defined patriotism as the desire to make your country a better place. America has a long way to go before we can say "with liberty and justice for all." We have done much during my lifetime that makes me feel shame. Denying our own citizens drinking water might well be a new low. So forgive me if this July 4th I do not participate in celebrating a nation that has rejected its founding creed. I am no longer a believer.
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