We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Anti-Empire Report #121

Click here to access article by William Blum from his blog.

In this report Blum writes about three subjects:
1) The War on Terrorism … or whatever
Pity the poor American who wants to be a good citizen, wants to understand the world and his country’s role in it, wants to believe in the War on Terrorism, wants to believe that his government seeks to do good … What is he to make of all this?
2) “Omission is the most powerful form of lie.” – George Orwell  [Blum fills in an event missing from US history books that happened in Greece after WWII.]
3) The latest step in the evolution of America’s Police State  [Here he reports on an incident in which a German was too critical of US government spying and the Empire's response. Only one newspaper in the US reported the incident.]