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

Friday, June 20, 2014

Everywhere is War

Click here to access article by Andy Piascik from CounterPunch.

The Empire's capitalist directorate seem to be preparing to launch numerous wars to extend their control over vital resources and to counter any resistance from independent nations with their own capitalist gangs such as Russia and China. Capitalist gangs, like all gangs, rely on their ability to control territories through the use of force or an intimidating threat of force. As activists in service to save humanity from this folly, we must be aware of what is happening in order to effectively organize counter measures. Piascik in this article warns us about the current efforts of the directorate to glorify war so that they can once again enlist our support for their nefarious causes.
Summer approaches and the stench of war is all around. Or, as the great Bob Marley put it, Everywhere is War. Start with the commemorations over a five-week span of Memorial Day, Flag Day and Independence Day, all presented varyingly as celebrations of our war dead, symbols of our greatness, the freedoms we love so dearly and seek to export to every corner of the world and, perhaps most important, the unquestioned rightness of our cause.
In reality, the celebrations are of imperialist war, with the talk about the hallowed dead just so much cover for the murderous nature of US foreign policy.