Standing at the brink

Charles Sullivan01/28/06 "ICH"
-- -- Let us understand that we are witnessing history in the process of repeating itself, as it so often does. Our ignorance of unwritten history is what dooms us to repeat it. So much of written history has been fictionalized to make martyrs of the worst kind of human beings. What is happening in America today has parallels to events that unfolded in other nations in modern history; and always with catastrophic results for humankind. Most notable, perhaps, was the rise to power of Nazism embodied by Adolph Hitler last century. Norman Livergood has summed up the American predicament most accurately and succinctly. "American citizens must realize that the Democratic Party leaders have now caved in to the Republican Party.The so called “compromise” was nothing more than an abject capitulation by the Democrats to Republican threats. The Neanderthal, right-wing, reactionary judges Bush demanded will now be confirmed.We are in Germany, 1933. The so-called moderate German leaders have deluded themselves into believing they can “control” Hitler by capitulation to him—with the connivance of Goering, his henchman has seized all power through the “Enabling Act,” destroying the Reichstag (House and Senate). Hitler has suspended elections and appointed himself Dictator. The reign of terror has begun!"Norman Livergood’s words should sound hauntingly familiar. They should alarm any wakeful citizen and make their skin crawl with repulsion. The people, made ignorant by the aide of a condescending commercial media that is a servant to power, reassuringly whisper to themselves that this cannot be happening to us, not here. That was then, this is now. A different climate existed in Nazi Germany than exists here in America. Our president and his coterie are our protectors, as well as defenders of freedom and democracy. They are people of faith, church-goers. We must place our faith in them as servants to humanity.How, then, do we find ourselves in the condition of a rat inescapably suffocating within the coils of a Boa Constrictor, gasping its final breath? The end is coming and it is coming soon, if we do not awaken from our collective stupor. The life is being strangled out of us and we do not even struggle to free ourselves. We think we are a free people with inalienable rights, as the reptile prepares to swallow its prey. Naiveté, as well as ignorance, can get us killed. Hitler was aided in his ascent to the role of Dictatorship by Germany’s Enabling Act. Bush and his cabal are being aided by the National Security Agency, Patriot Act Two; self inflicted terrorism, the corporate media and Diebold Corporation. Each of these components are cogs in a wheel of fascism that is running rough shod over the planet, killing hope everywhere. The NSA is engaged in an extensive campaign to spy upon ordinary law abiding citizens, in clear violation of our right to privacy. Our every move, our every word, is being monitored and evaluated by hidden eyes that operate in front of sinister minds. Those who utter truth are the enemies of fascism. They must be monitored and if they become too effective as organizers, they must be rounded up and imprisoned, as dissidents always are. The probability that another self inflicted terrorist attack will occur on American soil has already been planted in the public conscience; even as the Bush cabal, with the aide of its chief ally in empire—Israel, is preparing to instigate war with Iran. As was the case with Iraq, Iran’s threat will be grossly exaggerated and its leadership demonized in the Western media. This war, connived amid the same gross lies and distortions that resulted in the invasion and occupation of Iraq—the modern Viet Nam—may well be waged with nuclear munitions far worse than the depleted uranium used against Iraq. Iran’s defense infrastructure lies beneath many feet of concrete and only nuclear weapons are capable of penetrating them. A US-Israel attack on Iran is eminent, probably no later than March or April; or it might come as late as June. When this occurs the Middle East will become a vortex of fire and brimstone that is beyond control. It will assume a life, a momentum of its own, with global consequences. The Boa Constrictor is tightening its grip on power, as it acts to defend the imperialist dollar against the more equitable Iranian Bourse. If and when another self inflicted terrorist attack is launched on American soil, the constitution will likely be suspended, martial law declared, and a full blown dictatorship will be unleashed upon us. A significant segment of the citizenry, bred on ignorance and nourished by fear, will welcome the event with open arms, just as did the citizens of Germany in 1933.The fervor of Nationalism will once again drown out all reasonable discussion, as well as the objective examination of the evidence. Flags and yellow ribbons will become ubiquitous, while those who struggle to uphold the Constitution will be denounced as unpatriotic traitors. Rational thought will be suspended and labeled as dangerous and subversive.The fascists, regardless of their party affiliation, have no intention of relinquishing power in our lifetimes. Their objective is to control the world economy, to maintain the concentration of wealth among the few, and to use the world’s poor and disenfranchised as their servants. When this catalyzing event occurs, as it certainly will, rigged elections will no longer be necessary. Diebold, with its clear ties to corporate wealth, will no longer be required to supply the machinery of despotism—the monsters of oppression will be fully upon us. Then there will be little need to practice deception, except to inspire the hatred of our perceived enemies. The long nightmare will have begun. The spiral into the abyss of hell will finally be under way. Truth will be kept safely hidden from public view, and distorted into unrecognizable forms. In truth, however, it is not turban-wearing terrorists of Middle Eastern decent that threaten our lives and our freedoms; it is the domestic terrorists that hold public offices who will destroy us. The real enemy stealthily moves unencumbered in our midst, posing as our protectors, as guardians of democracy. The dangers now facing us as a people are truly beyond exaggeration. We stand on the brink of the collapse of both the domestic and global economies, engineered by the plutocrats and corporatists who represent the world’s wealthiest one percent of the global population. This makes them a small but powerful minority. It also means that we out number them ninety-nine to one. Those are pretty good odds in any conflict; and they are good odds in a revolution. But only if we act to save ourselves and the world as we know it. The first step is to awaken the masses. If we fail to unite with the vast majority of our fellow law abiding, peace loving citizens around this planet of majesty; if we fail to work across all of the boundaries that have kept us separate and disempowered for so many years, we will deserve the unimaginably horrible fate that awaits us on the other side of the Rubicon. I pray that we possess the requisite wisdom and strength of character not go there.Charles Sullivan is a furniture maker, photographer, and free lance writing residing in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. He can be reached at earthdog@highstream.net