In recent months, I have taken part in numerous political debates on U.S. foreign and domestic policy and I have noticed an alarming and virtually universal trend among those who disagree with my analysis. It seems that most of my fellow American citizens equate the United States government with the Nation itself, as though government representatives and the country are one-in-the-same, virtually interchangeable. My objections to certain actions by the government were consistently deemed "anti-American," as well as bringing accusations of "taking the side of the enemy," and somehow "approving" of horrific foreign governments and their reprehensible actions. This took me by surprise, as I have always considered the United States to be "of the people, by the people and for the people," with the government merely serving as a powerful apparatus charged with enacting policies that conform to the will of the population. Those who use the former definition often find themselves defending the actions of the government by default in emotional responses likened to the "mother of the accused," who refuses to see the guilt of her son, no matter how much damning evidence is presented at his trial.
I think this is a serious mistake.
Those, like myself, who choose to follow the latter definition of the Nation, see the government as a powerful and dangerous instrument, in great need of vigilant oversight by the People, who are the true protectors of democracy.
Who am I and what do I stand for? I am an American citizen voicing an opinion in the public sphere within a free country. I am for the restoration of the American Democracy, as opposed to the American Plutocratic Empire, which is our current condition. This empire has been and continues to be a cancer on the earth, spreading death and destruction for corporate profit wherever it goes, in violation of all the sacred principles found in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. This empire violates human rights and international law with utter contempt and impunity. It is driving the entire world toward nuclear war and global environmental catastrophe. I am also a citizen who understands the concept of "blowback." I am aware that every bomb dropped on a Muslim land is a victory for Osama Bin Laden. Every door kicked in during a "security sweep" in Baghdad is a call to Jihad. I realize that the Bush administration cynically used the 9/11 attacks to enact policies meant to increase the wealth and power for a small, select group of individuals, while INCREASING the threat of terrorism tenfold. I am also fully aware that the most prevalent form of terrorism in the world is state terrorism, which is responsible for significantly more death and destruction worldwide than the terrorist attacks by their non-state counterparts, like al Qaeda, Hezbollah or the numerous South and Central American groups on the United States government list of terrorist organizations. I see this cynical "war on terror" being used to circumvent the U.S. Constitution and reduce the civil liberties of the citizenry. I also see the enormous rise of the Military/Industrial Complex, which history has shown us is the precursor to fascism, the antithesis of democracy.
As a responsible citizen, I take my obligation to dissent against these wrongdoings quite seriously. In essence, the dangerous tool that is the government is out of control and needs to be reigned in. In order to do that, we the people need to thoroughly examine the actions of our government without passion or prejudice, to see where it has strayed from its core objective of enacting policies that conform to the will of the people under the principles put forth by our founding fathers in our most sacred documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Only then can we restore the American Democracy and reclaim the moral high ground that was the trademark of our once great Nation.
I’ll close with a quote found on a NY Times political blog by someone calling himself ‘concerned citizen’:
"It is well and good to understand realpolitik. It is also well and good, however, to insist that one’s nation live up to its own stated principles. It is the hypocrisy of our nation to which any real patriot ought to vociferously object. We Americans ought to be holding our leadership to the highest possible standards that our own culture and political history have enshrined in our most cherished documents — the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
When our "leadership" has blatantly violated these standards of behavior both domestically and internationally, it is our duty as citizens to object, to protest, to take political action, to vote, to educate, to lift the veil of ignorance and obfuscation, to criticize, to raise the uncomfortable issues that no one wants to discuss.
Yes, we have much that is admirable in this nation. Those who genuinely love these principles must never quietly acquiesce in their destruction. Those who see democracy under corporate assault must say so. Those who see families being destroyed by an economic system that requires two parents to work fulltime while their children become "latchkey kids" are less likely to fall in love with corporate economics.
When our nation commits dastardly acts against life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in other nations it is the American citizen’s duty and responsibility to dissent, to criticize, to deplore, to protest against the defilement of our most sacred principles. It is our duty as citizens to upbraid those who perpetrate these offenses.
It is not patriotic to wrap oneself in the flag and trumpet "America, Love it or Leave it". It is not patriotic to stick one’s head in the sand when our country does morally and legally indefensible deeds at home or abroad. True citizens must always dissent and object to these things. The price of liberty is constant vigilance."
Amen, brother