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These periodic ramblings are written, produced and directed by Ronald Dale Karr, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Obviously, the opinions expressed here are my own, not those of the University. |
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These periodic ramblings are written, produced and directed by Ronald Dale Karr, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Obviously, the opinions expressed here are my own, not those of the University. |
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A BRAVE NEW WORLD? EVERYTHING, we've been told over and over since the horror of September 11, is CHANGED. Not completely. True, the collective fear and anger generated by that atrocity has completed the right-wing takeover of American politics. But so far, the current Afghanistan campaign has been a tiresome replay of YUGOSLAVIA in '99; IRAQ in '91, and PANAMA in '89. Massive bombing, minimal casualties on our side, and Megadeath to the enemy of the day. Will the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan rival the dead of New York? Given the fact that unexploded CLUSTER BOMBS go on killing for years to come, it's certainly possible. Meanwhile, the TALIBAN, like Milosovic and Noreaga, caves in after a few weeks of bombing, without putting up a real fight.
NEW WORLD ORDER WINS, HUMANITY LOSES So complete is the triumph of global corporate HYPERCAPITALISM that the last pockets of resistance come not from the socialist left but from the deranged RELIGIOUS RIGHT. The wild-eyed mullahs are pathetically incapable of mounting an effective, sustained campaign against capitalism, and their religious fanaticism and rejection of equality and fundamental human rights have long made it impossible for the American left--even its daffiest fringe--to sympathize with their cause, even before the attack on September 11. In fact, the only non-Muslim Americans to take their side come from the neo-Nazi and religious right, not from left-wing pseudo-revolutionaries. Despite their horrible effectiveness in New York and Washington, we think the actual MILITARY power (including terrorism) of Islamic fundamentalism is greatly exaggerated. Rest easy; the NWO is unlikely to suffer very more defeats at their hands.
HOW NEW A WORLD ORDER? Not very. As Immanuel Wallerstein has so brilliantly shown, the West (the Core) began to dominate the remainder of the world (the Periphery) nearly five centuries ago. The Periphery provided raw materials and labor (slaves, later immigrants) for the benefit of the Core. Wealth flowed toward the center. Western military might reinforced western rule. In the 18th century this was called MERCANTILISM, in the 19th century IMPERIALISM, and in the 20th global CAPITALISM. The latest twist is to shift manufacturing to the Periphery, although it remains controlled by and for the benefit of the Core. Basically, the global capitalistic world functions as a zero-sum game; as the Core gets richer, the Periphery grows poorer. During the past 20 years nearly half the nations of the world have seen their economies decline or stagnate while the West has grown OBSCENELY RICHER. While Americans drive around in gas-guzzling SUVs chattering on CELL PHONES, the majority of people on this planet live in HOVELS, without electricity, running water, or sewerage, and have only their feet or animals for transportation, getting by on $2 A DAY. Of all industrialized nations, the U.S. gives the one of smallest proportions of its wealth for non-military foreign aid . No wonder they hate us! What puzzles them is why we seem to hate THEM.
THE NEW AMERICAN POLICE STATE DUBAYU, our first unelected President since Hayes, has let the cat out of the bag. Ashcroft, Cheney, and the like have big plans for America. Read George Orwell for details. A full-blown POLICE STATE, with secret military tribunals dispatching supposed "terrorists"--or their sympathizers, armed with powers of torture, unlimited rights to tap phones, email, and detain suspects without trial, national identity cards, etc., etc. History shows that such powers are always eventually used against domestic dissenters and other troublemakers, and we see no reason to doubt that they will be again. Anti-terrorist powers will prove especially useful to big-city cops as they even the score with the uppity urban poor. Meanwhile, the American MEDIA, having shed of any pretense of objectivity, serves as a CHEERLEADER for the new order and its corporate bosses.
BUSH IN THE CATBIRD SEAT FOR NOW With 90 percent approval ratings, Bush is the most beloved U.S. President since GEORGE WASHINGTON, even more popular than BILL CLINTON. Why do Americans love Bomber George? "The mass of men," Henry David Thoreau observed, "live lives of QUIET DESPERATION." Despite their material wealth compared to the rest of the world, most Americans are unhappy with their lives, their marriages, their jobs, and with the uncertainties of the capitalist market that shapes their world. Television and films bombard them with the message that their problems are their OWN FAULT, that society is not to blame for their personal failings. And for those without college degrees--the bulk of American adults--the past 20 years have seen DECLINING WAGES, cuts in benefits, and the need to work ever-increasing hours just to stay in place. Intimidated by bosses, spouses, internet-savy kids, and a thousand and one "experts" who always know more than they do--and make more money--they feel POWERLESS, and now, MAD AS HELL. That's why the vast majority of Americans, unlike those in other "civilized" nations, so enthusiastically support the DEATH PENALTY. September 11 was the last straw. Now seeing THEIR government throwing its weight around makes them feel proud to be AMERICANS, a powerful people feared by everyone. Displaying a flag is a way of shouting, "WE are POWERFUL, you foreign bastards are weak! USA all the way!" As long as the other side does nearly all of the dying, Bush's popularity should remain at RECORD LEVELS.
THE NEW CRUSADE AGAINST EVIL Bush has defined our mission as ridding the world of EVIL, certainly a tall order. One would think their would be enough evil within Washington itself to occupy ourselves, but no matter. We can expect perpetual war, perpetual bombings, against any nation who catches our eye. For the first time in the history of warfare, there is a weapon, aerial bombing, against which there is NO EFFECTIVE DEFENSE. After Afghanistan, can there be any doubt that BOMBING wins wars? Since no nation is capable of developing weapons that threaten our air superiority, we can continue to bomb at will, with minimal danger to ourselves. No nation can resist us. Washington is now the capital of the planet. We have ABSOLUTE POWER. We are MASTERS of the UNIVERSE.
THE STRANGE NEW WAR As much as it is a continuation of the Cold War against foes of capitalism, the WAR AGAINST TERRORISM is different from previous national efforts. Bush repeats over and over again that we are at war. (Until the Constitution was scrapped last month, only CONGRESS could declare war; now Bush has assumed that power himself.) But war against whom? Terrorism isn't a nation. It isn't even a political movement, like Communism. It's a tactic or strategy, adopted by almost every nationalist movement at one time or another (the British regarded the BOSTON TEA PARTY as a terrorist act, wanton vandalism against private property; the Israelis used terrorism against the British). The U.S. has never been reluctant to back terrorists (i.e., the Contras) when it suited its interests, and we don't expect it to stop now. (The Northern Alliance is a particularly nasty bunch of thugs). So who is the enemy? And what are citizens supposed to do for the war effort? During World War II Americans were told to buy WAR BONDS and ration gasoline. Bush tells us to buy CARS! The War on Terrorism promises to be the first in history to be financed with TAX CUTS. And Bush still regards government employees as a nuisance, a necessary evil at best. If he hadn't been snoozing in those history classes he took at Yale, he might have learned that during wartime government employees are heroes--and that a lot more are needed. (Historical note: Bush's own great-grandfather, Samuel P. Bush, an Ohio manufacturer and a Democrat, went to Washington in 1917 to work for the government's war effort).
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LEFT? After September 11, most of the LEFT rushed to buy American flags and sign on for the war effort. September 11 was the final nail in the coffin of the long-suffering American left. No more will we rally for PEACE, justice, and racial and economic equality. These are no longer legitimate political issues, no longer worthy of discussion by the media. The handful of atavistic protestors foolish enough to demonstrate at future WTO or IMF meetings should expect to be rounded up, tried as terrorists, and swiftly EXECUTED or sentenced to long prison terms at hard labor, amid universal applause.
WITH ITS SHORT ATTENTION SPAN the American public has quickly forgotten YUGOSLAVIA, and our last satanic villain/target, the ruthlss dictator SLOBO MILOSOVIC. Some DICTATOR Slobo proved to be! Real dictators, like HITLER or STALIN or even SUDDAM HUSSIEN, brook no OPPOSITION at all. One careless comment and you may well be hauled off to slave labor camps or shoved up against a bullet-riddled wall. As for elections . . . HAH! Not so Slobo. He holds an election, loses that contest, and steps down after a few days of nonviolent popular demonstrations. He then allows himself to be captured and packed off to a war crimes docket. Surely dictators should be made of sterner stuff! One one have thought that after his fall there'd be joyous scenes as thousands of political prisoners were released. There weren't--because SLOBO had been too lazy to take any! Of course, you wouldn't expect the U.S. media to tell us this, since in wartime the truth is the first casualty.
ANY GOOD NEWS AT ALL?The one bright spot in this otherwise dismal autumn was the reassertion of American pragmatism over RIGHT-WING ideology in the airport security bill. Even in wartime, Dubuyu's simple mind seems incapable of grasping the fact that civilian government employees are needed. After September 11 Americans could not be convinced, even by a President with a 90% approval rating, that free enterprise was up to the job of providing airport security. Congress knew this, and forced Bush to back down and replace the private contractors with real federal employees.
WHAT'S AHEAD?Undoubtedly the CRUSADE will be carried to other miserable lands: Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Libya are the most likely candidates, until these governments are blasted out of existence and replaced by regimes more pleasing to the White House/IMF/World Bank. As long as the bombs keep falling, look for support for Bush and the GOP to remain overwhelming. We expect big Republican victories in the 2002 congressional elections, followed by a blowout reelection triumph for Bush in 2004. That is, if the elections are held at all. Stay tuned.
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Send all comments on the Karr Report to Ronald Dale Karr
Ronald_Karr@uml.edu