“We have met the enemy and he is us” — Pogo
What does this quote from the old, comic strip character, Pogo, mean? It means that our greatest enemy isn’t outside ourselves but within. Sadly, far too many Americans are intellectually lazy, apathetic, & obsessively focused on material things and wealth.
You may argue, then why do so many people from other countries want so desperately to come here? Quite simply, it’s because we have so many opportunities here that they don’t have in their home countries and/or that they are fleeing a society even more violent than here in the U.S. Unfortunately, as Noam Chomsky puts it, “Our public education system is enforced ignorance.”
The power elite in America are content with our general state of stupidity because it suits their business model of exploitation just fine. History was never a popular subject when I was in high school but I found it interesting & it took me many years and lots of reading to find out what a pack of lies & outright propaganda much of it is.
And one of the most destructive lies is the hidden history of the American Empire created mostly since the end of WWII. If you recall, America was founded upon a revolution against the British Empire & we have now come full circle and have replaced the once mighty British Empire with the American Empire though it’s mostly a taboo topic. We are indoctrinated from first grade through high school with tales of how great we are & how we come to the rescue of many poor, struggling nations. But few of us are aware of our C.I.A.’s dirty history since its formation in 1947. 
Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government)
- China 1949 to early 1960s
- Albania 1949-53
- East Germany 1950s
- Iran 1953 *
- Guatemala 1954 *
- Costa Rica mid-1950s
- Syria 1956-7
- Egypt 1957
- Indonesia 1957-8
- British Guiana 1953-64 *
- Iraq 1963 *
- North Vietnam 1945-73
- Cambodia 1955-70 *
- Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 *
- Ecuador 1960-63 *
- Congo 1960 *
- France 1965
- Brazil 1962-64 *
- Dominican Republic 1963 *
- Cuba 1959 to present
- Bolivia 1964 *
- Indonesia 1965 *
- Ghana 1966 *
- Chile 1964-73 *
- Greece 1967 *
- Costa Rica 1970-71
- Bolivia 1971 *
- Australia 1973-75 *
- Angola 1975, 1980s
- Zaire 1975
- Portugal 1974-76 *
- Jamaica 1976-80 *
- Seychelles 1979-81
- Chad 1981-82 *
- Grenada 1983 *
- South Yemen 1982-84
- Suriname 1982-84
- Fiji 1987 *
- Libya 1980s
- Nicaragua 1981-90 *
- Panama 1989 *
- Bulgaria 1990 *
- Albania 1991 *
- Iraq 1991
- Afghanistan 1980s *
- Somalia 1993
- Yugoslavia 1999-2000 *
- Ecuador 2000 *
- Afghanistan 2001 *
- Venezuela 2002 *
- Iraq 2003 *
- Haiti 2004 *
- Somalia 2007 to present
- Honduras 2009 *
- Libya 2011 *
- Syria 2012
- Ukraine 2014 *
If you care to inform yourself of this dark side of America & to comprehend why so many terrorists hate America, William Blum offers a very concise history in his work; The C.I.A. A Forgotten History. Have you ever wondered why we have over 900 military bases around the world? Or do you actually believe that we are always the knights in shining armor like in the Crusades who believed it was their duty as devout Christians to rescue Jerusalem from the Muslim hordes? You see, throughout recorded history, the Church and the State (kings, queens, emperors, etc.) have sought to control their citizens so they could exploit them & enjoy lavish lifestyles. And sometimes the Church & the State have joined forces in their subjection of their citizens & the public was truly fucked i.e. Rome making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
And throughout history, education has been the most empowering tool in our struggle for those mythical values & principles America supposedly is the champion of. Here are the seven principles expressed in our Constitution, the supposed bedrock of our democracy & our form of government.
- Popular Sovereignty
“We the people…” the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution describes the essence of popular sovereignty. The power in the government of the United States comes directly from the people.
- Limited Government
Limiting the power of government was extremely important to the founding fathers who had just overthrown a tyrannical king. The government of the United States is limited by our written laws.
- Separation of Powers
The constitutional principle of separation of powers refers to the division of powers within the government. This separation of powers creates a government in which there is no concentration of power in any one branch, power is equally divided.
- Checks and Balances
The principle of checks and balances is closely related to separation of powers. This principle explains the concept of each of the three branches of government having the authority to check the power of the others.
- Individual Rights
Individual rights are a principle of the constitution which is dealt with primarily in the Bill of Rights. When the American Revolution ended and the new nation was developing its government many citizens were worried that their individual or unalienable rights would be trampled on by the new government; just as they were trampled on by King George the III. Ratification of the Constitution was made possible by adding the Bill of Rights which is the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Most of these amendments deal with basic human rights such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and no cruel and unusual punishment.
- Federalism
Federalism is the principle of the constitution which splits power between a national or federal government and the local governments. This principle is important because the Articles of Confederation failed because there was no strong central government. Without a strong central government countries are weak and vulnerable. Federalism creates a strong central government while maintaining strong state governments as well which are necessary to handle regional problems.
- Other Principles
“There are some principles of the Constitution that are sometimes left out because they overlap or because writers do not want to include them. One is republicanism. This principle refers to the fact that the United States does not have a direct democratic government but a republic where people vote for representatives who then make the decisions for them. Another principle sometimes mentioned is judicial review. This principle overlaps with checks and balances because it refers to the power that the Supreme Court has to declare laws unconstitutional.”
Let’s review just a few of the many glaring examples of hypocrisy & betrayal of these Constitutional principles we supposedly honor and hold so high. Don’t forget, our military & “our” corporations are consistently doing their patriotic & humane duty by bringing the benefits of democracy to the developing nations with the help of our C.I.A. clearing a path for them.
Popular sovereignty. The power in the government comes directly from the people. Yeah, right. Anyone with half a brain knows that “our” government works for its rich, political donors & passes legislation that benefits them, certainly not the public. On just about every social, economic, & political issue, the will of the people is ignored if it doesn’t please the 1%, the “masters of mankind.” After the world-wide economic crash of 2008, the public didn’t want the government to bail out the big banks, “too big to fail,” but the government did so anyway.
Limited government. Again, common sense shows us that the power of the government to intrude into our lives & tell us what we can and can’t do is only increasing not decreasing. Try buying a piece of land and building your own home. The government tells us we must be connected to the grid i.e. the public utilities such as the electric, water, & sewer. They’ll tell you whether you can erect a windmill on your property. Many of these so-called “communities” will tell you what color you can paint your home, what size dog you’re allowed to have, and what breeds of dogs are allowed or not allowed.
Separation of powers. Trump’s reign of terror & error showed us just how absurd this Constitutional claim is. Trump and the GOP broke the law & packed the Supreme Court with three justices. The GOP got down on its hands & knees, pulled its pants down & handed Trump the Vaseline to fuck our entire government & the public in any way he pleased. Trump might as well have planted a sign on the White House lawn, step right up suckers, pardons for sale, whatever legislation you want signed, if the price is right, it’s a done deal. He was there to enrich himself & urged foreign leaders to stay at his properties. Trump was like a bull with mad cow disease & his goal was to wreak as much havoc & destruction as possible and make himself the first American dictator for life.
Checks and balances. I think I’m going to vomit. When is the last time we’ve seen Congress face up to its responsibility in deciding whether the U.S. should go to war? Like the bunch of spineless, sniveling cowards that they are, they simply pass the buck to the president time & time again.
Individual rights. Another screaming farce. With the passage of The Patriot Act right after the events of 9/11 which they had already written up years earlier, they effectively shredded The Bill of Rights. And overnight, we were no longer a democracy.
Federalism. This is a variation on the old, rope-a-dope tactic. When it comes to issues that the 1% don’t give a fuck about, they declare it a states’ rights issue. But when it’s an issue that requires an iron fist like NAFTA, it’s declared an issue of vital, national importance and the full force of the federal government is brought to bear down on its passage.
I’m sure that others have written books with hundreds of examples of just how shallow our “democracy” is, my goal was to just give a cursory overview. In a sense, this essay could serve as a basic, sort of primer for those who may have not reflected on such matters & believe in many of our government’s lies.
In present day America, many Americans are connecting the dots and some of our soldiers fighting in the endless wars initiated by the corporate elite so they can exploit the natural resources of other nations are aware of the ugly realities & fight only to protect their fellow soldiers.
Some are waking up to the realization that the way we are treating the citizens of the countries we’ve invaded is being brought home & we have become the enemy of the corporate cockroaches. The power elite know that they can never let their guard down so on the street level, young black men are shot in the back just about every week.
But in a society as large & as technologically sophisticated as the U.S., the true battlefield is the mind or the psyche of the public. And Silicon Valley via M.I.T. with its Pentagon funding for research, has given us the world-wide web with all its assets & liabilities. George Orwell is probably rolling over in his grave at how joyfully the masses have accepted their enslavement. Like lemmings following their Pied Pipers as they lead them over the cliff & into the abyss of Armageddon with their eyes glued to the screens of their Smart phones. Yep! Data has now replaced oil as the most valuable commodity on Earth.
Summing up, I’m going to leave you with a few quotes & an illuminating video by one of humanity’s greatest friends & champions, Edward Snowden.
“In the communist and fascist political systems of the 20th century, and in 1984, the totalitarian regime maintained a tight grip of control on the populace through the use of manufactured fear. “
“Totalitarian leaders, whether of the right or of the left, know better than anyone else how to make use of…fear…They thrive on chaos and bewilderment… The strategy of fear is one of their most valuable tactics.”
Joost Meerloo, Rape of the Mind
(see Fox “news,” Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, etc. — Rob DeLoss)
“Constant surveillance of all of the citizens was an additional tool in the arsenal of the totalitarian regime of 1984. Surveillance not only allowed for more effective overt control of the citizenry but it also induced paranoia which made it less likely that any citizen would even dare step out of line. This surveillance was achieved, firstly, through the technology of the telescreen which was installed in everyone’s home and throughout the streets, and as Orwell explained: “
“The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously…There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment…It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinised.”
George Orwell, 1984
“Many victims of totalitarianism have told me in interviews that the most upsetting experience they faced…was the feeling of loss of logic, the state of confusion into which they had been brought—the state in which nothing had any validity…they simply did not know what was what.” (Meerloo)
Joost Meerloo, Rape of the Mind
(see Trump’s “alternate reality” & the media as the enemy of the people — Rob DeLoss)
“In 1984, widespread mental disorientation was stimulated via the falsification of history, and the negation of the concept of objective truth. The Ministry of Truth was the institution which falsified history. “
“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.”
George Orwell, 1984
“One of the reasons totalitarian regimes attempt to alter history is because it rids the society of any past reference points, or standards of comparison, which might remind the citizens that life in the past was so much better than it is in the sterile and oppressive present. “
“But another reason history is falsified by totalitarians is to ensure there are no historical roots to which the citizen can anchor and find truth, sustenance and strength. In totalitarianism there can be no historical information which contradicts or puts into question the reigning political ideology, nor any institution, such as a religion, which offers the individual a refuge from the influence of the State. For a totalitarian regime to condition the citizenry to accept the proverbial boot stomping on its face, it needs to control the past, and so as Orwell wrote in 1984:
Along with destroying or falsifying the past, widespread mental disorientation is further cultivated by destroying the belief in objective truth. This is done through a program of psychological warfare. Incessant and intentionally confusing propaganda, conflicting reports and blatant lies, are pumped out in “official reports” and through the mass media at all hours of the day. What is said today has no bearing on what may be said tomorrow, for as Orwell explained: “
“And only yesterday, [Winston] reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that [the citizens] could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it…Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?”
George Orwell, 1984
“In addition, contradictions, hypocrisies and lies form the foundation of the totalitarian ideology. The totalitarian system presents the enslavement of the individual as his or her liberation; censoring information is called protecting the truth; the destruction of culture or the economy is called its development; the military occupation of other countries is labeled as the furtherance of freedom and peace. In 1984, the Ministry of Peace instigated wars, the Ministry of Truth manufactured propaganda, and the Ministry of Plenty created shortages. On the enormous pyramidal structure of the Ministry of Truth hung the words:
“WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.”
“The purpose of this all-encompassing program of psychological warfare is to bewilder the mind of the average citizen. For when the citizen is bombarded with contradictions and lies and lives in what Orwell called “that shifting phantasmagoric world in which black may be white tomorrow and yesterday’s weather can be changed by decree”, he or she eventually ceases to know what to think, or even how to think. The distinction between up and down, fact and fiction, truth and falsity, is not only blurred, but loses significance. The belief in objective truth disappears, and the average citizen becomes completely dependent on authority figures to feed him ideas, and thus, is ready to assent to lies and to believe the most absurd things – so long as those in the political class deem it to be true.”
In an essay titled Totalitarianism and the Lie, Leszek Kolakowski, a philosopher who was exiled from Poland for his criticisms of Communism and Marxism, wrote:
“This is what totalitarian regimes keep unceasingly trying to achieve. People whose memory—personal or collective—has been nationalized, has become state-owned and perfectly malleable, totally controllable, are entirely at the mercy of their rulers; they have been deprived of their identity; they are helpless and incapable of questioning anything they are told to believe. They will never revolt, never think, never create; they have been transformed into dead objects.”
Leszek Kolakowsk, Totalitarianism and the Lie
“Some have taken this ending as sign of Orwell’s pessimism, as an indication that humanity is doomed to a totalitarian future. Yet Orwell’s motive for writing this book was not to depress nor promote a fatalistic apathy, but to warn and rouse to action as many people as possible. For Orwell understood as well as anyone that in the battle between totalitarianism and freedom, no one can afford to stand aside. The fate of each and every one of us hangs in the balance.
“Don’t let it happen. It depends on you.”
https://academyofideas.com/2021/08/is-1984-becoming-a-reality-george-orwells-warning-to-the-wo
— Rob DeLoss, Gold Beach, Oregon on July 16, 2023