I'm glad Jim Kunstler has made the comments he made today (see below). Because I'd like to echo some of those sentiments.
On Saturday I went to visit a Canadian girl in Gangnam and while we were there we spoke briefly about some of the subject matter on this blog. Peak Oil, Global Warming, President Bush's policies and the wars in Iraq and elsewhere.
Later in the afternoon, a handsome African American guy arrived to have a look at her furniture. He told us he is a helicopter pilot, and will be in Korea for 3 years, away from his wife and children. He asked to be sent to Iraq.
Ron and the American Military
Ron told me that the media distort the news, that reality is far from what we see on TV.
He explained that while we think the military just blow up stuff, they do a heck of a lot of construction, they feed populations, they are helping a lot of people. Really, is that what you're really doing? Helping people. Would the people they tell us they're helping, say, "Yeah, these guys are really helping us."
It occured to me, as I was about to get more involved, that he is already armed with all the information (strictly speaking, I should use the word propaganda)to reply to someone like myself.
My view would be that the media aren't painting the true colors of what is happening, but if he already believes that, but in his terms, then how on earth do you attempt to shift his paradigm?
I asked him a few questions about New Orleans and President Bush. I've spoken to American's in Itaewon before, and you can very quickly find yourself in a fistfight if you're not careful. But Ron is a really nice guy, and had some interesting things to say. One of the things he said, is that the middle class pay for everything in America. They basically subsidise the poor. Their taxes go towards running the Mighty American Engine.
And yet Bush is bleeding the middle class dry. Only the super rich, less than 5% of the population, are benefiting from the policies of the Bush clan.
When I asked Ron about the war in Iraq, and how you can justify invading Iraq after the perpetrators of 9/11 were almost all Saudi's, he suggested that if an animal attacks you, isn't it better to go and wipe out its nest.
A useful analogy, but it doesn't work.
But he made a powerful impression on me. I come from a country where the average African person is underqualified and struggling, and here is a strong, well trained pilot, trained by the American Machine.
It was hard to resist the sentiments he was promoting, of loyalty, of supporting his country. Because obviously if you tell him, look, the rationale behind what you're doing, the rationale behind your Supreme Leader is defective, how self defeating is that? How motivated can you be away from home, away from your family, obeying orders when you've got it into your head that pre-emptive warfare is what started World War 2, and will get us into deeper and deeper trouble.
Did you know that America now wants to use nuclear weapons against terrorists. For the full story on this, go to:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1776250,00.html
Yes, it's under discussion right now. You don't need much common sense to figure out that the stakes are now far beyond lunacy. You've got a country that is so dazzled by its own power, so star struck with itself, that it no longer makes sense. The fact that the middle class, in America, don't reject this lunacy, that they aren't engaged in protests, that they aren't actively rejecting their leadership, means both that they passively endorse what is happening and deserve the consequences of this implicit support.
The Christians
I've had conversations with close friends of mine (and some not so close) who are Christians. You talk about Peak Oil, you talk about some of the impending crises facing humanity, and they get a satisfied air, and refer to revelations. It's as if they can finally say, "I told you so," and that the world is finally going to see justice. But they will be safe, they will be saved. All this is in the Bible, it's all God's Plan.
Great.
So in the Christian view, all these terrible things will happen, but that's okay because it's meant to be. And nothing can or should be done because it's God wrath, and all we can really do is be alert, and close to God, be ready to be beamed up to Heaven.
I'd like to be literal about this.
Here are a couple of crisis events: A Hurricane is heading towards a city you live in. Before it hits, all the Christians will be swept up to heaven...
Nuclear weapons are about to be activated in your city. A few seconds before this happens, the clouds open up and people in buses and aeroplanes suddenly disappear.
Do you really believe that's going to happen? Like there is a singular moment which we can call The End Of the World. Sorry, there won't be one bad day. There'll be a lot of crises. After a nuclear event there will still be storms, there will still be power supply problems, contaminated food.
My point is, when you talk to Christians about impending problems, you don't get a sense from them that they are prepared to consider doing anything about it. They seem to welcome it, as a chance for them to finally be special, for them to be saved while the rest of the world gets what it deserves. That's real loving, and real intelligent.
Unwittingly of course, you bring about all these terrible things by believing in them. That's mad.
Guess who is George Bush's biggest support base? Evangelical Christians.
To me it is such a pity that so many religious people, who have so much good and meaning to give the world, are trapped behind delusions of justice and vengeance and wrath. They will see all of these, but they might be a little surprised that God, who is really the consequences of all our actions, the average of all of us, they might be surprised when they share the same fate.
The Intellectuals
You can talk to some intellectuals, most, who have some kind of handle on what's happening. You'll find yourself in a debate. It will inevitably be around the degree of how bad or okay things are likely to get, in terms of energy, or in terms of the climate, or in terms of globalisation, or in terms of certain policies.
They might demonstrate how smart they are, that things aren't only bad, they are super bad.
That's great. Thanks for the information. So what are they doing about it? Do they offer solutions, or just try to trump the next person's intelligence?
Are these people activists, or just talkers.
And in this sense, we are all accountable for where our world is going. On a daily basis you can see ignorant and stupid things happening that do not benefit the majority of people. A lot of what we see happening benefits the few. And when things don't make obvious sense, why don't we change these policies. Why don't we reject them. If we elect leaders, and they do not perform the most basic duties we ask of them (to protect us, to help us), why do we allow them to exert power over us, to continue to get a stronger grip on power for themselves?
We're in this together, and we're doing this together. We are equally to blame for where the world is moving. The next time you want to criticise Bush or complain about the hot weather (as you get into your car), the next time you wish you were healthy (as you sip some beer) just look in the mirror.
You're a part of this world.
And you know what you should be doing.
As you go into each day, ignoring that little voice, you attract the Destiny of the World to your and my doorstep. When the day comes where your doorstep is underwater, or melting under a heatwave, or there is no reason to step out the door over that doorstep because nothing that ran on petroleum is running anymore, and the World Economy has collapsed, you can clip a little yellow badge onto your shirt. Write your name above the word 'Sucks' and wear it with pride.
Your children are going to ask you how you let this happen, and you can look them in the eye and say, "How were we supposed to know?"
And they'll say, "You didn't know that you were starting to run out of things? How could you not know?"
You did know. You just didn't listen. Sucker.
Please click on the title of this post to be linked to this article:
WMD threat could spark American nuclear strike
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