As an American close to the end of his life, I hate the ethos of America, one that underpins a government that's lied to me and my loved ones almost constantly throughout my long life. They lied about commies in the 50s, they lied about radical voices in the 60s (particularly Black voices) They lied about the Asian menace. Of course they lied about Vietnam, but the lying about racism and wars is foundational to the entire premise and actualization of US empire. And so on, the examples too numerous to count. Unfortunately, my hatred of the mendacious amorality and injustices of that empire and its corrupt leaders can't fail to extend to American voters. Brainwashed by a reality that's like a giant advertising billboard, they allow themselves to be led, sheep-like, to the voting booth to choose between red or blue sociopaths, the entire color contest part of that PR distraction. In other words, I hate the stupidity of John Q. ill-informed fellow citizen, who daily behaves in a manner that validates the proposition that Americans are the most propagandized / brainwashed people in the history of the world. Sorry, fellow Americans, but in your unwillingness to thoroughly make use of the billions of neurons in your head without reference to something a rich capitalist said you should think makes me entirely effing crazy. So sure, I hate the ruling-elite corporate psychopaths and their corrupt pols most of all. But to the populace as a whole, I also feel the need to say: You suck, fellow citizens.
It's a good question. Having lived through McCarthyism, the Civil Rights struggle, and Vietnam, and everything since, it confounds me that people still believe that the U.S. government, ruling class, mainstream media, and Academia can be trusted and believed in about anything. It is difficult to figure this out, since on an person-to-person level, even a single lie is usually enough to cause permanent distrust. Can anyone explain this?
Helplessness causes it. It's uncomfortable to acknowledge that you're powerless, so instead you choose to believe the rationale so you don't have to oppose.
So besides the direct benefits of empowerment, genuine sharing of political power would also increase the apparent perceptiveness of the citizenry.
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” Jesus Gandhi King
We boomers either believe EVERYTHING we're gavaged, lustily begging for more. OR, we've been cantankerous old nudnik nincompoops, with exactly the same unironic entitled narcissism as Trump, Hills, Joe... but WE live amongst you, since we're FAILURES at market-driven Catastrophe Capitalism's FREEDOM frenzy, feeding on our victims, whom we blame!
well they changed things as much as they could (which was a lot) and then faded away. Further progress is almost certain to require a genuine devolution of political power to the masses: rangevoting.orgelectionscience.org
I'm sorry; we've now had over a MILLION deaths (+40% excess deaths, if you believe insurers) in USA in 2yrs. "Our" side is picking a war with a countyr with >6K thermonuclear warheads, to bail-out a fracking pyramid, a LOT of our kleptocrats began KNOWING leaking methane (jet travel, US lifestyles, etc) have doubtless ALREADY set off run-away AGW & we're VERY likely to see a long hot summer reinstall the original Republican Party & they're CRAZY! This is OUR fault!
They'd skedaddled, upstate to "vacation cottages" in Audi Q7s or hid, streaming Gamorrah, on their Peloton (some "essential" had to deliver on a bicycle, dying of COVID complications five months later). Hippies begat yuppies, begat L.O.T.E. and the choice is THEIRS. They dumped white-flight suburbanite families gentrifying "minority" workers out of red-lined homes, driving up prices, living WAY beyond our planet's means: jet-set go-getter neoLiberal hive-minded Whole Food lizard ladies, viagra swilling reactionary churls, now calling for Rooski blood & "anti-vaxer," death o' disparity, uppity essentials to Live with DEATH?
Russia is defending its very existence on its own borders not flying thousands of miles to kill people, this war is on its own borders. When was the last time the US fought a war on its own
Actually the Chris Rock /Will Smith imbroglio is quite timely and representative: Will Smith claims God's "luv" inspired him - and so did George W Bush! Can that be a mere coincidence, or is there a real link between God mouthers and violence? They're only doing it to help you, save your soul, save your country, save- women?
And who knows? Maybe God loves war and violence. Well, either that or a lot of people are on the wrong track.
And the sad, exonerating, or brutal truth, depending on what kind of rhetoric you go for, is that the US and accomplices don't really seem to understand what "lie" means, so committed are they to the idea that lie-concealed brutality and injustice is really a kind of truth - if you believe it is. It's a propaganda baltte and the best shit wins - until we all lose big.
To the tune of JJ Cale/ Eric Clapton's "Cocaine": 🎶If you wanna hangout, you gotta bomb it out-Ukraine/If ya really hate Jews and them Russkies, too-Ukraine/ it's all lies, it's all lies, it's all liiies-Ukraine🎶.Many more (per)verses come to your mind i'm sure, or other songs(🎶Is it Ukrainin' where you are?🎶)-but i'll just try to add another off-key voice to the chorus of concerned citizens reprising Edwin Starr: 🎶War-huh-what is it good for?🎶.
"The official said one consequence the US is concerned about is keeping the European allies unified on economic pressure and military support as Washington expects some of them to press Ukraine to accept a peace deal to end the fighting."
I agree that the U.S. government has been doing a metric fuck-ton of damage world wide since at least World War II. However, I think the most recent iteration goes beyond just them. The agenda is a globalist one, with plenty of participation from the World Economic Forum and their ilk. It's the new world order.
Perfectly said. I detest the government and its lies. Lies about wars, lies about covid, and lies about vaccines. I could go on but you get it. Thanks so much for your excellent essay.
One wonders how far Poland is going to go in its support of Ukraine, and if it could set off an irrevocable chain of events. Biden and US clearly have little interest in ending the war quickly - as if Ukranians (and Russians) dying right now is just another video game.
Meanwhile, the war is being used as an excuse to price gouge Americans and other economies across the world at the gas tank - and the Elites could care less about the fate of the modern day peasants who grow poorer and more desperate every day - many of whom can't even afford to rent the huts they've been living in now for years, while filling up a tank of gas will cost them close to $100 bucks.
Where this is all going to go is anyone's guess. It all depends on the madman controlling Russia right now - whether he just doesn't give a damn anymore and will use whatever weapons he has in his arsenal to get his way ... and it depends on the lunatic brutes in the West who have forgotten that gunboat diplomacy ends up killing everyone including world economies.
I am not surprised that powerful people lie. It's in their interest. What surprises me is that so many other people don't learn anything from being lied to. We would probably have fewer psychopathic leaders and institutions if they did.
"so many other people don't learn anything from being lied to" - that's just how it is, it's by design, a human nature.
That's why the institute of "elections" and "democracy" was tweaked to include as many people as possible. And make them "vote" as easily as possible. By mail, yeah, and sign it too so we know who you are.
Through manipulations like these the required results are trivially achieved.
I just don't understand this thought. Never have. I remember thinking in 1990 that the big victory dance was weird since they were still there and decidedly Russian and armed to the teeth and unlikely to ultimately want to cede their independence. Someone should've asked me how it would play out.
I've never voted a presidential candidate who'd won. We're the Viet Cong now; the Mau-Maus, anarchists, looters, outside-aggitators, RooskiBot, Palestinian, insurrectionist, commie, eco-terrorists, nincompoops who won't go along to get along with two totally bullshit diametrically opposed BIG lies kept VERY simple & repeated over and over to generations who'd died to come here, where streets were made of gold, slaves did all the work FOR you, with money for nothing & chicks for free? And to be perfectly HONEST, there's lots less Wyandotte or Seneca warriors carrying 5' long rifles, bows & tomahawks than all the nudniks say!
As an American close to the end of his life, I hate the ethos of America, one that underpins a government that's lied to me and my loved ones almost constantly throughout my long life. They lied about commies in the 50s, they lied about radical voices in the 60s (particularly Black voices) They lied about the Asian menace. Of course they lied about Vietnam, but the lying about racism and wars is foundational to the entire premise and actualization of US empire. And so on, the examples too numerous to count. Unfortunately, my hatred of the mendacious amorality and injustices of that empire and its corrupt leaders can't fail to extend to American voters. Brainwashed by a reality that's like a giant advertising billboard, they allow themselves to be led, sheep-like, to the voting booth to choose between red or blue sociopaths, the entire color contest part of that PR distraction. In other words, I hate the stupidity of John Q. ill-informed fellow citizen, who daily behaves in a manner that validates the proposition that Americans are the most propagandized / brainwashed people in the history of the world. Sorry, fellow Americans, but in your unwillingness to thoroughly make use of the billions of neurons in your head without reference to something a rich capitalist said you should think makes me entirely effing crazy. So sure, I hate the ruling-elite corporate psychopaths and their corrupt pols most of all. But to the populace as a whole, I also feel the need to say: You suck, fellow citizens.
At 70 I feel much the same. What happened to all those from my time who saw through the lies?
Begs the question whether they did in reality. Maybe they just followed the trends.
It's a good question. Having lived through McCarthyism, the Civil Rights struggle, and Vietnam, and everything since, it confounds me that people still believe that the U.S. government, ruling class, mainstream media, and Academia can be trusted and believed in about anything. It is difficult to figure this out, since on an person-to-person level, even a single lie is usually enough to cause permanent distrust. Can anyone explain this?
Helplessness causes it. It's uncomfortable to acknowledge that you're powerless, so instead you choose to believe the rationale so you don't have to oppose.
So besides the direct benefits of empowerment, genuine sharing of political power would also increase the apparent perceptiveness of the citizenry.
https://rangevoting.org
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” Jesus Gandhi King
We boomers either believe EVERYTHING we're gavaged, lustily begging for more. OR, we've been cantankerous old nudnik nincompoops, with exactly the same unironic entitled narcissism as Trump, Hills, Joe... but WE live amongst you, since we're FAILURES at market-driven Catastrophe Capitalism's FREEDOM frenzy, feeding on our victims, whom we blame!
well they changed things as much as they could (which was a lot) and then faded away. Further progress is almost certain to require a genuine devolution of political power to the masses: rangevoting.org electionscience.org
I'm sorry; we've now had over a MILLION deaths (+40% excess deaths, if you believe insurers) in USA in 2yrs. "Our" side is picking a war with a countyr with >6K thermonuclear warheads, to bail-out a fracking pyramid, a LOT of our kleptocrats began KNOWING leaking methane (jet travel, US lifestyles, etc) have doubtless ALREADY set off run-away AGW & we're VERY likely to see a long hot summer reinstall the original Republican Party & they're CRAZY! This is OUR fault!
They'd skedaddled, upstate to "vacation cottages" in Audi Q7s or hid, streaming Gamorrah, on their Peloton (some "essential" had to deliver on a bicycle, dying of COVID complications five months later). Hippies begat yuppies, begat L.O.T.E. and the choice is THEIRS. They dumped white-flight suburbanite families gentrifying "minority" workers out of red-lined homes, driving up prices, living WAY beyond our planet's means: jet-set go-getter neoLiberal hive-minded Whole Food lizard ladies, viagra swilling reactionary churls, now calling for Rooski blood & "anti-vaxer," death o' disparity, uppity essentials to Live with DEATH?
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/ukraine-smoke-and-mirrors-around-poisonous-peace-talks.html#more
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/14/pipeline-politics-from-afghanistan-to-gaza/
https://www.desmog.com/2022/03/23/oil-gas-propaganda-war-ukraine-profiteering-climate-change/
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/03/us-natural-gas-production-and-lng-exports-amid-urgent-demand-for-lng-from-europe.html
Perfectly put.
100% Caitlin Johnstone! Your observations and moral clarity are a breath of fresh sanity. Thank You.
Russia is defending its very existence on its own borders not flying thousands of miles to kill people, this war is on its own borders. When was the last time the US fought a war on its own
land border --the ALAMO?
Actually the Chris Rock /Will Smith imbroglio is quite timely and representative: Will Smith claims God's "luv" inspired him - and so did George W Bush! Can that be a mere coincidence, or is there a real link between God mouthers and violence? They're only doing it to help you, save your soul, save your country, save- women?
And who knows? Maybe God loves war and violence. Well, either that or a lot of people are on the wrong track.
And the sad, exonerating, or brutal truth, depending on what kind of rhetoric you go for, is that the US and accomplices don't really seem to understand what "lie" means, so committed are they to the idea that lie-concealed brutality and injustice is really a kind of truth - if you believe it is. It's a propaganda baltte and the best shit wins - until we all lose big.
Violence begets violence. It was true thousands of years ago, and is still true today.
To the tune of JJ Cale/ Eric Clapton's "Cocaine": 🎶If you wanna hangout, you gotta bomb it out-Ukraine/If ya really hate Jews and them Russkies, too-Ukraine/ it's all lies, it's all lies, it's all liiies-Ukraine🎶.Many more (per)verses come to your mind i'm sure, or other songs(🎶Is it Ukrainin' where you are?🎶)-but i'll just try to add another off-key voice to the chorus of concerned citizens reprising Edwin Starr: 🎶War-huh-what is it good for?🎶.
Brilliant delivery aiming to penetrate the thick skulls of jingos. But I doubt it. They're so thick they're actually confused at what it all means.
It goes on and on. 1964 Bob Dylan "God On Our Side"
I've learned to hate the Russians / All through my whole life /
If another war comes / It's them we must fight /
To hate them and fear them / To run and to hide/
And accept it all bravely / With God on my side.
I support the current thing
Lest anyone still doubt that the United States is actively trying to prolong this war:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/29/politics/us-intelligence-russia-ukraine-kyiv-strategy/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNNi&utm_content=2022-03-29T14%3A00%3A09
"The official said one consequence the US is concerned about is keeping the European allies unified on economic pressure and military support as Washington expects some of them to press Ukraine to accept a peace deal to end the fighting."
I agree that the U.S. government has been doing a metric fuck-ton of damage world wide since at least World War II. However, I think the most recent iteration goes beyond just them. The agenda is a globalist one, with plenty of participation from the World Economic Forum and their ilk. It's the new world order.
Perfectly said. I detest the government and its lies. Lies about wars, lies about covid, and lies about vaccines. I could go on but you get it. Thanks so much for your excellent essay.
One wonders how far Poland is going to go in its support of Ukraine, and if it could set off an irrevocable chain of events. Biden and US clearly have little interest in ending the war quickly - as if Ukranians (and Russians) dying right now is just another video game.
Meanwhile, the war is being used as an excuse to price gouge Americans and other economies across the world at the gas tank - and the Elites could care less about the fate of the modern day peasants who grow poorer and more desperate every day - many of whom can't even afford to rent the huts they've been living in now for years, while filling up a tank of gas will cost them close to $100 bucks.
Where this is all going to go is anyone's guess. It all depends on the madman controlling Russia right now - whether he just doesn't give a damn anymore and will use whatever weapons he has in his arsenal to get his way ... and it depends on the lunatic brutes in the West who have forgotten that gunboat diplomacy ends up killing everyone including world economies.
It's hard to remain optimistic about any of this.
#WellSlapMyJaw...#LookeeHere ... 🤣https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-announces-positive-top-line-results-phase-2b3-trial?msclkid=13caa81caf5811eca2b02c9b82979014
All they need now, is spokesmodel, adorable, with a pleasant demeanor?
I am not surprised that powerful people lie. It's in their interest. What surprises me is that so many other people don't learn anything from being lied to. We would probably have fewer psychopathic leaders and institutions if they did.
"so many other people don't learn anything from being lied to" - that's just how it is, it's by design, a human nature.
That's why the institute of "elections" and "democracy" was tweaked to include as many people as possible. And make them "vote" as easily as possible. By mail, yeah, and sign it too so we know who you are.
Through manipulations like these the required results are trivially achieved.
I doubt if elections and democracy affect people's sense of truth.
"in the way the USSR was toppled"
I just don't understand this thought. Never have. I remember thinking in 1990 that the big victory dance was weird since they were still there and decidedly Russian and armed to the teeth and unlikely to ultimately want to cede their independence. Someone should've asked me how it would play out.
I've never voted a presidential candidate who'd won. We're the Viet Cong now; the Mau-Maus, anarchists, looters, outside-aggitators, RooskiBot, Palestinian, insurrectionist, commie, eco-terrorists, nincompoops who won't go along to get along with two totally bullshit diametrically opposed BIG lies kept VERY simple & repeated over and over to generations who'd died to come here, where streets were made of gold, slaves did all the work FOR you, with money for nothing & chicks for free? And to be perfectly HONEST, there's lots less Wyandotte or Seneca warriors carrying 5' long rifles, bows & tomahawks than all the nudniks say!