On Empire

On US History of Racism, Militarism, & Class Warfare;

Nixakliel - 10/28/2010 - 04:06

People are asking the questions why has the US become an empire? Why do the business elites [now in the form of corporations] have undue influence in government policy - domestic & foreign? And why can’t we have a civil yet meaningful dialogue on race – especially w the election of the US’s first black president [It’s note-worthy that Obama avoids more than superficial PC allusions about racial issues unless absolutely necessary... IE: the Rev Wright Hype.]? And what about the ‘illegal’ immigration problem?

What many whites [& even some Blacks] don’t really want to deal w is that the US was established by committing 3 great sins: slavery, the isolation & near decimation of the Native American while seizing their lands, & the seizing of ½ of Mexico [the entire south-west quadrant of the US] during & in the aftermath of the Mexican American War. All of these issues are rooted in these 3 great sins. All 3 had racist implications, all 3 had big business implications [slavery was rooted in trade – called the Great Slave Trade], all 3 had imperialist expansionist implications, & the imperialist seizure of the S-West from Mexico ties into the current immigration problem. Until most whites are ready to deal with these historical facts honestly then those who pose these questions are generally engaging in [disingenuous] academic rhetoric – much ‘sound & fury signifying nothing’.
The so-called founding fathers [IE: Thomas Jefferson & his contemporaries] where primarily elite white business-men - many / most of whom were slave-owners themselves- so of course they were not going to abolish slavery – they were profiting from it. The US & French Revolutions are popularized as the symbols of the modern movement toward ‘democratic ideals’ that all men should be free from tyranny & exploitation. Yet when Haiti successfully revolted against its French white slave masters- & was the first modern state to abolish slavery, France & the US have collaborated to punish Haiti [the Audacity of those Black Slaves in succeeding in revolting against their White Slave Masters]– To This Very Day!!!
The crimes against humanity of slavery & the decimation [genocide] of the Native Americans - set the stage for the seizing of Texas & the south-west territories during & in the wake of the Mexican-American War. This along w the so-called ‘Monroe Doctrine’ [both of which roughly coincided] firmly set the course of the US as an imperialist nation. First by habitually unduly intervening in Latin America & the Caribbean [called the US’s ‘back-yard’]. This included the Spanish American War [seizing Cuba & Puerto Rico] – to control sources of sugar, rum, fruit, raw material, etc. From there on to the Philippines & Hawaii - again to control sources of sugar, fruit, rubber, etc. From that point on the US was entrenched as a foreign imperialist power whose government & military was in close collaboration w the business elites.
Columnist George Will bluntly made the point during the 2008 elections, that the Elite class has always run the US - ‘Elections are not about if the elites will rule - but what section of the elites will rule.’ The Dems ‘rhetorically’ represent the ‘common’ man; but… every Democratic President from FDR, to JFK, to Obama have all either been from the elite class &/or have been vetted by them.
The issue of class is almost as contentious & forbidden as is the race issue. One hears politicians [IE: Pres Obama] speak as if there is only one class – the ‘middle-class’ – as if no other classes exist. However there are 2 main categories of classes - each w at least 2 main sub-divisions… they are the Haves [w the ‘power Elites’ & the upper-middle class Technocrats]; and the Have little / Have-nots [w the working ‘stiffs’ / working poor & the ‘permanently’ impoverished under-class]. The de-construction of the US’ manufacturing base & the whole-sale ‘out-sourcing’ of those jobs has all but effectively dismantled the ‘blue-collar’ [& even many ‘white-collar’] based middle-class.
Whenever someone in the public discourse starts elaborating too much on this topic you can hear mainstream [Corp controlled] politicians [IE: John McCain] to CNBC, to [Corp controlled] media pundits [IE: FOX’s Sean Hannity] cry foul – ‘you’re promoting class warfare’; – as if the Corp-Gov collusion [public-private partnership IE: GATT by Reagan-Bush & NAFTA by Clinton & his gang of Wall St friendly Rubenites] to ship the manufacturing base & jobs overseas; while assaulting organized labor isn’t effectively protracted warfare on the working class.

Michael Moore wrote a book titled ‘Stupid White Men’. I haven’t read the book but I suspect one of his main premises was that if so many whites didn’t let their prejudices blind them, they might see that most of them have more in common with most Blacks & Browns than w the [white] power elites. I have little doubt that most of these elites are racists [or at least race-baiters], BUT… the only ones that they truly see & respect as equals are their elite peers. Why else were they so eager to systematically ship working class whites’ jobs overseas wholesale [betrayal], to further enrich themselves - even though they were already FILTHY Rich. A recent study shows that over the past few years, the best paid Corp CEOs are those who threw the most workers out of work. This shows that they have utter contempt for working [so-called middle] class whites, however they continually play the race-card via race-baiting Corp controlled politicians & Corp controlled MSNM media [IE: FOX Noise] to misdirect whites’ anger toward Blacks & Browns who are more exploited / powerless than themselves.
These tactics work because the very soul of America has been infected w racism [& xenophobia], militarism, & elitism [corporatism] from the very beginning [These issues of racism, militarism, & unchecked materialism {IE: Wall St’s motto ‘Greed is Good’} - were at the heart of MLK’s iconic but oft suppressed speech against the Vietnam War made on April 4th 1967- one year to the day before his assassination]. Take FOX Noise [so-called News] whose shtick is US patriotism [even though its owner is a native Aussie who is married to a woman from communist China] w all the bells & whistles - the Flag - Red White & Blue – rah rah rah. FOX w its notorious race baiters [IE: Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, Immus, Mark Furman, (& even Limbaugh {Limp-balls} & Coulter), etc]; who cheer-lead for US imperialism / militarism [hyping up Bush-Cheney-ites ‘War on Terror’ {Islam} – illegal invasion of Iraq- all based on lies {Note: Bush & Cheney & most Neo-cons- used a variety of ploys & tactics to avoid serving in Vietnam} & defending & hyping Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld’s policy of torture]; also cheer-leads for unchecked corporatism – in the name of helping so-called ‘small’ [but in reality ‘BIG’] business & the [vanishing due to Corp policies] middle-class. Yet FOX Noise is one the most popular so-called news programs in the US.
No wonder they resist a ‘Real’ analysis of the class issue... it might lead to a wholesale revolt against the Haves of the US [& the World for that matter] by the Have-little / Have-nots. And the Technocrats should beware of the betrayal of the blue-collar-middle class by the power elites, for which they’ve too often participated in. Should such a revolt occur they will likely be sacrificed as a buffer between the Have-little / Have-nots & the power elites. Further- though the US has incrementally been moving toward a Police State [in addition to a being Corp controlled militaristic imperial power] for some time now [Blacks & Browns have been targeted by police state apparatus from the very beginning], the pace has noticeably quickened since 9-11-2001- affecting all Americans. Overt threats of declaring martial law were made during the Wall St Bankster Bailout debate. Thus the enraged [militant] masses have been/ are being either co-opted, distracted & misdirected [IE: hyped-up toward blind mindless so-called ‘patriotism’ – too often w racist, xenophobic, & fascist overtones]; or if that fails be targeted by police state apparatus.

These elites often cloak themselves in the mantle of ‘patriotism’ - but what kind of patriot is it that systematically attacks the foundations of the middle-class by shipping their jobs overseas for greater profits; avoids paying their fair share of taxes by keeping their ill-gotten gains in off-shore bank accounts; profits from the misery of the people [the best paid CEOs put the most people out of work – the Banksters fought laws giving people the chance to renegotiate their mortgages so they could stay in their homes – after the Wall St Banksters caused the housing bubble in the first place, etc]; force workers to work in unsafe conditions under threat of being fired [BP, Massey Energy, Blackwater, etc]; blackmails the Gov into robbing the national treasury [w the Wall St Bankster ‘Bail-outs’]; avoid serving in the military themselves &/or ‘pulls strings’ to keep their kit & kin from serving- while eagerly sending the poor & working class off to fight & die in their wars for profit based on lies; etc, etc, etc…