At the end of WWII the USA attempted to make "rule of law" and essential component of international relations to stave off yet more war. Rather than fight another war against the USSR the USA wanted international peace. This was eroded so that now, more than any other country, the USA violates international law with impunity and violates its own laws and treaties. Similarly, the idea of rule of law in the "homeland" is in a similar state of debauchery. If you commit a crime and are poor and believe you are innocent the prosecutor will offer you ten years in jail if you plead not guilty or six months in jail with a short probation if you plead guilty so what are you going to do if you know the police, prosecutors, and judges are all on one side and not yours? Jury trials are thus very rare 90-95% never go to trial (depending on jurisdiction--more in federal cases than local ones).
Now take illegal immigration as an example. Both Republicans and Democrats have winked at this and allowed massive amounts of this sort of immigration in order to lower wages and working conditions for low-level workers. There is just enough enforcement of these laws to make immigrants afraid of collecting their wages if employers don't want to pay them and not calling in the law when they are raped or sexually harassed. This is just perfect for capitalists and the rich. The Republicans, of course, channel the anger of ordinary working class voters to getting them to vote for them but never have any intention of actually enforcing the law beyond the balance I described.
Wall Street and the Real Estate industry never had to suffer criminal penalties for the greatest crime wave in our history during the 00s because the Obama Administration refused to prosecute ANYONE for these crimes because Obama depended on these folks for campaign contributions and political support. Fully half of all home loans made the year before the financial collapse were "liars" loans. If there was any justice in the USA then there would have been tens of thousands of people put in jail for real crimes--but because these criminals were well-off and well-connected nothing happened. We are neither a democracy, a Constitutional Republic, or a system of rule-of-law. I know this from what I have observed in life and from what I've read and studied over the years. That's not to say there are not individual lawyers and judges and a few prosecutors who are honest--there are particularly at the local level and these people must be acknowledged.
Most Americans have a hard time with reality. We are schooled in myth and fantasy. Reason and science as a justification for policy remedies is almost unknown. Almost every problem we have from war/peace, health-care, education, housing, transportation, income distribution, the environment, justice system, finance, drug addiction, and so on, have a number of clear solutions based on science and, often, common sense. Few if any of these solutions are ever mentioned in the press or suggested by politicians. Instead we engage in fantasies--in "no child left behind" that actually leaves all children behind--in describing our foreign policy as wanting to help other countries have democratic and popular societies when we do exactly the opposite; or that we seek peace and order when our chief foreign policy efforts are enforced by destruction and mass killing. The reality and the rhetorical are as far away as it was in the age of Stalin. We imagine that we are leaders of the "free" world when we are merely a corrupt Empire. We live by the super-hero fantasies of our movies describing life and the world as a struggle between "good guys" and "bad guy" when this is not only false but that such a struggle has ever existed--no society, country, party, or person is all bad or all good. We still, despite overwhelming evidence, accept the lies the mainstream media put out which is not only demonstrably false but the Narrative contradicts itself year in and year out. So utter canards like "Putin made Trump President" can continue to be put out there day in and day out by an obviously corrupt Democratic Party and the intelligence community that supports it without any compelling evidence despite the fact the NSA monitors communications of all kinds of almost everyone in the world if they so choose. They can see from satellites a picture accurate to the square inch (this from a CIA officer who put these satellites in space) as well as pick up conversations in most homes, apartments and offices all without warrants.
I can only hope and pray that my fellow Americans begin to wake up that there is a reality out there that if they could only remove themselves for a while from the chatter of TV and the ridiculous entertainments out there they might be able to think clearly. Part of this is that without a clear spiritual practice of some kind (and each of us has their own natural approach) where we learn to live in a way that sees beyond the shallows we tend to live in we are doomed to be food for the predators that have become increasingly powerful. The choice is yours.
Now take illegal immigration as an example. Both Republicans and Democrats have winked at this and allowed massive amounts of this sort of immigration in order to lower wages and working conditions for low-level workers. There is just enough enforcement of these laws to make immigrants afraid of collecting their wages if employers don't want to pay them and not calling in the law when they are raped or sexually harassed. This is just perfect for capitalists and the rich. The Republicans, of course, channel the anger of ordinary working class voters to getting them to vote for them but never have any intention of actually enforcing the law beyond the balance I described.
Wall Street and the Real Estate industry never had to suffer criminal penalties for the greatest crime wave in our history during the 00s because the Obama Administration refused to prosecute ANYONE for these crimes because Obama depended on these folks for campaign contributions and political support. Fully half of all home loans made the year before the financial collapse were "liars" loans. If there was any justice in the USA then there would have been tens of thousands of people put in jail for real crimes--but because these criminals were well-off and well-connected nothing happened. We are neither a democracy, a Constitutional Republic, or a system of rule-of-law. I know this from what I have observed in life and from what I've read and studied over the years. That's not to say there are not individual lawyers and judges and a few prosecutors who are honest--there are particularly at the local level and these people must be acknowledged.
Most Americans have a hard time with reality. We are schooled in myth and fantasy. Reason and science as a justification for policy remedies is almost unknown. Almost every problem we have from war/peace, health-care, education, housing, transportation, income distribution, the environment, justice system, finance, drug addiction, and so on, have a number of clear solutions based on science and, often, common sense. Few if any of these solutions are ever mentioned in the press or suggested by politicians. Instead we engage in fantasies--in "no child left behind" that actually leaves all children behind--in describing our foreign policy as wanting to help other countries have democratic and popular societies when we do exactly the opposite; or that we seek peace and order when our chief foreign policy efforts are enforced by destruction and mass killing. The reality and the rhetorical are as far away as it was in the age of Stalin. We imagine that we are leaders of the "free" world when we are merely a corrupt Empire. We live by the super-hero fantasies of our movies describing life and the world as a struggle between "good guys" and "bad guy" when this is not only false but that such a struggle has ever existed--no society, country, party, or person is all bad or all good. We still, despite overwhelming evidence, accept the lies the mainstream media put out which is not only demonstrably false but the Narrative contradicts itself year in and year out. So utter canards like "Putin made Trump President" can continue to be put out there day in and day out by an obviously corrupt Democratic Party and the intelligence community that supports it without any compelling evidence despite the fact the NSA monitors communications of all kinds of almost everyone in the world if they so choose. They can see from satellites a picture accurate to the square inch (this from a CIA officer who put these satellites in space) as well as pick up conversations in most homes, apartments and offices all without warrants.
I can only hope and pray that my fellow Americans begin to wake up that there is a reality out there that if they could only remove themselves for a while from the chatter of TV and the ridiculous entertainments out there they might be able to think clearly. Part of this is that without a clear spiritual practice of some kind (and each of us has their own natural approach) where we learn to live in a way that sees beyond the shallows we tend to live in we are doomed to be food for the predators that have become increasingly powerful. The choice is yours.
No comments:
Post a Comment