The Real Face of the Empire

 

 

People worldwide need to decide soon what this global war without end, as described by the so-called superpower, is all about.  Is it against terrorists or is it against humanity?  Is it only against Muslims or is it against human dignity?  Is it worth reacting or should we continue to go on with our everyday chores as usual?  Is this not state terrorism?  If it is not, then what is it?  How ordinary people answer these questions in the coming months and years will determine how their life dreams unfold.

But if they knew their true condition and what will be coming upon them if they do not get up from their comfortable chairs, they would not wait even for a minute to fiercely resist their comfortable yoke.  To move towards safety and freedom we need to redefine what civilization is.  Do we have time to do that?  Who knows?  That is the big picture, which many writers and spokesmen of good intention almost exclusively present.

But what is the small picture?  There are many small pictures that make up the big picture.  Will the man or woman who is working at the detention center or the weapons laboratory realize that she/he is serving a system, which is corrupted, bloodthirsty and deceiving?  And if these people do understand, will they take the leap of faith and abandon it?  And if they do, will more of their friends and co-workers follow their example?  And will the people around these people support them until they stand on their feet?  Can people around them support them even just in word when they themselves do not live a simple life because their livelihood depends on the system that destroys the earth and its people?  Would it not then be a better direction for us all to move towards a sustainable way of living?  These are the questions that we need to answer soon.  We have forgotten that the clock hand has almost reached midnight.  Should we remind ourselves of it or not?

Have the Europeans already forgotten the results of World War II?  At that time, weapons of mass destruction were in their infancy.  Now they have matured, “thanks” to our scientists and engineers for trying to save the world by making the tool that can destroy it forever, even by mistake.  Why do European leaders not see what is at stake?  Why don’t the majority of European citizens rise to demand life?

Why have not American citizens participated in world affairs so far?  Why have they allowed their representatives to lie to them and work in secrecy?  Why have they allowed their foreign policy to be a policy of murder and injustice for so long?  Have they ever wondered who makes their foreign policy?  Do they still believe in the American dream?  Was the American dream about gated communities and millions of people working in more than one part time job in order to hardly make ends meet?  Was the American dream about going to country after country and region after region and turn it into dust for more world control?  How long do they think their tanks and smart bombs will support their unsustainable way of life?  How long will the other nations be deceived and bribed?  Is this the kind of culture they want to export to every other country?  Do they really believe that their country can maintain military bases on the soil of other countries around the world without building resentment and hatred in the hearts and minds of the citizens of these countries?  Do they really believe that their war machine is about maintaining peace around the world and not exploitation and misery?  Have they ever realized that their country is the only one that has ever used nuclear weapons and what the social, political and military implications of this unspeakable murder are?  Have they ever tried to find out why the second bomb was dropped? 

Jacqueline Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, a nuclear disarmament advocacy group in California has recently said: “Whether Iraq still has weapons of mass destruction remains to be seen.  Meanwhile its chief accuser, the United States, is blatantly brandishing its own.  The ‘National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ released by the White House just last week, combines the worst features of the ‘Nuclear Posture Review’ and the September 2002 ‘National Security Strategy of the United States’ by openly threatening the first use of nuclear weapons.  This deadly international double standard is a recipe for endless arms racing and endless death and destruction.  The Bush administration has turned the concept of non-proliferation on its head and made a mockery of international law.  If having weapons of mass destruction and a history of using them is a criterion, then surely the United States must pose the greatest threat to humanity that has ever existed.  Sustainable global security will require the elimination of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons — without exception.”

And last, do they really believe that their country is about supporting democracy, education, and freedom around the world when the U.S. military budget tops the rest of the world by far, and while the rest of the world is cutting military spending, the United States is adding billions to its military budget?  Reality has started to hit, and it will hit harder as the days go by unless the people worldwide find the courage to rise, and speak, and do their duty.  The real face of the empire is manifesting itself at last to its own citizens and allies.  The real face of the governments of the nations around the world is being recognized.  It is not a pretty face.  It widens the gap between rich and poor, and it sets brother against brother.

The question is not what are our leaders doing for our world.  The question is what are we not doing for our world, what are we not doing for the earth, the people next to us, or ourselves.

Mr. Andreas Toupadakis, Ph.D. is a Former Research Scientist of Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.