Why
we need to consider very carefully the cases of Bradley Manning (Wiki-Leaks), Edward
Snowden (NSA) and Bradley Birkenfeld (UBS) before we apply the label of “Traitor”.
With a
camera in every corner of the globe we can no longer ignore the suffering that
expansionism creates. We as, a nation, can no longer escape the stunned
question upon waking – no, not the familiar question of “Where are we?”
But the infinitely more telling question of “Who are we?”
Whether it
be North invading South, East expanding West, or the non-geographical new
frontier of cyber-dominance…the question remains. Are we humans genetically
programmed to invade, conquer, sabotage and wage endless war in a desperate
attempt to stay on top for as long as possible?
This is now
America’s burning question. And truth be told, it always has been even from the beginning, in
that we were conceived (as George Washington himself described America) as an
“Infant Empire”. A deliberate and expanding Empire, that Thomas Jefferson characterized
as a “nest” that would spread out and colonize the entire continent - doing
away with the red man, eliminating the Latinos and sending the slaves back to
Africa when they were no longer needed.
And in that
struggle, some of our best minds have put forth the kind of work that questioned America’s
“exceptionalism”.
Artist As
Whistleblower
Most people know of George Orwell's cautionary tale "1984" about just how far down the rabbit-hole we can get if surveillance and mind-control go unchecked and unchallenged.
But few remember that during the invasion of the Philippines, Mark Twain wrote an imagined history of a twentieth-century America. In it, he predicted that a “lust for conquest” had already destroyed “the Great [American] Republic,” because “trampling upon the helpless abroad had taught her, by a natural process, to endure with apathy the like at home.”
But few remember that during the invasion of the Philippines, Mark Twain wrote an imagined history of a twentieth-century America. In it, he predicted that a “lust for conquest” had already destroyed “the Great [American] Republic,” because “trampling upon the helpless abroad had taught her, by a natural process, to endure with apathy the like at home.”
Thoughtful,
creative types have always felt it was their duty to question the wisdom of
those blinded by the quest for power and the satiation of greed. That it
is our human imperative to keep ourselves, as a species, evolving rather than
devolving.
Keeping our
elected leaders on track, serving the will of the people instead of kowtowing to power, is an exercise
that, by definition, requires Critical Thinking - the kind of thinking
that can identify and illustrate the incongruity of words in a speech or
document, verses actions taken on the ground, in our name...with our children.
The inherent
hypocrisy of a seeming all-embracing statement such as, “All Men Are Created
Equal”…unless, of course, you were born outside the author’s esteemed circle of
landed-gentry, a woman, a person of a different color who happen
to be a convenient source of free labor, or to a tribe that has been
living for centuries on lands rich in natural resources that, rightfully
or wrongfully, will be claimed by a superior force…becomes obvious when
exposed to the merest hint of a well-formed question.
Thankfully,
as in the parable of “The Emperor Has No Clothes”, even a child can provide a
simple reality-check. The absence of which contributes to a myriad of human
abuses that continue unchecked and unabated when people of conscience refuse to
take a stand.
In a world
where no one will question the rationales of their leaders for fear there won’t
be enough for themselves – the end result will always be that the "lower classes" and the unprotected native populations of the world will have to
endure the fickle “benevolence” of their land-grabbing, money-hoarding oppressors…in
perpetuity.
Well, maybe
not "in perpetuity"- just right up to that terrible moment when the strategic political planners of the invaders decide they have built a strong enough
case against their “burden” and no longer see the need for keeping
up appearances.
It then becomes a foregone conclusion that our “enemy” will die, en masse, at the hands of a
military (domestic or foreign) saddled with whatever label our leaders have leveled against them to justify their extinction.
Their only crime being...they were living in the path of Empire.
Their only crime being...they were living in the path of Empire.
Whistleblowers are necessary when institutions and governments no longer serve
the greater good. They are, if ethically motivated, agents of evolution because
the goal of a whistleblower is to demand that those in positions of authority live
up to the ideals and mission statements contained within their company charter or
government constitution.
So, I ask
you to consider carefully before vilifying the revealers of harsh truths,
because the only thing standing between truth and lies…is transparency.
At least,
that’s the way is seems to me,
Annie
annienomad-cyberpoet
