Truth In Labeling: It’s “Anti-Empire”… by Philip A. Farruggio

by Philip A. Farruggio
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
August 9, 2010

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Not ‘ Anti War‘. You see, labeling is very important when products are involved. Yes, each time our government introduces a new product as an extension of its empire, labeling is involved. They have sold us two recent ’Wars’ , first in Iraq and then Afghanistan. Simply put, there are no ‘wars‘ involving our country in either place. We did have a war on Iraq in March of 2003 (though the Congress never did ‘declare war‘) and it ended quite quickly. The results of our Shock and Awe campaign destroyed much of their infrastructure and either killed or maimed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. After 9/11, we used the reasoning of going after Bin Laden to invade and occupy Afghanistan. The Taliban, who by the way the Bush crew ‘wined and dined‘ in 2001 in hopes of getting an oil pipeline deal, suddenly became our enemy after 9/11. Yet, as history reveals, it was Pakistan that gave real support for Bin Laden’s group before and after 9/11. Oh, one forgets, they are an ally of ours, and they have nukes, so we better not mess with them too much.

By this time we all should be familiar with the covert usage of the term ‘War‘. There was the War On Poverty, War On Hunger, War On Organized Crime, War on Drugs. We have wars on all kinds of diseases. Currently, the most fashionable of wars is the War On Terror and how our government and our media choose to define it. When Israel terrorizes and ghettoizes Palestinians, that is not part of America’s War On Terror. When our nation bombards Iraqi and Afghan villages with WMDs tearing apart eyes, arms and legs and causing rampant cancers, that is not terror. When any Latino looking person can be stopped and searched by police, in the name of our War On Illegals, that is not terrorizing (wonder what would happen if that same technique was done to the owners of businesses where Latino looking folks worked). So, the labeling of our actions as Wars helps induce feelings of patriotism into most of the citizenry. Heaven forbid those who speak out against these actions…. ‘What are you, a communist !?‘ How easily good and decent Americans can be propagandized into rallying around the flag. Sad , but true.

No, folks, we are not at war…. Except perhaps at home. The war here is for the very soul of our nation. Eugene Jarecki captured this in his fine 2006 documentary film Why We Fight. We have governments, regardless of which political party is in power, that nurtures what Eisenhower himself warned against: The Military Industrial Complex. This group of industries must feed upon constant and perpetual Wars . Their profits and their power can only come from more and more spending of our tax dollars for their military related goods and services…. To kill, destroy and keep the war machinery oiled. Young brave soldiers are used as pawns to do the chessboard King’s and Queen’s bidding. An empire has been created for this purpose, first and foremost. The further collateral damage is when other non military industrial complex industries also benefit. We then have a globalization con job that sees our factories and industries move offshore for the cheap labor and sweetheart deals that come with being an empire. Who suffers at home? All those poor fools who buy into this scam, replete with ‘Support our troops‘ bumper stickers and ‘God Bless America‘. Factor in those who think that Jesus would condone this empire and its actions. Hogwash! The Jesus that this writer emulates and respects would be standing alongside citizens who oppose hypocrisy, lies and exploitation.

A friend at an activist meeting put it succinctly: ‘I no longer label myself a Democrat or Republican, Green, Libertarian etc. I am an individual who speaks out when I see my government do anything against my moral and common sense principles ‘ . Empires can only survive when those at home allow it to continue, through their silence and complacency. For, at the end of the day, it is not really about being ‘Anti‘ anything…. No, it is about being ‘For‘ Truth & Justice, the real American Way.

Philip A. Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen. He is an activist leader and free lance columnist. Since the 2000 elections, he has written over 150 columns, many posted on various sites worldwide. Recently, he is finding a home at www.dandelionsalad.wordpress.com, or at his own blog atwww.opensalon.com. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net.

see

Why We Fight (must-see video)

Resistance is Fertile by Cindy Sheehan

Our Ordinary Hell

Lights out in America by Bruce Gagnon

Endless Wars for Endless Profits: My reflections on the 5th Anniversary of Camp Casey by Cindy Sheehan

“Why we fight”: The Nature of Modern Imperialism by Alan McKinnon