Buying the Lies… Karma Americana by Philip A. Farruggio

by Philip A. Farruggio
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
August 18, 2011

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

In previous columns this writer has mentioned Karma: the total effect of a person’s actions and conduct during the successive phases of his existence. Boy oh boy, what karma our America has! If one reads Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, we can see how much damage our ancestors inflicted upon the indigenous people. The Indians who settled in North and South America over a thousand years ago were systematically exterminated by the White man. Their lands were taken from them and they were interned or massacred. Kevin Costner’s 1990 film Dances with Wolves was a powerful look at this topic. Yet, the lie was propagated that the American Indian was a savage and could not be trusted. The same was said about the Jews of Europe in the 1930s, and then again by their descendents as to the Palestinians. It seems that imperialism and colonialism need to lie about a need for security. The sad irony is just how many others ‘buy into ‘those lies.

So, here we were, standing outside the Port Orange library, as we do each Tuesday at 4Pm. My 83 year old buddy John stands with me, holding his hand made sign Honor Our Troops… Bring them Home Now! I hold my usual sign Save Our Cities… Cut Military Spending 25% … End All Occupations… Bring Our Troops Home Now!  A 60 something lady comes up to me and seems very sympathetic. Then she begins with her rhetoric: “Obama is a good guy. It’s just that he’s surrounded by bad people. He needs to get different people advising him. Why can’t he just ask that Paul guy {Rep. Ron Paul} to run as his Vice Presidential running mate? Since the rumor is that Hillary is not well, let Biden be Sec. of State… after all, his kid is over there fighting, so he wants to end the war. “When I told her that Obama and Biden are both in favor of increasing our military spending and continuing our occupations of Iraq & Afghanistan, and that Obama is Commander In Chief. Truman said ‘The buck stops here ‘, so why give Obama a pass? She just sighed and said that he “Wants to do well, he just can’t, what with all those people around him.” She went on to say that she wished there was a real 3^rd party choice for President. I told her that the problem was not with voting anymore… It was with issues and principles… moral principles. Finally, I asked her to stand with us, as I had two signs by her feet that needed holding. She ignored my question, so I told her to let’s play a ‘What If ‘game. What if she was born with a Libyan mother and American father? What if she found out that many of her cousins and aunts and uncles were just killed by US bombs? Would she be outraged? She walked away and went over to John, telling him how we need to run other candidates for office… why not Philip?

I just received a notice from a new Democratic Party front group called Rebuild the Dream. They are planning to go to a town hall meeting run by our Republican Congressperson here. Their plan is to go in and ask direct questions about jobs, Social Security, taxing the wealthy, etc and yes, about the military spending. Of course, in their announcement there is absolutely nothing about ending the occupations or stopping the drone attacks and bombings of Pakistan and Libya. They strategically made sure that the point about military spending was not highlighted. This is why this writer /activist has disdain for the Democrats. All those good folks that will show up at the town hall meeting from Rebuild the Dream (Powered by Move On .org as their logo states) continue to buy into the lie that there is a real difference between the 2 major parties. If I were to ask those folks, as I did that lady outside the library, using the Libyan birth mother analogy, what answers would I get? Would they be outraged enough at Obama and their party to begin regular peaceful protest? Or would they just sigh and tell me about the ‘Lesser of Two evils ‘theory?

Karma comes in strange packages. The American Indians got gambling casinos from the white man (actually partnered with the white man… the rich white man), but if you cannot go to Vegas or AC, you pay them. Israel has helped to regurgitate the terrible perversion of Anti Semitism… or recruit more to that sick cause. Our own Military Industrial Complex and its disgraceful imperialism (along with corporate America) have sowed seeds for future karma that this writer cannot even begin to imagine. Yet, it is the majority of my fellow citizens who continue to buy the lies … year after year, decade after decade… generation after generation. What has to happen to Joe and Joan Q. Public before they too see the light of truth? As a German lady said to John and me last week, outside the library: “Only in America is it where so few will stand in public to protest. If this was Germany or Greece or Ireland, and their governments did what yours is doing… millions would be out there, week after week. “

Philip A. Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen. He is a small businessman, activist leader and free lance columnist. Philip is an advocate for the 25% Solution to cut military spending to save our state and city budget shortfalls. Since the 2000 elections, he has written over 250 columns, many posted on various sites worldwide. Recently, he is finding a home at the fine Dandelion Salad website. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net.

see

The Intimately Oppressed by Howard Zinn

Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress by Howard Zinn

A People’s History of American Empire by Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn: Voices of a People’s History of the United States (2004)

Our Red, White and Blue Dictatorship by Ed Dunphy

Brain Dead Obama by Joel S. Hirschhorn + Chomsky On Obama’s 2008 Election Campaign

An Empire Filled With Fools by Philip A. Farruggio