ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

                                           

When I was asked to speak to my local Unitarian Universalist congregation on a topic of my choosing, I opted to speak about how we are morally obligated to resist injustice in general and war  in particular. Since this blogsite is a political one, it may seem inappropriate to some that I am choosing to publish a sermon here, but I do not apologize. Anyone who objects to the invocation of a higher power in the universe is welcome to skip past such references here, but the message is otherwise universal and entirely consistent with the stated aims of Soldiers For Peace International. I hope that it will provide some thought for those who battle for justice out of anger, and who forget that anger is but a response to the pain we feel when we see the powerful prey on the meek.


In his first inaugural address, with the nation on the brink of civil war, Lincoln called on the nation to remember that regardless of our differences, we are all bound by common ideals. Pointing out that we had a choice to resolve our differences peacefully, he concluded with an appeal to listen to “the better angels of our nature.”  That’s a beautiful metaphor, but what does it imply?

I believe it refers to the fact that Man has two natures that are often in conflict: spiritual and animal. When we decide to act in a situation with moral implications, we always face a choice between satisfying our physical and psychological desires or acting according to the greater good. Lincoln was pointing out that the coming war was not inevitable. War is always a choice.

In deciding on our actions, most of us try to balance the two types of motivation, animal and spiritual. We want to serve our own interests, but not at the expense of doing harm. But how deeply do we consider the effects of our actions and just as importantly, our decisions not to act? We can’t all be saints, but I believe if our needs are met it is a moral imperative that we do what we can to align with our spiritual side. That requires consistent effort. While accepting our limitations, we must constantly strive to improve. We are all creatures of habit, but the absence of change is death. Therefore, we must make it a habit to question our actions as a means of growth.

This starts with questioning our motivations. The difference between the two forms of motivation, spiritual and animal, is not always clear. Rationalization is powerful and universal. For example, we may strongly believe that character is built by being self-reliant. Does this mean that caring for others actually harms them? Some say yes. Are they just justifying their desire to avoid paying taxes to provide a social safety net? After all, most would feel differently if someone close to them is afflicted. Until the question affects them personally, such people suppress their innate compassion. I believe that this community supports the right of each of us to health care, but how many of us are standing up for the innocent victims of war. What interest does turning away serve?

Rationalization is an unconscious process, so how do we decide what our motivation is and whose interest our actions or inaction serves? The key is to honestly consider where our self-interest lies, and put it aside when it conflicts with what is best for all.   Perhaps we avoid confronting the evil of war because its horror is too overwhelming. That would serve to ease our anxiety and avoid a sense of helplessness, but at the cost of our spiritual well-being.

Animal nature is not inherently bad.  It enables us to survive as individuals in hostile physical environments. However, it is our spiritual side that connects us to the wider universe, including that which is not seen. God, however we choose to define it, is within us as well as outside of us. I believe that though we often forget it, love is what connects us to each other and to the wider universe. We can call this universal, all-pervasive love the Holy Spirit.

Love is not physical, yet nothing is more powerful. Love is the one thing that could exist without its opposite, which is not hate but apathy. Unlike darkness, which cannot exist without light, universal love fills the emptiness of space. I believe that this is because it emanates from the Source of all creation. It is our substance, in the most elemental sense.  We cannot ever separate ourselves from that Source or from each other, though we can become insensible of the connection. That is what apathy is, willful blindness to our innate compassion.

Our beliefs do not define us. Our actions do. What we think we believe is self-identity, but it is what we do establishes the identity that others see. When our actions follow our beliefs, we are said to have integrity. If we never examine our beliefs, we do not see inconsistency between our various beliefs or between our beliefs and our actions. But we cannot honestly say we believe in something if we are acting contrary to that belief. For example, “Christians” who claim that life is sacred but support the death penalty clearly do not believe what they profess.

We choose what we want to believe, often without thinking. In a very real sense, we construct our own reality. That is why we have become divided by our belief systems. We must strive to remember that in truth, we are one even with those who seem to have nothing in common with us. We should try to persuade others in a loving manner, not in one that promotes anger and conflict.  Our goal should be to create a common reality that is true to the loving nature of our spiritual selves.

So, if we want to become more the person we want to be, we have to make decisions by looking at all choices, understanding our motivations, and deciding to act according to the beliefs we wish to define us, such as thinking that we are empathetic, engaged and altruistic.

We cannot allow superficial beliefs to guide us, if they conflict with our core beliefs. For example, many of us believe that capitalism is literally God’s gift to Man. That’s fine as far as it goes, but if we allow that belief to justify acting in ways that do not reflect our spiritual beliefs, we have to challenge those inconsistent beliefs. Again, only when we develop a coherent system of spiritual beliefs and allow them to determine our actions can we become the persons we want truly want to be.

If we consider ourselves spiritual and virtuous, how do our actions show it? Are individual acts of kindness enough? If so, then what of the suffering of those who are victims of the powerful?  The working poor in America have no access to affordable health care. Innocent civilians in targeted nations in the Mideast and throughout the world are victims of US aggression cloaked as “humanitarian” intervention in the name of liberty and security. These problems and many others are not unconnected. They result from moral choices that we make as individuals and as a society. As Franklin pointed out, if you sacrifice liberty for security, you will have neither. If we believe in the principle of self-rule, we have a duty to demand that our government serve the cause of liberty and justice for all.

We fought a war that was ultimately about ending the institution of legal slavery. Now we face the task of stopping our government from enslaving the human race through war and economic coercion. We are all paying the price for allowing our government to serve the selfish interests of the powerful. Whether we are victims of austerity measures at home or of endless war abroad; whether we are suffering from compassion overload or have become numb to our innate compassion, none of us are spared. 

Those of us who are comfortable have a duty to those who are not, both poor Americans and victims of US aggression around the world. Doing nothing is a choice, but those who make this choice should not try to excuse it by saying that they cannot make a difference. It is only their efforts that can. Good intentions are not enough. We cannot honestly call ourselves spiritual if we do not face the evil that our government is perpetrating in the name of “freedom” and “security” and demand justice.  Standing up for what is right often takes courage and sometimes requires sacrifice, but the only hope for humanity in these dark times is for those of us who understand that we are all part of an interdependent web of existence, bound inextricably together only as strongly as our love for each other.

WINNING THE CLASS WAR FOR THE 99%

There have been a slew of constitutional amendments introduced in Congress recently, each claiming to “reverse Citizens United.” This is the result of pressure from activists passing resolutions around the country calling for an amendment that would actually do this, which none of the amendments introduced to date would do.

Each of these amendments is limited to giving states and the federal government the right but not the obligation to control the flow of corporate money in elections. It is preposterous to expect that a Congress dominated by corporate money would even consider using such a power if by some miracle the thing were passed. Do not be fooled by these generally well-meaning efforts by members of Congress trapped in the mentality that they must work on only what is possible now. The fact that they are working with colleagues who have accepted the self-fulfilling prophecy that they have no choice but to sell their loyalty to the highest corporate bidder is no excuse. While some willingly sell their loyalty, others feel this is the only way that they can make a difference in Congress because they have to be re-elected to do the public any good.  

The 99% cannot give up on the electoral process if they want to effect real change. They need to recognize that we do have real representation in Congress, but they will only take risks when they know we are backing them. Some members of Congress have been elected and re-elected without being tainted by corporate money. Senator Bernie Sanders comes immediately to mind as an example. We have to ask the question why is he afraid to do what must be done: introduce a constitutional amendment that would abolish corporate personhood outright? He knows as well as anyone that only by ending the power of corporations to buy members of Congress can we hope to elect those who will put the interests of We the People over those of They the Corporations. The answer may seem clear but it is not as simple as many people think.

Although Bernie doesn’t rely on corporate money to run, he has to realize that planting a dagger in the heart of the corporatocracy would invite retaliation, making himself the target of right-wing campaign PACs like Karl Roves’ Crossroads. In addition, he would be setting the corporate Democratic leadership up by making support for the amendment a campaign issue. We all saw what happened to Dennis Kucinich and Anthony Weiner when they dared challenge Democratic leadership to put the interests of American citizens over those of their corporate Puppetmasters: Kucinich was marginalized even by real liberals in Congress like Peter DeFazio of Oregon, while Weiner was left twisting in the wind when he got caught in a scandal that had nothing to do with the performance of his duties as a Representative.

As long as Democrats and independents in Congress are cowed into following the Democratic leadership in lockstep toward the Right, voters will continue to abandon the party in disgust. Many are concluding that a party willing to be led by the nose by the same corporate entities that have wholly bought the Republican Party is not worth their support. The perception is that the difference between the two is not important enough to fight for. The Democratic Party has not so much been abandoned by their supporters so much as they have been abandoned by it.  

Democrats supporting the amendments presently in Congress fall into two categories. There are those like Max Baucus who have long ago sold themselves out to corporate interests, and those who believe that incremental change is their only choice. Baucus took in over $6 million dollars in the election cycle preceding the Democratic effort to bail out a failing medical insurance industry that was cynically labeled “reform.” The resulting gift to the corporations that comprise the medical-industrial complex was obvious. What was less obvious to many is that this was the intent of Democratic leadership when they decided to take on the issue. There are lessons here we must heed if we are going to get a constitutional amendment introduced and passed that will accomplish what the members of Congress proposing the current bills claim.



Prior to the public debate about the public option and its far worse alternatives, Rahm Emanuel put Democratic leaders on notice that single payer was off the table. Inside sources say that Howard Dean was told that he would not be a player in the debate if he could not get Democracy for America to support the public option bait-and-switch. DFA responded by claiming that their million-plus members supported the public option strategy when a simple poll would have proven otherwise. In getting other progressive leaders and members of Congress to fall in line, they managed to sell to the Democratic rank and file the self-fulfilling prophecy that single payer was “not politically possible.” 



This Machiavellian plan to satisfy corporate interests in the name of “reform” was reminiscent of the Bush Administration’s marketing of the Medicare Modernization Act that appears to have been designed to kill Medicare by establishing an unfunded prescription benefit plan whose costs were deliberately and grossly misrepresented. Among other gifts to the medical-industrial complex, pharmaceutical manufacturers were given the power to set their own prices by a ban on the government negotiating drug prices. In what came as a shock to those who are unfamiliar with how some Democrats receive underserved credit for being “liberal,” Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden crossed party lines to cast the deciding vote for this bill that is putting the viability of the Medicare program at risk.



Not surprisingly if you follow the money, Wyden introduced the only serious competitor to the public option plan, the Healthy Americans Act. It was so bad that it received bipartisan support. While quickly shelved, key elements of this mandate plan were quietly put into the Orwellian-titled “Affordable” Care Act, including massive cost shifting to the consumer that was not taken into account in the CBO analysis. As a result, health care costs continue to rise even while the Democrats proclaim victory in producing health care ”reform.” 



The bait-and-switch going on in Congress now is even more insidious and dangerous. If we do not call on these members of Congress to abandon their effort to placate the public while doing essentially nothing about the problem, the movement to abolish corporate personhood will be split and a historic opportunity lost just when the economy, the environment and the families of those serving in wars for corporate personhood cannot stand the delay. 



This is a call to action for those who understand the difference between abolishing corporate personhood and enshrining it in the constitution through an amendment that would validate the doctrine by recognizing that Congress should have the power to regulate it. If corporate personhood is abolished then there is no need to regulate corporate money going to campaigns because it will be illegal.



Those of us engaged most deeply in this modern abolition know just what is at stake. In our educational efforts we need to let the public know the danger of supporting this pig with lipstick. We can pass an amendment abolishing corporate personhood outright and win the war being waged against the 99% if we focus our efforts on making support for a proper amendment a campaign issue in 2012 and beyond.

ECONOMIC SLAVERY AND THE MODERN ABOLITION MOVEMENT

The famous case of San Mateo v Northern Pacific railroad has been described as the precedent that later Supreme Courts used to justify the principle of corporate sovereignty over the people of the US. This case was argued but not decided on the basis of the legal theory that corporations have all the rights of human beings under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, the fascist Robber Barons of the post-Civil War era were asserting their right to determine the shape of the future America by virtue of their economic power over average Americans and the corrupt body that Congress had become.

Let us put aside any quibbling about when corporate personhood became established law in the minds of the majority of corporate members of any of the previous or subsequent Supreme Courts. Suffice it to say that the chain of logic that led directly to the decision in Citizens United was based in large part on the amendment that was written to free former slaves. Thus began the slide into fascism that has led to the threat of permanent economic slavery in the New World Order of the United States Empire.

For the first time since the Great Depression, the people of the United States are feeling the same lash that the victims in other countries of the international corporate terrorists have known for years. Now that the banksters, international financiers, war profiteers, Big Oil and the medical-insurance complex have devastated the US economy, the apparent victors of the war on the US middle class are dividing the spoils among themselves. After decades of moving jobs overseas and chipping at the social safety net, the fascists who control the US government are fighting for supremacy in the New World Order without regard to the welfare of the economic slave class they have created.

An angry but divided US public cannot assert its sovereignty over its own government. Only by coming together in the interest of liberty and justice for all can those fighting fascism in the US salvage the American dream of a democratic Republic. The great divide between those who regard themselves as conservatives and those who think of themselves as liberals is due to a difference in perception of whether our government more closely resembles fascism or socialism. Achieving consensus on the answer to that vital question is central to the task of establishing a democratic Republic in the United States.

Those of us who do not form our opinions by considering only the corporate propaganda promoted by the mainstream media know that the answer lies in the study of the rise of corporate power over the US government. The problem then becomes one of how we awaken both those on the Right and Left who refuse to acknowledge the simple fact that America has become a primary nexus in the network of international fascism. As one WWII veteran tearfully told me one day: “I didn’t fight and my brothers didn’t die for the nation we have become.”

There is an answer to the seemingly unsolvable problem of melding the collective political power of the Right and the Left. It lies in helping others understand that a system of corporate welfare with all power and privilege going to the most wealthy Americans is not a democracy and certainly not socialism. Benito Mussolini coined the term fascism to refer to just such an unholy alliance between corporation and state, with each using the power granted to them by We the People and an activist Supreme Court to improve their positions in the fascist New World Order. When we agree that the government we are trying to overthrow through a nonviolent democratic revolution is a fascist one, the scales fall from the eyes of those who have accepted the myth that democracy exists in the United States.

There is only one issue that has the potential to bring enough Americans together to Take Back America for the People. A modern abolition movement to strip corporations of the power to buy Congress and to dictate policy and legislation is the means by which we will finish the Revolution. Doing so is the only means to ensure liberty and justice for all Americans and Peoples everywhere who are threatened with slavery in the fascist New World Order. A movement is building to amend the constitution to do just that. Restoring the hope of democracy in America is a nonpartisan issue. Anyone who understands the danger of ceding the functions of government to corporate interests that want only to increase their wealth and power is welcome in the fight to end the system of corporate plutocracy that now threatens the survival of human civilization.

Most of those who have been working for decades to amend the constitution are holding to a strategy with a 20-30 year timeline for success. It focuses solely on an educational process that will indeed take this long if not coupled with efforts to get the amendment on the floor of Congress. Once in place, support for it can be used as a litmus test in every subsequent Congressional election. The implementation of this strategy requires that leaders of the abolition movement realize that no modern revolution will succeed without using the political power we hold in a nominally democratic society to force our government to do our will. If we refuse to consider the idea that there are men and women in Congress who are honest enough and tired enough of continuous competition for corporate cash we may miss the chance to be part of movement that will lead to the introduction and passage of the amendment that is our mutual goal.

Those who give up on the political process have an unrealistic vision that somehow a grassroots Army of people will join them with no hope for immediate political victories beyond the local and occasionally state levels. Forgetting that Senators like Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley and House members like Kucinitch and Ron Paul are speaking out loudly against corporate control of the electoral process, they are ignoring the quickest route to the passage of the amendment. With the threats of global climate change, a permanent depression, mass famine and endless war threatening to decimate the population we cannot afford such a long range strategy. To rely exclusively on education divorced from political action would be to risk abandoning millions of  innocent victims to their fate at the hands of a ruthless international corporatocracy.

No revolution has ever succeeded except though a process leading to democracy. Empires from Persia to Macedonia to Rome to the USSR and Nazi Germany have learned from hard experience that violent subjugation of people will always in the end destroy the power structure that it depends on to maintain order among the Peoples so enslaved. If America, Israel and their allies do not learn this lesson soon, they may become the victims of a violent revolution that could dwarf the French Revolution in its carnage. If we can prevent that then we will have ended the ongoing Civil War that has divided and conquered Americans since the bloody battles across five Aprils ended in 1865. Only when we see and act upon our mutual interests will we have the collective power to finish the American Revolution and free the world from the fascist control of the Puppetmasters of the US government.

In the end, it will be the Tea Party that saves the Republic. It is the job of progressive activists to reach across the great divide that separates those in the US who all claim to love freedom and democracy. The only way to move forward as Americans and members of the global community is to put aside lesser differences in the cause of liberty and justice for all. This means talking to those who may not agree with our vision of the America and the world that we will never create unless we do so together. In learning how to talk tone another with mutual respect and compassion, we may live to see the end of war.

VETERANS FOR PEACE-THE SILENT MAJORITY

I live in an area of rural Oregon that like most or rural America has a history of producing more than its share of volunteers to serve in the military when their government calls. Most of us who have answered the call are proud of our service, but those of us who are not proud of what our country called on us to do are Veterans for Peace. Whether we served in war or peacetime, in combat or support units, inflicting our treating the wounds of war we are bound by our mission to stop the madness of war through purposeful, nonviolent action.

VFP Chapter 141 in Bandon is a small group of veterans in a much larger and largely neoconservative veteran community. As everywhere, the local posts of the VFW and other veteran service organizations are dominated by the Vietnam veterans who have come to outnumber the veterans of previous conflicts. These men and women by and large are proud of their service and their country to the point that few publicly question the role they played in establishing what has become a fascist neocolonial Empire. 
 

After coming home from war many Vietnam veterans found themselves shunned by “the greatest generation,” who were angry that the US had unequivocally lost in war for the first time. Just as did many in the peace movement, so all too often did veterans of previous wars blame the warriors and not the war itself. It was decades before those who had fought in Vietnam were generally accepted into the band of brothers that are all veterans of foreign wars. Now that the Vietnam veterans have been accepted into the larger community of veterans, the tradition of glorification of military service has been passed to a new generation.

As a former VA psychiatrist who practiced in that community I have a good idea how many of these veterans truly support the actions of the US government in times of war and how many are opposed, whether or not they are willing to admit it publicly. Most veterans in this community would be surprised to learn that privately, the majority of those who served in combat not only realize the criminality of the government’s actions in Vietnam but are opposed to the current wars. Most of these are also opposed to all future wars.

There are many reasons that Veterans for Peace are a small minority in this and most communities. Aside from the fact that many veterans have never questioned their role in promoting the imposition of a fascist New World Order, the most important reason is peer pressure. To understand why grown men and women are so susceptible to influence commonly assumed to affect only teenagers, you must understand the consequences of trauma on human development.

At the age that most are recruited or drafted into military service, a sense of self-identity has not yet been fully established. Teenagers who become part of the military are still struggling to define themselves. When they are trained to ignore the basic human prohibition against killing, their self-image becomes distorted. When they are forced to kill and to watch their friends be killed, the trauma reinforces this distorted self-image. The severe nature of this type of trauma has the effect of arresting further development until it is fully processed, which sadly occurs all too infrequently. 
 

Just as the chronically sexually abused child often grows up without resolving the basic task of individuating from the abuser, combat veterans all too often grow up without having accomplished the basic developmental task of creating an integrated identity and remain susceptible to role confusion. They may feel ashamed, unlovable and unworthy of forgiveness. They are often incapable of living up to their own expectations as spouses, parents and members of society. For them to truly come home they must come to terms with what they did and what they were a part of. Being a member of Veterans for Peace is one way some find their true selves.

You might ask why so many veterans who did not serve in combat adopt the same pro-military, anti-life positions. The answer is rooted in the same explanation. Those who served during or around times of war know service members who died or were irreparably scarred by combat. These veterans identify with and empathize with their peers. To publicly challenge their beliefs takes a stronger sense of self than most people are capable of.

The pain of that empathetic response to the suffering of their compatriots is so unbearable that the emotion often turns to blind anger. Such an attitude primes these people to prepare to accept the next war for Empire in the disguise of fighting whatever “enemy” the state determines most threatens the interests of the international corporate terrorists who control the Puppets in the US government. This is how those corporate politicians are made to dance to the drums of war when so ordered. To refuse would be seen as weakness. The corporate media that is also owned by the corporate war profiteers makes sure of that.

The groupthink that causes noncombat vets to unquestioningly support war for corporate Empire can be seen more generally in the larger society. The vast majority of Americans have friends, relatives or ancestors who have served or are serving in the military. Every generation has had its war and each has contributed to the myth that wars are necessary to assure our “liberty.” Now we are in an era of what could become endless war.

If we do not mature individually and as a society to the point where we are capable of making individual decisions on right and wrong, the self-fulfilling prophecy that war is inevitable cannot be challenged. If we do learn to think for ourselves and to speak out when we see injustice, then surely we will stop the madness of war, the ultimate injustice.

There are no longer any innocent bystanders in war except the children whose future war is ostensibly to “protect.” Each of us has a moral responsibility to ask ourselves why we are at war and what we can do to stop it. Simply refusing to participate is not enough. If we pay taxes we support the war. If we do not we risk losing the means to fight back, either by foregoing the income necessary to wage our personal war on fascism or by being neutralized by the state in being prosecuted for tax evasion.

The only way to end war is to recognize that we who are willing to speak out are a minority but if we work together to educate our neighbors about the true cost of war we help them realize that those of us opposed to the wars are the majority. We can and must succeed. The future of our children and their progeny is at stake. 
  

Seventy percent of the American public want out of Afghanistan. This is similar to the proportion of people who favored the initial invasion and nearly the same percentage who do not realize that grand pronouncements to the contrary, the Iraq War continues with no end in sight. If those who want peace would become Veterans for Peace or associate members, Congress would be forced to listen.


Soldiers For Peace International requires nothing of its members but a commitment to work for social justice. There are no dues, meetings, or leadership. We were started by veterans, few of whom were willing to become part of any organization because the trauma of war had caused them to become uncomfortable with being a part of society or any group.

The difference between a Soldier For Peace and a Veteran for Peace is thus only the fact that each Soldier For Peace is in essence an Army of One, trying to further the interest of social justice in whatever way we feel capable. Serving in our virtual Army need entail no more that speaking the truth to whomever we do choose to associate with. We may choose to act in concert with other groups such as Veterans for Peace but in the end, we speak only for ourselves.

In a democracy, the People ultimately decide the question of whether to go to war and if we do, when to end it. The United States is no longer a democracy because too many citizens have given up the right to decide for themselves whether war is an obsolete concept other than as a means to further corporate Empire. We have decided that the wars for control of oil supplies are not worth the price, but until enough of us become Soldiers For Peace, our so-called leaders will continue to be Puppets on the strings of international corporate terrorists who seek to enslave us all in a permanent fascist New World Order.

Until we rise up as one People, we dishonor those who have died in the belief that they were defending the freedoms that we have so casually discarded. We cannot in good conscience give in to the belief that we are powerless. We must wage an asymmetric, peaceful war against fascism, injustice and war, the ultimate injustice.

More disgraceful than allowing the sacrifices of generations of warriors to have been in vain, if we fail to do this we will have abandoned our children to a fate that will be determined by the fascists who now control the US government. I will die before accepting this ultimate dishonor. How many billions will die before the rest of us choose to fight?

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MACHINE

 

In the wake of Citizens United it is becoming increasingly apparent to even its least attentive citizens that the United States government has fallen victim to a corporate coup. The debate going on now is whether there is anything to be done to fight back or whether it is time to cash in our chips, enjoy it while we can and then hunker down for the Apocalypse.

Those who have retained their optimism are those of us who remember the Chinese concept that in every crisis there is opportunity. It has been clear for some time to those of us who have been working in the trenches for years that things had to get worse before they get better. Now that unions, the elderly, our youth and all of the middle class in America are under attack, it should be a relatively easy matter to build   a virtual Army that can wage asymmetric warfare against fascism and war.

There are many obstacles to be overcome in order to restore democracy to America and thereby end war, but we have no choice but to succeed. The soldier’s job is not to reason why, our mission is such that we must do or die.   No less than the survival of human civilization is at stake. If we have any regard for those who have died in the belief that they were fighting for our freedom we will not give up the fight. If we have any love for our children and our posterity, we must hold fast to the belief that we can win.

The chief obstacle to be overcome is the belief that war is inevitable. It is cannot be true that war is inevitable if we accept that men and women are inherently good enough to rule themselves. In a democratic society we can collectively choose to reject war. No democratic nation has ever waged war on another democratic nation. If we value democracy and want to see it spread then we must believe that our efforts will result in the end of war. A war based economy only benefits the international corporate terrorists who stage wars for  corporate Empire.

In a fascist society such as the United States has become it may seem that democracy is dead, but the roots are still alive. We must nurture those roots if we are to end war and all of the other evils that threaten civilization: environmental destruction, famine, pestilence and global pandemic. At the root of all of these threats is the invasive parasite of corporate personhood.

The assumption that politics is by nature corrupt is another dangerous idea that has infected the American collective consciousness. Just as the belief that war is inevitable is fundamentally opposed to the idea that democracy is possible, so is the idea that ordinary citizens lack the power to alter a form of government that is not of the People, by the People and for the People.

While other nations have generally had fascism thrust upon them by violence, the citizens of the United States have willingly given up their government to fascists who are the CEOs of multinational corporations that care nothing for America, its citizens or any other nation or People. Now that we are witnessing the results of corporate control of government we have the opportunity to reach out to former cheerleaders of the New World Order and work together to end fascism in America and the world.

 

The United States has never been a truly democratic Republic, but the American experiment in democracy has moved forward in fits and starts over the years, most of the time in the direction of becoming a more perfect union. Slavery was only ended by civil war, but such fundamental social change is usually only possible when the People demand change in the form of a constitutional amendment. Freed slaves were given the vote by constitutional amendment, as were women and citizens old enough to go to war but formerly considered to young to vote. 

School segregation ended through the action of the Supreme Court at a time when it served a democratizing function. Now that the Court is in the hands of fascists, we must resort to a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood. Our never ending struggle against slavery will continue until the People demand that the 14th amendment guarantee of equal protection from the usurpation of our rights by government only applies  to human beings. Corporations by any rational argument should have no rights; their very existence is a privilege  granted by We the People from whom all just power to govern is derived.

The only reason that the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass is that there has always been a counter-Revolutionary reaction to the democratization of American society and government.  John Adams feared rule by the mob and passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in part to silence critics of the new central government. Slave owners fought abolition even to the point of provoking civil war. The Robber Barons fought Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal and the fascists who provoked the Great Depression fought the New Deal. Their sons and daughters are the current generation of fascists who implicitly accept that they have an inherent right to rule the rest of us.

As the modern forces of fascism step up the assault on the poor and the middle class they are creating a new generation of warriors who possess the power to collectively stop the imposition of a fascist New World Order. All it will take to succeed is to put aside our self-imposed artificial distinctions and work for freedom in America and the world, the end result of which will be the end of war.

Skeptics would do well to consider that the American colonists shook off their chains at the risk of their lives at a time when they faced the mightiest nation in the world. How much easier would it be for us when we outnumber the fascists 1,000 to one and the government depends on maintaining a façade of democracy to avoid the revolution that is surely coming? If the special tax break on tea granted the East India Company was enough to spark a revolution, the corporate takeover of the US government surely will inspire us to end our un-Civil war and finish the American Revolution.