Also exposed is the rank hypocrisy on the part of US media
and US officials regarding civilian casualties, weaponisation of conflicts
etc...
There are at present dozens of 'Yemen'-type conflicts going
on in the world. Low-scale when compared to Syria or Iraq they are nevertheless
warzones accompanied by the slaughter of innocents.
The Mainstream Media is filled with pride and
self-importance. They view themselves as the guardians of society, the
interpreters of world events and the purveyors of wisdom. I'll repeat what I've
said before. They are prostitutes and at the end of the day their complicity in
deception as well as the obfuscation and sanction of bloodshed makes them
something worse.
Revered and respected, they are not journalists but celebrities
and entertainers but in fact are some of the worst elements in US society. They
are certainly enemies to the principles of democracy they purport to uphold.
I'm not trying to speak hyperbolically or in any way attempting to exaggerate
the point.
This is quite literally what they are. It's no surprise.
They're bought people, virtually all of them are millionaires. You're simply
dreaming if you don't think that changes your outlook. Money is the easiest way
to win them over. They enter the upper echelon of society and become invested
in the status quo. That shapes how they view the world. Whether they tilt Left
or Right, whether you're a Maddow or an O'Reilley, in the end it doesn't matter
all that much. Despite their rhetoric and heated exchanges they actually agree
for the most part. Many of them don't even realise it, but then in most cases they've
never seriously considered or questioned their assumptions. They would
certainly never question the consensus to which they are a part. Differences in
application and style are window dressing. The core assumptions of the
Mainstream Media are shared.
And by the way... none of them are socialists, not a one.
Social Democracy, so common in Europe did indeed come out of
Socialism in the 19th century and it is sometimes identified as within
the Socialist spectrum. And yet this form of 'Socialism' was completely
committed to Capitalism and as a consequence embraces both the nation-state and
by necessity expansionist militarism. This is the nexus. Even the 'Left' in the
United States as represented by the Democratic Party is still a pro-Wall
Street, nationalist and pro-Imperialist party. Their differences with the
American Right are over the extent of redistribution (understood by both camps
to be a social necessity), tax structure, aspects of jurisprudence, the role of
tradition and identity politics. While these issues are not insignificant they
are peripheral when compared to the foundational commitments.
And in fact these other secondary questions will always be
answered in light of the foundational commitments. That's something to keep in
mind.
The sad part is how this forms a cascading effect over people who don't have to be bought in order to follow along. I see all this criticism of identity politics by friends and strangers, and I have to sit in disgust at our own ignorance about what's going outside our borders. Yes, Trump has raised rhetoric about deportation and building a wall, he is the anti-Latino, yet Hillary been apart of actively toppling South American governments. But because it's outside US borders, it goes down into the memory hole. No one seems to care, unless we get a social media picture of a child in a hospital truck, which in the end only fuels more death and carnage.
ReplyDeleteThe situation in Yemen is a particularly good example to highlight the collusion of the Right and the Left. The Bush's and the Clinton's accept money from the Saudi's, we funnel weapons in, they funnel oil out. Where is the outrage over the bombing of civilian targets by the Saudi's in Yemen! Their actions are clearly against war crime conventions. The EU and UN have given political nods to these issues, but nothing will happen because they know not to mess with the US. This whole situation shows that things like Human Rights Declarations and War Crime Conventions are merely smoke screens to justify intervention when necessary.
ReplyDeleteIt's very frustrating. The stuff going on in Syria is terrible but it's kind of like... I'm not going to listen to the US media get worked up over it. It's dishonest and disingenuous. Where were they during Afghanistan, let alone Iraq. How many civilians were killed during the US invasion... let alone during the 1990s sanction regime.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. How many civilians died in the initial bombing campaigns against Kabul and Baghdad? I'd be willing to bet more than on 9/11. The Christians who support this don't realize that this isn't even eye for an eye justice like the Torah calls for, this is eye for a village vengence. Romans 12 comes to mind. God weeps that we would be willing to say this is of Christ.
ReplyDelete