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Tag: Ukraine

The World’s Problems Ain’t Mine and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

August 5, 2014

More and more posts on Facebook, Tumblr and other social media here in the States are exclaiming how they don’t want to see the horrific sites of what’s happening the world. I just saw another one today. It read:

“Wtf! Everyone on Facebook, around the world knows that there are horrible things going on in this world… we all fucking know this.. we are all aware, but some asshole feels it’s necessary to post horrific photos here, and frankly my friendship with this person just ended. I don’t need to open Facebook and see a severed child’s body on a morgue table. I don’t give warnings or second chances, my work with you is over, because you are contributing to a problem that I am full aware of you shameless piece of shit.”

I commented: “Ended up feeling so passionate about this post that i used this comment box as a platform to write a post for The Transcendence Diaries?. Please disregard and feel free to NOT read if you choose to. No harm in that and no offense will be taken.”

I’m very torn by this post frankly. As any intelligent mind would be, knowing that only the very bluntest of minds feel 100% one way or another about anything… Life is far too nuanced for that. Part of me totally gets it, agrees with it. We don’t want to be bombarded by grotesque sites everywhere we look. Especially not in our cherished world of social media. we’d rather look at pictures of cats and babies and wedding pictures. I get it. I’m with ya. Why SHOULD we have to see things we don’t want to? And yet we don’t really… do we? And we aren’t being forced to, not in reality. Let’s face it. 99% of the time everything in our cheery privileged world here in the US is the exact opposite of horrific pictures or “grotesque sites” — instead we are surrounded by smiling photos of Andi and Josh or the Keebler Elf or Captain Crunch or the cast of the Today Show; at worst we may come across some pseudo-shocking revelations about Justin and Jen or Kanye and Kim. But for the most part our lives here are pretty much Disney Family Movies?.

Meanwhile, just across the pond there are three entire countries, Gaza (Palestine), Syria and Iraq (at least… 5 or 6 really, if we include Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and let’s not forget Ukraine…) completely demolished and destroyed AND the reasons and causes for the devastation pretty much all come down to us, here, in the US, in one way or another. But still, why should we care if we don’t HAVE to?

Gaza is a literal trash heap now. Completely demolished. almost 2,000 normal everyday innocent civilian folks killed, for no reason. That’s more than 1% of their population. It is akin to 340,000 Americans being killed in three weeks here. That’s three hundred and forty THOUSAND dead Americans. It’s astounding to consider. We wouldn’t have any clue how to deal with that kind of loss here in the US. We’d literally lose our minds if someone did that to us.

The means? 110% American tax payer money that paid for that. And American weapons that did the killing. NOTHING else paid for it EXCEPT American tax payer money. We pay the taxes and every year Israel receives 3 to 6 billion dollars of free American tax payer money. Why? How? How does that happen and we don’t even have a say in it or how it is used? But we don’t want to see images of what our money is doing on Facebook… It’s too sad. It’s too shocking. It’s hard to fathom, hard to swallow, hard to contend with. Impossible to feel the responsibility. We tell ourselves it’s not our fault. WE didn’t pull those triggers. We didn’t blast off those bombs. We’re not over there shooting people or blowing up homes. It’s not OUR business.

And yet… It is our business. Because it’s our money that pays for it and our support that permits it to happen. Just imagine Russia killing 2000 people ANYWHERE in the world and watch what the US does. Hah! Permit it we certainly would not. We would be OUTraged. But with Israel… we not only permit it, we condone it and supply the weapons and money to do it.

Same with Iraq. Sure we tried hard to “free them”. But we destroyed the foundation of an entire country’s governmental system in the process and now they’re weeks away from a bloody civil war the likes of which only Hollywood could replicate, but only in CGI –and the American people…? They now say they want no part in it. So no, sorry Iraq we’re not going to help you. You’re going to have to fight this one on your own. It’s already a disaster. But its about to be armageddon for these poor people. All because of the US and their pesky invasion and desire for “freedom”. At least that’s what they say. Frankly the Iraqis believe it had more to do with their oil… But who knows. Who cares? We’re again way over here, far from all that chaos and madness and destruction. Why should we care?

Then there’s Syria… God only knows how much the US has or had to do with it. Libya too. There’s another country we destroyed and is now crumbling before the world’s eyes.We stirred up a hornet’s nest there in Libya and now it’s getting so bad that we’re yanking our people out of there faster than Kim and Kanye marry and divorce. But the Libyans? They’re not going anywhere. For them, the Americans leaving means things are about to turn even uglier. God forbid the Americans have to see it.

Syria, God only knows how much or little we had to do with that…. sure we’re funding a host of different so-called freedom fighters and terrorists there in Syria — because we aren’t sure WHO to fund, so we’re throwing money at all of them — why? — because we just know we want that particular leader, Assad, ousted and thrown out of his country but we don’t have the courage or the fortitude to be honest about it and go do it ourselves. We know the world would never allow it. So we secretly and covertly (but openly) fund THEIR idea of “terrorists”. THIS is legal. Accepted at least. Hell, ANYthing that the United States does is legal and accepted. No matter what. It’s a twisted thing. Almost a million of their people have now been killed. In a year. How can we even fathom that? Clearly it’s not our fault. At least not 100%. This is THEIR civil war. We’re just playing a few sides to see if we can come out on top in some way when they’re done killing themselves. As we always do. (Chile, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Vietnam, Colombia, Iran, et al.) That’s our game if we can’t be directly involved.

But regardless of who’s to blame, it’s difficult to think that while we’re sitting pretty over here in Disney World that all of these people in Syria are dying or being injured. One gets the feeling that we should be doing something about it, that we should be doing something besides logging into Facebook to screw around and type funny messages to each other or play Farmville or Words With Freinds. There’s that nagging moral urge to help. At least in some of us. Frankly I feel that it exists in all of us, and furthermore I believe that’s what prompts the kind of posts that I quoted above. This girl is obviously feeling the pain created by this urge to help but not knowing how to… so she’d rather ignore what’s going on. It hurts too much to see it. Trust me, I know. I’ve never been in more pain than i have been sine Israel starting bombing Gaza three weeks ago. Talk about helpless.

Which is why at times I disagree with the above post. I get it. I really do. Why should WE be reminded of Syria and their desire to kill each other? Just like in Darfur a few years ago…. What was it our business? (Well that actually WAS partly our doing and thus our business…. bad example. But you get the point.) Why should we be worried about seeing gross images on our fun funny kooky cool social media sites just because the rest of the world is in utter chaos? We have no inherent responsibility to help our fellow man. We SAY we do. We pretend we do. We teach our children that we do. But in reality we don’t really feel that way. We don’t REALLY want to be bothered with all that. There’s too much good to watch tonight on TV here in the US. And there are too many good dates to go on and too many good restaurants to go to and too many good songs to listen to. Hell, there are just too many good apps to download! We do NOT have the time to worry about other people on earth who are dying or injured. And yes, by that standard, then it’s perfectly understandable that we should not have to see that shit on FB.

But what if we DO help? What if we give money to causes that try to help? And frankly we just can’t bare to see that much grossness all the time if we are expected to go to our jobs and raise our kids well enough to be able to afford to donate to these causes, right? We do our part. It’s a free country. We should have the choice. I get it. And if we say NO to grotesque images of reality, then so be it. The answer is NO. Because that’s what freedom means.

Now…. if we could just find a way to integrate THAT totally justifiable feeling with the fact that we are actually funding 90% of the devastation that is going on all over the world THEN i would feel totally comfortable with taking this stance. The problem of course is that we ARE creating and funding either directly (Israel) or indirectly (Syria, Ukraine) the majority of the root causes of the “grotesque images” we so desperately don’t want to see. And because of that, then by all means shouldn’t WE be forced to witness these horrific images as often as these people who are experiencing them are? At least until we figure out a way to stop our government from doing these things? How else are we going to be motivated to DO anything about what is happening in our name and with our money?

As a last thought… if WE had thousands of people dying all around US in a bloody civil war ala Israel or Ukraine or Syria, we WOULD do something about it, one way or another. We’d SEE it. Smell it. Hear it. We’d fall asleep at night listening to it. And we’d damn sure do something to stop it. Well I bet that the Palestinians feel that way right this very minute. And so too do some Israelis. And the rest of the world’s peoples struggling and suffering. Hell knows that Ukrainians are now wondering WHY they let the US come in and oust their president and government now that there’s a war going on in their country between the US and Russia over oil and natural gas. Maybe we just need to be reminded — as these people are on a daily basis — what it is that we are doing, so we can actually stop it. Hell even if we aren’t even involved anymore, Libya, don’t we have a moral obligation to help? Or did that go away with the advent of Facebook? This is what I contemplate all the time… Is there really such a thing as a moral imperative? Or is it just something we tell ourselves to make us feel better about ourselves in between bites of hot freshly baked just delivered pizza?



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Uncategorized Chile, Colombia, facebook, gaza, horrific pictures, Iran, Iraq, moral imperative, Pakistan, personal responsibility, Posts, Russia, Ukraine, United States involvement in foreign wars, Yemen

The Beginning of the End of American Domination?

June 29, 2014

Just read a disturbing comment publicly made about the United States, not by someone from some crazy rogue nation, but by Poland, a relatively peaceful sane and rational country usually considered an ally. The discussion at hand — for the purposes of historicism many years from now — is the ever diminishing reputation of the United States in the eyes of the rest of the world. While clearly still the “leader of the free world” both economically and militarily, it has long been known that the US is in reality hanging on by a thread economically, with only the unfair advantage of the petro dollar (oil traded in US dollars only) and the unethical threat of military action propping the country up still. China and Russia have been blatantly bold and brash in their standing up to the United States since the advent of the Obama years in a variety of arenas. Long gone is that fear disguised as respect for the United States that once permeated the globe. One can almost taste the coming decline of the once proud nation that invented such outlandishly false and wicked ideas such as American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny to describe and justify their atrocious behavior as they ascended to world domination.
 
 But times are changing. The quote:
 
 “The Polish-American alliance isn’t worth anything. It’s detrimental because it creates a false sense of security for Poland.”
 — Radoslav Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister, June 24
 
 I posted it to Facebook to see if others were equally disturbed by it. Many were. As occasionally happens the post spawned a heated debate and far too many comments to repost here — nearly one-hundred — and the conversation is still going as I type here.
 
 There is also this disturbing article in the London Review by Seymour M. Hersh that discusses this issue and again gives pause about Obama’s seemingly faulty foreign policy: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line
 
 Filmmaker50 who we’ve been friends with for over a decade commented and we shall use his comment and question as a launching pad to explore the issue in more depth.
 
 Filmmaker50: Did you read the TIME article from where that quote is taken from? I did. He’s upset because the USA has not given him more military aid since Putin invaded Ukraine. Do you expect the American government to jump and do what every country says just because the ambassador says something insulting? There’s a context to everything.
 
 Hi Filmmaker50. I saw it discussed on The McClaughlin Group as reprinted from the WSJ. Not in TIME. I both agree and disagree with you: but it all depends on what one’s goal is regarding the American empire… Our reputation in the world is important. And It’s diminishing. Regardless of what we do, it will continue to diminish, either we lose more and more respect due to more military invasions, or we lose that fear of us militarily in the hearts of other nations due to not taking enough actions. It’s a perplexing position to be in for sure. I do not pretend to know the answer my friend.
 
 My thoughts on the matter off the top of my head though…
 
 I found it shocking at first, obviously, as everyone else surely did — the stark contrast between this America and the one we grew up in. 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago nobody would dare utter those words…one, because they wouldn’t want anyone to know they said it and two because there would be no truth to it. An alliance with the US was at one time considered extremely valuable, both in reality and practice AND in perception. This is a real change in perception. They claim it’s because of recent poor decisions re Syria and Ukraine. Perception has changed. That’s for sure.
 
 This statement above, and the fact it was printed publicly says a lot about where we are right now as a country on the global stage. As an American I find it a little frightening. And sad. As a human I get it. It’s life. It’s the cycle. It couldn’t last forever. It never does. The empire is in decline.
 
 We have to remember that we grew up in a very privileged place and time. Like Rome in 100 AD or Greece circa 100 BC. It was a magical time. But it’s fading now. As it always does for any earthly empire.
 
 I don’t have a specific view or conclusion regarding your question… Just many different thoughts. I guess it all depends on what ones goal or mission is. If I were more hawkish more patriotically selfish and greedy I guess I’d be very pissed at president Obama for his making the US appear so weak globally and for not taking full advantage of other countries problems for our own gain.
 
  If I were more of the starry eyed hippie peacenik that some assume me to be then I’d probably be pleased with his decisions not to go into these other countries militarily — despite the potential for great harm to us both economically and perhaps militarily or domestically.
 
 ISIS scares the the crap out of me and I believe they need to be dealt with sooner than later. Think about that for a moment… The Ambassador, a lover of all cultures including Islam and a hard working activist for peace and diplomacy — who is way more humanist than American-minded and who gives everyone more than a fair shot just stated “ISIS scares the crap out of me…”. That says something. I’m one of the few people we know who does NOT fear Iran and who sees all that nuclear fear talk as total bs by an imperialist bully brigade made up of the US Israel and the UK, yet I am honestly seriously and sincerely concerned about our safety and security if we do not act swiftly and strongly against this strange new breed of terrorists.
 
 I do not believe that Obama style diplomacy is going to help us with them. It only buys them more time to collect more troops, more alliances and more money. If they are permitted to continue to take over all of our oil wells in Iraq, WHAT are WE going to do? After all, that’s why we went to Iraq. It may have been evil, sure. But we did it. Accepted. And lest we forget we invested a ton of money and human lives to achieve that goal and secure those resources for the 21st century, the supposed New American Century. We need that oil. And we need that land strategically. It was militarily a brilliant strategy — to take Iraq, considering where it is geographically etc. (I am not speaking of ethics here. Just black and white “empire versus no more empire”…) We just cannot allow them to continue. For MANY reasons, not the least of which is what happens if they gain strongholds in Syria or start threatening Israel or are successful in instituting Sharia Law there or anywhere…
 
 All of our hard work and money….down the drain. Obama is afraid of the political costs…afraid of what the American people will say… And it’s clear that the disaster of the Iraq invasion — certainly not is doing — is influencing his decisions re Syria and Crimea / Ukraine… Which is too bad.
 
 Instead he should be more concerned with improving our economy (the oil there), our security and the security of our allies there, and our future (how “large” is “too large” to the Obama admin?) ISIS has no intention of negotiating some mutually beneficial treaty with the US like the Saudi family did. These are hardcore anti-Western anti-American anti-Christian ideologues who have no problem killing anyone and everyone who get in their way. We should be sending 150,000 troops to that region NOW, making a huge stand and statement, showing these men that we mean business and that we will not back down so easily from something that we worked so hard to secure. This is, if, as we claim, we want to continue to benefit from all the glory that comes from being “the best country in the world”.
 
 What exactly is the current admin thinking? I assume we are waiting for actual working oil wells to be threatened…. But I think we should go on the offensive. Not wait. Screw the whining of the so called far left liberals. They don’t understand what’s at stake here in the bigger picture. Do they really believe that ISIS is going to stop? Or make nice with us one day? Do they believe that if we ignore ISIS that they will go away? Or leave us alone? They need to do more research into the matter. They’re blind to the harsh realities of a people they simply have no reference points with which to understand.
 
 Done get me wrong. I understand that the president knows a lot more than we do about what is really happening there… And I trust that he has the same desire for our security and economic welfare that we do… So I trust he’s doing what is best. Hoping so at least.
 
 But I understand the frustration of others more to the right. I can only imagine how more hawkish people or more “American patriotic” people must feel about all this. They must be beyond pissed. Beyond frustrated. Beyond worried. I get that. And for good reason.
 
 Of course I also see the potential benefits of the devil finally getting his due. The United States has been a thorn in the side of global peace for almost 60 years, sticking it’s nose in the business of other countries for as long as we can remember. Never thinking about right versus wrong but rather always just acting out of what they seem best for themselves. Baring that in mind, there is a beautiful irony to how things are currently playing out.
 
 And wouldn’t it be grand if for once the United States just stepped back and allowed world affairs to play out as they will without stepping in to force their own desires on everyone involved? Certainly this would create a huge sigh of relief in the hearts of many.
 
 But at what cost to those of us who live here now and in the near term future? What cost might we pay down the line for not taking action now “when we still could”? How soon will this insane group known as ISIS and their twisted view of the world land on our doorstep? Are we truly preventing a major tragedy in our own backyard by participating in these minor skirmishes around the world? That’s the question. That’s always been the question.
 
 Did our intervention in Vietnam help us in any way? Korea? Nicaragua? Colombia? Iraq or Afghanistan even? This we will never know. One thing we do know is that Ameican Exceptionalism, always a myth perpetrated by amoral chest pounding knuckle dragging bullies to justify selfish greedy acts of terror around the world, is seeming to come to an end.
 
 Regardless of where one happens to land on that virtual left versus right line in the sand, we have all benefitted over the last sixty years from America’s domination of planet earth, whether we deserved it such as after World War II, or not. A future where the United States is NOT the dominant force in the world is a frightening proposal if one lives here. So frightening in fact that one can easily see how certain individuals might be tempted to think more ethically questionable and hegemonic — out of pure fear or selfishness.
 
 The whole thing is just a real shame. We obviously never should have gone to Iraq in the first place. Which I believe is the main issue at the crux of this whole quagmire presently. It’s the elephant in the room. But with that said, does it forever doom us to a tormented future of more war and the constant threat of terror? Or is there a way out of it? Can we envision a world where by our own ingenuity and freedom we come out not necessarily ahead but just “doing well”? Safe secure and prosperous? Isn’t that cause enough to strive towards as a nation? Is it even possible? Can we as Americans be okay with just being healthy and wealthy without dominating the entire globe? I for one can adamantly answer without pause or doubt yes yes and yes.
 
 In fact imagine a world where one day the United States actually really does stand for and contribute to more peace and sanity and prosperity in the world for all nations and peoples through the enormous blessings and gifts we’ve been given. Now that’s a vision worth fighting for. Perhaps just not militarily though. Perhaps there is another way… A giant shift in mass consciousness brought about by a people who are tired of war and lies and deceptions and corruption and hungry for true peace justice freedom and prosperity for all.
 
 
 – Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone 8s Custom



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Uncategorized american exceptionalism, American imperialism, American invasion of Iraq, China, Crimea, Iraq civil war, isis, Manifest Destiny, polish foreign minister quote, Russia, syria, the end of American hegemony, Ukraine

A private little world for me… a private little world for you. The online journals and musings of singer-songwriter author and activist Ed Hale. The Transcendence Diaries have been posting regularly online since 2001. Comments are always welcomed. And so are YOU.

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