(YellowTimes.org) As oftenhappens, current events seem to be torn from the pages of historyand, as Santayana said, those who do not remember the past arecondemned to repeat it. Of course, the places and names change but ameticulous inspection reveals the same patterns and the samedestructive behavior.
When the Russian Revolution appeared on the worldstage, life, which was already quite cheap, became incrediblycheaper, to be dispensed with on a whim in the cause of the endresult -- an establishment and solidification of the new regime.Minds had to be changed or the bodies that housed them eliminated.Independent thought was dangerous and expressly forbidden. Manypeople, in order to curry favor with those in power, informed ontheir neighbors and adopted the slogans of "patriotism." Individualscould be incarcerated on an impulse of the government, tortured, sentoff to the Gulag or worse, the firing squad. There was no Bill ofRights for these people.
To further their ends, the Bolsheviks co-optedcommunications and created Tass and Isvestia, the infamous propagandaorgans of the Soviet regime. American students were taught at anearly age how terrible this was, how we couldn't believe what wasprinted or said by these despicable people. This could never happenin America where we were free to think what we wanted and the presswould always report the truth.
So, what has happened? In the glorious USA, we'vehad a revolution of our own. No, it wasn't an armed rebellion but aninsidious, creeping change from our former democratic government toone where an oligarchy of big business interests has seized control.We now have in Washington our own modern version of Bolshevism. Farout, you say? I don't think so.
Consider that since the events of 9/11 we have hadan administration empowered to seize people, citizens or not, andincarcerate or deport them without charge, without due process,without legal representation and without familial notification. We'vecreated our own Gulag called Guantanamo and others we know not of.Our Justice Department is "disappearing" people and blocks allattempts at accountability in the name of security. We even sendpeople off to countries where we know they will be tortured. Thepresident, who has been given and has assumed dictatorial powers,decides whether a person has rights or whether enacted laws apply tothem. Do we, too, like the hapless Russians, not have a Bill ofRights?
Consider also the monopolistic communicationsempires that have been created by "friends" and patrons of theadministration. When you think about it, what is the differencebetween Fox Network and Tass? They both spout the party line withoutregard for the truth. They promote their government's adventureswhile reviling dissident opinion. In short, Fox is just like theirBolshevik brethren.
Investigative journalism has gone the way of thevacuum tube radio. What doth it profit a newsman to report the actualchaos in Iraq instead of the coalition-claimed "positive"developments? Or the serious morale problems in our armed forces,glossed over by fraudulent form letters sent to the press? What ofthe true body count of dead and wounded and images of the dead GIsreturning home that would perchance awaken a compliant, generalpublic? How about the casualties inflicted on the Iraqi civilians,casualties that aren't counted because they don't count? Or thenumerous lies told by administration officials to justify their warmongering and pillaging of the treasury to support their adventures?Where are the juicy stories of profiteering by corporate friends andrelatives of the administration in the reconstruction of Iraq? Is notthe chaos in Afghanistan, where the "huge victory" is in realitylimited to the occupation of one large city, a reportable event?
Instead of these earthshaking stories, "respected"journalists write columns that claim the Patriot Act is a benignpiece of legislation that is misunderstood and that thereconstruction contract awards for Iraq are strictly above board. Onenewspaper filled its pages with the breathtakingly important detailsabout the firing of a local college football coach (217 column inchesin one edition) instead of events in the Middle East (92 columninches in the same edition) that are supposed to be "vital toAmerica's security interests." Yet, hundreds of people are being shotat and many are being killed every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, andthis gets a fraction of the ink used about a football coach beingfired. No, the lackey press does not highlight the nasty things thatdo not further their interests or protect their administrationfriends.
You should also take note that whenever someonerushes to cover up their bad acts by labeling critics with pejorativenames. you can be sure their actions will not bear close scrutiny.When people tried to complain in Bolshevik Russia, they were calledcounter-revolutionaries and dealt with extremely harshly. WhenAmericans complain about their country's policies, they are calledunpatriotic and subjected to public ridicule. The rallies andprotests of dissenters aren't reported fairly, if at all. If youcriticize George W. Bush, you are being disrespectful of thepresidency. If you criticize the war in Iraq, you are not supportingour troops. If you criticize the Justice Department or HomelandSecurity, you don't care about the defense of our country. If youcriticize America's Middle East policy, you are anti-Semitic. I couldgo on but I think you get the picture. All tyrannical regimes haveused the same strategy.
Unfortunately, these tactics always work on alargely docile and uninformed population, a large number of whom,like their president, don't read the newspapers and form theiropinions from a few repeated sound bites. When the history of thisera is written, it will contain all the eerie similarities of timespast that we refused to recognize and learn from.
Raff Ellis lives in the United States and is aretired former strategic planner and computer industry executive. Hehas had an abiding and active interest in the Middle East since earlyadulthood and has traveled to the region many times over the last 30years.
Raff Ellis encourages your comments:rellis@YellowTimes.org
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Copyright 2003 West-Art, Prometheus90/2003