Article III, Section 3, of the US Constitution, suggests a limited definition of treason:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.
Conventional thought would have it, this implies actual assist, of a clear enemy, such as giving him money, sustenance or protection, in a time of war, against the United States of America; or, directly as a citizen waging war with an enemy, against us. We think in terms of the young disillusioned kid who gives up his middle class life to go to East Africa, to fight for Islamic fundamentalists, al Qaida and associates. Or first generation immigrants sending money to their former home to fund terror groups. Or the guy who liberates documents pointing to gov malfeasance, that we might know what our government is up to in their myriad fronts in their war on just about everybody (they even describe a "war" on poverty). Never mind this Federal Government is suspected of financing and perhaps directly arming al Qaida and affiliates in Libya and Syria at least. Empowered by dubious claims after 9/11: the Patriot Act, NDAA/Indefinite Detention/Executive Discretion on Habeas Corpus, the proliferation of drones, NSA surveillance of every digital communication, militarization of the police, the enormous, bureaucratic Department of Homeland Security, two hideous wars and dozens of conflicts - one begins to wonder, who's side is who on? What is treason, exactly?
Concerning Citizens United, and the recent DC Appeals repudiation of an open Internet, one begins to ask, who is funding what, in the best interest of this US of A? Just about anyone on earth might invest in our corporations, can invest in any Fortune 500, including Defense contractors. GE has more foreign employees than American, pays next to nothing in Federal taxes. The Supreme Court designation of such entities as "persons" with most of the rights of a citizen, such "persons" international in their scope; that money is a form of "free speech"; so that 10's of billions of dollars of free speech from "persons" for whom their prima facie duty is fiduciary, to the shareholders whatever their nationality, greater than the obligation to any one Nation-State. Which after 13 years of exceedingly lucrative (for some "persons") war, fracking, asset bubbles, increasing global pollution, my free speech emails to my Congressional representatives are worth what, exactly? Sold to international corporations to track my consumer/political sentiments, probably.
What comes next for democratic America, if corporations and banks make the rules? Based on policemen recently acquitted for beating a homeless man to death, paid vacations for beating people up, otherwise turned into para-military; affluenza as a legal justification for the wealthy to kill the comparably poor; total surveillance capabilities; the absolute domination of the MSM, in the making of the public discourse; everywhere de-regulation, writing laws for corporate/banking benefit (ALEC, TPP, TAFTA), filling gov institutions with corporate and banking revolutionaries, the revolution appears to be complete.
Which, given the civic ignorance of Americans generally, you get what you pay for. I'm not optimistic about any counter-revolution. What with most of those talking about the Constitution, waving it as they would a bible, and the gun crowd among them as likely to deny climate change as they are peak oil; believing, to dismantle government would be a return to some happier time - yet as prey to corporations as any political body, and often fawning of the "job creator" oligarch; such a counter-revolution would look to be more fascist in it's scope than nurturing of freedom, and open.
So it seems, democracy for the last 40 years at least, was something we said we wanted, but we got a revolution whether we wanted it or not, without objecting much, and it seems we have entered, or are coming out of, or proceeding through, some grotesquely proto-darwinian Time of the Caesars. Anyone ready for a Clinton/Bush Presidential battle?
What we have now is the pageantry of Democracy, without the substance. What do I hear people talking about in bars, public places? Money and sports, mostly. Bread and circuses.
So really, it's not a revolution or treason, but more like a coup, or hostile takeover. Which is what WWIII is going to be about, presumably, as WWI was about the deposing of monarchical empires, that this will be about the deposing of political nation-states in favor of direct corporate and banking rule. All important legal concerns funnelled through a tribunal in Brussels. That should be fun. Seriously, TPP and TAFTA might accomplish it, without the war. Orderly transition, to corporate and banking totalitarianism. The end of America as a free, sovereign state, unto it's dissolution. Republic cum imperial hegemon begat plutocratic corporatocracy.
Otherwise I'm hopeful that all fifty states de-criminalize cannabis, and a very different kind of eco-nomic thinking emerges. LOL.
WHD
William -
ReplyDeleteExcellent and insightful post.
It has been - and is - a revolution. And a war. And it is still going on. And will likely do so until the coup is complete (unfortunately, we're almost there I believe).
Few have really noticed because it has been a long, slow (30-40 years) and barely flickering fire or below-the-surface smolder. Rather like the slow 'fire' of iron/steel gradually being dissolved by oxygen, producing rust. And, like rust, there's no stopping it except close attention and continuous maintenance of the metal - something We-all somehow forgot to do along the way to where we are.
Martin,
ReplyDeleteNice analogy. Rust might be too far gone though, bridges falling down and all, banks and corps hoarding all the money to fix them, gov so deep in debt it can't act but to make more war.
WHD
Orders are all tall til they get dissed.
ReplyDeleteIts a new world order, same as the old world order, with redrawn crayola borders.
EU, NAFTA, ASEAN
Government, an apparatus for controlling resources.
Economy, a system for distributing resources.
The terminus for a system founded by proto-Roman worshiping landholding slave holding native extirpating money men of European dissent.
Pageantry, bread and circuses. Bring back the Pinkertons.
What an end point!
http://www.pinkertons.com/
ReplyDeleteThem Pinkerton's still exist. Just going through a name change, is all.
WHD
I've been stuck lately, with the pen...or the keyboard. I've been mostly unable to write outside of commenting on the Diner. Why? Tired of talking about doom I guess, and doom seems to be the only thing around if your eyes are open. I've been working on a blog in my head titled "Release your inner rock-angle," and I need to write it, but I only ever want to write it when I'm not in front of the computer.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I'm thinkin' I might try today. Fresh from reading JMG, Orlov, and you.
I've been wanting to say something optimistic because I'm tired of the pessimism. But being reality based it's fuckin' hard to pull off right now because we have entered into the Orwellian New World Bravely just about in total. I mean we have no rights, just delusions, and we can be deleted or disappeared without being noticed.
Because those fuckin' oligarchs whom own the corporations now own the military and the police. The line between the two is diminishing to nothing.
It's very hard to stay optimistic for my sons in this world. I know too much. The world needs some real life heroes to stand up and defy tyranny, but nobody would see them. They'd be muted and made into a kook, or just imprisoned as a domestic terrorist.
So I've decided to be optimistic against all reason really. I've got kids...at this point if it weren't for that...I'd probably be attending some NTHE orgy somewhere all gacked up on whatever to dull the pain.