COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN RINF
“FOR WHAT SHALL IT
PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOSE HIS OWN SOUL?”
Absolutely.
And what so few Americans even begin to appreciate is the
simple fact that you can either have a world empire or you can have a decent
society, but you cannot have both.
Whether Patriot-types or just ordinary party loyalists or
genuine liberals (albeit there are mighty few of the latter in America) the
entire gamut of American political society misses this point. They all pretend
they have an explanation for who or what is responsible for all the things
which are so clearly wrong, but almost none of them touches the truth.
Everything about Imperial America works against having a
decent country.
Huge, intrusive security services. Intrusive everywhere
abroad, causing great pain and injustice, and not the least reluctant to
practice the same well-honed arts at home.
A massive military which influences all of society and, especially
young people, daily, its fundamental principles being necessarily the opposite
of free and democratic principles. The military is authority-oriented and no
believer in democracy in anything it does. The larger it is, the more its
values permeate. And that’s in addition to the destructive fact that its very
existence provides a constant temptation for politicians to use it for more
wars.
An entrenched, privileged political class which essentially
lives off of the vast donations of America's wealthy. The best government money
can buy is a joke often heard, but it is a joke with a bitter truth to it.
Special interests are almost all that matter in American politics.
And with all of these institutions, Lord Acton's dictum
about power is in full force.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely." Nothing truer was ever said, and it is unbelievably naive to
think America is somehow exempt.
Waving the good old Stars and Stripes, a folded copy of the
constitution in your wallet, a framed copy of The Declaration of Independence
on the wall, reading endless blather about rights and freedoms – it all counts
for nothing under the insidious, ongoing influence of great and corrupting power.
I think a good comparison for the extremely naive beliefs of
so many Americans is found in the Catholic Church of, say, the Sixteenth
Century.
High official principles. Glorified sense of purpose in the
world. The words of Jesus. The genuine naive belief of many millions of humble followers.
Pious painting and statues everywhere. Beautiful churches and music.
But the unquestioned reality of a power structure which worked
only for power, both in money and political influence, and almost nothing else.
Wars. Slaughters and massacres. Corrupt church officials with lifetime
sinecures. Great temporal lords who know that money given to the right church
official will buy whatever you want, from the appointment of a cardinal to a
divorce or support for some claim.
Yes, the Catholic Church of that period closely parallels
the reality of America’s establishment today, and it will take a grindingly
long time or some great catastrophe for it to change.
I’m sure for some, especially for the American Patriot-types,
the notion of repeating one of humanity’s many past rebellions and revolutions in
history springs to mind, but that is a hopelessly naive thought because it ignores
the reality of an establishment now so well-armed, it is untouchable. You cannot
rebel against Zeus hurling thunderbolts from Olympus.
A fair number of people did believe Trump was going to go to
the Temple and whip some money-changers until they ran away, but, instead, the
money-changers intimidated him into complete submission. He is
indistinguishable along any important line from the person many regarded as
America’s genuine Political Satan, Hillary Clinton.
The American establishment is far too powerful and
entrenched ever to be changed by the almost-silly ritual of America’s
money-drenched elections, and any figure who is elected quickly faces, gathered
around massive polished tables in Washington, the true face of American power.
Immensely-rich special interests, immensely-rich corporate
owners and management, and their faithful servants, crinkly-faced Senators with
lifetime sinecures, the brass-and-ribbon bedecked figures of the Pentagon and
the Armani-clad, arrogant, almost unaccountable figures of the CIA and other
security services.
But they all dutifully salute Old Glory and subscribe to all
the words about rights and democracy, Just like the College of Cardinals and
the Pope embracing the Holy Bible in the Sixteenth Century. A magnificent
wine-drenched lunch in a church palace with a blessing for God’s Grace just
before viewing a group of heretics being burned alive or having a quiet meeting
with a great duke, seeking favors and carrying a heavy bag of gold.
