THE UNCRITICAL ADULATION OF THE U.S. MILITARY—
WHILE KNOWING VIRTUALLY NOTHING ABOUT IT—IS MORE THAN A LITTLE UNHEALTHY.
Od course we should support the fighting troops—but the MICC, the Military Industrial Congressional Complex, is another matter entirely.
It is deeply corrupt and a threat—just in itself—to National Security. It regards war as a profit opportunity—and business is good. Its wars are extraordinarily expensive, drag on for ever, and are rarely won. Shouldn’t that tell us something?
I wrote recently that the U.S. was on the slippery slope toward fascism—and I often comment that the U.S. is a plutocracy rather than a democracy because the ultra-rich, and the corporations they control, have, in essence, bought control of the political system from federal to local level—and the masses (us) have been largely neutralized through propaganda—aided, to no small extent, by legal and other drugs.
When the majority of the population are on legal meds, something is seriously amiss. When such legal drugs are taken in untested combinations, you get what we have got—a dysfunctional democracy which has allowed some exceptionally greedy people to control it.
Enter the Drombie (Drugged Zombie) Culture. That’s a little harsh, but not a lot. Americans are alarmingly prone to be on medication, singularly misinformed, distracted by entertainment, and politically supine. They do all sorts of good and amazing things too—but you would have to be deaf, dumb, blind, and dead not to notice that there is something deeply wrong with the political culture—including the voters. It is not good enough to dump on the politicians alone when you have helped to put, and keep, those people there. The voters are complicit.
Look at the research and the voting patterns. There are a lot of fine people out there—but, palpably, something isn’t working.
Thanks to the Supreme Court, which pretty much has allowed unlimited money to be deployed, the ultra-rich now have a disproportionate influence influence on the political system. At a certain point, influence becomes power.
Have we reached that point? I think we have. As the recent Great Recession demonstrated, the most egregious behavior by the ultra-rich largely goes unpunished. The fundamentals of financial reform were blunted.
Just because Congress walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, doesn’t mean it is a Congress—if you see what I mean.
This raises the interesting question of what the plutocracy would do if seriously challenged by the trappings of the democratic process—which still continue.
The plutocracy, at present, is more content to block reform, than to do anything too overt. Gridlock suits them just fine.
What they would do if Bernie Sanders looked like winning, and appeared to be likely to have enough support to push through his ideas, is an interesting question.
Is a Bernie Sanders success a possibility? I would like to think so—though all the pundits say pigs will fly in formation first.
Is a military coup possible? Though, on the face of it, it seems a fantastic ideas, I rather think it is. It is unlikely, but it is no longer beyond the bounds of possibility—should it prove necessary. At present, the movers and shakers have been able to gain control by using the system itself. We’ve already had a coup of sorts—courtesy of the weaknesses in the Constitution. Appreciate that it is supposed to be revised regularly. Instead it has been turned in a Sacred Cow.
A Sacred Cow does not a Constitution make.
When people lose faith in their system of government to the degree that Americans have, they eventually look for an alternative.
History shows that such alternatives have a habit of presenting themselves first. I think it is called opportunism.
Americans think coups and dictatorships are for other people (they used to think that about terrorism—but learned better).. I have experienced both firsthand in Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Hungary.
They are not. They sneak upon you—and then it is too late.
The figures in the piece below are truly worrying.
The American tragedy continues.
A Military Coup in the U.S.? A Surprising Number of Americans Might Support One
thefiscaltimes.com
Getty Images
By Millie Dent
September 10, 2015
Imagine you’re watching the evening news, kicking back after a long day in the cubicle. Suddenly a breaking news alert flashes across the screen: “Military Coup Overthrows the Government.” What would be your reaction?
While most Americans say they can’t imagine supporting a takeover of the government by the armed forces, or least aren’t sure about it, a substantial number of people say they can imagine supporting the military in such a scenario.
In a new survey by YouGov, 29 percent of respondents said they can imagine a situation in which they would support the military taking control of the federal government – that translates into over 70 million American adults. Forty-one percent of respondents said could not imagine supporting the military taking over the country.
Related: With $8.5 Trillion Unaccounted for, Why should Congress Increase the Defense Budget?
Republicans (43 percent) were more likely to say they can envision a scenario in which they could support a military coup than Democrats (20 percent). Perhaps that difference is related to having a Democratic president who some critics on the right see as overstepping his power.
Regardless of political ideology, one reason people might support a military coup is because they respect officers in the military far more than they do people in Congress. According to the same YouGov survey, almost three-quarters (70 percent) of respondents believe that military officers want what is best for the country, while only 29 percent think the same of members of Congress.
Lawmakers better shape up or they might be shipped out — literally.
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