A relevant question to these discussions seems to be: "Who Owns America?" Having read an introduction to Noam Chomsky's political views, and having observed all that has happened during this terrorist assault on the U.S.A. plus our response, it does seem that a wealthy international cartel representing about 2% of the world's population owns the U.S.A. and, behind the scenes (except when they slip up, as they often do), runs it.( You can find a very, very basic introduction to Chomsky's ideas that is part of a series published on major world figures like Jung, Freud, Mao, etc. and sells for about $9.95 in most bookstores and has cartoons to keep you interested! Ok, so I'm not proud! I peeked!) // A second relevant question is: "How do the people of the world get that tiny elite to act more responsibly in the face of international conflict and assaults on the U.S.A? Was it fair for the elite to approve invasion of Iraq to protect their vested oil interests and not take any care to have enough U.S. soldiers there to protect the Iraqi people from the ensuing mayhem? How can the people of the world appeal effectively to those who really own our country and, in a sense, the world? It grieves my heart that American citizens are pawns in the hands of an elite that, to millions, is invisible. Citizens get played off against each other and get emotionally upset over issues that aren't even the main ones! The elite should be the target of our efforts.
Noam Chomsky is brilliant. I bought Hegemony or Survival a few days ago, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. There is most certainly a power-elite composed of several secret societies running the country. One of those secret societies is the Bushes, which use the presidency as a means to further their own sinister causes, which is ultimately a one-world government. But anyone who thinks Bush is running the country is out-of-touch. It's people like Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz who are running the country, while Bush is simply the figurehead.
I think you really hit the nail on the head here. The question is how do we stop this? We hit them where it hurts. There money. We stop using their oil, stop buying their stock, stop working for their corporations. The problem is that most people are either unaware of what's going on or too damn materialistic to care. So then, education is the answer? Any other ideas?
We need to organize together under the lead of moral and courageous people to start showing the government who has power. A wise man once wrote that a government must be overthrowm regularly to remain wholesome. If we use these methods of power assertion as mention (stop comsuming so much oil, start using hemp, start smoking weed right infront of the cops and such civil disobeidience) could lead to a beautiful upheaval of our old conservative ways into a whole know world which over time will become currupt. But hey, at least it will start out fresh.
[ One of those secret societies is the Bushes, which use the presidency as a means to further their own sinister causes, which is ultimately a one-world government. I feel you're quite right about Chomsky's brillance, but I disagree about the aim of the Bushes and don't feel Noam Chomsky would agree with you either on this point. I think those who own the U.S.A. want to protect their vested oil interests and get rid of terrorist attacks on our soil. But neither they nor the Bushes have the resources to control the world or even establish and maintain the types of governments they'd like to see in places like Iraq--and I think they know this. Bush's father was criticized for not getting rid of Saddam, and I think he came into his office with the idea that doing so was a mission he needed to fulfill. Also, if you read Gore Vidal and other experienced Washington D.C. commentators, you'll see that our Presidents really do not have the power that many think they do. To a large extent they are puppets of the power elite over their heads, which is comprised of citizens of other countries and not just ours. Some Presidents work hard to buck that system while staying safe enough or in office--and they do the best possible job for us. Others step too far out of line and get squelched.
The question is how do we stop this? We hit them where it hurts. There money. We stop using their oil, stop buying their stock, stop working for their corporations. The problem is that most people are either unaware of what's going on or too damn materialistic to care. So then, education is the answer? Any other ideas?[/QUOTE] Right on, Earthy. At the ripe age of 23 you show a practical wisdom that it took me, an idealist, a lifetime to acqure. I always like to appeal to nobler motives, forgetting that not everyone has them. And you are 100% street-wise and correct: most people won't act until it affects them directly and, usually, monetarily. So sure, if you could get enough people to act as you suggest, we could have a revolution and things might improve. ( Look at it this way, the food industry is increasingly responsive to consumer demans.) And education certainly would help. But I also think that not everyone at the top is selfish and that some can be appealed to along the "higher motives" ideal. So the more people freelancing articles to Time, Newsweek, and major publications the better. And starting underground papers and magazines if major publications won't accept articles. Beyond that, there may not be much else we can do constructively, in my view.
Exactly right.... It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. Bush out front, commanding the audience as Karl Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz push the buttons behind the red curtain.