“I Pray Daily to Awaken from the Nightmare of History” (James Joyce), Part 1

Noam Chomsky at Vancouver, Canada in 2004.  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Duncan Rawlinson.

By Stefan Schindler

Terry Eagleton’s British article on the public danger of “The Death of the Intellectual” (Red Pepper Magazine; October 13, 2008) is lucid, astute, and right on target. It applies even more to America than Britain.

The demise of the public intellectual as a partner in civic discourse is symptomatic of social decay, and points directly to the fact that the primary function of American education and the mainstream news media is to ignorate, not educate, liberate, stimulate. How else did we end up with Reagan through Cheney-Bush to Trump and company?

Eagleton mentions Noam Chomsky as a courageous and virtuous paradigm of the public intellectual; that is to say, of the philosopher as concerned citizen, writing with the fervor of Thomas Paine. Another such example for the last half-century was Howard Zinn, whose courage of conscience echoed that of Emerson and William James.

Howard Zinn May 2009.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: User B-Fest of Athens indymedia

 

I was honored to co-present The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award to both Zinn and Chomsky, and to nominate Michael Parenti for the same – public intellectuals in the like-minded company of John Dewey, Richard Rorty, John Pilger, Victor Wallis,  Lewis Lapham, Abby Martin, Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein, and of course Terry Eagleton – all names utterly unfamiliar to most Americans.

Meanwhile, the corporate negation of net neutrality follows close upon the heels of the corporate takeover of American colleges and universities, now bloated with high-paid bureaucrats, slave-waging adjuncts, and debt-ridden students in hock to the banks who are the prime culprits in America’s economic apartheid and neoconservative slide toward unrepentant fascism. And, of course, the primary function of the American military is, as it long has been, to make the world safe for the depredations of the Fortune 500.

Michael Parenti. 2008. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic & 1.0 Generic license. Author: Willa Madden.

 

Hence Parenti’s observation: “Third-world nations are not under-developed. They’re over-exploited.”

.

100 Living Peace & Justice Leaders: List 2, Part 2

By Kathie Malley-Morrison & Anthony J. Marsella

David Reiff, in his classic paper, “The precarious triumph of human rights” (New York Times Magazine, August 8, 1999), described characteristics of a “new moral order” that we desperately need today:

  • Civil society;
  • Humanitarianism;
  • Human rights versus state sovereignty;
  • Emergence of human rights activists, development workers, aid experts committed to needs of an interdependent world;
  • Small is beautiful;
  • Democracy building;
  • Growth of NGOs;
  • Considering individual as well as state rights;
  • Plans for a permanent international criminal court.

Despite the many abuses permeating societies today, there is a new spirit of encounter (e.g., Black Lives Matter); a new spirit of protest evidenced by DC gatherings of women and minority groups; a new spirit of communication among media free of government or wealth controls; a new spirit of protest against war, militarism, and the spending of a nation’s wealth on weaponry and endless war; a new spirit of concern for life and land; a new spirit of determination to expose the abuses of privilege and position by those who have politicized and weaponized laws for personal use (e.g., FISA).

All these emerging changes signal and sustain “Hope!”  “Hope” is the life blood of progressive change. “Hope” can be suppressed and oppressed, but it cannot be defeated.  Regardless of life forms and species, “hope” is the evolutionary impulse pursuing survival. If you want to hope, just think of the high school students organizing to fight gun violence ; honor their courage in joining together to protest in front of the White House ; admire their plans for a march on Washington in March.

Our list-building efforts are just beginning. Each day, new people are rising to the call.  Please send us names and links of individuals and nonprofits you think should be recognized for their contributions to the cause.

 

  1. Kame’eleihiwaLilikalā K. Kame’eleihiwa
  2. Katz: Nancie L. Katz
  3. Kaye: Jeff Kaye
  4. Kelman: Herb & Rose Kelman
  5. Khan-Cullors: Patrisse Khan-Cullors
  6. Kimmel, Paul Kimmel
  7. Kivel, Paul Kivel
  8. Kis-Lev, Jonathan Kis-Lev
  9. Lapham: Lewis Lapham
  10. LeBlanc: Andrea LeBlanc
  11. LoCicero: Alice LoCicero
  12. Lopez-Lopez: Wilson Lopez-Lopez
  13. Lutz: Catherine Lutz
  14. Lykes: Brinton Lykes
  15. Lyubanski: Mikhail Lyubanski
  16. MacNair: Rachel MacNair
  17. Maleno: Helena Maleno
  18. Martin: Abby Martin
  19. McKee: Ann McKee 
  20. McKinney: Cynthia McKinney
  21. McKone: Anita McKone
  22. Moghaddam: Fathali Moghaddam
  23. Montiel: Christina Montiel
  24. Moore: Michael Moore
  25. Nelson: Linden Nelson
  26. Norsworthy: Kathryn Norsworthy
  27. Palast: Greg Palast
  28. Parenti: Michael Parenti
  29. Perlman: Diane Perlman
  30. Randa: Lewis Randa
  31. Rappoport: Jon Rappoport
  32. Robinson: Rashad Robinson
  33. Rosenberg: Carol Rosenberg
  34. Secker: Glyn Secker
  35. Shetterly:  Robert Shetterly
  36. Shiva: Vandana Shiva
  37. Sivaraksa: Sulak Sivaraksa
  38. Soldz: Stephen Soldz
  39. Solomon: Norman Solomon
  40. Spieler: Susan Spieler
  41. Stout: Christopher E. Stout
  42. Sveaass:  Nora Sveaass
  43. Valent: Roberto Valent
  44. Wadlow: Rene Wadlow
  45. Wasfi: Dahlia Wasfi
  46. Wessells: Michael Wessells
  47. Wise: Steven M.Wise
  48. Wollman: Neil Wollman
  49. Wright: Ann Wright
  50. Zeese: Kevin Zeese                                                                                                                          Join us in celebrating the individuals making the world a better place for all; individuals advancing the human and natural order. 

WORLD ORDER AND DISORDER: THE “GAMES” AND “GAMBLES” OF LIFE AND LIVES ©

Temple of a million years of Rameses II – Ozymandias statue, Luxor, Egypt. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Author: Steve F-E-Cameron (Merlin-UK).

More than Nations . . .

by Guest Author Anthony Marsella

Contrary to the widespread myth, nations are not the sole source of massive international political, economic, and social international events, forces, and changes. It is true the story of history is often told with nations as the grand hand behind unfolding events. Reality, however, is very different. Nations are merely one player among many players shaping history each day amid a complex crucible of “games and gambles” serving many interests.

The myth of “nation” determinism is encouraged by a select group of individuals, organizations, and nations who seek to hide their wealth, power, position, and privilege in shaping the world order and disorder. It is to their advantage to function as shadow forces, often beneath the mantle of nations. Their immediate visibility may be hidden, but their influence is profound. The players are displayed in Figure 1.

worldorder
Figure 1

The question must be asked: Can any nation or groups of nations control and dominate the many powerful agencies, organizations, and rogue nations immune or resistant to a nation’s power? Have the times, which nurtured and now sustain, a new array of powers capable of cooperation or contention according to their interests, created a chaotic and desperate dance unresponsive to policies and strategies of control and domination once accepted as successful? A partially visible system now exists, dedicated to the preservation of powerful military-industrial-congressional complex, cited by President Eisenhower in his farewell address (January 17, 1961), as an emerging danger to our nation.

It is assumed nations will pursue the interests of their citizens and state. This too is a myth! What is accurate is certain powerful or rogue nations with access to unlimited military have the capacity to intervene at will to shape the world order through (1) imposed regime changes, (2) invasion and occupation, (3) war, death, destruction, (4) economic and financial controls, (5) sanctions, (6) cultural and religious systems, and (7) many other illegal and immoral policies and actions. Using secretive policies, strategies, and tactics, nations can become shills for private interests. But this Orwellian dystopian situation, relying heavily on military power and private wealth, is now leading the world toward disaster.

In today’s global community, many competing nations, and their hidden shadow groups, have access to military power and might. They also have access to other means of exercising power including economic, historic, moral, religious, and information communication technology (ICT). For the latter, the word and process becomes both a shield and weapon.

I must include “protest groups and factions” because they are present, and exercise some direct and indirect influence. Indeed, responses to these groups and factions (e.g., unions, abolish nuclear groups, Wall-Street protestors, environment activists, peace advocates) often require even more assertions of power and might by those in power. In this respect, the groups and factions are players, albeit often desperate amid their limited numbers and organizational stature.

The World Order: “Games” and “Gambles”

The seductive “games” and “gambles” to control and shape world order has been played for thousands of years by individuals, societies, and “nations.” The prize for winners: Empire! Global domination, control, and wealth! Why? With domination and control comes power to impose selfish interests on conquered people, regions, and societies. A certain “cache” is also sought! Etching the names of individuals, groups, and nations, amid the famous and infamous collection of empire, suggests “immortality.” We may despise those enshrined in history, but we cannot deny they remain alive in memory — now omnipresent in Google.

Even a passing knowledge of world history reveals the pursuit of “empire” has ancient roots (e.g., Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Aztec, Inca, Ottoman, Mayan). The words of the romantic-era poet, Percy Bysshe Shelly’s (1792-1822), Ozymandias, capture the inevitable demise of empire. But while it lasts, it is an intoxicating and blinding stimulant, feeding heart and mind with the pleasures of adulation and comforts of power:

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from a distant land, who said:
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . .
Near them, on the sand,
Half-sunk, a shattered visage lies . . .

And on the pedestal these word appear:
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works ye mighty, and despair!”

Nothing beside remains
Round the decay of that colossal wreck,
Boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The Pursuit of Empire

The pursuit of empire continues! Ozymandias embody the tragic impulse and result. Power, its inevitable rise and fall! No lessons learned! Only the deceptive rush of visions immune to reason! Empire remains the quest for nations and their private supporters seeking protection and opportunity. Empire is no longer confined to a sovereign state or nation. There are too many competing players. Most are unwilling to yield to a single supreme authority, but eager to use its mantle to pursue their interests.

As Figure 1 displays, the players in the “games” and “gambles” for world order and disorder, sow and protect their seeds. How can a sovereign nation control diverse powers having no loyalty to nation, but loyalty only to their own existence and security? Amid their privacy, they too often escape condemnation, but they too must know “empire” passes. Privatization, the preferred policy of the neo-liberal and neo-con establishments, provides an omnipresent petard on which to fall.

Conspiracy? Of Course . . .

Is conspiracy present? Yes! Conspiracy is an attempt to hide, conceal, veil, or secrete actual events and forces from recognition. Conspiracies exist to serve special interests, contrary to interests and welfare of others. Conspiracies use an array of methods and tactics to elude attention, lest the methods and tactics be recognized as immoral, illegal, and dishonest or criminal. Recall, the villainous lies, deceit, and abuses used by the Bush-Cheney government to invade Iraq, and cast the Middle-East into flames: Iraq has nuclear weapons; we must use torture to obtain information; a global war on terrorism is necessary. With their actions, they indicted our nation, embedding us in endless war. Citizens became co-conspirators by our passive agreement (See Abby Martin interview with Lt. Colonel Wilkerson, former assistant to General Colin Powell, who was tricked into claiming Iraq had nuclear weapons (see http://fktv.is/the-classic-decay-of empires-us-army-colonel-lawrence-wilkerson-27480). Wilkerson points out the massive deceit used by a small group with access to power to launch the USA into a “total” global war.

The ubiquitous iconic “back room” of politics is not a myth! It exists and functions to maintain public ignorance, under the guise the public does not need to know, for it would not understand what we must do. The conspirators: En loco parentis! We act for your welfare by protecting our welfare. “Trust us! Trust us! If you do not, do not stand in our way!

What tragedy! What a betrayal! What a despicable effort. This effort continues across the spectrum of “players” involved in the “games” and “gambles” of world order and disorder! The players have the political, economic, and military power to continue the “games” and “gambles.” They lack only moral justification. A tangled web of deceit!

Table 1 offers a list of policies and actions used by the world order players. It is frightening! These are not limited to nations or governments. They have become part of the options available to private individuals, groups, and commercial organizations. This is what is so frightening and dangerous! The foe and their methods escape visibility and prosecution. The justice systems normally relied upon to keep order and to protect, are part of the problem. There is an unbounded flow of mutual connections across the nations and groups via common board members, financial supporters, and shared visions of morality.

Table 1:

Policies, Actions, and Alternatives (Alphabetized)
In Support of Nation and Other Organization Aims and Goals

  • Assassinations/death squads/drones;

  • Bounties for info/capture, and assassination;

  • Bribery, purchase, and installation of pro-American leaders and dictators;

  • Celebration of national “morality” in the face of evil acts;

  • Collaboration/contracts with foreign universities, scientists, professional organizations, and intelligence agencies defaming their character;

  • Contingent “humanitarian” aid – implicit and explicit;

  • Contingent “foreign” aid;

  • Control of UN via vetoes and economic and political pressures;

  • Control of IMF and World Bank;

  • Cooperation with foreign nation security services (e.g., military, intelligence, corporations);

  • Development of domestic crowd controls (militarization of police);

  • Drones(Widespread use of drones by domestic/national groups and agencies);

  • Drug wars. Corruption of local officials;

  • Disproportionate support of “allies.” Enemification of others;

  • Entrapments of targeted individuals and groups – persons of interest;

  • Establishment of military bases [more than 700 known USA foreign bases];

  • Exportation of unpopular American culture (i.e., consumerism, materialism, commodification, competition, crony capitalism, corruption, celebritization)

  • False flag operations disguised military and/or economic interventions/invasions);

  • Foreign student/faculty/consultant exchanges (used for intelligence recruitment);

  • Fund development of disguised/pseudo-organizations used for national military and security purposes (e.g. Human Ecology Fund, ONR, AID);

  • Glorification of war, militarism, warrior mentalities and images, machismo;

  • Hegemonic globalization (i.e., control of socio-technical changes and economy);

  • Infiltration of peace, anti-war groups, and social activist organizations;

  • Invasion and overthrow, including regime change;

  • Justification of torture (“enhanced interrogation”);

  • Mass surveillance, monitoring, and archiving of info/communication data;

  • Massive growth in government/private intelligence agencies and organizations;

  • Media influence and control via biased news and biased news commentators;

  • Military interventions and occupation of nations and regions;

  • Mind control technologies (e.g., drugs, EMR, behavior control technologies);

  • Negotiation/conflict resolution delays are now policy;

  • No Prosecution of connected military, government, civilian law violators/abusers;

  • Military occupation of foreign nations, regions, and cities;

  • Promotion of nationalism, pseudo-patriotism, USA exceptionalism;

  • Project for a New American Century (Developed to insure USA Hegemony);

  • Project Infra Guard (Collaboration between FBI and hundreds of thousands of businesses in USA to report on citizens resulting in creation of mass list of citizens with no opportunity for contesting surveillance. (Every mall and every store provides video and other personal information;

  • Propaganda to instill citizen fear, and vilification of individuals and groups;

  • Recruitment of spies, informers, collaborators, agents among friends, neighbors. The best spy is a person who doesn’t now they are a spy, but in fact, as they share information on neighbors, friends, and family, the information is collected and archived;

  • Renditions in numerous countries;

  • Use surrogate nations and forces to accomplish military goals;

  • Use false-flag incidents;

  • Use major philanthropic foundations to influence policy and actions;

  • Vilification, demonization, enemification of domestic and/or international critics;

  • Weapons/arms dealer sales for money, and for promoting conflicts;

  • Witness protection programs.

What an array of possibilities! In a world of lawlessness, anything goes, and does! We remain in shock at the destructive events occurring across the world. Yet we too often ignore these events as consequences of the protected policies and actions of nations, individuals, private organizations, engaged in protecting their interests. Millions of lives and life are lost oblivious to the sorrow and grief exacted. Protected from harm, the perpetrators of harm are engage in the “games” and “gambles” of world order and disorder. To what end?

This essay was originally posted by Transcend Media Service, December 17, 2015; reprinted with permission.

Anthony J. Marsella, PhD, is emeritus professor of psychology, University of Hawaii, and former president of Psychologists for Social Responsbility (http://www. psysr.org). His recent publications include Marsella, A.J. (2012). Globalization and psychology. Journal of Social Issues, 68, 454-472; and Marsella, A.J. (2011). Nonkilling psychology and lifeism: I am what am. In J. Pim & D. Christie (Eds.), Nonkilling Psychology (pp. 361-378). Honolulu, HI: Center for Global Non-Violence.

 

Continue reading “WORLD ORDER AND DISORDER: THE “GAMES” AND “GAMBLES” OF LIFE AND LIVES ©”