[Grovenet] America in the Time of Empire

Mon Dec 17 07:53:59 PST 2007

Is that true? 

Do the millions and millions of dying children and adults in Africa alone
represent a decrease in poverty and violence worldwide? 

Has poverty in the USA actually decreased at all? I know we are working
longer hours and doing less for our children decade after decade.  Our jails
have record populations. We are doing less and less to prepare the next
generation to carry on. 

Understanding dangers and needs isn't pessimism to me. Pessimism is
believing it must be so and there is nothing one can do to head off the
danger or fulfill the needs of our times.

Who will argue, with any basis in fact, that our world is going energy
bankrupt? Our energy is based on fossil fuels, and fossil fuels are (again)
in short enough supply they are growing hugely expensive. That happened in
the past, but in smaller areas, such as when England realized they were
virtually out of the fuel they knew how to use: trees and wood. They tried
to switch to coal with disastrous results, as the horrible yellow fogs that
killed citizens in the cities. So they built an empire to supply them with
wood until they learned how to use coal acceptably. That was the reason they
came to the USA. There were trees here. 

We're faced, on a world wide basis with such  a crisis again. Instead of
trees it's oil. Instead of one nation, it's a hundred developing nations
competing for the oil. Instead of a yellow, noxious fog injuring the
citizens of a few cities it's global climate change threatening billions
around the planet. 

I see nothing esoteric about these challenges. They are huge, they are clear
and, like all great challenges, the way to solve them is not obvious. 

Human history shows that we tend to do stupid, short-sighted things when we
feel threatened. The reactions of many American citizens since 9/11 is
evidence of that. The dangers of doing stupid, short-sighted things has
grown as the impact of our choices is no longer just national, they're
global. 

We must be careful not to keep falling into the same old mistakes. 

A pessimist would say, "It's useless. You can't change human nature. We're
doomed. 

I believe we can. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 

-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Carol Morgan
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 11:52 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] America in the Time of Empire

There are quite a few arguable statements here. 

But I am curious about a few things.  Does no one feel encouraged by less
poverty and less violence in our country and wordwide decade over decade?  

Must pessimism get increasingly esoteric to withstand these current trends? 

------ Original Message ------ 
Received: 03:57 PM PST, 12/16/2007 
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <ron at cobi.biz> 
To: "'Forest Grove local interests list'" <grovenet at rdrop.com> 
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] America in the Time of Empire 

Excellent piece, Geri! 

Some observations: 

"State and federal assistance programs have been slashed." 

This is one of the last acts of a government falling into bankruptcy, and it

is usually the catalyst for revolt. The masses are kept submissive and quiet

by huge infusions of money, either through direct payments or government 
subsidies. When the oligarchy can no longer maintain the expense, they face 
revolt. 

In order to provide those benefits to satisfy the masses, a government will,

in the name of the people, launch into wars of expansion to take what they 
need from others. That's what England did in building her empire by 
negotiation, where possible, or through brutal conquest and subjugation of 
any who had what she wanted. 

That's what America did in taking over the areas west of the Mississippi in 
the early 1800's, by negotiation where we could (buying land from France) or

by force were we couldn't (genocide and what today is called "ethnic 
cleansing" against the Indians) to make the historical lands of the native 
people open for exploitation. 

That's what Germany did in the years after WWI when their existence was 
threatened by the extreme demands of the Treaty of Versailles. (The fact 
that it was the Nazi party who rose to power is, I think, incidental. Either

Germany was do die or someone would lead it to conquest.) 

And it's what I think America will do again in the years ahead, using 
nuclear arms if needed, to take what we need to avoid revolt at home. 

"It all amounts to a tacit complicity on the part of a passive population." 

The oligarchy will nuke others for our benefit because keeping us happy is 
required for their survival. Of course, if we are nuked too that will 
"prove" the others deserve our violence. 9/11 is a perfect example. The 
American outrage was because we were attacked. No one cared that those who 
attacked us were members of societies who had been subjugation and exploited

by America for years. Many Americans still feel justified in doing anything 
we choose in retaliation. 

"It signals the twilight of our empire." 

"Twilight" suggests a quiet ending. If we let it get to that point I don't 
think there will be anything quiet about it. That's why so many nations are 
so afraid of what we might do. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 

-----Original Message----- 
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On 
Behalf Of Geri 
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 10:24 AM 
To: GroveNet 
Subject: [Grovenet] America in the Time of Empire 

G-Nuts, 

A friend passed this article on to us ... 

http://tinyurl.com/ywqwuc 

Geri 
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