"Four sorrows ... are certain to be visited on the United States. Their cumulative effect guarantees that the U.S. will cease to resemble the country outlined in the Constitution of 1787. First, there will be a state of perpetual war, leading to more terrorism against Americans wherever they may be and a spreading reliance on nuclear weapons among smaller nations as they try to ward off the imperial juggernaut. Second is a loss of democracy and Constitutional rights as the presidency eclipses Congress and is itself transformed from a co-equal 'executive branch' of government into a military junta. Third is the replacement of truth by propaganda, disinformation, and the glorification of war, power, and the military legions. Lastly, there is bankruptcy, as the United States pours its economic resources into ever more grandiose military projects and shortchanges the education, health, and safety of its citizens."
Chalmers Johnson, Sorrows of Empire
Stolen from The Third World Traveler
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3 comments:
Thanks, I will sleep well tonite after reading this..
Actually, I posted the quote, then went looking for the quoter. Turns out that he's recent, so it's not as prescient as it could be. I'm not saying he's wrong, but if he'd said this in the 70's it'd make it a whole lot scarier for me.
I was very surprised at how prescient it seemed (the quote just has the feel of being older), but found out it wasn't. Still, it's well put.
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