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US Empire Mocks Martin Luther King Day
I was watching the great Green Bay Packers game Saturday night, and
at half time there was a presentation of colors. The honor guard was
representing, we were told, the men and women in uniform who are
protecting us in 177 countries around the world.
177 countries?
As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., that one fact tells you how just badly we’ve failed to put into practice the vision of Dr. King.
That fact of troops in 177 countries confirms that we are still “a
society gone mad on war,” as Dr. King noted in his magnificent speech at
Riverside Church entitled, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,”
on April 4, 1967, a year to the day before he was assassinated. (All the
quotes that follow are from this speech of King’s, his most profound
and radical one.)
That fact of troops in 177 countries confirms that we have yet to have
the “true revolution of values” that will make us “say of war: ‘This way
of settling our differences is not just.’ ”
That fact—along with Bush’s war in Iraq and Obama’s war in Afghanistan and the U.S. supplying two-thirds of the global arms trade--confirms that we are still “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”
That fact confirms that we still have failed to embrace “allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism.”
King said, “Our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole…a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation.” And so he talked of being “a citizen of the world.”
But we are as nationalistic as ever in this country today.
And the fact that we have troops in 177 countries means that we are “approaching spiritual death” because we as a nation continue “year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift.”
And the fact that we have troops in 177 countries means that we are an empire, and that we are still “refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.” Dr. King denounced in this speech the “individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries.”
That is still going on today, and it goes by the fancy name of “globalization,” but it’s the same old neo-imperialism.
Today, with troops in 177 countries, we still wrestle with “the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism.”
And today, with troops in 177 countries, we still have a “glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.” Actually, it’s even more glaring than when King spoke 44 years ago.
Dr. King urged us to have a “radical revolution of values.”
But with troops stationed in 177 countries, that revolution seems more distant than ever.
And note: President Obama on the campaign trail liked to quote a phrase from Dr. King’s Riverside speech, though he didn’t identify the speech itself. That phrase was “the fierce urgency of now.”
But Obama’s “fierce urgency of now” was not well defined, much less acted upon. Dr. King was clear, however: The urgency was about choosing between “nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation.”
We have not yet made that choice.
And Obama has not made that choice.
In fact, he went to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, where he invoked King’s name but then quarreled with him and came out defending war.
So, today, the United States has troops in 177 countries. And that’s nothing to celebrate on Martin Luther King Day.
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71 Comments so far
Show AllOnly one post mentioning that it was the American government that murdered him?
As for "embassies", since when does an embassy need a troop or three of marines?
Name me any embassy in the US that has its foreign troops stationed there, armed and in uniform?
Embassies are supposed to be for diplomacy and travellers, not a place to garrison soldiers.
The main thrust I got from the article is very true; there WAS a time one had to read 'alternative' media (left or right) to read of such imperialism. Today they run it up the flagpole and demand you salute, or at least wave and cheer.
N.
Bring America Back !!!!
guarding us embassys and consulates is an official
mission of the US Marine Corps Guards..There was an
interesting situation at the US Embassy==Moscow when
it was fist being built==google it for a good laugh.
"since when does an embassy need a troop or three of marines?"
Probably ever since the USA became the world's pre-eminent, universally despised hegemonic imperial state. Only a government hated as much as ours needs that kind of protection.
Gee, earlier in the NFL season the line said 175 countries, not 177--way to go, America! On the move!
Ironically, everything the anti-sports people said was true, but many of us still love sports. In our defense, back in the days before TV, the players were all working stiffs, with many holding off-season jobs to make ends meet. (MLS is still like that for many American soccer players, but I digress.) The TV revenues have fueled the explosion of player salaries, and endorsements have added extra icing on top for the big stars. No wonder so many of them love capitalism! (And it gives all those poor high schoolers something to dream about while they play for free for love of the game.)
And isn't military advertising great? Don't forget the stealth bomber flyovers at the Rose Parade and other events. Keep in mind that those 177 countries are a great recruitment tool for our "all-volunteer" armed forces. Who would join up to go sit at a base in North Carolina or Texas? And so many high-tech weapons to play with! Life and death as video game--cool!
Seriously, though, unless we end the empire, eventually we will be consumed. Our nation is rotting from within. King's dream is farther away than ever, sadly.
Bring America Back !!!!
Guess it sure is a mockery when a Black Pesident
espouses us military aggression which MLK stated
as a primary ccause of enslavement of minorities
to fight the MIC causes for more wealth grabbing.
Obama fell for the Neocon cavedwelling boogeyman
fantassy, and now is in his own drone crusade
to Tora Bora to find the fairy tale Osama bin Laden.
MLK s vision of Peace may as well be in a foreign
tongue, since what the us has done is delivered
War with a capital W .
What we do crow about is that with Barak, we did
cross the color barrier of us politics, and
democrats need share no mockery on that fact.
I just hope we see what we have and not try to
break the gender glass ceiling==another political
mistake worse than what we have with Team Obama.
It is already a mockery to have Zion patsy Clinton
as sec/state==no need to compound that problem
by electing her the Prez.
Praise be to the Peacemaker MLK tried to be and
let us say that with a mock tongue in cheek due
to the overreaching Team Obama we are stuck with.
The criminal genocidalists, racists, abusers and thieves are coming out of the closets arrogantly revealing their naked minds. They are fear. Fear is all they know. Fear is the only way they can live. Violence is the first born child of fear.
And Patriot quarterback Tom Brady was rumored to say he "hated" the Jets. But that was OK , because the Jets were said to "hate" the Patriots.
Honestly, what have we become?
I was there yesterday when Matt presented this at the Spring Green MLK Day event. It's fine as far as it goes. But how can anyone talk about MLK and empire without mentioning that the empire killed him? We now have just about all the details about the CIA-FBI-US Army slaying of Dr. King, including names ranks serial numbers and detailed confessions from many of the key participants, including the US Army Colonel who coordinated the execution and never really regretted it. A 1999 jury trial exonerated James Earl Ray and provided the official last word on the MLK slaying: the US government did it. The King family, the plaintiff in the trial, has been screaming from the rooftops about it, yet the media--including the Progressive--has refused to even report that the trial happened! Watch my exchange with Matt Rothschild on this topic (filmed yesterday): http://truthjihad.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-is-progressives-matt-rothschild.html
The idea that it is of utmost important to prove that "the government" killed people is based on the assumption that the rest of what is happening and has happened is, by way of contrast, not as bad, or not as important.
In this way, the insistence that we must first and foremost talk about a conspiracy, and that all who do not do this are suspect or in on the cover up acts in practical terms to achieve precisely the opposite result from the one claimed by the person insisting on this approach.
The same pattern can be seen, whether it is the JFK assassination, 911, or the MLK assassination. Nothing could be a more powerful tool for preventing any in depth analysis of the history and politics of the country. Nothing could be a more effective contradiction of left wing politics.
If we are to accept that there are very big specific crimes, the solving of which are of the utmost importance - to the point of superseding any other analysis or any other concern - then we must accept that they are anomalies, exceptions - broken links in an otherwise solid chain. They must be seen as contrary to, as standing in contrast and juxtaposition to, all other events and all other aspects of the government's actions and cultural and social conventions and institutions.
We know that this in fact the case, that this is what people are thinking when they insist that we look at conspiracies first and foremost, insist that no subject can be discussed without first and primarily discussing the conspiracy from the ancillary comments they often make.
Those comments fall into two categories. The first category is "it all went wrong when..." Obviously, they mist think it was going well before it all went wrong - on November 22, 1963, or on 9/11. The second category is the "we could fix things if only...." if only we could crack the case, if only we could solve the crime, if only we could punish the perpetrators. Again, it is obvious that those who think that believe that solving that crime would put things aright - hence we need look no further or deeper.
TWO A: I understand your argument and it has merit; but one needs to recognize that 911 certainly changed the game plan. Now the elites had created such a powerful trigger that they could run down their wish list, item by item, and start foreign wars in pursuit of oil, while suppressing liberty (as dissent) at home.
Although the U.S. experienced other phases of conservative backlash, such as the Palmer Raids and the more recent McCarthy hearings on "un-American" activities, one distinct difference involves the modern tools currently at the state's disposal. In the earlier purges, there were neither computers, nor sophisticated secret-style surveillance. Now these tools render the equation of power between the pubic and its leaders way off-balance. Not even the press factors in, in any meaningful way to resurrect justice!
It is true that the conditions of wealth aggregating upwards, jobs being shipped overseas, the peculiar magic imparted to the Fed in the printing of money, and the way the US military has been used as the fist in the glove to support specific commercial endeavors abroad all existed prior to 911, as did the nation's foolish dependence on fossil fuels. Still, after 911, the president used the pretext of war to turn himself into a unitary executive effectively anesthetizing the checks and balances against exactly that type of arrogation of power. The Geneva Conventions' rules about just war, along with the protocols governing how to treat prisoners (key: torture NOT allowed) were effectively negated. Then came all sorts of spying on citizens campaigns, added to government operating in the dark without any oversight thanks to a misuse of the "State's Secret" privilege. So while the same crap may have been going on previously, 911 lent it faux legitimacy, and drew all sorts of demons out of a 21st century-style Pandora's Box.
Agreed. Well said.
u.s. gov't assassination of mlk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUBOZtsyhfM&feature=related
oh is that the problem? we failed King's vision?
godess protect us you ponce- what about the dead people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia....who gives a rat's ass about somebody's vision?
what we need is to stop the wars! we don't need somebody else's speeches to know these wars are wrong. stay focused.
"the U.S. supplying two-thirds of the global arms trade"
old news.
"the exporting from the United States of warlike instruments and military stores is not to be interfered with." G. Washington 1793
rothschild is driven by terror....not that i blame him..
Anyone knows where to find a list of countries sorted by the number of other countries where they have troops?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5564
Obama's acceptance of the Nobel Prize was the grossest charade in history.
His doing so has consigned that formerly precious honor to the dustbins of historical meaninglessness.
WE ARE A CONSTANTLY WARRING NATION!!!!!!!!!!
They were tipping their hat to the young volunteers with more guts than most, not some imagined political agenda.