April 27, 2009 (CarolynBaker.net) -- As
most readers of my writings know, I don't concern myself with what the
two ambiguously separate wings of America's one political party are up
to. I have more important things to do like preparing personally and
with my community for the collapse of empire.
This is not to say that I
condone torture or feel numb when thinking about it. Yet, while some
may question what could be more important than prosecuting torture, the
current dither on this issue leaves me feeling bewildered, very much
like a child growing up in an abusive family. The child has witnessed
and been the victim of torture-physical, emotional, or spiritual and
suspects but has not really experienced that, in some families, torture
does not exist. However, he has come to assume that in most families
various forms of torture come with the territory of being born and
growing up.
In such a family there may be an
uncle, we'll call him Dick, who loudly proclaims that torture is highly
successful in keeping the family safe from enemies. One sibling, we'll
call him Georgie, agrees with Uncle Dick and believes that the fastest
way to fame and fortune is to carry out Uncle Dick's wishes. Another
sibling, we'll call her Conde, adamantly asserts that her family does
not torture but goes about ordering torture and expecting everyone else
in the family to do the same. Also, in this family there might be a
father, we'll call him Poppy, who has been involved all his life with a
governmental agency that specializes in torture, so consequently, he's
quite pleased that Georgie and Uncle Dick did such a fine job of
keeping the nation "safe" by way of torture for eight years.
What is more, all of these family
members, we'll call them "the cowboys" of new wealth who exult a
blatantly bullying approach to torture, differ greatly in their style
from an earlier, more sophisticated, East Coast wing of the family,
issuing from dynasties of longer duration whom we might call the "the
tycoons." The latter do not like to talk about torture at all and
certainly attempt to avoid practicing it blatantly. This branch of the
family tree prefers to utilize philanthropy and quiet, steady methods
of privatization over torture, as they silently subsume endless
populations and infrastructures. They came into their own following the
Civil War and ascended to primacy through the petroleum, rail, and
banking industries of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth
centuries. It should be noted, however, that both branches of the
family tree are like warring gangs who seem to take turns in their
leadership of the family from time to time, ostensibly altering its
course, yet achieving similar results.
Currently, the tycoons have control
of the family and younger sibling, Barky, is in charge. He doesn't want
to get "bogged down" in prosecuting cowboy tactics because his job is
to serve the tycoons; however, some of the folks from his own political
party who don't understand the cowboy/tycoon power struggle, we'll call
them Child Protective Services (CPS), want to permanently disable the
opposite party, as if somehow, this would eradicate torture in the family forever.
Read The Entire Story