Philip A. FarruggioPhilip A. Farruggio -- World News Trust
Oct. 13, 2015
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote: “All truth passes through three stages: A) First it is ridiculed; B) second, it is violently opposed; C) third, it is accepted as being SELF EVIDENT.”
The truth is that we are living now -- and have been for more than a century -- in an empire. Since WW2 it has become a Military Industrial Empire.
The scholars and historians who have been warning us as to this empire are hardly ever, if outright never, allowed in or on the mainstream media. Sadly, if one wishes to know what Prof. Chomsky, Dr. Parenti, William Blum, Ralph Nader, Chris Hedges and many others are arguing against, one must read their books or view them through the alternative media. My cable provider, AT&T U-Verse, won’t even allow Free Speech or Link TV… yet they allow a myriad of garbage news talk shows on the air.
Our nation has become a cartoon. One surmises that those entire kiddie shows each Sunday morning serve a purpose: To get the youngsters acclimated to Cartoon Amerika.
You see, the masters of this empire have set things up so shrewdly for generations. Their best coup d’e tat was only allowing us the choice of the Two Party (One Party?) system of politics. As Ralph Nader so succinctly put it: The choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.
Tune in the boob tube and watch the cartoon channels CNN, C-Span, Fox News and MSNBC. They offer you the same Republican vs. Democrat claptrap each and every day. The cartoon hosts on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and yes even C-Span always make it sound as if the two parties are at warover the hearts and minds of Americans.
They throw at you issues like abortion, gay marriage, immigration and the hottest one of all (to the empire): Obamacare, which they con you into thinking is Socialism. In reality, this law purposely gave away the store to the private insurance companies, who got tens of millions of new customers! The real dialogue and debate should have been about a Medicare for All system vs. the private health insurance one, which Cartoon Amerika would never broadcast.
Every mainstream newspaper, website and of course electronic media outlet will never allow readers and viewers to understand what really is ailing America: An empire on steroids! More than half of our federal tax dollars goes for military spending.
We illegally and immorally invade and occupy sovereign nations, send drones to destroy innocent civilians… all in the name of "fighting terrorism." Yet, our almost 900 foreign military bases in more than 100 different countries are never mentioned.
Who the hell are we to do such things? Is this not what an empire does? Did not the Romans and the British do the same thing? What happened to their empires? What will happen to ours… as our roads and bridges crumble along with our schools and libraries?
More and more of our people are forced to fend for themselves in some bizarre form of Darwinism. The box store becomes the number one employer (part time mostly) in this Cartoon Amerika.
More and more of us walk around with spaces in our mouths where teeth used to be, because who can afford the $2,500 for a root canal and crown? The young lady next door to me works three part time jobs to pay her rent and bills. When will we all reach the Rubicon?
Take the first step, dear neighbors: Read the alternatives offered and discussed by the writers mentioned above. Then take the second step: Realize that the key to our salvation is not in supporting (or attempting to reform) either of these two major political parties. So, stop voting for the lesser of two evils… vote for independents or leave the ballot blank… but do go and vote.
Ready for step three? Get out and speak up and speak out in public about a need to pull back this Military Industrial Empire. We need to end all occupations, close all foreign bases, cut back on obscene overkill weapons systems, and save lots of money. Transfer those savings to the states and cities for their economic survival, and to kick start real Universal Healthcare for All.
Finally, don’t read or watch the cartoons that they are sending your way. Mickey Mouse is dead!
PA Farruggio
October 2015
(Philip A. Farruggio is a semi-retired baby boomer born and bred in blue collar Brooklyn NYC. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn longshoremen, and educated at "free tuition" Brooklyn College, class of '74. Philip has written more than 300 columns since 2001and his work is found on many fine progressive sites like World News Trust, Nation of Change, Information Clearinghouse, Intrepid Report, Sleuth Journal, Dandelion Salad, Counterpunch and Dissident Voice. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
