IT'S BIGGER THAN POLITICS

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Sat, 26 Mar 2005 11:57:49 -0600

IT'S BIGGER THAN POLITICS

 

 

 

 

IT'S BIGGER THAN POLITICS

 

By Steve Bhaerman

 

From time to time over the past months, I've heard two typical

objections to my writings venturing from the safe harbor of " personal,

spiritual " to confronting more discomforting global issues:

 

1. That's too political.

2. We don't want to go there.

 

So here are my two answers:

 

1. What's happening is way bigger than politics.

2. We don't have to go there. " There " has already come here.

 

Who Are Our Servants Serving Us To, Anyway?

 

One of the most memorable Twilight Zone episodes of my childhood

involved a seemingly benevolent contingent of visitors from outer

space who say their mission is to " serve humankind. " It isn't until

the very last scene that our human hero discovers that their manual

" To Serve Humankind " ... is a cookbook. And now -- perhaps too late,

and perhaps not -- average Americans are awakening in the spirit of

the song from that same era, " Stranded in the Jungle " : " I smelled

something cooking and I looked to see, that's when I realized they was

a-cookin' me! Great googamooga, lemme outta here! "

 

Well, unlike the late 1950s, there doesn't seem to be any " outta

here. " In this shrinking world that could definitely use a good

shrink, we all seem to be in here together. And we are facing a

formidable foe -- a wolf in elephant's clothing. Disguised as

" Republicans " (a disguise that a crusty old libertarian like the late

Barry Goldwater could see through quicker than you could say, " Karl

Rove-r, Karl Rove-r, make Kerry roll over " ), this amoral band of

neocon artists seeks to serve America up on a silver platter to the

highest bidder. The fact that they're technically a minority looking

out for an even smaller minority doesn't faze them. Forget " mandate. "

The only man this Administration has a date with is Prince Machiavelli.

 

From Founding Fathers to Big Brother

 

Meanwhile, the progressives bless 'em, remind me of the Nasrudin story

in the Sufi tradition. One night, Nasrudin is on his hands and knees

looking for something under the lights in a parking lot. A friend asks

him what he's doing. " I lost my keys, " is the reply. " Where did you

lose them? " his friend asks. " I lost them in the bushes over there, "

says Nasrudin. " Then, why are you looking here? " " Because there's more

light over here, silly! "

 

Progressives -- if they want to be true to their name and help things

move forward -- must step away from the familiar well-lit spaces of

the usual progressive issues, and have the courage to shine a light

down the dark hole. Up until now, progressives have insisted on going

back to familiar haunts to confront a foe that has long since moved on

to a bigger field. Emails from MoveOn, True Majority and others

implore us to write our Congressperson to save the Alaska wilderness

or social security, to protest against the Administration employing

paid " impropagandists " disguised as objective reporters, or even to

bring the troops home from Iraq. All of these " political " issues are

symptoms of something far bigger than politics.

 

The issue is this: Those of us willing to open our eyes, look down the

hole, and see outside the box, realize that we have an illegitimate

government that has violated our own law and international law, not to

mention established religious law. Unless we confront the issue on

that level -- moral legitimacy -- the dream of our Founding Fathers

will be replaced by the nightmare of our Big Brother.

 

The persistent conventional wisdom in America says that each

generation must take a stand to defend freedom. In the past, this has

often looked like going to some foreign shore armed with weapons. At

this particular " rendezvous with destiny, " defending freedom means

standing our ground here, armed only with the Declaration of

Independence and the Constitution. If we are willing to allow our

soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of an illegitimate

war perpetrated by an illegitimate regime, the least we can do is have

the courage to speak directly. Maybe the rallying bumper sticker of

our time should be, " Support Our Troops... Defend Freedom At Home. "

 

A Modest Proposal

 

So just how do we do that? Here is my modest proposal to get away from

peripheral diversionary issues and force media -- and public --

attention on the illegitimacy issue:

 

1. Establish a committee of 100 (or more) prominent Americans from all

fields of endeavor and across the political spectrum. This Committee

of the Concerned could include people like Bill Moyers, Ralph Nader,

John Dean, Ramsey Clark, Arianna Huffington, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,

etc., etc., etc.

 

2. Have the Committee issue a statement that they have " deep concerns "

about current Administration policies that violate the Constitution,

established common law, international law and the " moral law " set

forth by our religious traditions. Since our elected representatives

seem -- on the whole -- unwilling to truly represent us by taking on

these issues, the Committee has taken on this task in the tradition of

our Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence.

 

3. Announce that the Committee will be conducting its own " people's

investigation " into a number of issues which our government and

elected officials have largely avoided. These include:

 

* The Elections of 2000 and 2004. Evidence of fraud clouds the results

of the last two Presidential elections. These charges need to be

aired, illuminated and addressed.

 

* The War in Iraq. The lead up to the war in Iraq was based on spun

intelligence and outright lies. If the war in Iraq was a direct

outgrowth of 9/11, why was it being planned from the moment George

Bush set foot in the White House?

 

* The 9/11 Attacks. A rigorous re-investigation of the 9/11 attacks.

The so-called 9/11 Independent Commission consisted of insiders who

refused to consider evidence that our government had prior knowledge

of the attacks. In addition, there has been no follow up investigation

of the anthrax attacks on the President's opponents nor has there been

an explanation of who benefited from the sale of American and United

Airline stocks right before 9/11.

 

* The So-Called Patriot Act. A careful examination of provisions in

the so-called Patriot Act that violate habeas corpus and our

Constitution. How was it that this piece of legislation, 1,000 pages

long, sprung like magic in a few short weeks? How was it that our

elected representatives voted for it without reading it?

 

* Inappropriate Use of Secrecy. The inappropriate use of secrecy to

protect special relationships and special interests to the detriment

of the American people. Consider, for example, the refusal on the part

of Vice President Cheney to release transcripts of the infamous

meeting with energy company officials. What is he afraid of us finding

out? That the oil fields of Iraq were divvied up two years before we

went to war there?

 

* Officially Sanctioned Murder and Torture. The current Attorney

General actually advised the President to not concern himself with

international law when it comes to torture. The torture and murders

that occurred both at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have destroyed any

moral authority we may have had in the Middle East and the world. Even

if Americans seem oblivious to this fact, the rest of the world gets it.

 

* The Valerie Plame Case. In a spiteful act of retribution against her

husband, CIA-operative Valerie Plame was " outed " by the

Administration, thus losing a valuable asset in our search for nuclear

weaponry in terrorist hands. No one in the Administration has been

held accountable for this act of treason.

 

* Suppression of Science. The subversion of scientific knowledge --

like the reality of global warming -- in favor of propaganda and

dogma. Scientists who don't toe the Administration's ideological mark

have been fired and denied promotion and resources. In times of crisis

when we need the best scientific information we can get, this is

foolish -- and even treasonous -- behavior.

 

* News Replaced by Propaganda. The manipulation of " news " that is more

reminiscent of Stalin's Russia than Jefferson's America. Paid

propagandists have worn the disguise of reporters, and real

journalists have been killed -- accidentally or on purpose -- for not

" imbedding down " with our military.

 

* A President Who Acts Like a Dictator. An Administration that barely

eked out a majority has acted like a de facto dictatorship. In

addition to pursuing a war based on false premises, they have insisted

on appointing judges and other officials way out of the mainstream of

what most Americans believe. Most recently, they have moved to change

the Senate rules that have stood for two hundred and fifteen years so

that they can pursue this agenda without the impediment of the

minority party being able to block the most egregious of these

appointments.

 

* Government Of, By, and For Multinational Corporations. They have

consistently and persistently placed the rights of a small minority of

multinational corporations over the rights of the American people.

From crooked operations like Enron and Halliburton, to the credit card

companies, drug companies, mega-agriculture companies which seek to

own and monopolize all means of growing food, this Administration has

sought to legalize the rape of the planet and the American people.

 

4. Immediately establish an alternative " moral authority " -- in the

form of spiritual and religious leaders -- to develop a " truth and

reconciliation " program to help the body politic cleanse toxic

behavior. In the spirit of what was done in South Africa, establish a

protocol for encouraging those involved with perpetrations against the

American people to come forward and testify with immunity, and then be

able to reintegrate back into society.

 

5. At the same time, establish what could be called The Canary Project

to protect truth-tellers and whistle-blowers. The Canary Project would

archive -- on line and in the real world -- videotaped testimony of

those who had knowledge of or involvement in these perpetrations.

People who have suffered threats or intimidation could wear bags over

their heads if need be, and their voices could be analyzed by experts

for signs of lying or exaggeration.

 

6. Membership organizations like Common Cause, MoveOn, True Majority,

etc., etc. would be encouraged to enroll their constituencies in

supporting this investigation by financial contributions,

demonstrations at local city halls, repeated calls to the media, and

Congressional letter-writing campaigns. Imagine if ten million or more

people shifted their focus from their pet issue for a short time, and

rallied their energy around the legitimacy issue itself. Instead of

playing the Administration's game -- reacting to each outrage as it

arises -- make them play our game, by going straight to the heart of

their story and their legitimacy.

 

7. Make the announcement of the Committee and the investigation on

July 4th of this year, and use the prominence of the signers to gain

media coverage. In fact, a contingent of well-known people could

converge on Washington, D.C. and present their concerns both to

Congress and to the White House, asking for meetings. With a few

million citizens " pressing the press " , and with celebrities willing to

take a stand, the issue will get coverage.

 

8. Decide on a priority of issues, conduct the investigation, and

broadcast it on C-Span in its entirety. While of course this

investigation has no specific legal authority, it will have moral

authority in the court of public opinion. Once Americans are exposed

to the evidence of lying, fraud and malfeasance, the public will no

longer be able to plead ignorance. Even if we the people are unable to

make a " citizen's arrest " and the regime stays in power, it will lose

authority and legitimacy.

 

9. Announce a Re-Constitutional Convention (to reconstitute the

de-constituted Constitution) for July, 2006, where Americans from all

across the country can have input in answering the question: What

could we be doing if we weren't spending lives and resources to

protect the few? What could we be doing if we created a Manhattan

Project for safe, renewable energy? How could we better spend a part

of the $400 billion we spend yearly on weaponry to really create peace

and security in the world?

 

Time for the Body Politic to Trade in the Old Dodge for an Evolvo

 

To update the Rolling Stones, I say the time is ripe for nonviolent

evolution. Say what you will about the Founding Fathers, that they

were elitists, that they were slave owners, etc., etc. -- that's all

beside the point. With the Declaration of Independence and the

Constitution, they reached outside of political convention and took a

great evolutionary leap to the notion that we the people are sovereign

citizens, not subjects. Those of us who find ourselves American

citizens today -- for better or worse -- have inherited this legacy.

Over the past two hundred or so years, many times we have failed to

live up to our founding principles -- just as Christianity has often

been a sad parody of the teachings of Christ.

 

But now, with information at our fingertips accessible at nano-speed

and with the core teachings of so many spiritual paths liberated from

secrecy, we must take up the weapons of spiritual Truth and ask

ourselves, " What is the human potential? " Are we merely here to

" survive, " to be manipulated by fear into swallowing the blue pill of

ignorant consumerhood? Or are we here to evolve in consciousness and

use our precious resources and human intelligence -- intelligently?

 

As I said at the outset, the issues we face are far bigger than

" politics, " particularly the politics of left vs. right. It's time for

those awakening to the clear and present danger -- and the awesome

opportunity to make an evolutionary leap - to abandon the left-right

battlefield and come front-and-center. As Buckminster Fuller said in

his book of the same name, the choice we humans face at the dawn of

this new millennium is " utopia or oblivion. " Sure, utopia is a

challenging idea to wrap your mind around. But it beats the heaven out

of the alternative.

 

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Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda is a nationally-known humorist

and political uncommontator, who is the author of " Swami for

Precedent: A 7- Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile

Dysfunction. "

To read Swami's 2005 State of the Universe Address, go to:

http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/news.html

 

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