Evolution of Consciousness

Author/journalist Chris Hedges has written a good book called Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (July 2009). The work is divided into five sections, each one examining illusions in different fields: literacy, love, wisdom, happiness, and America.

My reading experience was rather peculiar, in that the interest level ramped up rather slowly. It started out wobbly, picked up steam as it went, and really soared at the end.

In the crisply written closing chapter, “The Illusion of America,” Hedges delivers an excellent overview and critique of the current State of the Nation. If you find yourself bogging down in the earlier sections, skip ahead — but do not miss the final chapter.

Sobering, because it sees without illusion, this sort of clarity of vision represents the best antidote to what ails us. Without a clear understanding of our situation, we can’t fix it. Books like this are, therefore, very important. Read it, and pass the word.

These are troubled times. Few would argue with that. So the big question is, What’s wrong?

The answer is that we are living under the tyranny of the dollar. Power is solidly in the hands of corporations, or big money. Everywhere you look, you see the effects: money controls everything, and perverts everything. The concerns of real people are marginalized, so that big money can have its way. So the question then becomes: How can we, the people, fix this?

And the answer to that is actually quite simple: corporations are not persons. This goes right to the legal/political heart of the matter. We need to get the Supreme Court to acknowledge the obvious fact that corporations are not persons.

Once that is established, corporate lawyers will not be able to abuse the Bill of Rights, as they do now, on their clients’ behalf. The Amendments were obviously drafted with real people in mind, but corporations have found a way to bend our rights to their favor, by making the ridiculous claim that corporations are persons.

For instance, corporations are able to pump unlimited sums of money into lobbying by claiming their right to the First Amendment. It’s an obvious perversion of a citizen’s right to free speech, but that’s how special interests now justify their ability to essentially own our government.

So we need to get very clear on this distinction: corporations are not people (and people are not corporations). They are two distinctly different entities, and each needs its own set of rights and regulations. We have to stop the muddling, and once we do, we’ll have gone a long way toward clearing up the problem.

Fortunately, there is an excellent book on the subject: Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights (2002). The author goes into good detail about how this folly of “corporate personhood” came about, how it is currently being abused, and — most importantly — how we can go about fixing it. I recommend reading this book and acting upon the advice within.

History is important, as are the stories we tell ourselves. Lately, we’ve been failing on both fronts: remiss in understanding our own recent history, while swinish ideologues narrowly frame our stories in false and misleading ways. These are depressing times.

But I believe/hope/pray the darkest days of this cycle have passed, and it is now imperative that we educate ourselves, so that facts might inform our stories, about where we’ve been and where we’re going. Toward that end, I’d like to recommend some reading…

Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture
by Thom Hartmann, July 2009

I’m listing this book first for a couple reasons: it’s the most recent, and it does a fine job pulling together the many and disparate threads of this subject in a concise and accessible manner. It’s not a perfect work, but if you read only one book on this list, there is a good argument for this being the one.

Moyers on Democracy
by Bill Moyers, May 2008

Soaring and inspired collection of speeches given over the past 30 years, all around the topic of American democracy. Drawing upon his considerable experience in both politics and journalism, Moyers has much to offer.

The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Krugman, October 2007

A well-written history on the rise and fall of that great American phenomenon of the twentieth century, the middle class. Roughly spans FDR to GWB, thus providing a good grounding in the recent history of our collective economic fortunes (or lack thereof).

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi Klein, September 2007

A detailed look at how economic hegemony has been practiced by American financiers over the past few decades. At times long and ponderous, this work remains important for illuminating how economic concerns have trumped human concerns.

Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004
by Hendrik Hertzberg, July 2004

This collection of essays, from a brilliant and accomplished writer, is as much a pleasure to read as it is instructive. Hertzberg is often at his best explaining nuances of wonkery, such as how we could improve the American electoral process.

Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes
by Chuck Collins and William H. Gates Sr., January 2003

Excellent treatise from a couple of wealthy guys on why they — and their brethern — should be taxed, fairly and responsibly, for the benefit of all. Written in response to the selfish and greedy attack on the estate tax by those rich kids in the Bush/Cheney Administration.

So, there’s six of my favorite (fairly recent) books on politics. If you have any recommendations, I’d like to hear them.

Earlier this month, when asked about investigating the crimes of the Bush Administration, Obama had some good things to say, but ended with the statement that he was more interested in looking forward than back. Give that line a try the next time you get pulled over…

Officer: “Do you know why I stopped you?”

Driver: “Interesting question, officer, but I’d rather look forward than back.”

It wouldn’t work, because bullshit is not tolerated in that particular real-life situation. Unfortunately, the world of politics has a much higher threshold.

Jane Mayer’s recent book The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals is a detailed exploration into the Bush Administration’s embrace of illegal detention and torture. It focuses on the secret legal gymnastics they went through to “justify” criminal acts. Why so secret? Because every time a decent, sane, law-abiding person saw what they were doing they reacted with disbelief, horror, and disgust. So the corrupt inner circle wrapped themselves in the flag, worked in the dark, and barked menacingly when anyone approached.

Dick Cheney was, of course, the heart of darkness. David Addington served as his junkyard dog, and John Yoo was their legal chihuahua. (By the way, shame on U.C. Berkeley for employing Yoo, and shame on Stanford for harboring Condi Rice. These institutions obviously have no moral standards.) Yoo and Addington, with their “creative” legal interpretations, paved the way for Cheney and Bush to steer the Executive Branch into dictator land. (To get a sense of how these two yahoos operate, look up coverage of Addington and Yoo’s contemptuous performance before the House Judiciary subcommittee last summer.)

Immediately after 9/11, one of the things that should have happened was an investigation, which would have revealed the incompetence and laziness of the CIA and Bush Administration which, sadly, allowed the hijackers to succeed. With some honest reflection, these institutions could have learned from their mistakes. But the reality was that the two Georges responsible, Tenet and Bush, quickly agreed that there would be no investigations (they knew what they would find). Instead, they pointed in other directions, and overreacted in some very destructive ways, stirring up lots of fear, hatred, and violence. Here’s a sampling from Mayer’s book:

“With little warning, a half-dozen masked men in black whisked two Egyptian asylum seekers, Muhammad Zery and Ahmed Agiza, into an empty office at Stockholm’s Bromma Airport. Working in swift, synchronized lockstep, the masked men cut off the Egyptians’ clothes with scissors and placed the shreds in bags. They forcibly administered sedatives by anal suppository, swaddled the prisoners in diapers, and dressed them in orange jumpsuits and hoods, with no cutouts for their eyes…the suspects were placed in handcuffs and leg irons and photographed.”

Let that sink in, figuratively speaking, for just a moment. Nice use of tax dollars, if you’re trying to win the hearts and minds of sadists around the world. And that’s just the initial apprehension. Snapshots from Abu Ghraib testify to some of the fun that followed. It’s illegal, unethical, immoral, inhumane, and should not be tolerated. As a human being, I’m appalled. As an American, I’m ashamed. We need a serious investigation to get to the bottom of what happened, and the people responsible need to be brought to justice. I’m not talking about the soldiers following orders as much as the chickenhawks giving the orders. We keep hearing platitudes like “no one is above the law,” but we keep seeing something entirely different play out, year after year, administration after administration. It’s time we got serious about following through on all these high ideals we like to spout.

Now I appreciate Obama’s desire to look forward. There are lots of challenges ahead that he needs to focus on. But he also needs to fully support Congress in their responsibility to investigate and prosecute the criminals that just vacated the White House.

Here’s the recent history lesson: America did not fully investigate and prosecute Iran-Contra, which was the Reagan Administration’s secret, illegal flouting of Congress and the Constitution. Many perpetrators and close observers of that crime came back to help run Bush’s latest round of lawbreaking and abuse of executive power. Until we stop this cycle, we will continue to suffer from it. That’s why the traffic cop usually ends up writing the ticket. People need consequences to correct their behavior. George W. Bush hasn’t encountered many consequences in his silver-spooned life. I think it’s time he got one.

Senator Pat Leahy is trying to build on the good foundational work of Representative John Conyers to shine some light on the many Bush crimes. You can support that effort at BushTruthCommission.com

Congress is mustering another attempt to investigate the abuses of power of the Bush Administration. This investigation is critical to the legitimacy and perpetuation of our government and the rule of law.

The previous administration ran the executive branch, not as public servants, but more like renegade CEOs. While in office, any attempts at investigation or oversight were dismissed with claims of “executive privilege” or “national security.” This ploy, when abused, can lead to dictatorship.

Thus, an important task for this 111th Congress will be to restore some balance of power between the branches of government. Toward that goal, the House Judiciary Committee released a report last month titled “Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush.” The 486 page document is available online, and goes into good detail on the subject. It’s worth a look.

Also worth a look is Vincent Bugliosi’s recent book The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. Here the famous Manson prosecutor focuses on just one aspect of the many Bush crimes: starting a war under false pretenses. Be forewarned, the author’s tone can drift toward bombast at times, but don’t let that scare you away, it’s mostly the voice of righteous indignation. Personally, I found the reading of this book to be a rather cathartic experience, a soothing balm to years of pent-up frustration.

A thorough investigation of the past eight years is sorely needed, to determine exactly what happened, how it happened, and to serve appropriate justice. Let your congress people know where you stand on the subject (and a short note to the current administration, at whitehouse.gov, might also help). Progressive government won’t occur by itself, it takes an active citizenry to really make it happen.