7 Sep 2002 @ 07:12, by Sandi Hunter
Got this in the email....had to share!
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Confessions of an American
Ex-patriot
It all began about a year ago. I had just finished
watching the morning news over a cup of coffee, and
nothing felt quite right. Having dutifully pecked the
cheek of my wife with a kiss, I stood beside my sporty
new car with mug in hand. The engine was purring away
before my drive to work, and my favorite bumper
sticker caught my eye. “Proud to be an American” it
read. I paused for a moment, reflecting upon this.
For some reason it just didn’t set well, like a lunch
eaten too fast. On the way to the office I was at a
loss to explain, in fact, why it began to seriously
irritate me. I see statements like these on countless
other cars every day, and I wondered how many people
think for themselves these days. Then the question
arose…What are we so proud of? As I asked myself this
question over and over again, I suddenly couldn’t
think of a single response. So why did I have this
proclamation on my bumper, if I didn’t know what it
meant? Why does everyone else seem to have one too,
(or a flag or sticker in the window and yard). Do they
know something I don‘t??
My day at work was pretty much the same as always,
except for one thing. I seemed to raise a few
eyebrows over lunch with my question, “Why are you
proud to be an American”? The immediate reactions
were about the same as mine. There was also obvious
irritation about being asked a question to which
everyone is expected to know the answer. Each person
I asked had no immediate response, and their confusion
reminded me of my own. But then to my relief the
answer that was provided one way or another, was
something to the effect of…”Well, we’re a free
country. We’re a democracy, and the people decide how
they want to believe, and you know, that’s a lot
better than any place else in the world, right?” But
my sense of relief at this answer did not last. I
kept the thought that came to mind secret, which was,
“Yeah, you’re free to believe whatever you want, so
long as it’s politically correct”. Recalling recent
events and the sorry shape the world is in right now,
such responses seemed very shallow. They sounded like
tape recordings being played on cue. It was a little
eerie how everybody answered in the same basic way,
using the same words I’d heard on television so many
times. It would be interesting to know if everyone
would talk differently if the television and
newspapers were taking a different stand. I suspect
they would be.
When I got home that evening, I made my wife nervous
by talking about how the last presidential election
was a farce. George W. Bush is president today, but
not by a vote of the people. I said, “Yes, don’t you
remember…nobody ever talks about this now, as though
it’s ancient history. But George W. was put in office
by the Supreme Court, while the recount of votes in
Florida was actually prevented. How can a court
decide who wins the presidency in a democracy? She
did not seem to appreciate my new fascination with
being politically incorrect, and offered no answers.
Afterwards, other questions arose in my mind. If
we’re a democracy, then why is it that the important
decisions of running this country and how our tax
dollars are spent, are rarely a matter of public
knowledge, let alone votes? Do we really live in a
free country or a police state? Are we really
promoting democracy around the world as the television
claims we are, or are we just installing puppets who
do our economic bidding? I thought of recent police
suppression of demonstrations in Seattle, Portland and
elsewhere. Images of pepper spray, riot gear, Nazi
insignias, and countless people in prison cells filled
my mind. I thought about how the Justice Department
locks people up indefinitely now, without charges,
even if they are American citizens. Bank accounts are
frozen and lives are destroyed, just because George
and company says they have “ties” to so and so. Our
words speak of “nation building” but our actions
speak more loudly of. nation destroying. I remembered
hearing how the CIA meddles in governments the world
over, staging armed rebellions and the like, yet
without a single vote from the people involved. How
does one establish a democracy by installing puppet
dictators who are on the CIA payroll? I thought about
the “Patriot Act” which makes wire taps, e-mail
interception and house searches without warrants
“legal“. So much for the Bill of Rights. I
considered how it’s becoming more and more accepted
that neighbors report each other to the government for
“suspicious behavior”. What is “suspicious” behavior
anyway, not wearing green on St. Patrick‘s Day?? How
will this new “Homeland Security” office be used
against our citizens? Perhaps it should be called “The
Office of Suspicious Behavior”. I thought about
college professors being fired and receiving death
threats, for teaching that we should critically
examine how our Bill of Rights and Constitution are
being trampled on by recent legislation. We’re told,
“we have to give up our liberties for the sake of our
protection”. How is giving up our sovereignty and
freedoms protecting us from anything, and why does one
have to come at the cost of the other?
The more I thought about such questions the more
uncertain I became about how “proud” I am to be an
American. I certainly want to be proud, don’t get me
wrong. I would like nothing better than to believe
that my government is just and honest, that it
represents the people who pay for its existence,
(taxpayers) and which is a force for good in the
modern world. Yet it’s pretty clear that our
government is no longer for the people, but for money
interests. Ours has become a government by and for
the corporations, and as such how can it be a
democracy? The general attitude today seems to be
that the people exist to serve and obey government,
rather than the other way around. Media exists to
condition a response rather than to just inform.
Isn’t a government that has this attitude a parasite?
I was raised in an upper middle class family, attended
a private school for “gifted students” and have an
excellent academic record. I hold Masters degrees in
business administration and psychology, having firmly
believed that such accreditation is essential for
“success” in this wonderful, modern world of
ever-increasing standards of living. I was employed
for many years in a significant middle management
position at an electronics firm based in Dallas Texas,
making in excess of $85,000 a year. My wife and I and
our two children, lived in a 5 bedroom, 3500 square
foot home, in an excellent neighborhood. Yet through
all these years I was never truly satisfied, and
didn’t know why. I didn’t know anyone else who was
satisfied either. After giving the whole thing some
thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that our society
is moving in the wrong direction. It glorifies greed
as the supreme goal in life, and egotism as the norm
for social interaction. I honestly can’t think of any
other reason at this point, why anyone would even
desire more than they need to live well.
But all that is changed now. The more I’ve learned in
fact, the more I realize the world isn‘t going to last
very much longer at this rate..
In the weeks following my initial “political
incorrectness”, I did some research on the internet,
and at the library. My mind was really opened by all
this information, but even more so by the implications
of what I was finding out. The following statistics
are fully verifiable;
As of August 2001, the national debt has risen to the
astronomical figure of over 6 trillion dollars.
That’s 6000 billion! I asked myself, “Good God! Where
has all this money been spent? If we’re supposedly
the richest nation in the world, with the highest
standards of living, then how can we possibly owe 6000
billion dollars?” If we’ve spent this much money,
then why is the quality of life for most people
continuing to decay? That sounds like monumental
mismanagement to me. This debt I’m told, increases by
an average of 1 billion, 111 million dollars a day!
As it is now, a child born tomorrow will be born into
debt to the amount of $21,438! Mind you, this figure
only reflects the national debt. If one were to
figure in state, county and city debts, the amount
owed by a newborn today is well over $100,000! And
the government has the nerve to criticize or penalize
corporations for their mismanagement of funds? Almost
as much money is spent on paying the interest to this
incredible sum, than is spent on the military! That’s
right, we all pay interest on this debt, in the form
of increased taxes and loss of social programs. I
read in the paper recently that budgets have been cut
so drastically, that grade schools can’t afford
construction paper, sufficient teachers to fill
positions, or even to fix their own computers. Social
welfare programs are evaporating like desert ponds in
summertime. The elderly can’t afford their pills,
consumer debt is at an all-time high, and thousands
get laid off every quarter. Meanwhile, corporate
scandals rage on, with a predictably higher level of
corruption than ever before to the tune of tens of
billions. Political campaigns and “political
contributions” run into the tens of millions of
dollars, while the local library can’t afford to buy
new encyclopedias. I wonder if it ever occurred to
most people that while we’re spending these
astronomical sums on the military and government,
we’re spending less on what matters in life. Why are
all the state budgets so strapped? Because the
government is no longer there for the people, that’s
why.
Proud to be an American? Yeah, proud like a armed
robber, leaving another bank with an armful.
There’s been a lot of talk about attacking Iraq for
months, and yet another war is not far away. Why is
it we always seem to be in a state of war? The
“debate” rages on, not so much as to why we should
attack, or what right we have playing policeman, (or
God Almighty) to the rest of the world. We seem to
assume that the whole world is ours to do with as we
wish, while punishing those who dare to manage their
own affairs. We hear congressmen screaming for blood,
and a president who consults “legal advisors” as to
whether or not he can go to war without the approval
of congress. Of course, there is a high public
approval rating for all this, if the news is to be
believed. You know, it’s really fascinating to watch
such events with an attitude of detachment. If for
instance you had just arrived on this planet and knew
absolutely nothing about “the war on terror”, how
would you perceive the American attitude? Try that
mental exercise and see where it leads.
In any case, we’re told by the media that it is our
dire need to immediately attack Iraq in a
“pre-emptive strike”, before they attack us or anyone
else. Because Iraq possesses, or might possess,
“weapons of mass destruction” we should do away with
Saddam Hussein. Hmmm. I guess that means it’s OK for
us to attack them, since we are morally perfect in
every way. It’s our self-assigned role on this planet
to define right and wrong, after all. So while it
would be “evil” (i.e. George Bush‘s “axis of evil”)
for them to attack and kill us, it is “good” for us to
attack and kill them. When ’they” kill it’s called
“terrorism”…when we kill it’s called “establishing
democracy”. Continuing on this line of reasoning then,
it’s called “murder” if anybody else kills, but if we
do it, it’s called, “preventing murder”. Confused? I
should hope so. If this makes sense to you I suggest
you look up the word “hypocrisy“ in the dictionary..
Imagine if our legal system adopted this same
reasoning. Picture the police driving around shooting
and killing anyone on the street who, “looks like they
might commit a crime“ or who, “appears to have an
interest in buying a gun” thereby preventing murder,
rape and other atrocities.. “Justice” could then be
dispensed at the humble price of a bullet, rather than
messy court proceedings and the silly presentation of
evidence. If we have such a foreign policy, devoid of
all due process, UN approval or international court
proceedings, then why not adopt such a policy at home?
That seems to be where we’re headed. Everyone is
assumed to be guilty until proven innocent, assuming
that is, you are even allowed to see a lawyer behind
closed doors, after the police beat you when they’re
sure no one has a camera aimed in their direction.
Also, if by merely possessing or hoping to possess,
“weapons of mass destruction” a country deserves to be
bombed and occupied, then almost all the countries of
the world will have to be leveled flat. What about
Russia, Canada, China, France or Great Britain? Hey,
for that matter, what about US? Nobody has more of
these weapons than we do, and nobody has sold more of
them to other countries than we have. Oh, that’s
right, we can do that because we’re “God’s chosen”.
Isn’t this the official line? Well, what other excuse
can one offer?
We spend about 300 billion dollars a year on the
military budget, not counting the cost of wars and
preparations for war. This is far more than any
country, anywhere, in the history of this planet.
That’s enough to completely transform the environment
and world poverty, in one stroke. It’s not hard to
see where our priorities are.
Proud to be an American? Am I proud about the bombing
of Afghanistan or Iraq for weeks on end, and at the
cost of a billion dollars a day? No, mass murder is
not something I cherish, nor is it a hobby of mine.
I’m not convinced that the Afghan people had anything
to do with the events of 9-11. Nor am I convinced
that Iraq deserves to be singled out for execution, as
a “bad guy” with a black hat, amidst a sea of pearly
white morality the world over. And what’s this about
“IF” we go to war with Iraq? Don’t our warplanes bomb
Iraqi targets on a regular basis, even as we speak?
Right now there is an “Earth Summit” being held in
Africa by the United Nations, attended by most of the
countries of the world, with the notable exception of
the president of the United States. This is no
surprise, since as a country, we’ve also pulled out of
the Kyoto Protocol regarding greenhouse emissions, and
several other environmental treaties. I guess “green”
isn’t good for business. Bush and company have
reduced clean air and water standards, increased
logging and mining, given big businesses billions in
government subsidies, (free handouts) calling that an
“economic stimulus package”, while the Environmental
Protection Agency receives less than one percent of
the national budget. Again, it’s all a matter of
greed, not concern for future generations.
Did you know that out of the 6 billion people in the
world, over one billion don’t have clean water to
drink, and two billion don’t have access to adequate
sanitation? Four billion don’t have running water.
Two billion don‘t have electricity. 1.6 billion people
are poorer now than they were 15 years ago. Did you
know that one billion people live on about a dollar a
day, while we consider $20,000 a year underpaid? I
didn’t.
Americans comprise 5% of the world’s population, and
yet consume 30% of its resources. Does this make us
moral and good?
A child born in the US will use 5-20 times the amount
of energy of their counterparts in the developing
world, by the time they live to be 75. The 20% of the
world’s population which has the “highest standards of
living”, consumes 85% of the aluminum and chemicals of
the world, 80% of the paper, iron and steel, 75% of
the timber and energy, 60% of the meat, fertilizer and
cement, half the world’s fish and grain, and 40% of
the fresh water. At the same time they will generate
96% of the radioactive wastes, and 90% of the ozone
depleting chlorofluorocarbons. (source; Presidents’
Council on Sustainable Development). Millions of
third world children die of disease and malnutrition
every year, and our concern is how to make the next
car payment on that luxury sedan. Meanwhile the World
Bank and International Monetary fund, (in which the US
plays a central role) squeezes the poor even further
with “austerity measures”, so they can keep making
their national interest payments.
It’s not hard to realize how the lack of the majority,
is directly proportional to the relative greed of a
privileged few. How many acres of forest, tons of
coal and metals, megawatts of electricity and square
feet of sweat shop labor, did it take to build that
fancy house of mine in Texas? Or that fancy new car?
How much pollution was created to make and sustain
these things? I didn’t NEED a NEW car to get from
one place to another, and we didn’t NEED a modern
mansion to live happily. But then I guess “happy”
isn’t the point any more is it? The very thought
makes me nauseous in the realization that I
contributed to all that, for the sake of ego. And all
this is what is called “success” and “getting ahead”.
It sounds more like failure and falling behind to me,
when it’s considered in the light of spiritual values.
Calling this consumerist way of life, a “higher
standard of living” sounds nice, but another name for
it is endless selfishness. The more money people have
in this culture the more they want, (and the bigger
house and more expensive car that goes along with it).
They complain about not having enough, no matter how
much they have. But that’s not because they don’t have
enough, it’s because they waste what they have. The
more they have, the more they waste. And I confess
that I too believed THE GREAT LIE that “more is
better”. I believed that a person who owns expensive
things is a better person, someone to be admired. But
now I realize this is only a very shallow concept.
Only a misguided and selfish person spends their whole
existence accumulating more than they need, at the
expense of lives and the children of tomorrow. Only a
base egotist thinks that they must live to impress,
while hiding their real face underneath a façade of
“things“. My training in this culture made me a
glutton, an egotist and a fool. I admit this to the
world now. What a relief it is to be honest! My
humanity as a soul, and as caring person, has opened
my eyes to a more sane lifestyle.
Proud to be an American? Proud to value egotism and
image, over practicality and reality? The US spends 6
billion dollars annually on education, and 8 billion
for cosmetics! Any television ad should prove this
point to you. People buy things not for their
practicality but for their image….in other words, they
aim to show off, which reminds me of small children
trying to show “who’s got the best toy” in the
sandbox. That’s pretty sad. If this is all life is
about, then no wonder people are committing suicide in
increasing numbers. Never again for me. The American
Dream has become a nightmare for the world and for
ourselves.
And whatever happened to just being truly happy and
fulfilled, by living an uncomplicated life? Americans
are, for the most part, an unhappy lot. They don’t
look healthy, they thrive on soap operas and romance
novels, laugh nervously, smoke cigarettes, eat junk
food, talk non-stop trivia and need to take pills just
to experience some sexual appetite. In fact, we’re
becoming more unhappy by the minute, if one is to
understand what statistics and simple observation are
revealing. We’re taking more Prozac, Zantril,
vallium, alcohol and a million other antidepressants
than ever before, because of what they’re calling
“chronic stress syndrome” or “chronic depression“.
Our children are on Riddlin for the same reason, and
20 years ago that would have been unheard of. We’re a
nervous and suspicious people, never missing a chance
to dial 911 at the slightest provocation. We’ve got
more people in prison per capita than any other
country in the world, and we’re the most “medicated”.
It’s politically correct to call all this a “chemical
imbalance” but the fact of the matter is, our
lifestyle and materialistic values are KILLING us.
Our young people are suicidally depressed. Grade
school children carry knives and guns to school. Do
you suppose there’s something wrong with society,
rather than with these kids? You bet.
We fully expect to surgically remove this stressed
organ and that diseased tissue, and maybe our lives
will be extended, (though not improved) another five
years. And you know what? We count on being diseased
and incapacitated after 30 years of hard labor in the
9-5, (or is that 8 to 6?) routine. That’s why it’s
common to believe that we each need a million +
dollars saved up, to survive our self abuse in the
nearest rest home. We’ve become wage slaves who never
question what it’s all for. What is all this
“success” for anyway? So that somebody, somewhere,
some day might somehow admire you as a great person,
when deep down you know it’s all just a façade? We
supposedly work for all these material “conveniences”,
yet there is nothing convenient about living 30+ years
according to a job description. We’re destroying our
minds, bodies and planet to accomplish nothing more
than an extended hospital stay. I’ve noticed that
some people I’ve discussed these matters with call
such statements “negative”. But is the truth
“negative” or is it simply true? Is an ostrich safe
just because it sticks it’s head in the sand?
We all sit in front of television sets like zombies.
Televisions have become our closest companions,
instead of other people. And people will watch
anything, as an “escape”. If we’re so “successful”
then why is it that all we want to do is escape? Our
mental lives are like those of soap opera characters
concerned only with game show trivia. Our
intellectual standards have sunk to a point where no
one even asks “Why”? any more, and no one questions
anything. The words “truth”, “logic” “honesty” and
“reality” aren’t even in our vocabulary. No one dares
speak them because of the responsibility they might
imply.. Everyone has “their own truth” as though truth
is whatever you want to make up. We don’t really talk
to each other any more. It’s only polite smiles and
small talk, as though there isn’t anything more
important to talk about. We care more about our petty
emotional distress and what product to buy next, than
we do for the planet, which is being destroyed as we
speak. We care more for what goes into the engines of
our cars then our own bodies, while spending more time
taking care of the lawn rather than working out.
Don’t you see? Image has become far more important to
us than substance. Our lives are like a fancy box
with exquisite wrapping paper and bows, but with
nothing inside.
Wars are spoken of so casually that you’d think
killing another ten thousand or so had no more
relevance than a change in the weather. Perhaps less.
Every 20 minutes the world population goes up 3500
people, one species of plant or animal is destroyed
forever, and the average American gets fatter. We’ve
become the Feared, rather than the Just and the
Trusted. And does anybody really care? No. I’ve
noticed that such topics are considered impolite.
People react to such subjects like they would the
plague. We’ve become the tyranny and war mongering
imperialist which the writers of our Constitution
sought to change. The Revolutionary War was fought
over such issues, but the people have forgotten what
freedom really is. They’ve traded their responsibility
and freedom for a false sense of “security”. To quote
a famous dictator;
“Beware the leader who bangs the drum of war,
In order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic
fervor,
for patriotism is indeed a double edged sword.
It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the
mind.
And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch
And the blood boils with hate
And the mind has closed, the leader will have no need
of seizing
the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry,
infused with fear and blinded by patriotism,
will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and
gladly so.
How do I know? For this is what I have done.
And I am Caesar.
Julius Caesar
Nobody really wants to change how they live, even
though they don’t enjoy life. Why is this? Because
we’re all secretly terrified at what we’ve become, and
feel powerless to do anything about it. But in
reality that’s no excuse. The world situation isn’t
going to magically improve itself without intelligent
realism. Obviously it’s time for a fundamental change
of how we view life. Consumerism, militarism and
materialism just don’t work. Yet I don’t personally
know of even one person who will admit that there’s a
problem, let alone actually change for the better.
I realized that in our culture, when someone asks
“what do you do for a living?” they don’t mean how
spiritually you live, how socially conscious you are
or how you have contributed to the real progress of
the human condition. What they mean is, “What job do
you have and how much do you make?”. It all boils
down to dollars. They ask this so that they can
determine how worthy or unworthy you are to be in
their company. If you want to understand ANYTHING
about our domestic or foreign policies, just ask
“Where’s the money?” That will tell you everything
you need to know about when, what, how, where and why,
anything occurs as it does. Young people are
encouraged to go to college, but I notice that the
motive for this is not personal enlightenment, the
improvement of the human condition or the
understanding of life. It is for one simple purpose,
and that is to gain more “earning power” as a
showpiece on your resume’. It’s interesting how we’ve
reduced all the knowledge, spirituality and Universal
Truth to the lowest common denominator…dollars earned
per annum, as though God himself is nothing more than
The Cosmic Banker, and Reality is summarized perfectly
in the pages of tax returns.
Materialism and consumerism are eating us alive, just
as we are “consuming” the whole planet. Why shouldn’t
consumers, after all, not consume each other as well?
In the end, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Already the countries of the world are fighting over
what little is left, while people starve by the
millions the world over.
Proud to be an American? I’m not a consumer, worms
are. I believe that this is a very demeaning thing to
call oneself, and to call others. And I no longer
worship the dollar as God. So I guess that excludes
me from the club. I know, I know, it’s “unpatriotic”
to talk that way, which means of course, that the
truth itself has become unpatriotic. I guess the
universe will just have to change to suit our whims,
ay?
I’ve become disillusioned with “the American Dream”
and all that it supposedly stands for. Although I
care about the people, I care less and less for
governments bent on conquering the world to get their
oil, and anything else that isn’t tied down. I’m no
supporter of unprovoked war, or war for profit. But
disillusionment is good…the word means; “no more
illusions”. I don’t believe in raping the earth for
dollars. I no longer blind myself to the impact of
lifestyle on the world situation.. I no longer
believe that just because everybody else is doing it,
that this makes it OK. It’s not.
After realizing all this over a period of months, a
bought a packet of razor blades from the hardware
store, and scraped off my “Proud to be an American”
bumper sticker in disgust. I’m not proud of any of
these things, and frankly, it would be an
embarrassment to be identified as an American if I
were traveling abroad. I quit my corporate job
because I didn’t want to be a wage slave any more, for
people who don’t care about anything but money. And
yes, they’re being investigated by the SEC also, while
my former co-workers and I lose our 401K pensions. I
broke up with my wife who still, “plays the corporate
game”, having realized that she loved my money more
than she loved me, something that is taken as
commonplace these days. When I visit my children, I
try to explain to them why mommy is so stressed out,
and never has any time for them, (and never did). I
tell them that there’s a better way to live beyond
“happy pills“, that’s natural, simple and inexpensive.
I live and travel in an RV converted van now,
spending not even a hundredth as much as I once did to
live well.. In this way I’ve gone from “living to
work” to “working to live”. The apparent irony of
this is that I’ve never been happier, healthier or
wiser. I only wish I’d realized all this sooner.
I refuse to pay any more taxes for endless wars, and
trillions in national debt, while scoundrels sit in
places of government power. Give unto Caesar what is
Caesar’s? NO way. Death and destruction is what is
Caesar’s, not my money or my children’s lives..
I’m taking responsibility for the truth now, rather
than trying to live the absurd fantasy of the American
dream. It’s like waking up from a nightmare you‘ve
been trying to outrun. It feels really good. I
dearly hope the reader of this message will do the
same.
Yours truly,
A caring American
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