I have been reading a book by John Perkins, called “The Secret History of the American Empire.” He says that the American Empire is “as ruthless as any in history … and yet its crimes go almost unnoticed, disguised in the robes of eloquent rhetoric.”
Those crimes, of course, go more “unnoticed” in this country than elsewhere. I am planning to use this book for reference, during the next four years, to remind me to notice whether our President and the Congress will in fact make changes that are not only rhetorical, but real.
At this point, months later, it's still unclear to me how much the "American Empire" is changing under the Obama administration. We're still at war in Afghanistan and Iraq; Gitmo is still open, although some prisoners have been released or put on trial, we've allowed, and perhaps been complicit, in a coup overthrowing the elected president of Honduras, we're still little closer to an effective global response to global climate change, and we're still at odds with Russia over nuclear weapons.
ReplyDeleteRome wasn't built in a day, but the construction crew appears to be taking its sweet time about laying a foundation for change.
Gore Vidal laid it on line on the American Empire on Charlie Rose show the other day. Check it out everyone.
ReplyDelete