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War and the Police State:
Complicity of the American People
By Donna J. Thorne
| "We are apt to shut our eyes against a
painful truth…. Is this the part of wise men,
engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?
Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who
having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not..?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might
cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to
know.. it — now." Patrick Henry, 1775. |
04/23/07 "GlobalResearch" -- -- -In this era of
perpetual warfare, escalating domestic tyranny,
government-sanctioned torture, and a Nazi-like pursuit of
Middle-East domination, one would expect, at the very least, an
audible outcry from the People who proclaim resolute devotion to
the ideals of liberty and justice for all. Yet for the most
part, Mainstream America continues to assume a posture of
apathy, bitterness, or eery silence.
When confronted with hard facts and scientific evidence linking
key government officials to the attacks of 9/11, ostensibly
intelligent, levelheaded people angrily and defiantly reject
said information without a moment's deliberation. Sincerely
compassionate and peace-loving individuals support the criminal
invasion of Iraq and close their eyes to the U.S. slaughter of
600,000 Iraqi civilians, choosing instead to believe in the myth
of American supremacy, at the heart of which lies the notion
that foreigners alone are capable of such atrocities.
And now, in the aftermath of 9/11 and the subsequent
establishment of Homeland Security, previously rigid supporters
of civil rights quietly tolerate the piecemeal deconstruction of
the U.S. Constitution under the pretext of protection, and to
their own peril, disregard increasingly strident warnings and
signs of a growing and imminent police state. Clearly,
Mainstream America has surrendered to the subjugation of a
power-crazed, despotic administration whose control continues to
expand exponentially with each passing rumor of imminent peril .
Why,when confronted with a black-and-white record of autocratic
offenses, are so many sensible Americans ignoring and even
endorsing the current administration as it openly paves a
tyrannical road to hell? Are we so deluded by rhetoric and
weapons-grade propaganda, that we are no longer able to
distinguish truth from fiction, thereby allowing, if not
abetting our own enslavement ?
Inarguably, a collective set of circumstances exist to explain
the acquiescence of the American People. What follows is the
first in a series of explorations by which this writer will
attempt to identify possible core factors contributing to the
scourge of apathy in American society today.
Fear, the Nemesis of Rationality
One cannot analyze the dynamics of a post 9/11 society without
examining one of its principal characteristics: fear, anxiety,
dread, apprehension… in a word, Terror. To those who benefit
from its proliferation, fear is a currency, a commodity, and a
powerful marketing tool. If one is aware of the devices by which
leaders have garnered power and support for any given war or
agenda historically, one can easily discern the same
machinations at work today. A key ingredient to any successful
war rally or acquisition of power is the exploitation of fear
through the manipulation of perception.
On September 11, 2001, corporate media and the government elite
launched an aggressive political and media campaign upon and
against the American people. With Madison-Avenue expertise,
purveyors of fear heightened our perception of imminent threat
by inundating the airwaves with continual, repetitive,
easily-learned sound-bytes, words brimming with
emotionally-charged meaning, "…Bin Laden, Taliban, Axis of Evil,
Saddam Hussein, Terror-Threat, Terrorist…" with just enough
intensity to successfully persuade the American people to
procure security at any cost.
Comprehensive and firmly-entrenched fear is the means by which
the current administration manages to sell the "War of Terror"
and, allowed to flourish, has solidified mechanized cooperation
from the masses as our leaders appeal to the most basic of all
human needs-- security.
The groundwork has been laid. Today, newly identified "threats"
are announced with almost predictable regularity. Now firmly
embedded in the collective unconscious of America, fear is
employed to rationalize unprecedented dictatorial powers in the
White House, to justify the erosion of privacy and the stripping
of human rights once sacredly guarded by the Constitution. Yet,
what should one expect from an administration whose platform is
built upon a substratum of fear, except for fear itself?
Fear attempts to silence dissenters. As the Truth Movement gains
momentum and amasses credibility, the fear profiteers have begun
heralding yet another "threat" to National Security - inquiring
minds. This is both good news and bad news. We are no longer
ignorable. Fearing exposure, the Czars of Propaganda know that "Truthers"
must be branded and discredited if government corruption and
corporate fraud is to flourish unabated. This said, prepare for
an intensified Smear-and-Fear Campaign. Any group or individual
who vocally questions the official story of 9/11 or who
exercises the right to demand Government accountability will be
labeled "Anti-American and Anti-Patriotic".
A well-documented strategy of propagandists throughout modern
history, dissolving credibility through character assassination
is a calculated tactic utilized to persuade the uninformed
public to turn a deaf ear, to, in effect, remain uninformed. It
remains to be seen if this line of attack will succeed, and
success is dependent upon each individual proponent of freedom.
As with the human longing for security, the natural desire for
affiliation and acceptance works in favor of the war-mongering,
power-hungry elite, for they know only the bravest of the brave
will dare risk ostracism for a noble cause.
Fear begets fear and dulls rationality. Under fear's influence,
the autonomic nervous system shifts into fight-or-flight mode.
Perhaps this either-or response clarifies the bipartisanship of
laboring freedom fighters and the willingly deceived. The former
empower themselves with knowledge. The latter, so fearful of
annihilating reassuring illusions, continue to defend the crimes
of their pseudo-conservative leaders, and in so doing, stave off
the anxieties which would surely accompany enlightenment. So
desperate to believe in an imaginary benevolent Big Brother, We
the People unknowingly and sometimes willingly turn a deaf ear
to the truth, choosing instead to believe a lie. We lull
ourselves into complacency or forced submission. We allow fear
to breed a culture of silent ignorance and unthinking loyalty by
which dictatorial regimes are allowed to flourish.
We would do well to remember, a fear-struck population is easily
led.
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