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How Fantasy Democracy Works in America |
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By
Stephen Lendman |
| America is a one-party state with two right wings. Fantasy democracy
substitutes for the real thing, tyranny by any standard, might over right,
equity and justice be damned. Independent candidates are shunned - at times grievously abused. More on this below. Governance at the federal, state and local levels exclusively serves wealth, power and privileged interests, no others. Elections when held are farcical - easily and often rigged with electronic ease and by other devious means, most people none the wiser. Power brokers run things. Ordinary people have no say whatever. Voting is a waste of time. Why bother when your choice doesn’t count. Police state harshness punishes anyone challenging how America really works - a ruthless debauched state harming more people over a longer duration than any other country in history. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka represent what governance should be all about - serving everyone equitably and fair, polar opposite the way America works. Resisting tyranny is a universal right and obligation - civil disobedience for right over wrong one of the noblest of noble acts, the stuff redoubtable heroes are made of. Stein and Baraka could be prosecuted and fined, even imprisoned for courageously standing in solidarity with Native American Sioux people and environmentalists in Morton, ND. They oppose ecologically destructive Dakota Access Pipeline construction to carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois if completed. Standing Rock Sioux tribe lawyers sought injunctive relief to halt the project temporarily. On Wednesday, warrants were disgracefully issued for the arrests of Stein and Baraka. Wrongful charges include trespass and criminal mischief. “And for what,” they asked? “For their commitment to defend the planet and stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Sioux people.” “For standing with those who are defending their rights to clean water and sacred burial grounds.” They spray-painted messages on a bulldozer destroying hallowed ground. Stein said “I hope the North Dakota authorities press charges against the real vandalism taking place at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation: the bulldozing of sacred burial sites and the unleashing of vicious attack dogs.” “How does the act of Jill and Ajamu’s peaceful civil disobedience compare to the crimes being committed by the fossil fuel industry - threatening the water of millions and using dog and pepper spray attacks on peaceful protectors of the land,” both candidates asked? Stein said “(w)e are facing a climate emergency that requires us to halt any further investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, and instead to transition to 100% clean energy as soon as possible.” Energy and construction companies should be prosecuted for environmental destruction, not peaceful protesters courageously defending the land from their pillaging. Baraka said “(o)ur campaign is all about standing up to the rich and powerful who believe in their right to exploit the rest of the planet’s beings and resources for their own profit.” “The state should be prosecuting the crimes of threatening the water of millions and the attacks on peaceful protestors.” Stein and Baraka are revolutionary activists at their best, heroic figures, their progressive agenda what’s badly needed. Media scoundrels ignore their message, treating them like nonpersons. They’re denied the right to compete fairly against the two most widely reviled duopoly party candidates in US history. Now they face arrest and criminal prosecution - for courageously doing the right thing, for challenging people and environmentally destructive pipeline construction. America works this way - for its privileged few alone at the expense of most others. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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