Thank heaven for the freedom of the press or we would be living in total ignorance while being manipulated by corporate America and our government respectively. Those of us who grew up during the Great Depression, World War 11 and the Korean War have experienced the benefits of a free society and the respect given to Americans by the rest of the world because we were always a benevolent country. All of that has changed since President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office. In his "Farewell Address to the Nation," he perceived and warned the people that too much military power coupled with corporate influence for economic growth would destroy the basic fabric of the nation. He envisioned America heading in the same path that led eventually to the fall of the Roman Empire.
In the Netflix DVD documentary entitled "Why We Fight," the filmmaker examines the political, economic interests and ideological factors, past and present, behind American militarism through personal stories of soldiers, government officials, scholars, journalists and innocent victims. This documentary provides the supportive data for another, more profound documentary entitled "Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup." Filmmaker Dylan Avery argues that the world has not yet heard the full truth behind the terrorist attacks and urges citizens to demand accountability from the U.S. government. Avery also takes a sobering walk through other famous historical events, such as the Vietnam War, and what role politicians have had in their creation.
Each presidential administration after President Eisenhower is to blame for deceiving the American public by proclaiming false truths in order to promote their own political agendas. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld however, are the biggest culprits in deception. It is now a widely accepted notion that in order to keep oil flowing regularly to America from the Middle East, and to protect our corporate interests there, they had to fabricate a fact that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and was a threat to America. Their rationale was necessary for Congress and the American public to approve a war against Iraq under the guise of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Did most Americans believe that the Iraqi’s really wanted our form of democracy, when they have been living under tribal rule for centuries? I think not!
Whether you are an avid Fox News, or MSNBC news watcher, or an NPR radio listener, I implore you to view with an open mind the above mentioned documentaries. If what they portray are remotely true, our faith in capitalism and a government working for the welfare of the people is in serious jeopardy of extinction. I was once proud to say that I am an American, but the present direction of our government in domestic and foreign affairs, has caused me to be quite disheartened. America has become an Imperialist country. We are not far from losing democracy for "Totalitarianism."