Friday, September 19, 2008
Fighting Aristocracy
As we see in Bolivia, any threat to aristocrats is met with violence, and, as in the United States, this lawlessness extends to the seizure of power and the subversion of lawful elections. Also similar to the US situation, the criminality of the most violent aristocrats is wedded to the control of land and theft of energy resources belonging to indigenous peoples. Not surprisingly, the American aristocracy has come to the rescue of the Bolivian aristocracy -- via funding from the U.S. State Department -- to foment violent revolution against the rule of law and the sharing of public energy wealth.
While it is possible the elected leaders of South America will manage to fend off this latest attempted coup by the United States, it is unlikely either candidate for president of the US will rein in America's aristocracy and the violence they promote worldwide. If anything, the test of the world indigenous movement, and its ally the pro-democracy movement, will be whether criminal governance can be reined in in the United States.
Bad as the last eight years have been, things can always get worse, and the apocalyptic Republican ticket guarantees it. Even the status quo Democratic ticket ensures no change. In order to end criminal violence as official US policy, the American people themselves must intervene, and this is a task for which they are woefully unprepared.
While it is possible the elected leaders of South America will manage to fend off this latest attempted coup by the United States, it is unlikely either candidate for president of the US will rein in America's aristocracy and the violence they promote worldwide. If anything, the test of the world indigenous movement, and its ally the pro-democracy movement, will be whether criminal governance can be reined in in the United States.
Bad as the last eight years have been, things can always get worse, and the apocalyptic Republican ticket guarantees it. Even the status quo Democratic ticket ensures no change. In order to end criminal violence as official US policy, the American people themselves must intervene, and this is a task for which they are woefully unprepared.
