When I think about politics lately, I am constantly reminded John Carpenter’s movie: ‘In the Mouth of Madness’. My favorite quote from this movie is:
“A reality is just what we tell each other it is. Sane and insane could easily switch places … if the insane were to become the majority. You would find yourself locked in a padded cell wondering what happened to the world.…”
What happens when your view of the world becomes radically different from those around you?
Does the US ’spread democracy’ or are we really the terrorists? Well, to put it simply – we are terrorists. If you are like most people, this statement is probably making you move your mouse to click to another webpage. Don’t, this post is your Wake Up Call. How could the United States of America, you ask, be terrorists? We help other countries, and are nothing like the Saddam Husseins or Bin Ladens of the world, right?
If you are still reading let me just say – you are completely wrong. Sorry. I know congnitive dissonance is going to push your mind to deny what I am saying, but press on my friend, press on! On the other side of the curtain is Knowledge. If everyone in America realized what I am about to show you, we might have a chance of changing things.
For resources, check out the documentaries to the left. Almost all of them are well done documentaries, some have won awards etc. Zeitgeist is admittedly just done by some unknown person on the Internet, but the creator does cite sources on his webpage, and it is a compelling documentary/film.
So here is how I went from a patriotic American to someone completely disillusioned with our country:
1: I read (and have yet to finish) Hegemony Or Survival by Noam Chomsky. Noam Chomsky is a MIT Linguistics Professor. This book states over and over that the US abuses small nations, is in Iraq for oil, and that Iraq is just the latest in a long line of US crimes. One book did not completely change my views though.
2: I watched the documentary The Power of Nightmares. This documentary goes back to the 1940s, and shows how Muslim extremism started. How the first radical extremist Muslim – who trained Bin Laden – was tortured in Egypt, by CIA trained personnel. He knew the CIA was involved. Why do they hate us again? This documentary really goes into Neo-Conservatism. Did you know some people think neocon is just something made up by Liberals? It is hilarious, they explain Neo-Conservatism in depth in this documentary. People *admit* to be Neo-Conservatives! Why is this documentary so compelling? They talk to the CIA agent that was in charge of all Russian intelligence gathering. He states, and explains in detail, how neo-conservatives convinced the CIA director at the time that ‘Communism was a huge threat’, when it was not. The CIA director (Casey) convinced Reagan of it too. Sorry folks, Russia was our enemy, but not a big threat. It was exaggerated. The CIA Director believed that ‘all terrorist attacks were ALL secretly coordinated by the Russians!’. The CIA agent that is in the documentary states that this was just ‘black propaganda’ – lies – that the CIA ITSELF spread throughout Europe. Casey refused to believe it though, and convinced Reagan the Communist threat was everywhere.
3: Here is the most concrete example. Two documentaries and another book I am reading all say the same thing: the US’ excursions into South America are not to help those countries at all, it is to ensure our companies and our country profit from them, and control them. This is also echoed in Hegemony or Survival.
The documentaries are The Secret Government. and The War on Democracy. These documentaries are very compelling. For example, in the War On Democracy, they visit Venezuela. People I know all feel Chavez is a ruthless dictator. Yet in this documentary they *interview poor people in Venezuela* and they all LOVE HIM. There was a coup that tried to oust him, and the poor people came down on the capital by the thousands and demanded his return, and the coup failed. Ron Paul has stated that this coup was thought to be funded by our CIA. This documentary also states that.
The kicker though, is the other documentary, The Secret Government. Up until I watched this documentary, I was still skeptical. I was not entirely convinced. I have also read a ton of articles that back up these documentaries and the book, and found many other people who agreed with what they said, but I kept thinking “don’t forget these articles could be using these documentaries or similar sources as their source of information.” After all, a few documentaries and a book are really only a small group of people making a statement. The Secret Government documentary sounds like some conspiracy video, but it is a documentary/show by Bill Moyers. Bill Moyers is a pretty solid source, probably more reliable than most other journalists, these days…
There is one specific part though, that both The Secret Government, and The War on Democracy both touch on, and that is the coup in Guatemala in 1954. I am using this one example because I do not think this is even debated anymore, this is fact. And yet, people don’t believe it. You can read here how the CIA even released documents that confirmed what people had said for decades!
The Secret Government spells it out clearly. Jacobo Árbenz was *democratically elected by the Guatemalan people in 1950*. The United Fruit company was a large company that was US owned, but imported bananas from Guatemala into the US. 
This, I found out, is why we called it The Banana Republic. Insulting, now that I understand it.
Most of the land was owned by a few wealthy people. Arbenz changed that, and gave most of the land, including his own, back to the poor people of Guatemala. He also allowed all political parties to exist in Guatemala – including the Communist Party. They had no power, they were just another political party. The US charged that Guatemala was becoming a Communist outpost. The land changes also hurt the United Fruit company (although they do not state exactly how). The CIA then funded mercenaries from Honduras to overthrow Arbenz. It failed. So the CIA used *American planes and personnel* to bomb the capital of Guatemala, and install a military dictator, who reversed all of the land changes immediately. Military dictators ruled the country for 30 years. The CIA sold them arms, and trained their officers. Political opponents were killed, peasants slaughtered. The documentary states “there were so many deaths at one point, that coroners complained they could not keep up with the work load.” To add insult to injury, the ‘Godfather of the Death Squads’ in Guatemala, ‘danced at the Inaugural Ball’ in 1981 in the White House.
This is America. Home of the Free, Land of the Brave. Killers in the White House. Overthrowing governments to ensure corporate profits. This is just one example I have researched enough to say is 100% true. Most sources say this is just one of many examples in the last century. Amazing.
We are complicit in the deaths of untold numbers of Guatemalan citizens, torture, hardship, pain and suffering… for bananas.
Bananas folks. Fucking. Bananas.
This is one of the web’s most interesting stories on Tue 29th Jan 2008
These are the web’s most talked about URLs on Tue 29th Jan 2008. The current winner is ..
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
good post.
i always thought Chomsky’s “Deterring Democracy” was a great primer:
http://www.zmag.org/CHOMSKY/dd/dd-contents.html
great post, you really changed my mind
Do you know why iranians aren’t too fond of americans? Because the CIA overthrown the democratically elected Mossadegh government who had the balls to nationalize the oil industry, to replace it by a terrible fascist state until it was overthrown in turn by the mullahs in 1979.
We need Ron Paul in the White House. Nuff’ said.
The descendant of United Fruit is none other than the Chiquita Banana lady. There’s your insult double-whammy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company
Totally with you on your point. Chomsky has that magical effect on you once you read his stuff. I own “The Indispensible Chomsky” and when cons (LOL) ask for the proof from the book, I point them to the website with over 500 pages of sources.
It’s pretty amazing that you guys figure all this out now.. it’s 2008 for crying out loud! Oh well.. better late than never.
Perhaps you now understand the scorn and even blind rage towards the “average hillbilly american”, who defends his countries great politics and status, from other countries?
To be fair though: America is not unique in this regard at all. Just look at what England has been doing the last couple hundred years. I’d say they’ve been even worse. Then there is Spain, Germany (ww2), italy, Turky, China, Russia etc.
What I do not understand, is really so hard for people to understand this very VERY basic fact: Money = Power = Tyranny
It has ALWAYS been like this, throughout history. A L W A Y S!
Nothing has changed, EVER. So, just follow the money and you get to the source of evil. Simple really.
How to counter it? Spread the wealth, educate people, love your fellow man/woman/neighbor. It really is that simple.
Whose wealth? Why should I as a hard working individual have to give my money to those that want hand outs? I am all for helping those in need but there are those that take advantage of people’s generous natures! The people in the USA are the most genrous in the world!!! I am sick of all you liberal assholes condeming this country as you sit in your coffee shops and lecture halls….WHAT HAVE YOU SACRAFICED FOR YOUR COUNTRY? WHAT SERVICE HAVE YOU DONE FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN??? “ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU!…ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY!!!” IF THE USA WAS SO BAD WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WANT TO COME HERE???? I do love my fellow man, but there will always be those that want what you have and we are all basically animals…do not deny this!!!! Education..YES…the uneducated are the group who those that wish to dominate usually pander to and the educated or motivated are the ones villianized!! Look at Hitler and also OBAMA! Read this country’s constitution it was developed for those that wish to make a better life through hard work and perseverence not sit around waiting for government handouts!
I HAVE WHAT I HAVE BY THE SWEAT OF MY BROW AND STRENGTH IN MY BACK AND POWER OF MY MIND!!!! I WASN’T GIVEN ANYTHING!
Sorry bud, the US is about 20th on the list of % of GDP given to foreign countries as aid.
http://www.cgdev.org/section/i.....ctive/cdi/
We give the most total dollars, but is that really much to brag about when the Netherlands gives a higher percentage of its GDP to help other countries than we do?
Because we are rich. That still doesnt mean we havent been in bed with ruthless dictators before, or overthrown democratic governments…
I am sick of idiots calling me a liberal asshole. Now go back to watching Fox News, safe inside your patriotic and ethnocentric bubble of a reality.
yes, this is nothing new, i saw this article on http://www.opentopix.com like a week ago
Very true. Im european, and a lot of people here resent the USA (myself included) for everything you have described above. The one thing naive americans dont understand is why their government is hated worldwide – They could do a lot worse than study this blog.
I’ll come back for another bite here because I can’t stand anti-Americanism just for the sake of it.
You European folks have your own long history of economic exploitation and interference in other cultures, and it ain’t yet ended by any measure.
Or need I remind you that many of your countries are still divesting themselves of overseas “protectorates”?
And jingoistic, nationalistic, under-educated masses are not an American invention.
Great post, just some of the commenters need to not confuse the US Government’s current bad policies with their own governments’ policies being above and beyond reproach.
Way I see it, humanity has officially hit puberty as a species. We’ve gone from unapologetically exploiting weaker peoples and cultures to understanding the scope of our own crimes in only a few generations. That’s progress.
Whether we go from here to ultimate success or end up a ditch-digger species is a matter of our overcoming these provincial ways of thinking.
We installed a dictator to help a fruit company?!? That’s just fucking…
Bananas.
(You knew that one was coming.)
Thanks for your article.
I’m taking the liberty to add a few links.
Talk by Noam Chomsky about War On Terror given in Dublin for Amnesty International :
Text: http://www.chomsky.info/talks/20060118.pdf
Video: http://video.google.fr/videopl.....;plindex=1
Article by Noam Chomsky about Iran: http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20070827.htm
The documentary (in 4 parts) “The Century of the Self” by the same person who made The Power of Nightmares:
Happiness Machines: http://video.google.com/videop.....3825999151
The Engineering of Consent: http://video.google.com/videop.....3224520614
There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed: http://video.google.com/videop.....4894802811
Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering: http://video.google.com/videop.....8497501036
Good post.
It is amazing how little we Americans know of our real history.
Its called mercantilism. Every super power will do anything and everything they can to stay in power. Which is why we overthrew the “democratically” (quotes because those elections were corrupt as fuck) shah in Iran. Its all for strategic resources and profit. Do people really think that human life > corporate gain when it comes to big governments and big contracts? Not at all. Your life is easily expendable by the government and they will use your life for any sort of gain. Want to read an amazing book about the Iran conflict with the United States look to The Persian Puzzle by Kenneth M Pollack. Every little detail you need to know between the US and Iran is all packed into that amazing read. Money makes the world go round.
kenneth pollack – the ‘liberal’ dude who pimped so hard for the iraq war, justifying ‘the ultimate crime’ on every conceivable ground?
the Iran expert who has never been to Iran?
c’mon, man – don’t bring that trash around here.
Another Great Resource is “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” which details a first hand account of exactly how America has used the veil of democracy and growth to exploit other countries.
@Andrew P – I am planning on buying that book. I have read a few articles on the author and am intrigued.
I just saw Zeitgeist last month and I literally got sick to my stomach the longer I sat through it. I’d heard some of it before, but the stuff about religion just made me want to scream.
I’m going to be checking out these other films on your recommendation.
Thanks…
ADQ
i just think that whatever happens with US politics
just stop the war! It’s so bad for my business
Also must see: Zeitgeist; Why We Fight; The Corporation; Money As Debt (Google Video); The Money Masters
As a Canadian, the tone of amazement echoing through this piece is what I find amazing. Informed people all over the world know the facts stated above and it is truly frightening that you folks are so ignorant about your country’s approach to diplomacy.
I live in Calgary, Alberta, and currently over eight per cent of the city’s population is composed of US citizens. In recent years the United States has imported as much as one quarter of its annual energy needs from this province and Calgary has long been referred to as the “Houston of the North” by those working in the industry. At one time some people, not me, were proud of that comparison, but since the war to liberate the oil, oops, I mean the people of Iraq, none of us are sure what to make of that nickname.
Many Canadians have watched what has happened since that terrible day in September with great sorrow and growing trepidation as a country founded on the noblest of principles is trampled by demagogues brandishing fear and religious bigotry. The bond between our two countries is much stronger than the connections shared by other countries in the world and Canadians know, better than anyone else on this planet, that even as your government blindly pursues self-interest at any cost, most US citizens remain capable of immense generosity and goodwill. However, for the rest of the world to consider America in the same light as you view yourselves will require a real display of compassion and fair play on the international stage, not just the threat of military action or economic torment.
Please wake up before it is too late. The Bush administration has gutted your constitution and you folks are one terror attack away from becoming a dictatorship. If that occurs it won’t be long before an excuse is manufactured to justify sending your tanks rolling northward across the 49th parallel. So many of you are sheeple not people, and you will have been brainwashed into believing that such an action is the right thing to do. Even the illuminatti princess running for president thinks that some of the 9/11 terrorists entered your country through Canada. That is completely wrong. Not one of the people framed for that false flag exercise came through our country. Just as Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9-11.
Peace and Love.
You have to make an effort to learn things like this here – it is not talked about in the news at all. Some people here think ‘everyone knows that’ but most everyone would say we overthrew Guatemala because they were a communist threat, and we were doing the right thing and that unfortunately some lives were lost. ‘but overall, it was the Right Thing To Do’
Which is a load of crap. We put the dictator there, we did not take him out.
[...] tool for children to use. Do any history books talk about the US overthrow of Guatemala in 1954? I posted about this event here, and had thousands of visitors read it. (It was voted up to the front page of Reddit.com) If it [...]
Most of the world loves America but hates the US, precisely for what they are doing in other parts of the world. Who would have ever thought that the US would become the world policemen. John Adams would pledge allegiance to the British King sooner than to a dictatorial republic.