Counterpunch | It feels as if world events are in overdrive, and sometimes it’s hard
to escape the thought that that there is no longer much point in trying
to analyse, or make sense of, a trajectory increasingly out of control.
I see little evidence that those of us in the segment of the world
political spectrum likely to read these words need much persuasion — nor
that those who consider us dupes of the Evil Vladimir, or apologists
for what was once called the “Yellow Peril”, could ever have any
inclination to even glance at the arguments and sentiments of those they
consider so utterly deluded.
In fact, the plethora of information (both truth and lies), and the
amazing communicative possibilities most of us now have at our disposal,
have brought with them a world in which no one is very often persuaded
of anything: for every fact we present, they have access to an official
or cleverly crafted lie with convincing-looking documentation that
demonstrates our ostensible mendacity and subversion.
What pre-internet thinker – is it possible that bygone age ended only
20 years ago for most of us? — would have ever thought that a
technological world in which every voice can be heard worldwide would
solidify, rather than threaten, the role of propaganda in public life?
or that near-universal access to technology enabling impressively
thorough research, at incredible speed, would be one of the major
factors in eliminating political consensus and rendering nearly obsolete
the recognition of facts as such?
Well, perhaps there are brilliant minds out there who foresaw it all.
But consider me dumbfounded. While there is a range of similarities
between our world today and those described by Orwell and Huxley in
their famous novels of future horror, there are other aspects that
render this a different universe altogether, and one that continues to
shock me.
Assuming that it WERE in fact possible to persuade people who accept
their governments’ colossal lies and distortions that those same lies
are in fact exactly that – lies — one would be required to acquaint most
of them with the most basic facts of recent history. For remarkably,
almost unbelievably, in a world where all of us have limitless
information and history at our fingertips, most people know nothing
about recent history – and the vast majority is not even curious about
it.
‘Most White Americans, as a general statement, think they are better
than the rest of the world. And most Americans have scant knowledge
about the rest of the world. So the belief in cultural (and moral)
superiority is based on what? The answer is not simple, but as a general
sort of response, this trust in “our” superiority is built on violence.
On an ability to be effectively violent. Most British, too, think they
are superior to those “wogs” south of their emerald isle. But since the
setting of the sun on Empire, “officially”, the British hold to both a
sense of superiority and a deep panic-inducing sense of inferiority — at
least to their American cousins. They are still better than those
fucking cheese eating frogs or the krauts or whoever, but they accept
that the U.S. is the sort of heavyweight champ of the moment. Meanwhile,
the tragic and criminal fire at Grenfell Towers in London elicited a
public discourse that perfectly reflected the class inequality of the
UK, but also reflected, again, the colonialist mentality of the ruling
party and their constituency … But that is exactly it. The colonial
template is one etched in acid in the collective imagination of the
West. At least the English-speaking West. Expendable natives…which is
what Jim Mattis sees everywhere that he dumps depleted uranium and Willy
Pete. It is what Madeleine Albright saw in Iraq or Hillary Clinton in
Libya or Barack Obama in Sudan, Yemen, and…well… four or five other
countries. It is what most U.S. police departments see in neighborhoods
ravaged by poverty. As in those old Tarzan films, when the sound of
drums is heard, the pith helmeted white man notes…”the natives are
restless tonight”. When one discusses Syria, the most acute topic this
week, remember that for Mad Dog and Boss Trump, or for the loopy John
Bolton, these are just natives in need of pacification. Giving money to
ISIS or Daesh, or whoever, as a cynical expression of colonial
realpolitik, is nothing out of the ordinary. It is what the UK and US
have done for a long while. It’s Ramar of the Jungle handing out beads
to the *natives*.’ (John Steppling, “The Sleep of Civilization”)
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