Is it just me or is it that now more than ever, we’re seeing an increase of hate rhetoric, and violence of all types, spring up like pop-corn in the microwave, sprouting violently the longer we watch news and learn of events around the world?
The decade that just ended less than 24 hours ago, surely marked a new era. The year 2000 began a period, here in the United States, marked with a strong political divisiveness that grew under the pretense of the so called “great uniter” message in George W. Bush’s mud-slinging campaign. I wonder if millions, like me, saw through that lie, one among the many, coming from a man who spoke in generalities and when pressed for details seemed at a loss for words and facts, and who often was. Every time he claimed to be the “uniter”, to be “reaching out to the other side”, I cannot comprehend why would people believe him. This, yes, the same man who played dirty in the primaries, just to get the nomination. George W’s ascendancy to the presidency of the United States, as decided by 5 robed men, ignoring the will of millions, over half of the country, marked an era that even back in November of 2000, as I watched the election being decided, gave me an awful feeling at the pit of my stomach.
From that time on, the political bickering, corruption, hypocrisy, hate, fear mongering has been rampant, and many agree, it has reached new heights. With the election of Mr. Obama in 2008 we were all filled with hope, not just here in the USA but around the world. We hoped that that the 8 prior years would be healed and a new era of peace and unity would begin. But who were we kidding? Obama may have the best of intentions, but he’s no magician. He needs to reverse an ugly trend that’s been growing for eight solid years, unchecked.
The repercussions of the selection of George W. Bush, by those 5 judges, against the will of the majority of the country, is one that continues to be felt at the global level, even nine years later. Not only did the disgrace of September 11 occurred under George Bush’s watch, but a “war against terror” theme was born. And under the concept of “chasing after terrorists”, so many things have happened and been allowed to happen, not just here in the United States, but around the world. Not only did the revered rights spelled out in the U.S. constitution –by our founding fathers who encountered similar evil and corruption– were trampled by the so called “Patriot Act,” but we invaded a country that had nothing to do with the people who were blamed for the attacks of 9/11, prompting the worldwide increase of anti-U.S. rhetoric, starting in the Middle East, and spreading through Asia, Africa and now in our own continent, Latin America.
The self-serving fear mongering that came out of the Bush White House and the Republican congress majority helped all the wrong causes, here and abroad. There is now the issue of torture being investigated, secret documents, betrayals, all contributing to the rise of new anti-U.S. regimes around the world. These regimes are currently led by cunning men –no different than Dick Cheney– who took advantage of people’s fear, of their hopes and aspirations, to feed their own power-thirsty agenda and line their bloody pockets. Unless you have CNN International, unfortunately you won’t hear much about the horrors in Africa, the genocide and other murders being committed in the name of “God”, a doctrine spread by terrorists who point their finger at mistakes of the U.S. foreign policies, especially during the Bush/Cheney era that exacerbated the fire of hate.
In Latin America, as Cuba’s Fidel Castro communist leadership was in its twilight, he managed to find a new, younger and richer ally, who is taking his dream, financing it, dressing it in a more palatable color and spreading it under the name of democracy, a new cunning sham of what is now known in Latin America, as 21st century socialism, or Bolivarian socialism. If this were some kind of real socialism, like there is in Canada, France, the UK, Spain, it’d be acceptable to many Latin Americans, but in truth, the new version of the oppressive Castro dream, now taken up by Chavez and allies, is really communism in disguise. While socialist European countries have systems in place that help citizens thrive, the expected freedoms of a democracy are allowed. In Latin America, instead of that model of socialism, there is a bad smell of communism, where political persecutions and disappearances occur, freedoms are suppressed, and hateful, anti-U.S. political propaganda is on the increase.
What concerns me the most is that during the Bush/Cheney era, when they were sleep at the wheel in regards to anything that didn’t concern the Middle East, these communist-minded henchmen rose to power right in our Latin American neighborhood. While we hoped Cuba were the last bastion of the failed communist philosophy, Hugo Chavez came along, after a botched coupe attempt where he tried to overthrow the president of Venezuela. He learned the game and came back a few years later and managed to appeal to enough people to “get elected”. His military coupe attempt should have been a red flag, no pun intended, since red is the color of the Chavez “Bolivarian movement”. Chavez took advantage of the fact that “the Americans” were distracted with the Middle East, and began to spread his doctrine, based on hate, pointing at the “gringos” and the “Yankee corporations” –which unfortunately did take advantage of little regulation to do as they pleased in Latin America– thus causing discontent and adding to the hate doctrine that served Chavez well to convince other Latin American leaders to join him in his anti-”Yankee Empire” cause.
Today, as I actively participate in Twitter conversations, and as I keep track of tweets on the topics of Honduras, Venezuela and Ecuador in the various Twitter-feeds, I am appalled at the hate that’s being spread there, by people in Latin America, who believe Chavez and their ALBA gang are the saviors from the “Yankee Empire.”
To clarify, I follow Venezuela because like Iran, the opposition which fights to regain true democracy is suffering major repression and are experiencing persecution. Unlike Iran, Venezuela is not getting the mainstream media attention. I follow Honduras because of the very interesting developments that occurred beginning in the summer of 2008, with the ousting of Chavez’ friend in Honduras, deposed president Zelaya, which in my opinion, is the very first step towards saying no to the Chavez agenda. Ultimately, I follow Ecuador closely because there, president Rafael Correa is another Hugo Chavez in the making. He has already moved to suppress freedom of expression, and like his friend Chavez, his rhetoric is hateful against the United States. What’s interesting is that Ecuadorians are known for overthrowing their presidents when they do something that angers them enough to do so. I watch tweets about Ecuador because knowing their political will and history, I wonder how long is it before Correa is overthrown by its own citizens. After all, in the last 7 years, Ecuador has had 10 presidents. And the nation survives. So far, during those 7 years, no international condemnation or meddling has occurred, and when the next president steps into power, they are simply acknowledged by the international community.
Things may be a little different for Ecuadorians this time around should they manage to get rid of their dictator in the making, Correa. For one, Chavez and his influenced allies are around. Second, there is the issue of Honduras. As you know, Honduras freed itself from Chavez-ally Zelaya and had him replaced, –not without some pain from the international community led by Chavez himself. So, it makes me wonder how the events would unfold this time, should the brave and tough Ecuadorian people manage to overthrow Rafael Correa. I fear he and his allies will make even more noise than when Zelaya was deposed. I can only hope the country of Ecuador will be as strong as Honduras to overcome the difficulties likely to follow a potential Correa overthrow.
So these three Latin American countries have captured my attention, for I believe if the “Bolivarian ideology” is erradicated there, the way it has been avoided so far in Honduras, there will be hope for some peace and less hate, at least in the Americas, and perhaps then we could face together, enemies further out.
But for now, I watch, feeling hopeless when I see so much hate rhetoric, so many lies, coming from the Chavez ideology supporters, utilizing a medium that would be banned if they were in charge (Twitter, Facebook, blogs). I also follow Iran, and I watch, appalled and at the edge of my seat, the bloody developments as the Green Movement there tries to rid itself of a suppressive dictatorship, which is not only feeding the hate fire in the Middle East, but is obviously building nuclear weapons and aligning itself with the new enemy regimes of the United States surging south of its border in Latin America.
If you have not connected the dots already, then I don’t know what to tell you. The more I look at the situation from the global point of view, the more I see the relation between Venezuela –and its allies in the Western Hemisphere– with their new alignments in the Middle East such as Lybia and Iran dictatorships, with China, with North Korea, with Russia. And these alliances are indubitably ominous, for as I read the Twitter feeds on these topics, there is too much hate, based on lies and exxaggeration being spread around the world. I watch as the people in charge of these ideologies, in charge of these hateful, oppressive regimes, finance violent propaganda, finance militia, with our own money, money we spend in buying oil and yes, illegal drugs. In other words, we are financing the very people who want our demise. It is a very vicious and dangerous cycle indeed.
I would feel a bit more hopeful if at least here at home I’d perceive political good will on all sides, the commitment to unite, but it looks like our enemies abroad are taking advantage of our division, to feed their political agendas in their own regions. They are counting on our fear, on our hate for each other, on our political and ideological differences, on our careless spending on oil, on illegal drugs, for all of that feeds them and empowers them abroad to attack us. Over the holidays, the terrorist attempts, successful and unsuccessful, the threats, the hate doctrine, all that, emboldens those who will benefit from the demise of the light of liberty and hope around the world. For with its imperfections, its virtues, vices, the United States is still a land that many around the world, seek as refuge, when their own countries are unable to provide for them, to fulfill the basic necessities that any human being deserves.
I see the levels of hate, of fear, of resentment over past mistakes, feed into new levels of violence and death, starting in our own turf. My question is, how much more can we take? What will it take for this ominous trend to reverse itself? Can it reverse itself? What can each of us do to help this situation? Despite the seemingly hopeless state of things, I believe that perhaps each one of us in some small way can contribute to restoring a more peaceful, harmonious state of affairs around the world.
If perhaps each of us were to take a moment to stop worrying about our own little world and our immediate personal needs and wants, and try to see the repercussions of our personal choices. Perhaps we could see a way to stop feeding the financing of our enemies abroad. Perhaps use alternative energies, help someone get off illegal drugs, perhaps try a way to bridge the political divide here at home and lower the divisive rhetoric. We could help somehow. Perhaps by doing something for someone, starting a positive global trend of good will, while at the same time remaining alert. But how do you walk that fine line?
Whatever it is we can do, we need to do something immediately to reverse this dangerous trend. For I believe there are billions of us –who just want to live in peace, with opportunities to reach a decent lifestyle– against thousands who are making so much of the hate noise to take advantage and spread violence, chaos and death. The majority of us know instinctively what’s right, we know injustice when we see it. Perhaps it is time we stop looking the other way.
After all, as it is known, Friedrich Nietzche said, “Evil will prevail when good men do nothing”.
For how much longer can we afford to keep looking away and expecting the next person or institution to do something. Let’s make the beginning of this new decade be the mark of a movement that will reverse this dangerous trend of hate and violence. Each one of us can make a difference. I can only hope that. We just have to find our own personal way of making it happen. I believe that we are capable.
This was refreshing. It