-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”
-Howard Zinn
Perhaps a deeper meaning of the horrific tragedy, in the death of Trayvon Martin, is that it poignantly reflects the gung-ho predator drone mentality of a society steeped in incessant hypocrisy, mutually recriminating stereotypes, and fear – a society manipulated by a lying, prying, spying, war mongering U.S. government, and an utterly pathetic and irresponsible corporate-stream ‘news’ media.
A bit of the souls of all everyday ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people of goodwill, irrespective of political beliefs or ideologies, was severely wounded on that fateful day when young Trayvon Martin met his death. Yet, we cannot and must not separate the covert and overt murderous atrocities being committed in our names by the U.S. corporate-owned Obama government [in Libya (north Africa), Somalia (east Africa), Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, etc.] from the macho ‘get off my planet by sundown’ mindset that permeates much of this nation. How many more thousands, abroad and at home, will have to die before we internalize Howard Zinn’s words that, “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” What will it take to understand the urgency and inter-connectedness of this?
It is all too easy to be manipulated into misdirecting rage and frustration against one programmed individual, when in fact, it is this hypocritical, unjust, and corrupt corporate-owned political system (currently led by drone man Barack Obama and his Democratic and Republican cohorts) that is responsible for the perpetuation of massive physical and/or psychological violence at home and abroad. This is very important to remember. Racism and/or economic exploitation cannot be effectively struggled against or eradicated by utilizing more racism and/or economic exploitation. By the same token, no so-called ‘war on terrorism’ can be effectively or genuinely waged by utilizing more terrorism.
Some Questions to Consider
How can we expect to have an egalitarian and just society when our own political so-called ‘leaders’ (in conjunction with the corporate-stream media) overwhelmingly give the mixed message that, for example, holding and torturing people in Guantanamo (and covertly elsewhere) is perfectly acceptable? How can we seriously expect to have a violence-free society at home while simultaneously and regularly engaging in wholesale murder by blowing children, women, and men to bits in Africa, the ‘Middle East,’ and elsewhere on this planet? How can we expect persons in this society to respect the right to personal privacy of one another when the Obama/Biden regime, and its political minions, spy upon many millions of ordinary citizens inside the U.S., and many millions more of ordinary citizens in other nations throughout the world? How can we claim to genuinely respect the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” while simultaneously acquiescing to Barack Obama’s self appointed ‘kill (extrajudicial murder) list’ which targets both U.S. citizens as well as non-U.S. citizens anywhere in the world? How can we claim to believe in freedom, justice and ‘democracy’ and yet accept the existence of Barack Obama and his cohorts’ NDAA provision of indefinite detention without due process in this nation? How can we seriously claim to be a free and democratic nation when we have, in very large measure, relinquished our constitutional liberties for the tyranny of a velvet-gloved de facto police state, all in the fallacious name of preserving the freedoms that we no longer actually have?
The Terrorism of the Power Elite & the Role of the Corporate-Stream Media
The corporate / military power elite, in essence, owns the U.S. Government, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
As any serious political scientist should have known, the smooth-talking Barack Obama was, in reality, already bought and paid for by the corporate / military power elite before ever being installed as U.S. president and stepping foot into the White House. This is because it is the political system itself is controlled by the relatively tiny power elite. Thus, none of what Obama has done (either covertly or overtly) to hurt and eviscerate struggling everyday ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people nationally and globally should come as a surprise. As the saying goes: “America is like a melting pot. The people on the bottom get burned and the scum floats to the top.” Notwithstanding the veneer of a ‘democratic’ process in this nation, the fact is that as long as this U.S. political system is owned and controlled by this avaricious corporate / military power elite, the “scum” (no matter what his or her pigmentation might be) will “float to the top.”
The U.S. power elite is quite adroit at waging political, economic, and social terror against ordinary people, all in the fake name of supposedly fighting terror. It’s a very old trick. Yet, even old tricks lose their effectiveness once a critical mass of people come to realize that they are being hoodwinked and bamboozled.
To expect the U.S. corporate-stream media to present honest and in-depth critical analysis and information is akin to expecting a giant Cobra snake to roll over and purr like a kitten at being touched by a gentle human hand. In other words, the corporate-stream media is deadly.
The role of the corporate-stream media, particularly television, radio, newspapers, and magazines is that of being the mouth piece / propaganda arm for the corporate / military U.S. power elite, and it makes no difference whatsoever whether it is a fox Democrat or a wolf Republican in the White House. The ongoing role of the corporate-stream media is to constantly perpetuate the power elite’s systemic status quo by propagating its narrative. The corporate-stream media regularly lies to everyday people by omitting extremely important facts, details, and events and/or by outright distorting or falsifying such information.
Increasingly, the U.S. corporate-stream media utilizes what I refer to as the ‘Novocaine trap.’ In other words, it seeks to numb people’s ability to critically think and analyze - by utilizing sensationalism, no substance ‘news’ coverage, and/or pure mindless gossip and subtle corporate advertising. Instead of presenting critical and in-depth analysis, the corporate-stream media promotes gossip and entertainment which it passes off to the public as supposed ‘news.’ The role of the corporate-stream media is all about keeping people numb and controlled by shaping public opinion, not seriously and honestly informing it. As a result of this, everyday people who rely solely on the corporate-stream media for their ‘news and information’ are kept divided, distracted, misinformed, and/or woefully uninformed.
What We Must Do
In order to effectively address and eradicate a problem, said problem must first be recognized for precisely what it is.
The fundamental problem afflicting everyday ordinary people, irrespective to our color, is a corrupt corporate-owned political system on steroids that is bent on keeping all of us politically, economically and socially enslaved, divided, and powerless.
It is we ourselves who must be our own everyday people’s media. The corporate-stream media, and even some of those who pass themselves off as being ‘alternative’ media, are in fact systemic gatekeepers. It is imperative that we recognize and reject their poison and think for ourselves and reclaim our humanity.
We must consciously de-program ourselves politically, psychologically, and emotionally from this insidious corporate-owned political system. Moreover, we must be critical thinkers – which means analyzing, researching, and thinking for ourselves! Malcolm X [el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz] correctly noted that, “When you see that you have problems all you have to do is to examine the historic method used all over the world by others who have problems similar to yours, and once you see how they got theirs straight, then you know how to get yours straight.” In other words, we are a part of the everyday ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow human family throughout our precious Mother Earth, and our “problems” in this nation affects not only us but the rest of the human family. As we collectively and creatively liberate ourselves from this insanity here in this nation we are in effect also aiding people around the world.
Remember: this struggle is not about color. It is about collectively regaining our sanity, our dignity, and our humanity as free human beings. We will, for a certainty, from time to time have genuine differences of opinion or perspective with one another for we are not robots – but let us learn (and quickly) – to bridge our differences with the understanding that we have the important common goal of freeing ourselves and each other together – from this rotten, filthy, smothering political system that enslaves us all.
We can have a better, more just, and humane nation and world – but only if We the People create it together. We must do this for ourselves, each other, and Mother Earth!
Each one, reach one. Each one, teach one. Onward, then, my sisters and brothers. Onward...!
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil / political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities in opposition to voter suppression, etc., Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book.) Click here to view Larry’s interview of October 26, 2012. Click here to contact Mr. Pinkney.
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