tp153.xml
Title
tp153.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-03
TomPaine Story: Story
September 11 was a day of shock and horror to all complacent Americans, who
until then showed no interest in the covert, self-serving interest of their
governing elite. The immediate response was Orwellian, as expected, the
flying of flags and the beating of breasts, followed by cries to bomb one
or another unidentified nation out of existence. The question on many minds
was ""Why Do They Hate Us?"" Shrub replied that they hate our freedoms, but
as usual he didn't have a clue.
They hate us with good reason. They hate us because since WWII the U.S. has
been directly responsible or complicit in the deaths of over seven million
people worldwide, American terrorism in the name of freedom but really in
the interests of American corporations literally stealing valuable
resources with the help of well-rewarded despots; because of our support of
Israel to the exclusion of rights for Palestinians; for our coup in Iran
and reinstatement of the Shah; for our misguided war in Viet Nam; for our
coup against democracy in Guatemala and our overthrow of the government of
the Dominican Republic; for our complicity in the killing of a third of the
population of East Timor with the blessing of Kissinger and Gerald Ford;
for our sponsorship of the war in Angola; for the coup in Chile, replacing
a democratically elected president with the mass murderer Pinochet; for our
attacks on weak nations everywhere to further supposed interests; for
standing by during the genocide in Rwanda; for our hypocrisy in talking
peace while militarizing the world and space while refusing to sign some
twenty two international treaties designed to reduce the threat of nuclear
war and improve the lives of desperately poor peoples in the Third World.
The attacks in New York and Washington were horrible, but an understanding
of American policies around the world would suggest that we had it coming.
Rather than a knee-jerk military response, just what the warmongers want,
we should reevaluate our role in the world and begin to treat other nations
as equals, not as cannonfodder for our industrial machine. Bush et al
appear to be poised for world domination, shades of Germany in the 1930s.
There is no world problem with a military solution. That is the lesson we
have failed to learn.
until then showed no interest in the covert, self-serving interest of their
governing elite. The immediate response was Orwellian, as expected, the
flying of flags and the beating of breasts, followed by cries to bomb one
or another unidentified nation out of existence. The question on many minds
was ""Why Do They Hate Us?"" Shrub replied that they hate our freedoms, but
as usual he didn't have a clue.
They hate us with good reason. They hate us because since WWII the U.S. has
been directly responsible or complicit in the deaths of over seven million
people worldwide, American terrorism in the name of freedom but really in
the interests of American corporations literally stealing valuable
resources with the help of well-rewarded despots; because of our support of
Israel to the exclusion of rights for Palestinians; for our coup in Iran
and reinstatement of the Shah; for our misguided war in Viet Nam; for our
coup against democracy in Guatemala and our overthrow of the government of
the Dominican Republic; for our complicity in the killing of a third of the
population of East Timor with the blessing of Kissinger and Gerald Ford;
for our sponsorship of the war in Angola; for the coup in Chile, replacing
a democratically elected president with the mass murderer Pinochet; for our
attacks on weak nations everywhere to further supposed interests; for
standing by during the genocide in Rwanda; for our hypocrisy in talking
peace while militarizing the world and space while refusing to sign some
twenty two international treaties designed to reduce the threat of nuclear
war and improve the lives of desperately poor peoples in the Third World.
The attacks in New York and Washington were horrible, but an understanding
of American policies around the world would suggest that we had it coming.
Rather than a knee-jerk military response, just what the warmongers want,
we should reevaluate our role in the world and begin to treat other nations
as equals, not as cannonfodder for our industrial machine. Bush et al
appear to be poised for world domination, shades of Germany in the 1930s.
There is no world problem with a military solution. That is the lesson we
have failed to learn.
Collection
Citation
“tp153.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 7, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/632.