Yes, I am one of Empires dwellers. I see the 4th of July not as a celebration, but a commemoration. This bill of particulars presented is sadly factual. Those particulars are what I commemorate. If I find it tough to read, and my cynicism of the concept of American Exceptionalism has steadily grown over five (yes, 5) decades, then as stated in the essay opening, "None of this is personal." Take all the time you need to read, absorb, and start thinking of what needs to happen in our land.
One suggestion: American elections are always portrayed as pocketbook elections. The siphoning of our hard earned tribute into the maws of billionaire revenue streams does create an image that resonates in our minds. But forget the pocket book part!
We are in a large, very, very large class. Our class is being pummeled. We need to start administrating beatings on that small, small, small billionaire class.
We must insist and in fact show that our votes for public officials are conditioned upon legislation that clips billionaires wings. Example: throwing out the DMCA. Another: 75% or any number up to 100, percent tax on private equity. Also, severely limit the types of services that private equity can infest.
And we simply must eliminate the predation of our poor. We need them to join our fight. Right now they cannot.
In the interest of brevity, I wish you a commemorative Fourth.
"The US has been the most violent and murderous state-building experiment in history."
The US government is currently the world center of Zio Imperialism. This fact is the result of a complex historical process. Without reviewing the revolutionary or civil war, both of which I am proud, I will just say this Zio Imperialist outcome was not inevitable. The future of Zio Imperialism in the US is not inevitable either. It's also very important to remember that the US government and the two official Zio Imperialist parties do not reflect the interests or the desires of the majority of the wage slaves that inhabit the US. There are two Americas. Anyone who has interacted with wage slaves from the US will recognize this fact. Anyone acquainted with class reality in their own country will recognize this fact. The US government ended up like this through the continuous violent repression of the militant working class. Since the 60s the class struggle has been further repressed by a false racial, gender sexuality struggle promoted by many a former "leftist" turned Zio Imperialist. That said, I love my fellow American wage slaves. They are the only revolutionary element in the US. I'm proud of their predecessors' fight to throw off the old Imperialist power in Britain and to end the chattel slavers of the old South. I heartily agree with many of the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, as well. I hate only the usurping Zio Imperialist ruling class of America and the government it has purchased to carry out it's every wish. Only from this class perspective, can wage slaves internationally make a correct appraisal of the US. Only from this class perspective, can wage slaves internationally comprehend how critical the American working class is to overthrowing the Zio Imperialist US ruling class/government.
Throughout their colonial history Europeans (esp. Brits and French) used the same "Divide and Conquer" strategy to have other nations fight each other for the benefit of the Imperialist Oligarchy.
And the best way to analyze how the U.S. operates is to remember how it was created in the first place.
As the European powers were realizing that direct conflict with each other was becoming counterproductive, they conspired to create a pirate colony of which they would all benefit. There were some bitter fights over the arrangement, but it is still part of the European style of Empire.
That's why the U.S. is more like a Corporation than a Country.. That's why the orange clown presents himself as a CEO, bragging about "good deals".
American Imperialism saw that the Spanish Empire was quickly loosing control over some of its Latin American colonies and swooped in to take them over (Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and later Hawaii, American Samoa, Panama canal and the Virgin Islands).
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 every word is on point. Tho I might add that Americans have a part to hold in this. The American empire isn’t some omnipresent thing. It doesn’t breathe on its own. Its ribcage and mechanics of its expanding lungs aren’t made up of abstract parts, it’s made up of people. The demand of capitalism is upheld by people. The genocide in Gaza exposed that Americans rather keep their illusioned comforts and let the world burn just as long as we don’t have to lose a single inch of our conveniences. Everything we have here is tainted in blood. And at this point we all know. And no one cares more about the blood than they care about their comforts.
Yes, I am one of Empires dwellers. I see the 4th of July not as a celebration, but a commemoration. This bill of particulars presented is sadly factual. Those particulars are what I commemorate. If I find it tough to read, and my cynicism of the concept of American Exceptionalism has steadily grown over five (yes, 5) decades, then as stated in the essay opening, "None of this is personal." Take all the time you need to read, absorb, and start thinking of what needs to happen in our land.
One suggestion: American elections are always portrayed as pocketbook elections. The siphoning of our hard earned tribute into the maws of billionaire revenue streams does create an image that resonates in our minds. But forget the pocket book part!
We are in a large, very, very large class. Our class is being pummeled. We need to start administrating beatings on that small, small, small billionaire class.
We must insist and in fact show that our votes for public officials are conditioned upon legislation that clips billionaires wings. Example: throwing out the DMCA. Another: 75% or any number up to 100, percent tax on private equity. Also, severely limit the types of services that private equity can infest.
And we simply must eliminate the predation of our poor. We need them to join our fight. Right now they cannot.
In the interest of brevity, I wish you a commemorative Fourth.
"The US has been the most violent and murderous state-building experiment in history."
The US government is currently the world center of Zio Imperialism. This fact is the result of a complex historical process. Without reviewing the revolutionary or civil war, both of which I am proud, I will just say this Zio Imperialist outcome was not inevitable. The future of Zio Imperialism in the US is not inevitable either. It's also very important to remember that the US government and the two official Zio Imperialist parties do not reflect the interests or the desires of the majority of the wage slaves that inhabit the US. There are two Americas. Anyone who has interacted with wage slaves from the US will recognize this fact. Anyone acquainted with class reality in their own country will recognize this fact. The US government ended up like this through the continuous violent repression of the militant working class. Since the 60s the class struggle has been further repressed by a false racial, gender sexuality struggle promoted by many a former "leftist" turned Zio Imperialist. That said, I love my fellow American wage slaves. They are the only revolutionary element in the US. I'm proud of their predecessors' fight to throw off the old Imperialist power in Britain and to end the chattel slavers of the old South. I heartily agree with many of the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, as well. I hate only the usurping Zio Imperialist ruling class of America and the government it has purchased to carry out it's every wish. Only from this class perspective, can wage slaves internationally make a correct appraisal of the US. Only from this class perspective, can wage slaves internationally comprehend how critical the American working class is to overthrowing the Zio Imperialist US ruling class/government.
Thank you for this piece, translated in French here : https://zanzibar.substack.com/p/nee-un-4-juillet-pour-le-pire-il
Throughout their colonial history Europeans (esp. Brits and French) used the same "Divide and Conquer" strategy to have other nations fight each other for the benefit of the Imperialist Oligarchy.
youtube.com/watch?v=rbsfynApnVg
***
And the best way to analyze how the U.S. operates is to remember how it was created in the first place.
As the European powers were realizing that direct conflict with each other was becoming counterproductive, they conspired to create a pirate colony of which they would all benefit. There were some bitter fights over the arrangement, but it is still part of the European style of Empire.
That's why the U.S. is more like a Corporation than a Country.. That's why the orange clown presents himself as a CEO, bragging about "good deals".
USrael Inc.
***
youtube.com/shorts/0yziG3eSCSo
American Imperialism saw that the Spanish Empire was quickly loosing control over some of its Latin American colonies and swooped in to take them over (Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and later Hawaii, American Samoa, Panama canal and the Virgin Islands).
youtu.be/F_pxZ-Rl6DM?t=1056
***
In 1899, 60 000 US troops invaded the Philippines - a massacre and genocide of women and children, the new “Open Door Policy”.
substack.com/home/post/p-201348278
***
The Jamesberg Agreement: DuPont acquired all US territories, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela.
Dupont is the longest-serving military contractor for the United States of America. Since U.S.-British War of 1812
***
"United States" to Imperial America:
youtube.com/watch?v=Df4R-xdKvpM
youtu.be/NpjDyhGyjNk?t=817
In 250 years of USA history it has been at war for 233 of them:
youtube.com/watch?v=ooMCvGlbbc4
Despite the US have never been invaded by a foreign military
***
US launched 253 military interventions since 1991, and 471 since 1798:
geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/09/13/us-251-military-interventions-1991/
***
The US Wars killed up to 4 700 000 Humans since 2001:
https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/costs/human
https://www.thesouthasiatimes.com/story/US-WAR-2001
***
Lancet study - The U.S. unilateral sanctions alone killed 38 million people from 1971 to 2021:
substack.com/@kairostimenow/note/c-251327395
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 every word is on point. Tho I might add that Americans have a part to hold in this. The American empire isn’t some omnipresent thing. It doesn’t breathe on its own. Its ribcage and mechanics of its expanding lungs aren’t made up of abstract parts, it’s made up of people. The demand of capitalism is upheld by people. The genocide in Gaza exposed that Americans rather keep their illusioned comforts and let the world burn just as long as we don’t have to lose a single inch of our conveniences. Everything we have here is tainted in blood. And at this point we all know. And no one cares more about the blood than they care about their comforts.