Please read this.
Aug. 19th, 2007 05:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tirsdenAll I really want to say is, "read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man." You could stop right here and go to your local library or bookstore (take $15 plus tax for the paperback), and I'd be happy. That said, I'm going to tell you why I feel this way, so feel free to stick around and listen.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man has... I want to say "changed my life" but a more accurate statement is that it's explained a lot of things I already knew and felt but couldn't put my finger on. And then some. I'll start with the general premise of the book, but seriously, you should go read it. Then you could see for yourself all the intricacies and details the author has covered.
But yeah, the book says the US Government (our government, for myself and a lot of my watchers) has been screwing over the rest of the world for money. Not surprised to hear that? I wasn't. But the lengths to which the US and its big-nation allies have gone in the name of greed... those things I didn't know. There is so much, and I am not here to regurgitate the book's contents, although I may touch on the areas that affected me most. I really just want you to read the book, and don't let the dry economical bits deter you... those parts are necessary to properly bring across the scope of what's really going on.
The book itself could make you angry or disgusted with our government, banks, and corporations, or you could feel suspicious of the author himself... but what I felt while reading it was intense sadness, deep sorrow at what has gone on under our noses. (At several points I had to put the book aside because I couldn't read through my tears.) If what Perkins says is true, it is quite easy (and frighteningly accurate) to describe ourselves as the next Nazi Germany. The general German populous of that era were seduced or kept in the dark by a super-controlled media; they thought things were just peachy. There were exceptions yes, and there are here in the US too... but still...
Have I sold out to an idea too fast? Well, my friends know I'm a rabid conspiracy theorist... but beyond that, I have known something was very wrong with this country. I could see how much hate other countries had for us. And I could see the corruption on the surface of our government and elite businesses... and there were so many unconnected dots that screamed of something much more sinister underneath.
Wikipedia's article on this book is actually rather cautious, which is smart of them, but in the end they still attempt a touch of character assassination as well as hinting that the author could just be an overblown conspiracy theorist. He is not; he was an economic hit man, an active agent in the process of impoverishing vulnerable countries in the name of US greed. That or he's outright lying. Referring to Wikipedia again, they point doubt at his other books, a collection of tribal research and New Age topics, as if that somehow means he's a hippie junk author. He specifically states in Confessions of an Economic Hit Man that he wrote those books because they were safe topics; he was also able to preserve ancient belief systems on paper in the process. He tried to write Confessions of an Economic Hit Man several times before the final version, but bribes and threats stopped him until he finally completed the work.
Really, it's pretty hard to destroy this guy's reputation because he did it himself. He shreds himself between the covers of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man... but he is not out to make himself look good. His purpose is to tell us what he and others like him did and how it brought us to the world we have today.
It seems like I am spending a lot of time defending the author. At the same time, I'm defending why I believe him. There is a thing in my head that I like to call my "eternal doubt," and it's cautioning me, "are you suuuuuuuuuure?" Yes, I'm sure. It just makes too much sense. And also, a couple of coincidences hit at the same time as I read the book.
One of those coincidences is actually that Wikipedia article. There's a line in there that said one of the main corporate leaders who should have initially denounced Perkins' story if it were untrue, instead said the book was pretty much right on. Later he backpedaled. This is confirmed in the update section of the paperback edition of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
The other coincidence is that there is a documentary of horrible US policies and practices in Africa going around on the down low right now thanks to our media ignoring it. A copy of it was given to the leadership of my parents' Pro-Life organization, as that group has been trying to unmask the role of abortion as genocide among the US and world Black population. I have not yet seen this presentation, but apparently it exposes deceptive arms sales, genocide, and even voice-tapes of US presidents saying things like the Black African race being subhuman and not deserving any sort of rights. My parents have loaned it to a pastor friend of theirs who watched it almost immediately and wants to get it to as many people as possible right away, including showing it at their church (where he is one of several pastors).
My father, on the other hand, feels like you can't just throw this stuff at people... that they won't believe it, or they won't be ready. That, I feel, is the sort of thinking that helps evil flourish, and keeps the public in the dark. Show it to everyone, I say, and let them think for themselves. As the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man said, our Revolutionary War was begun by words, spoken by the would-be heroes of the time, carried to and discussed by the everyday people of the land. When it came time to fight, they were ready.
And what's scary is that the words you are reading here, my words, could be considered terrorist musings under certain light. But then, the things our media tells us are Al-Qaeda skirmishes or drug lord battles are, according to Perkins, much more likely to be a few native people fighting, dying, willing to give their lives to try and stop oil-company-hired guerrillas (and even US troops) from raping, pillaging, and destroying everything above-ground in the name of what's below-ground. And it's not just oil companies doing it. Lumber harvesters, dam builders, etc...
Call me a loony. It's been done before. Call me a terrorist. Stuff I've said here is quite anti-American, and honestly, for quite some time now when people on the internet say, "Ah, you're American?" I say "Yeah, but I just live here." Is it completely crazy to say I'd rather be called a terrorist by Americans than an American? Maybe I better leave that thought alone. But the sentiment is there... I understand why the "terrorists" hate us. I'm pretty sure if our founding fathers were here now, they'd be floored at the level of corruption rooted so deeply in a nation they helped create... and they'd be fighting the current oppressive government with the same zeal (if not more) as the one they fought before. I have this urge to run far, far away from this country... but it's a big country with a lot of people and resources who could be doing truly great works for the world, and "drop and run" isn't going to bring that about.
As Perkins says, "...life is composed of a series of coincidences over which we have no control... However, once we are presented with such coincidences, we face choices. How we respond, the actions we take in the face of such coincidences, makes all the difference." The coincidences of the last week found me in Borders bookstore buying the last copy on the shelf of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. And writing this. And wondering if I should drop everything and join the Peace Corps... except that is a US organization too... and I'm not sure if my particular brand of disabilities would make such an idea feasible even if the corruption hasn't spread to that particular program. But you know, I still want to. If not that, then something.
I'm telling everyone I know about this book and the things I have learned from it, which is one thing the author recommended. I know of a volunteer opportunity in my area that I'm going to look into... and my lifestyle is already cut back pretty far (another suggestion by the author: cut back on lifestyle choices that support the corrupt global empire concept). There's more than that in the book, and also a few more ideas in the paperback update.
And like the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I have words. Words you are reading right now. I beg you not to stop here, but to go on and read John Perkins' words. I'll end with his words to the original conclusion of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: "The coincidences of your life, and the choices you have made in response to them, have brought you to this point..."
The complete text of this review/editorial/rant is also posted here. In the deviation description I added the following edit on 8/21/07:
Edit: I should make it perfectly clear that I don't support the events of 9/11, as that was the product of evil choices by those who orchestrated it... even if they were desperate people trying to be heard. On the flip side, lately I have been debating internally whether or not there are times when violence is an acceptable solution. But, heh, that's something philosophers have argued for eons. I... am not sure. Perhaps violence itself is not right, but there are times when it is unavoidable. Because we are human beings and some of us will crack under pressure and strike back, instead of endure continued oppression so far even as to die quietly. Was the world ever really saved by someone dying quietly? ...Was the world ever really saved by violent rebellion? Hmm. Questions for the ages.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man has... I want to say "changed my life" but a more accurate statement is that it's explained a lot of things I already knew and felt but couldn't put my finger on. And then some. I'll start with the general premise of the book, but seriously, you should go read it. Then you could see for yourself all the intricacies and details the author has covered.
But yeah, the book says the US Government (our government, for myself and a lot of my watchers) has been screwing over the rest of the world for money. Not surprised to hear that? I wasn't. But the lengths to which the US and its big-nation allies have gone in the name of greed... those things I didn't know. There is so much, and I am not here to regurgitate the book's contents, although I may touch on the areas that affected me most. I really just want you to read the book, and don't let the dry economical bits deter you... those parts are necessary to properly bring across the scope of what's really going on.
The book itself could make you angry or disgusted with our government, banks, and corporations, or you could feel suspicious of the author himself... but what I felt while reading it was intense sadness, deep sorrow at what has gone on under our noses. (At several points I had to put the book aside because I couldn't read through my tears.) If what Perkins says is true, it is quite easy (and frighteningly accurate) to describe ourselves as the next Nazi Germany. The general German populous of that era were seduced or kept in the dark by a super-controlled media; they thought things were just peachy. There were exceptions yes, and there are here in the US too... but still...
Have I sold out to an idea too fast? Well, my friends know I'm a rabid conspiracy theorist... but beyond that, I have known something was very wrong with this country. I could see how much hate other countries had for us. And I could see the corruption on the surface of our government and elite businesses... and there were so many unconnected dots that screamed of something much more sinister underneath.
Wikipedia's article on this book is actually rather cautious, which is smart of them, but in the end they still attempt a touch of character assassination as well as hinting that the author could just be an overblown conspiracy theorist. He is not; he was an economic hit man, an active agent in the process of impoverishing vulnerable countries in the name of US greed. That or he's outright lying. Referring to Wikipedia again, they point doubt at his other books, a collection of tribal research and New Age topics, as if that somehow means he's a hippie junk author. He specifically states in Confessions of an Economic Hit Man that he wrote those books because they were safe topics; he was also able to preserve ancient belief systems on paper in the process. He tried to write Confessions of an Economic Hit Man several times before the final version, but bribes and threats stopped him until he finally completed the work.
Really, it's pretty hard to destroy this guy's reputation because he did it himself. He shreds himself between the covers of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man... but he is not out to make himself look good. His purpose is to tell us what he and others like him did and how it brought us to the world we have today.
It seems like I am spending a lot of time defending the author. At the same time, I'm defending why I believe him. There is a thing in my head that I like to call my "eternal doubt," and it's cautioning me, "are you suuuuuuuuuure?" Yes, I'm sure. It just makes too much sense. And also, a couple of coincidences hit at the same time as I read the book.
One of those coincidences is actually that Wikipedia article. There's a line in there that said one of the main corporate leaders who should have initially denounced Perkins' story if it were untrue, instead said the book was pretty much right on. Later he backpedaled. This is confirmed in the update section of the paperback edition of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
The other coincidence is that there is a documentary of horrible US policies and practices in Africa going around on the down low right now thanks to our media ignoring it. A copy of it was given to the leadership of my parents' Pro-Life organization, as that group has been trying to unmask the role of abortion as genocide among the US and world Black population. I have not yet seen this presentation, but apparently it exposes deceptive arms sales, genocide, and even voice-tapes of US presidents saying things like the Black African race being subhuman and not deserving any sort of rights. My parents have loaned it to a pastor friend of theirs who watched it almost immediately and wants to get it to as many people as possible right away, including showing it at their church (where he is one of several pastors).
My father, on the other hand, feels like you can't just throw this stuff at people... that they won't believe it, or they won't be ready. That, I feel, is the sort of thinking that helps evil flourish, and keeps the public in the dark. Show it to everyone, I say, and let them think for themselves. As the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man said, our Revolutionary War was begun by words, spoken by the would-be heroes of the time, carried to and discussed by the everyday people of the land. When it came time to fight, they were ready.
And what's scary is that the words you are reading here, my words, could be considered terrorist musings under certain light. But then, the things our media tells us are Al-Qaeda skirmishes or drug lord battles are, according to Perkins, much more likely to be a few native people fighting, dying, willing to give their lives to try and stop oil-company-hired guerrillas (and even US troops) from raping, pillaging, and destroying everything above-ground in the name of what's below-ground. And it's not just oil companies doing it. Lumber harvesters, dam builders, etc...
Call me a loony. It's been done before. Call me a terrorist. Stuff I've said here is quite anti-American, and honestly, for quite some time now when people on the internet say, "Ah, you're American?" I say "Yeah, but I just live here." Is it completely crazy to say I'd rather be called a terrorist by Americans than an American? Maybe I better leave that thought alone. But the sentiment is there... I understand why the "terrorists" hate us. I'm pretty sure if our founding fathers were here now, they'd be floored at the level of corruption rooted so deeply in a nation they helped create... and they'd be fighting the current oppressive government with the same zeal (if not more) as the one they fought before. I have this urge to run far, far away from this country... but it's a big country with a lot of people and resources who could be doing truly great works for the world, and "drop and run" isn't going to bring that about.
As Perkins says, "...life is composed of a series of coincidences over which we have no control... However, once we are presented with such coincidences, we face choices. How we respond, the actions we take in the face of such coincidences, makes all the difference." The coincidences of the last week found me in Borders bookstore buying the last copy on the shelf of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. And writing this. And wondering if I should drop everything and join the Peace Corps... except that is a US organization too... and I'm not sure if my particular brand of disabilities would make such an idea feasible even if the corruption hasn't spread to that particular program. But you know, I still want to. If not that, then something.
I'm telling everyone I know about this book and the things I have learned from it, which is one thing the author recommended. I know of a volunteer opportunity in my area that I'm going to look into... and my lifestyle is already cut back pretty far (another suggestion by the author: cut back on lifestyle choices that support the corrupt global empire concept). There's more than that in the book, and also a few more ideas in the paperback update.
And like the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I have words. Words you are reading right now. I beg you not to stop here, but to go on and read John Perkins' words. I'll end with his words to the original conclusion of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: "The coincidences of your life, and the choices you have made in response to them, have brought you to this point..."
The complete text of this review/editorial/rant is also posted here. In the deviation description I added the following edit on 8/21/07:
Edit: I should make it perfectly clear that I don't support the events of 9/11, as that was the product of evil choices by those who orchestrated it... even if they were desperate people trying to be heard. On the flip side, lately I have been debating internally whether or not there are times when violence is an acceptable solution. But, heh, that's something philosophers have argued for eons. I... am not sure. Perhaps violence itself is not right, but there are times when it is unavoidable. Because we are human beings and some of us will crack under pressure and strike back, instead of endure continued oppression so far even as to die quietly. Was the world ever really saved by someone dying quietly? ...Was the world ever really saved by violent rebellion? Hmm. Questions for the ages.
