Corrente

If you have "no place to go," come here!

Arthur Silber on Evil

Submitted by Alcuin on Wed, 01/18/2012 - 9:00am
Departments: 
Department of Bingo!

I don't read Arthur Silber too often - he speaks the truth and the truth hurts. But I thought his latest essay on evil speaks volumes about what is happening in this country. I encourage Correntians to read it, if they haven't already done so.

Comments

Submitted by jawbone on

is doing, has done.

...here's the additional killer in Santorum's remarks -- note where Santorum correctly locates the "justification" for his view: the murder of al-Awlaki, an American citizen. Santorum is a "crazy" Republican nutjob, right? He's not the one who ordered the murder of al-Awlaki. You know who did: the "enlightened," "nuanced," Nobel Peace Prize-winning Democrat in the White House. Many liberals and progressives claim to be sickened and terrified by the prospect that some "crazy" Republican might be the next president -- and they forbid themselves to acknowledge that it is a Democratic president who has provided the moral sanction and "justification" for what could, in principle, become a genocidal, worldwide campaign of murder.

But at least he's not crazy! .... (Italics in original; my bolding)

Yes, Obama is cool, rational, not crazy, but commits all the unconstitutional acts Bush/Cheney did (and do we know that torture has actually been ended?). Killing through assassination or drone srtikes? Meh. Just a day at the office. Just "business," nothing personal. Wow. I hate to throw the word "evil" around too much, but is this not, as Silber argues, truly "evil"?

And we are being asked to reelect someone who does evil things as just part of the job....

Has anyone in the MCM (Mainstream Corporate Media) remarked on Santorum's full-throated approval of extra-judicial killings by our executive in chief? No, because most have accepted it as just part of "doing business." Another day at the (Oval) office. (At least none have that I know of.)

Thnx for this link to Arthur's post, Alcuin.

Submitted by Alcuin on

You're welcome, Jawbone. Reading Silber is difficult, because he forces the reader to recognize his/her complicity with the system. If only more would read him.

From the same essay:

"Most Americans are like badly damaged children: they expect evil to announce itself in advance, with the aid of thundering, ominous music on the soundtrack of their increasingly desperate lives. But that is not how evil most commonly arrives. It comes with a gentle, reassuring smile. It insinuates itself with soothing platitudes. It speaks of "threats" to our "security" that cannot be countenanced. It says it only wants to make you "safe."

Isn't this the absolute perfect description of the last 10 years?

More:

"Tens of millions of Americans will vote for the Democratic and Republican nominees for president. They will not understand that they are thereby supporting evil. They refuse to consider withdrawing that support."

N.B.: The linked article was written on December 11, 2007.

I'd hazard a guess that voting Green or Socialist would be akin to withdrawing support, because at least it wouldn't be a vote for the two criminal parties. Not that a vote for a Green or Socialist candidate would achieve anything, because neither candidate would be elected. But at least a vote for either wouldn't be supporting evil.

Submitted by Alcuin on

Thanks for the link, MM - when I posted my comments about McKibben I thought that maybe I'd gone too far. It's nice to know that I have company, way out here in the exceedingly thin atmosphere of my planet. Leonardi is absolutely right. What a whole lot of people don't know is that the only part of the pipeline that isn't built is the part through Nebraska. People are so easily duped by the mantras of "jobs" and "energy security". Not a drop of oil will end up in the U.S. - it is all for export. Jobs? Meh. Not many. Jackass Obamabots and their slavish ignorance.

Turlock