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Armando Vazquez.
USA history and the fatal flaw of Selective Amnesia:
“It is better to die on your feet than to live a lifetime on your knees.” Emiliano Zapata
By Armando Vazquez / Guest contributor
The late great poet, activist and musical genius Gil Scott-Heron, often reminds folks through his work that, “America has always lead the world in selective amnesia and hypocrisy” How can any honest, common sense thinking American disagree? But alas, we Americans are often a hard-headed, selfish, greedy and stupid people in full display of an incredulous world, some watch nervously others cheering madly, as Trump and his MAGA cult push our nation further toward the abyss of totalitarianism.
So to me, the short and long answer to whether will America survive the big lie is as scary as it is obvious. Of course, the United States of America will survive; it may even continue to flourish if and when Trump and his MAGA fellow fascists take over. After all what is more dangerous and entrenched than an army of MAGA/QAnon zealots that have collectively drank the orange Kool-Aid and believe to the marrow of their soul that the country that they ruled for over 245 years is being “stolen from them by the godless hordes of Mexicans, Blacks and other undesirables heathens.”
Let’s not act stupid and selectively surprised with our current existential crisis produced in large part by our barbaric and murderous history and the corresponding lies. Our American past is a bloody and dark history of horrific lies, shameless cover-ups and revisions that this countries’ European colonialists/imperialists had to fabricate for over 245 years, to justify the butchery and genocide they have levelled upon this continent and nations around the world. Very rich and politically connected old white men run this country and the world, don’t they? So why in god’s name would they ever cede or give up any power? The answer is brutally simple! They will not! In fact, they want more power and control of the American game! It is we the minorities and people of color of this nation that must make radical changes, sacrifices and fight like our very existence depends on it, and in our collective heart we all know with certainty that it does. We must organize, continue to educate our people, and fight like hell.
Armed with hate, madness, and guns:
“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Mao
Trump and his 150 million strong (and counting) rabid MAGA zombies are sufficiently armed to the teeth, brain washed, bought/sold out, which makes them a very dangerous and deranged army capable of anything and everything. These folks are infected with a suicidal and maniacal sense of wicked and warped Christian martyrdom that makes them nothing more than pathetic American Jihadist clowns/frauds who are without love or faith in real justice, fairness, and democracy. But they are willing to kill and die when Trump blow his dog whistle and give the command to attack. We know that he and the MAGA mob will begin shooting. Blind and driven by greed, fear, racism and a lazar sharp and focused hatred for everyone and anyone that does not look or think like they do and await for the order to once again attack our democracy. We have seen, over and over again in the past 6 years that these MAGA loyalists will follow their crazy evil leader to hell and back, and in the process destroy this nation, if directed to do so by Trump.
These MAGA “patriots” will stop at nothing short of engaging in a civil conflagration or outright civil war with the singular goal of returning this country to its former glory, i.e., white nationalism and rule by a very small “divinely anointed” group of Christian white old men of tremendous wealth and political/military power: these men have always controlled government, money, police, military and now they also control the many para-military groups that proliferate throughout this nation.
According to Jerry Sachs, Political History Professor at Columbia University, “The United States of American has conducted over 100 hundred military interventions throughout the world since 1990”. Domestically the police state has created the biggest population of prisoners in the world, with more than 2 million American currently serving time in prison (no one has any idea of how many innocent men and women are rotting in prison simply because they were set up by corrupt cops, District Attorneys, Public defenders, and the entire judicial system )*. We have had every kind of oppressive, evil, twisted, and unconstitutional law levelled upon us over the past 245 years by these racist and crooked politicians and their supports over the entire history of this country with the express intent of keep minorities and people of color politically enslaved, impotent and powerless.
American Exceptionalism:
Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely: English historian Lord Acton
We are at times a lying, ingenious and deceitful country that has built it standing as the world greatest economic and military power the word has ever known, on the bloodied and pulverized bones of the millions of people of color that have been slaughtered in the name of preserving the white man’s religious and political freedom. The genocide, enslavement, and colonization of the Indigenous, the African, the Mexican, the Asians, along with all the other disposable people of color was and is a deliberate state sponsored and institutionalized 245 year acts of domestic imperialism. The oppressor will tell you without a hint of remorse and shame that the genocide was/is an “unpleasant, yet necessary, by-product” to secure and protect their liberty and freedom.
The white man’s history of the United States, then, is just a shameless 245 year revisionist nightmarish tale of cold-blooded genocide, murder, theft, and lies. If this is our true United States history and these folks have levelled these kind of atrocities on their own citizenry and nations all over the world, what would make anyone think that they will repent and change their murderous ways? The minorities and people of color of this country know better!
Love, Crumbs, Truth and Revolution:
“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” Che
In this post truth world gone completely mad the MAGA zealots have flipped Che’s revolutionary love quote on its head. Blind, full blown hatred is now patriotic love for the MAGA faithful. These folks fear that the crumbs that they have been throwing at the minorities for over 245 years are now somehow excessive liberating hand-outs and concessions and by warped extension they threaten their white privilege, power and way of life. Like rabid dogs, in full attack mode, they must now snatch back the crumbs from the minorities of this nation. In this existential moment these rabid “patriots” must/will return this country back to its former glory, even if it mean the total destruction of the nation as we know it.
Today truth is dead in the United States of America; it was on life support before Trump. He plunged the final deadly daggers into the heart and mind of this nation. With the death of truth comes other causalities in our country, such as equal and impartial justice under the law, an objective constitutional principled judiciary, and a universal and just community safety net (cops), among others. Clearly this is not the time for minorities and our white progressive friends to play by the corrupt and oppressive institutional “rules”: we have to be smarter and more courteous than that. I know it is hard, seemingly impossible to change old habits, even when they are harmful and destructive, but we must.
Like I always have, I will vote for Democrats down the entire ballot in the upcoming and crucial mid-term 2022 elections. I am convinced that the Democratic Party is only slightly less corrupt than the Republican Party. Yet what other choice do we minority voters have today? So what I am voting for, really, is the perpetuation of system that is rotten to the core, and totally unresponsive to our dreams and aspirations.
The two party system in America is corrupt, obsolete and manipulated by white rich old men like a kite in a hurricane (we are the kites). So for now I will continue to work each and every day to help educate, register to vote, organize and mobilize my community. We must continue to fight to have our voices heard and our votes be equally counted. I will also work and fight to carve out a renewed revolutionary political party vision in our community, much like the old La Raza Unida Party, of the late 1960’s. What do we have to lose? Nothing, absolutely nothing, but the chains.
I desperately want to continue to believe in our democracy, despite the fact that we have historically only been pawns in this game for over 245 years, and if Trump and his acolytes regain power, we will be in for the ass-kick of our lives. I think that we, the minorities, of this country have been sufficiently patient with this democratic ‘ work in progress’ that has, for the most part ignored, manipulated, or used us. For our survival we must take a different path: the one carved for us by the oppressor has not worked for us. Spoiler alert: it was never intended to work for minorities and disenfranchised populations of this country. Adelante mi gente, a la lucha de liberacion en los Estados Unidos.
— Armando Vazquez, M.Ed., founding member of CORE and the Acuna Art Gallery and Community Collective.