You know, most Americans are imperialists. One of the reasons--the reason--that it so amuses me to find the occasional commenter here ask me why I offer no practical solutions to "our" problems, why the closest I ever come to advocating for direct action is to propose minor acts of cultural vandalism. Being an anti-imperialist in America is like being a Zionist in the Third Reich. I am a fringe radical. If you agree with even a tenth of what you read on this site, you too are a fringe radical. Your beliefs and opinions are not reflective of those of your countrymen. The question, "How do we stop being imperialists?" bears as much practical import as, "How do we live without breathing?" We don't. The United States of America is an empire. Maybe you think it's on the downhill slide? I certainly hope so. But it is what it is, nevertheless. The notions that within the body of empire lurks the heart of an egalitarian, constitutional republic, or a libertarian minarchy, or a parliamentary social democracy are the purest forms of political self-flattery. The subjects here may be largely political, but the program is purely perceptual. I am not a reformist.
50 comments:
Afuckingmen!
Cue the comments from jock-sniffers who still believe in the American myth.
i hope nothing i've said puts me in the occasional-commenter-demanding-answers class. if so, whatever i said, i was being a wise ass.
i disagree with what IOZ says here so seldom i can't think of an example. and yes, i have come to realize the fringe-extremity of my views.
friends and family recoil in horror from simple statements like, "i don't think it's ethical to vote." i don't have the heart to tell them why.
IOZ and his commenters are pretty tolerant of a wry angry pessimist, which is nice.
"thanks IOZ, for helping a buddy out," is all i'm saying.
Despite the abuse I regularly receive, I find the conversation compelling and appreciate the hard work you evidently put into this blog. Thanks.
I don't agree with the phrase "It is what it is."
I have heard it more recently lately and hope that it disappears.
"Being an anti-imperialist in America is like being a Zionist in the Third Reich."
LOL! Thanks. You nailed it.
Succinct and on point. Well said.
My bold solution for progressive change within our current political context:
Smoke weed and chill out.
I'd like to point out that many Zionists in the Third Reich succeeded in getting shit done, and in fact there is a reasonable amount of evidence for a successful collaboration between the Nazi regime and Zionists to encourage the export of der Juden to der Palastina. Which is to say, even an apparently impossible situation can afford hope if you are bold and clever. So, don't give up just yet.
I prefer the analogy "Being an anti-imperialist American is like being an anti-sacrifice Mayan."
Other than that... yeah. You're right. Of course, you're right. Nothing is written on this site that won't appear in the pages of history books a hundred years from now, though in a slightly, er, different wording.
The ancient Romans would have been shocked -- shocked! to find out there was an Empire going on in their joint. They preferred to call it "exporting civilization".
Yes, boo 'reform' (as it's usually presented in it's save-the-Donk puffery).
And I love your focus on that acidic, rot-empowering antipathy. Go, antipathy!
Your doing it -- and doing it so well -- was a great mental excercise for me. It continues to be (I share some of these tough questions with my students here in the Middle/Middling Kingdom - you'd have enjoyed the "wow" that swept across one girls face last Tuesday when I led her from one question to the next until she was left saying "So, I see now the next president, and the one now, aren't all that important; it works in different ways."
But you admit yourself, don't you, that this too shall pass - no empire lasts forever, and why should this one. We do well to think about how power does work, and imagine new ways it might be better organized (I don't think libertarianism cuts it, either); I'm convinced enough that one day it could be our task to reorganize power, and I'd like to have some ideas on that that would result in a world where the way power works gets less people killed.
For these mental excercises, I go to (unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com); Overcoming Bias is good, too. As the author of the former would say: your mileage may vary.
Cheers!
IOZ,
I agree with 90% of what I read on this site -- the exceptional 10% mostly being the hard core athiesm bit, although I don't object to the dogmatic-authoritarian-religion bashing (I'm a Quaker) and have always been fond of Schopenhauer. I also adhere to the quaint belief that society would be better off if it kept it in its pants more often, or at least off the streets.
So I guess you consider me a fellow fringe radical, seeing as I agree with far more than 10% of what you say? That's important to me, cause you're pretty damn smart, and you heart seems to be in the right place.
The subjects here may be largely political, but the program is purely perceptual. I am not a reformist.
Hear, hear.
Hooray for being a fringe radical! I'll proudly wear that label, considering what passes for being a respectable moderate in our country.
I sometimes forget just how bad things are.
The notions that within the body of empire lurks the heart of an egalitarian, constitutional republic, or a libertarian minarchy, or a parliamentary social democracy are the purest forms of political self-flattery.
Even if they were true, so what?
I find it odd that even among other fringe types people are sometimes shocked at the people I associate with or link to. "Extremist!" "Insane!" "Repulsive!" Aren't we all?
Right on IOZ.
I may not like the system, but it doesn't mean I have to devote my life to destroying it when I have better, more fulfilling things to do.
I hadn't quite realized how IOZ and his diabolical thinking had permeated my consciousness until I read this TPM thread about Hillary blasting the "activist wing" of the Democratic party, the MoveOn.org types, for ruining her chances, and found myself surprised by how many people take it for granted that invading Afghanistan was a Good Thing and that only a nutjob - or a fringe radical, perhaps - would have a problem with it.
As a self-identified fringe radical and habitual member of your amen chorus, I'll add my "right on!" to the crowd.
I would like to add that fringe radicalism as a reformist or revolutionary program may be doomed, but that does not mean that there is nothing to be done. Bearing witness to the truth always has value, and there is something of value that we all can do, as well: take care of number one.
The more independent we few are from the fortunes of the empire, the better off we will be when the inevitable crisis comes. I don't know if our empire will end with a bang or a whimper, but I do believe that end is nigh. I'd advise all to do their best to be prepared for that eventuality.
16 or self-identified fringe radicals. Its practically a movement.
drip
As a famous man once stated:
"I yam what I yam"
to which I would only add:
"and I ain't no jock-sniffer!"
TT
I am reminded of this george carlin interview from a couple of months back:
"I do feel that when you're born into the world, you're given a ticket to the freak show, and when you're born in the United States, you're given a front-row seat"
I've taken your slow-walking suggestion to heart, and I will now go out of my way to take up an inordinate amount of a bureaucrat's time, as re-payment in kind.
So IOZ has finally admitted that his role is to pacify/placate/distract those who would otherwise be agents of change. BRAVO! You sir are a force to be reckoned with. No time or place is safe from your self-satisfied whining. Imagine what you could have done in ancient Egypt! Why, tens (if not twenty) of your stone-hauling brethren would have been riveted by your complaints. Or ancient Greece, where you might have...gotten someone to listen to you, however briefly.
You have a lever, and yet you seek to move nothing with it. You are not even the sound of someone else's hand clapping.
And as for this:
"I am not a reformist."
No, you are not. That would mean risking something.
Now, on with your juggling. The court is not amused.
Yeah IOZ, why are you not DOING SOMETHING? As NotSmartEnoughByHalf charges, you should be doing something and by something NotSmartEnoughByHalf means doing what s/he wants.
(cont.)
Also you should know that all of this will go on your permanent record.
- Fledermaus
NoSmartEnough needs to realize two things:
1. The system CANNOT be "reformed."
2. The system cannot be maintained and will collapse of its own sodden weight. We are BANKRUPT, basically. Our elites have sold us out. No need to worry. Luckily, most of us fags have no children to worry about.
So IOZ has finally admitted that his role is to pacify/placate/distract those who would otherwise be agents of change.
Dude/dudette, I think I've been reading here long enough to know that all your post is going to do is tickle IOZ pink with the notion that he has somehow managed to divert a bunch of woulda-been-Kossacks into listening to his narcotic words against their will.
Personally, I enjoyed the reference to ancient Greece (followed by the pregnant pause), where we all know what decadent parasites like IOZ would have been doing to "corrupt" the youth, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.
As NotSmartEnoughByHalf charges, you should be doing something and by something NotSmartEnoughByHalf means doing what s/he wants.
Well, uh, yeah--isn't that what we all mean? I want everyone to do something, namely what I want. That's what them fancy logical types call a tautology. I want Bush to get us out of Iraq, and I want bloggers to actually get off their asses in the real world and do something to make things a little better--which, as Saurabh points out, is always possible (and even if it's not, you have an obligation to find out whether or not it is). I want Kos to see the light and realize how fucked up his views are.
I also want a pony.
I think we can manage the pony...
Given that "Kos" has absolutely zero influence over what really happens as the imperial machine rumbles on, killing another Shiite here, poisoning a Nigerian Delta dweller there, why in the world do you care one whit about what "Kos" thinks? Why even waste any emotional energy at all?
Given that there is nothing currently possible to do to get us out of Iraq, why waste any thought about that? The bipartisan consensus says we will stay. If you don't like that consensus, so what? The machine now has better crowd control and perception management techniques than ever seen during the late 60s. Have a protest, the establishment yawns. They'll just taser you, and the "liberal" blogos[here will fill up with self-righteous pwoggies suggesting that you DESERVED the beat-down, given that you, you impertinent fool, ahve questioned your masters.
BLAARRGH DO SOMETHING SCCCHHH ZZZZZ VOTE OR DIE MUHFUCKA
Ugh.
If you figure Hawaii, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico, etcetera, most Americans are imperialists by definition.
Not to mention Virginia, the Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and so on.
By doing nothing you are actually doing something. Ironically IOZ actually does quite a bit to oppose the imperial machine while claiming the opposite. One need not rise up and physically strike someone to rebel and yet still rebel. IOZ is doing quite a lot, much to his chagrin I guess.
Wow. Zen rebellion.
:)
At the very least he's helped crystalize my sense that something ain't quite right with this place, and made me realize my civic apathy is a virtue rather than something to be shamed by. So there's something.
Neither IOZ nor his detractors are doing anything.
If it makes you feel any better, notsmartenoughbyhalf, when you actually succeed in your endeavors, I think most of us can promise not to take credit. Until then we're still going to laugh at you.
LOL, tggp.
tggp, that makes up for the Derbyshire link! :)
I'd like to point out that many Zionists in the Third Reich succeeded in getting shit done, and in fact there is a reasonable amount of evidence for a successful collaboration between the Nazi regime and Zionists to encourage the export of der Juden to der Palastina. Which is to say, even an apparently impossible situation can afford hope if you are bold and clever. So, don't give up just yet.
the collaborators of today are not on the internet.
and thankfully, the revolution will not be blogged.
You're distracting hundreds of revolutionaries! No one listens to you anyway! The food here is terrible! And the portions are so small!
Tickled doesn't even begin to describe it.
The only thing anyone "risks" by trying to be a reformist is their own sanity and/or dignity. I applaud IOZ for his risk averse behavior. I'd rather be a happy, sane fringe radical with no pretensions to "reform" than a batshit, preachy tool with the black hole of Calcutta where his soul used to be. Funny how they envy those who refuse to play the game so, innit?
"The only thing anyone "risks" by trying to be a reformist is their own sanity and/or dignity."
Ah, Rove would be proud of ya. Spineless cretins all. No one envys the asshole who sits on the sidelines, smoking his bong and whining "I told you it didn't matter, I TOLD you man..."
Shit gets done. Unfortunately most of it gets done by the opposition, who actually get off their asses and I don't know- do shit. Thanks for nothing, assholes.
The gift of nothing never gets returned, and it's infinitely regiftable. I fail to see the problem.
The Opposition, meanwhile, keeps giving me a headache. Such as I can, I try to return the favor.
Ah, Rove would be proud of ya. Spineless cretins all. No one envys the asshole who sits on the sidelines, smoking his bong and whining "I told you it didn't matter, I TOLD you man..."
Shit gets done. Unfortunately most of it gets done by the opposition, who actually get off their asses and I don't know- do shit. Thanks for nothing, assholes.
Your wild dare inspires me. How much longer does one have to BLOG BLOG BLOG before we get about to doing whatever it is you would like us to do?
Mobetta Democrats. Mobetta Democrats. Just keep tellingn yourself how you be fighting THE MAN, Fade, after your precious Democrat President (sadly and reluctantly of course) drops nuclear weapons on those nefarious Muslims in Tehran. Or gives a major bailout to a merchant fund.
Yeah, working to elect Democraps is not "doing something."
I'll stay home from work if y'all want to have a general strike, but I'm not signing a fucking petition calling for democratic superdelegates to vote according to the "will of the people."
after your precious Democrat President
No, no, Brian, didn't you get the memo? Everyone from Crooks & Liars to Digby to Keith Olbermann has sputtered in outrage over how calling it the "Democrat" party - minus the "ic" - is a scheme dating back to Crazy Joe McCarthy to associate the party with the word "rat".
Which is also why no one calls themselves a Democrat individually, because...oh, wait, what? They do still do that? Then what the fuck difference does it make what you call the party?
Never mind, Brian. Carry on. That shit doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.
other anon, thank you for clearing that up for me, I've wondered what their beef with that is for a long time.
Also, Fade, please spare me your misplaced indignation. Even if I were somehow able to galvanize all the other uncaring/uncommitted voters in our "great nation", I'd still have to contend with a Democratic party that cares not a whit for its constituents desires and is only concerned in preserving their place in the halls of power. Sure, they'd LIKE to win, because look how much fun the Republicans have, but I promise you their desire to be the ones in power is not out of any sense of right or wrong or dedication to "reform".
PS, I find it really cute that you ascribe some wizard like status to a fat hack like Karl Rove. What does it say about your team that you consider him an evil genius and can't manage to combat his paltry parlor tricks? Why, it's almost like your side DOESN'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT WINNING!
Can I say the word "Nader", anonymous 8:02? I love watching Demoncrats go into spasms!
Post a Comment