They decided that, in lieu of formulating a statement justifying their objections, they would simply list the objections they had and try to embrace and set in motion the idea of citizens uniting to back a reasonable redress institutionally and through reformed awareness. And a refocus to “Defense Only Military” would appropriately achieve much. Accordingly, they would as precisely as possible list their main grievances, in the manner of Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence and Luther in his famous Theses.
“In no particular order, then?” ex-General Montmoracy asked, to make sure, clearly relishing the opportunity to formulate a relevant post-modern bill of grievances against the government and top elite of the de facto deciders.
“Well, I suppose so. We have to start somewhere.” answered the Colonel.
“Though we might quite conceivably want to consider prioritizing items on our list once we have it down.”
“That’s very true, we might. Anyway, I think it’s appropriate, since we’re both arguably more than repentant, thoughtful of our own complicity in illegal and decidedly improper acts, and most knowledgeable, from the standpoint of personal involvement, to start with our military-related concerns.”
“That seems like a reasonable plan.”
“At the top of the list of grievances for me is the palpable lie that the military establishment’s actual purpose is to defend the country – meaning its territory, people and property inside the country. “Provide for the common defense,” the Constitution puts it. The current U.S. military, in fact, is in no way deployed mainly defensively. It’s deployed, overtly and covertly, around the world, everywhere, intrusively, as if a landowner guarding his property, in well over a hundred legally “sovereign” countries, to aggressively forward the interests of an elite of large corporations and super-wealthy financial houses, family and individual shareholders, and investors in grasping resources and command positions, forcibly or by threat facilitating their access to them, violently murdering and intimidating individuals or governments arrayed against this prime de facto objective of the U.S. enhancement and, to a lesser extent, its coerced and/or bribed leading allied countries at all costs.”
“That’s a huge statement, a real mouthful, General. What would you propose we do with it, once we’ve agreed and put it at the head of the list?” Colonel Crystal queried.
“I think we should go out and expound it, spread it, as a general, primary grievance. Though many would no doubt be, or fake being, offended, or feel threatened. I think many others will see our point. And some may, I imagine, agree with the sentiment – though not all will be willing to say so. While most of the common ilk will dismiss and condemn us for saying as much with a knee-jerk response; like, ‘You’re traitors!’ some, I’m sure, with horrible oaths, literally without devoting a second of thought. By itself, the infrastructure alluded to – a light occupation – is just a launching pad.” “OK, so… I’ll go along with that one. Bloody state violence and pressure secretly for private gain of proponents – out. What’s next?”
“Well, I suppose the next grievance on our list could be the false observation that U.S. and NATO interventions, invasions, and overthrows of governments we don’t like (U.S. and NATO) or that don’t kowtow to certain monetary or banking policies we foster that are detrimental to those countries, or due to something else – regardless of the local popularity or success of the government to be replaced or how it was chosen – are mounted for supposed democratic or terrorist-combating purposes, allegedly to benefit or protect the very locals attacked and slaughtered.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. But, again, isn’t your expression of it a little long, for listing purposes?”
“You’re right. Of course. How about: ‘America sticking its bigger nose in where it doesn’t belong, in pursuit of greater access to goods that also don’t belong to it or, more specifically, to its elite – or on whatever other pretext’?” It’s like, can you forcibly take over a store because you don’t like its prices or just covet its goods?”
“Or its banking practices? Again, that basically works for me. Maybe we can work in more of the sense of your original follow-up, second statement later. OK, let’s see…” – and Colonel Alva Crystal wrote it down. “So, Grievance 1: Lies about motives and objectives, and forcing violent outcomes than are strictly self-serving, financially and for lockdown global control to benefit the U.S. and international elite – not the American nation directly, but a self-serving controlling elite; while virtually all the alleged “terror combated” at breathtakingly extraordinary cost was either fomented or set in motion by or in retribution against the U.S. and its allies’ intrusions. “Speaking of lies, you know, that Machiavellian subterfuge steadily used of secretly allying with instead of battling against target terrorist groups as announced and used to rally the fearful public’s support behind whatever policy.
That started in its current form in the late ‘70s, first introduced with Operation Gladio in Western Europe. That particular large dose of dishonesty, injecting a secret, ruthless provocative force into the mix, also, mainly, used to deceive the American and western allied public, we owe that subterfuge to one conniving operative named Zbigniew Brzezinski.
The same tactic was used with al-Qaeda and bin Laden, CIA assets, precisely to deceive and ratchet-up fearful and disinformed public support, and it’s now used in Syria, as well as Europe and here, with the US/NATO asset ISIS ,making up the core of ground troops for the U.S. Air Force and missile campaign and, in a shadowy way, the bogey-man terror organization now and again supposedly convulsing the west with “terrorist attacks." ‘ISIS IS US’ is a formula that’s been used to explicate it. It’s emblematic of the system’s sad disdain for Americans and European allied people by and large. It’s essential that such tactics be relegated, so that people can safely place trust again. As it is, the truth about everything is kept secret.”
“But other countries’ governments lie, don’t they?”
“They do. But we’re supposed to be the ones to set the world a higher standard, aren’t we? I don’t think the “Founding Fathers” were advocating governing by lies! We’re told, anyway, that, from the beginning, our country’s destiny, our role in the world, was to be a paragon of honest government, to usher in peace and respect by organizing ourselves on positive (life-affirming) grounds of productivity and trustworthiness, rather than negative (death-bringing), as at present.”
“Ok, Grievance 2.," the ex-Colonel prompted, “Lies about defending our freedom and spreading democracy. In fact, the extreme pollical power allotted by our de facto governing system to this same self-serving tiny controlling elite that uniquely demands perpetual war is 100% of what denies the desire of our people to control or limit power over our own country, which is the reason we ourselves don’t have rule by the will of the people – or what is traditionally called democracy. We don’t have it, so how can we export it, or insist that others practice it? Do we get to decide whether to have, and fund, a war or not? No. That needs to change, by reigning in elite domination via illegal and offensive military deployment. Americans, by and large, sure don’t want all these wars, I can tell you – or any of them, designed to enrich our financial controllers. Overwhelmingly, we don’t want to fight them or to pay for them.”
“3. So, ‘inappropriate, uninvited, illegal, and thus disastrous interventions and meddling’ is a major grievance, for several reasons.” “Sounds good.”
“Then, let me add number 4 – ‘Systematically turning young men and women into suicides, psychopaths, degenerates, and maladjusted physical and mental cripples, through training to mass-produce reliable killers and amoral zombies – in effect, human robots.’”
“You know they’re not going to like that one.”
“Well, it’s true, in way, way too many thousands of instances. Veterans are killing themselves twenty-plus a day.”
“Good. No, I mean not good. I mean, ‘next’.”
; “Number 5. ‘Sacrifice of thousands of U.S. military personnel and cumulatively millions of foreign legitimate combatants and non-combatants killed, maimed for life in body and spirit, and displaced internally or internationally – at least an estimated 60 million (some estimates squeeze that down to 20 million) deaths associated with U.S. overseas actions since the end of World War II – and overwhelmingly for policies to benefit solely or primarily a handful of schmucks in boardrooms or sitting in lawn chairs on beaches. That’s what makes my blood boil, since I first came to realize it. I mean, why should essentially random human beings in the hundreds of thousands, cumulatively many millions, die and see their lifelong dreams and homes blown away to put more billions in the hands of blood-money investors and industrialists, who nonbeneficially loot American taxpayers, and destroy and cripple inconvenient sovereign nations, including ours?”
“I think that puts it together pretty well, all right. OK! All right by me!”
“OK, then. But I think I can do better – how about number 5, reading: ‘Expending the lives of thousands of U.S. and NATO soldiers and more especially hundreds of thousands, cumulatively millions of residents of the greater Middle East and elsewhere, putting our troops in harm’s way, for the particular or near-sole benefit of large corporations and financial investors.’ That’s an altogether tragic, and in a way, obscene direct result – which people abroad particularly know about – of what I would call our piratically practiced aggression and secret terror policy.’”
“And an excellent point, I mean points. What we’re talking about is the world’s biggest scam. Are there any more points you can think of that we should add?”
“Well, there’s that business about the U.S. being the ‘exceptional country’ that, because of its allegedly unique idealistic foundation and splendid character, is excused from practicing the same moral precepts that other countries are expected and pressured to practice.
“So, 6: ‘American Exceptionalism’ used as self-justification on a global scale.”
“OK, then No. 7: A totally controlled and circumscribed, monolithic media as the, at least up until now, as an unrivaled propaganda mouthpiece for the powers-that-be… And number 8: ‘The hijacking of all outwardly responsible, pluralistic national governments, at least in the west, and increasingly everywhere else, by the central banking syndicate… etc., etc. “Such has got to be our full-throated, unstinting message, Colonel. There’s no choice.” “So, we lay out the case for a ‘defense-only military’?”
“You took the words right out of my month. That must be the crux of our message. That’s exactly what must happen!
* * *
After supper, the two, not yet satisfied, decided they also needed to make a list of the public myths or official versions they were in fact disputing – all the lies. It turned out like this:
Malignant Myths That Have Become
General Operating Assumptions:
That the U.S. only intervenes in clear and direct defense of the U.S. resident population and territory, in pursuit of democracy, or to free oppressed friendly nations from tyranny.
Terrorists hate and attack us because they resent our freedom. (Our random aggressive violence, maybe.)U.S. assaults on enemy states and against threatening terrorist groups are launched to proactively protect America from possible or threatened attacks here.
That we all owe a great debt of gratitude to men and women who put their lives, limbs, and mental health on the line overseas to protect us from terrorism at home.
Precision bombing and very careful targeting by U.S. forces result only in the death of terrible people nothing like us, although unfortunate accidents do happen, however rarely.
The U.S. is the most noble and humane nation (which saved the world in WWII) and deserves to be given ample leeway and support in always seeking to do the right thing, while the conduct of foreigners is relatively substandard and beneath our serious consideration, often only good for a laugh. They deserve our murderous wrath when they oppose our will.
American lives are worth more than others’ lives.
We have the most free press in the world and are the freest country in the history of the world, high above all the others.The United States is a country with a sovereign government freely chosen by the governed and responsible for serving them, carrying out their bidding. It is a government of, by, and for the people.
“That’s a hell of a list!”
Night and sleep finally came once again. And when it did, ex-Colonel Crystal dreamed that his wife returned during the night to embrace him, caressing his neck, even the sore side, and head – and then sent him to take out the garbage.
* * *
In the morning, Colonel Crystal’s guests shared crullers and coffee with him and departed. But not without a final colloquy.
“But, what about those who say that only evil can vanquish evil? That we must maintain unrelenting brutality and evildoing ourselves to dislodge, fundamentally, the evil of the insidious terror cells and organizations of our time – threatening us and everyone everywhere?” Colonel Alva asked.
“That’s like saying if I have a kitchen fire, I can put it out with fire.”
“We will need to inform as much of the public as we can that, as with the Gladio operations in 1970s Europe, and the al-Qaeda (and ISIS) cells we’re now openly backing against other “vermin” (mainly regular Syrian Army troops) in Syria now… “We are engaged, my friend,” ex-General Montmoracy concluded in parting, “in a struggle to disable unnecessary and disastrous perpetual war in favor of freedom, self-determination, peace of mind, and benefit for all the world’s people. Even at this stage, which is mostly still comprised of a lot of hand-wringing, with occasional stoppage actions, it’s a gigantic ongoing war of wits and wills that you and I are now effectively entering. The world’s people at large must win this war – not the globalist controllers, scammers, blood profiteers. We must force them into full submission to public accountability.”
“Amen.”
XXIV
Pending Moves
He knew the way to reverse America’s steady downward trajectory was to rally people behind what most of them already wanted but despaired of – a plan to escape their country’s spiraling dedication to militarization and the by now permanent offensive war habit. Though it was blocked out of most people’s minds and, in any detail, from the daily news, it was always there as a heavy background to everything – the rotten, highhanded way official and establishment America related to other so-called sovereign nations and cultures that were different. If Americans weren’t running it, it was worthless and rejected. Americans would not listen, and must dominate, even if it meant killing the other – who did not deserve to exist. And Americans hated that that acquired attitude didn’t fit with the values they’d been taught they stood for early in life. Their excuse for fecklessness was, “things have changed." And they expected them to change a lot more. Reason was at a premium, but Alva counted on it still being there.
What a strange fixation! he thought to himself. America’s and his! And yet there was common ground. A big, strapping ex-Colonel sitting alone in his kitchen not half an hour after the Montmoracys – two other rather odd specimens of homo sapiens – had left. Suddenly, he wished he had a dog, or at least somebody there to commiserate with him.
Then, out of nowhere, he banged his fist down hard on the table in frustration. “Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Good God! Where does that bloke Frank, such an odd old duck, get such energy, such determination, such… finesse – to provocatively, but so reasonably and confidently throw together a list like that at the drop of a hat, encapsulating so perfectly the big thoughts that have been more than bothersome for both of us? Thoughts leading to stands and statements that have, in a real way, already made a mockery of our mundane lives in retirement, in retreat, really, and wreaked havoc on both of our well-earned, from a layman’s point-of-view, privileged lives. Especially mine. Leading us both into a dark, or was it b
lindingly-bright, corner from which, if we persist, I doubt we’ll ever be able either of us to extricate ourselves?
“And why all the histrionics now? What are you doing, Alva? What’s going on?
“Damn! I’m in full agreement with everything we both listed. And he was just one step ahead of me in all of it, no more than that! If he really meant it… But if I’d had such thoughts, reached such damnable conclusions on my own, I would never have found the resolution to get myself as completely screwed over as he has done both of us! Thank you, Frank! I’d have just gone on, bewitched, bothered, bewildered, and bogged down, as the saying goes. And maybe better off. “This little paradise I’ve found here, undiscovered, protection (who am I kidding?) from snooping and isolation, the freedom I yearned for my whole life… and now that I have it… damn it all to hell!
He took a deep breath. “Well, enough of the old histrionics,” he breathed through clenched teeth. “I’m not an idealist at heart; much more of a realist. I’ve always prided myself on that… And now? Now, I’ll have to fight and lead still another unwinnable war; but at least, one I believe in, that’s worth fighting!” He laughed. “And where did I come up with this sudden flair for the dramatic?” He slumped and sunk down into an over-padded chair by the ornamental fireplace. “Well, I guess I’d better figure out where to go next, with the Will Goldsby thing – get that out of the way – and with this.”
Colonel Crystal's Parallel Universe Page 8