My last post explained my passionate support of Bernie Sanders to become the 45th President of the U.S.
Bernie’s not just right on the issues, he’s knows what “the issues” really are…
He knows that out of control income and wealth inequality are ripping society to shreds and eviscerating the middle class…the great engine of growth and prosperity for all Americans.
He knows that a corrupt, money-driven political system, is at the core of rising inequality, as the system becomes increasingly rigged for the richest Americans.
He knows that global warming is on the verge of becoming an inescapable threat to our planet and all life that inhabits it.
He also knows that all of the above are inextricably intertwined with the threat to our national security.
National security gets a lot of press these days and for good reason. Terrorism appears to be on the rise despite the trillions and trillions of dollars we’ve spent to combat it since 9-11.
The typical response to the problem of national security is the neoliberal one.
“Neoliberal”…a term you might have read me railing against and thought to yourself, wait a minute, I thought the Revolutionary Misfit WAS a liberal…
Well, for starters, I don’t like to be labeled “liberal.”
In my opinion, there’s not much difference between a neoliberal and an establishment liberal…or an establishment conservative for that matter.
I’m a progressive.
What is neoliberalism?
Well, if you Google it, you get this:
Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, its advocates [namely Ronald Reagan of the U.S. and Margaret Thatcher of the U.K.] supported extensive economic liberalization policies such as privatization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending in order to enhance the role of the private sector in the economy.
What has really gotten us into the tremendous mess that the Middle East has become?
I would opine that neoliberalism and its first-cousin, neoconservatism, are at the heart of the problem.
Why have we insisted on meddling in Middle Eastern affairs…
from the overthrow of the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mosaddegh, in 1953, and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9-11, to Obama’s recent drone attacks and Syrian strategy (or lack thereof, depending on political perspective)?
Aren’t there “economic” and private sector implications…in addition to the resulting military-industrial complex boom?
Of course there are!
We’re in it for the oil, pure and simple. Because oil has long been the fuel of choice for the private sector economic engine.
And, remember, according to neoliberalism, there’s nothing more important than the private sector economy.
So, how does all this make Sanders, the guy who everyone in the establishment wants you to believe is weak on national security, become, in my opinion, numero uno on national security?
Well, according to practically all credible scientists in the world today, burning all that black gold has some grave consequences for people and planet…
it’s overheating us.
Oh sure, there are guys like Jim Inhofe and Donald Trump, neoliberal neocons in their own right, who say it’s all a hoax…
Well, quite simply, they’re just nuts.
If we choose to believe scientific fact about the threat of global warming, then it’s easier to embrace the idea of less dependence on oil as the fuel of choice. And less dependence on oil means less need for meddling in the Middle East. And the less meddling we engage in over there, the less reasons we give those people to hate us…pure and simple.
Not to mention the fact that less dependence on oil and more dependence on clean and renewable energy sources that don’t overheat our planet may still provide us with the outside chance of SAVING OUR PLANET…
Furthermore, scientists have said that one of the inevitable consequences of global warming will be mass displacement of populations, as sea levels rise and food sources become more scarce.
That gives rise to nationalistic tensions of the same sorts that Donald Trump is fanning right now in the U.S…calling for a massive wall on the southern border, mass deportation of “illegals”, and a ban on Muslims even being allowed to enter the country.
Those tensions can turn violent.
Recently I saw where an Al-Qaeda affiliated group is actually using Trump’s incendiary comments in a recruiting video.
Population displacement due to global warming plays right into the hands of demagogues like Trump, who attempt to gain power by leveraging fear…and fear can easily turn into violence.
Now, how does all this tie in with inequality and a corrupt political system?
Well, outside of financial, medical and big pharma, there are few greater sources of lobbyists and Super PAC donors exerting an undue influence in the halls of Congress than those of the energy and defense industries.
Don’t you think laws get passed, or fail to pass, for purposes of protecting those two very special interests?
Well, if you don’t, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
I just don’t believe the tired old neoliberal-neoconservative ideas of spending unlimited amounts of money on bombs, bullets and boots on the ground is in the best interest of national security…
Hey, where has it gotten us so far?
I believe getting rid of our dependence on oil as the economic fuel of choice, combatting global warming and its disastrous effects, and keeping our noses on problems at home, as opposed to constantly meddling in the affairs of others abroad, are in our best national security interests.
However, that will not happen unless we take back control of our government from those that operate exclusively from the neoliberal-neoconservative point of view.
For these reasons, I believe progressively-minded Bernie Sanders is number one on national security.
