When calamity sets in, I intend to win

This is the last column for the semester. I feel it is appropriate, and perhaps necessary, to sum up, specifically, the massive issues facing us as we head into the near future. If much of this sounds familiar, it ought to. Some things bear repeating.

At any time during human history, one can look and find a set of forces pulling humanity towards disaster, and a set of forces pulling it towards sanity and common decency. Sometimes the forces of good are seemingly or entirely absent, at other times they are too weak or too slow to prevent disaster. While this has led to calamity in the past, since the invention of nuclear weapons, the stakes are higher than ever before.

Right now, there are two groups of people whose imperialist goals are made clear to anyone who cares to look. The first group is made up of the radical nationalists who currently are running the United States. In the National Security Strategy released last September, and easily available online from its source, these imperialists say, in no uncertain terms, the following: they intend to dominate the world, they intend to do it permanently, and they are prepared to do it by force. This use of force can (and presumably will) be carried out against any country that could be a competitor in the future, as judged by the U.S. government. The use of nuclear weapons is an option, and there is not necessarily any need to demonstrate that any targeted nation poises a threat to its neighbors, its own people, or the United States.

Don’t take my word on any of this. Feel free to go to the source and read it for yourself. This has little to do with terrorism, inasmuch as the ideological framework for such policies was laid down starting about a decade ago. These neo-conservatives are intelligent people, and they understand the advantage in starting with countries ruled by monstrous dictators. They can thus claim the moral high ground of a “war of liberation,” though nobody should be under the illusion that tyrannies are to be the only targets.

The second group is composed of the oligarchs leading the People’s Republic of China. They are well aware that in the years to come China will gain enormous power and influence, both commercial and military, extending not only over East Asia, but also over other parts of the globe. Retaking the breakaway province of Taiwan has been a goal of the Chinese oligarchs for decades, and they have often assumed that they would have to use force to do so.

Needless to say, their imperialist ambitions extend farther than simply taking over a thriving democracy some distance off the coast. They know their goals and those of the American ruling class are mutually exclusive, and they realize what this may mean. They do not seem worried.

I don’t have room to go into detail about the activities of the lesser imperialist powers, but I wrote about that recently anyway. Suffice it to say that we cannot let this happen. I opposed the attack on Iraq as an anti-imperialist. I knew where it would lead, and that those consequences are worse than anything Saddam Hussein could ever have hoped to accomplish.

If we want to fight imperialism, and we must, then the struggle becomes more personal. Free societies are such because people got up, stood up, and stood up for their rights (to misquote Bob Marley), and America is no different. The fight against corporate and military imperialism has already started in earnest, with the Spirit of Seattle extending to a wave of protest at every major gathering of power brokers, as well as a growing tide of community activism, independent news reporting, and other activity. Keep in mind that those of us in the free world can do this sort of thing somewhat easily. We aren’t struggling against hunger or a government crackdown. Those photos of the man standing in front of the Chinese tanks should both inspire and humble us all. Further west, we can learn from the deaths of Carlo Giuliani and Rachel Corrie. Both provide lessons in what to do, and just as importantly, what not to do. Both were possessed of deeply inspiring dedication, but Signior Giuliani was completely out of control, and Ms. Corrie needed to weigh her life against a man’s (just a doctor, not a terrorist) house.

I’ve learned enough about history to know I cannot let another age of empires come to pass without having attempted to do something about it. Whether I’m in the streets with a bandanna over my face, or just asking questions of those in power, I intend to win.