Freedom
January 20, 2005
This is inauguration day. President Bush begins his second term with a speech focused on freedom and spreading American freedom around the world. I heard a replay of his inaugural address on TV tonight and include excerpts here:
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use but by the history we have seen together. For a half a century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical. And then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability, and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny—prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder, violence will gather and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
America’s vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and earth. Across the generations, we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave.
Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation’s security, and the calling of our time. So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. […]
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right.
America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies. We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.
America’s belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators. They are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty. […]
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country. The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did, ‘Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.’
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know to serve your people, you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side. […]
In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.
In America’s ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time.
To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance, preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society.
By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.
In America’s ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character, on integrity and tolerance toward others and the rule of conscience in our own lives.
Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self.
I wonder if President Bush actually read what his speechwriters wrote or if he really heard what he said. Although President Bush never said the word “capitalism” in his speech, I think that he and his followers really believe that capitalism and freedom are the same thing. In this speech he wasn’t talking about democratic freedom, he was talking about capitalistic freedom.
Democracy and capitalism may share some traits but they should never be equated. The two are very different.
True democracy is based on human rights and equal rights. Democracy encourages open discussion, debate, and dissent in order to solve problems wisely and fairly. Democracy values a wide array of ideas and strives to reach consensus. Democracy protects minority rights and seeks justice with compassion. It provides checks and balances against the abuse of power. Democracy is inclusive, giving everyone a voice.
Capitalistic freedom leads to a form of government based on a hierarchical pyramid of power. Capitalism creates a government where values are determined monetarily. Capitalism creates an ownership society where the more you own the more value and power you have. In a capitalistic ownership society everyone is on their own, also owning their own problems. Capitalism seeks to dominate and eliminate any competition, creating a few big winners and many poor losers. Capitalistic freedom makes individuals solely responsible for their own fates. Their failure to meet their own survival needs or to get rich is the result of their own poor choices and lack of drive to win. Capitalistic freedom aggressively opposes all restrictions and all responsibilities. In a capitalistic free market society, corporations have more value, rights, and power than individuals.
President Bush wants to spread this brand of capitalistic freedom around the world to create one global capitalistic economy. He now believes that after “the shipwreck of communism” the only thing that stands in the way of the worldwide power of capitalistic freedom is global terrorism. However, the real threat to capitalistic freedom is democratic freedom. I believe that President Bush secretly believes this to be true also, and that is why he is trying to link this brand of capitalistic freedom to America’s historic and noble ideals of democratic freedom.
This is a very deceitful and dangerous link to make, equating capitalistic freedom with democratic freedom. In his speech, Bush declared that “America’s vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.” The risk is that anyone who does not believe in capitalistic freedom would be labeled a terrorist or an evil tyrant and monitored, marginalized, jailed, or killed. No one will be allowed to stand in the way of capitalistic freedom, “either you’re with us or against us.”
Capitalism is a very powerful force. It has become the only remaining superpower. The capitalistic powers have learned how to use money to manipulate the institutions and freedoms of democracy. Capitalism controls the government of America and the governing of the world. Capitalism has corrupted democracy. Capitalistic freedom has almost killed the possibility and ideals of democratic freedom.
The terrorists who attacked America on September 11, 2001 were not attacking our democratic freedoms. They were aiming their attacks on America’s vital interests and capitalistic freedoms. Most of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, a country which knows no democracy. Saudi Arabia, ruled by a monarchy that holds a monopoly on power, believes in capitalistic freedom and is friendly towards American interests. America has a long history of establishing and supporting cooperative capitalistic tyrants around the world. Examples include the Shah in Iran, General Augusto Pinochet in Chile, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. When Saddam posed a threat to America’s capitalistic vital interests we labeled him an evil tyrant and liberated Iraq from his power. America has seldomly and only very reluctantly intervened in world affairs to promote and foster true democratic freedom. America’s vital business interests are only invested in freedom for capitalism.
Now the powers in control of the American government want to continue to export capitalistic freedom around the world. They want to make the world safe for capitalistic freedom by eliminating all terrorists and evil tyrants that stand in their way. America can do this directly by fighting the war on terrorism or going to war against tyrants as was done in Iraq. The powers in charge of the American government have slowly learned that the best way to expand their capitalistic power is to disguise it as the noble vision of democratic freedom and liberty. The powers of capitalism have learned just how easily democratic institutions and governments can be manipulated and controlled with money. The capitalists only have to look at what they’ve done to the American government for a perfect example of how easily democracy can be controlled by capitalistic values and power.
America’s democratic processes and freedom have been corrupted by capitalistic corporations and interests that:
1. Buy representative influence.
2. Gain advantages for the interests of corporate profits through their representatives manipulating legislative rules or processes.
3. Influence the expansion of presidential powers by the use of executive orders.
4. Gain control over an independent press.
5. Give corporations more rights than individuals.
6. Give precedence to property rights over personal rights.
7. Create a focus on individual ownership of small amounts of capital value in order to legitimize a small class of individuals owning large amounts of capital value.
8. Connect capitalistic freedom to democratic freedom.
9. Create enemies and threats to freedom (including ones own government). Label enemies as communists, socialists, terrorists, or evil tyrants.
10. Create and sustain a climate of fear.
11. Use national security as an excuse to suspend individual rights and impose marshal law.
12. Connect corporate interests with national interests.
13. Connect patriotism to capitalistic freedom and dissent to being unpatriotic and consequently the enemy.
14. Keep the focus on economic growth.
15. Focus on divisive moral issues as a distraction from the injustice of the capitalistic system.
16. Manipulate the political process to create safe legislative areas never openly contested by opposition, where issues are never debated openly and incumbents seldom lose their power.
17. Foster a culture of secrecy in the decision and law making process.
The world is watching America. The world is weary, skeptical, and fearful of American power. The excess of American capitalistic freedom is causing increasing resentments and concern around the world. The resentment and concern is not caused by the poor jealous over how rich the rich are. Rather it is anger and great sadness over how much suffering is caused by the greed of an unfair and unbalanced capitalistic system of government. The great amount of world wealth concentrated in the hands of a few does not balance the great amount of unfair suffering experienced by the masses of the worlds’ poor. The power of capitalism does not see, does not know, does not feel, and does not care about the pain of the vulnerable or the powerless here in America or around the world.
America needs to wake up. American democratic freedom is dying. The free rein of laissez-faire capitalism is killing true democratic freedom around the world. Capitalistic freedom and democratic freedom are not the same cause or force and should never be equated. Capitalistic freedom is a false god. True democratic freedom is the only force that has the possibility of controlling and containing the corrupting power of capitalism. Democratic freedom is the last hope of the hopeless.
How long will America sleep? How long will America remain careless and be misled by its leaders? How long will America believe in capitalistic freedom at the expense of democratic freedom? And how long will America try to fool the world with its fake freedom?
With over six billion people populating the planet, some type of government is necessary. But what type of government? We can have what we already have: an oligarchy of multinational capitalistic corporations continuing to centralize their ever expanding power. In this form of government almost 100 percent of everyone’s focus is on economic growth, generated by investors turning natural resources and workers’ time and energy into the production of products and profits. In this system profit produces power which produces more profit. The rich get richer in power and wealth while the workers are dehumanized and the environment is devastated. Everyone and everything becomes dominated by the love of money. Capitalistic freedom becomes enslaved to money. The ownership society is defined by its relationship to money.
The other form of government that might still be a possibility, if only we can conceive of it being possible, is real democracy. In this form of government, all people have individual rights, with equal opportunities to participate and influence the political process of solving problems, setting priorities, and determining future goals. Democracy encourages open discussion, debate, and dissent as it seeks consensus. Democracy involves a system of checks and balances in order that power does not fall into the hands of a few individuals, or that a majority of 51 percent does not overrule any minority or any individual right. Democracy can be a slow and difficult process “of the people, by the people, and for the people” with democratically elected representatives. Individuals and their representatives help decide the who, what, when, where, how, and why of rules and laws that affect their world.
In a democratic form of government about ninety percent of the issues discussed involve or revolve around money matters and the economy. However, these issues are discussed in a wider, multifaceted perspective that includes qualitative questions and values—something rarely taken into consideration by a capitalistic oligarchy focused on producing profits for itself. In a democratic form of government money and the economy are tools that serve the interests of all the people. Economic values are connected to moral values.
Perhaps 10 percent of democratic decision making involves issues primarily unrelated to money and the economy. These issues deal more directly with what could be called moral values. Some of these moral values are difficult to legislate because consensus is impossible and any legalistic resolution will be seen as immoral to many. In a democratic society moral values remain open to continued debate, and conflict and division are tolerated.
We must safeguard true democratic freedom. We must keep our representatives honest and hold them accountable to “we the people.” We need to keep the institutions and process of decision making open, transparent, and easily accessible to we the people. All of this involves being involved. Is it too late to get involved to stop the capitalistic oligarchy from gaining complete centralized control, completely killing the dream of democratic freedom? Is it too late to start a revolution?
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Freedom! Oh how I wish I could be free. Free from worrying about other people’s problems. Free from thinking about society’s sicknesses. I wish I could emancipate myself from human suffering caused by human injustice. I wish I wasn’t such a suffering slave. I wish I could run away, escape, hide!
Maybe, if I could become rich enough, I could reach the pearly gates of some gated community by climbing the corporate ladder. There the streets are paved in gold and all the poor suffering souls are locked out, living their lives in the hell they deserve. Maybe, by becoming rich enough I will become cold hearted and stop being a bleeding heart liberal. Maybe then I’ll be free to feel freedom.
Or maybe, I could be rich enough to buy into the ownership society by going to the bank to beg for a loan and going into debt to buy a bigger vehicle and a bigger house. Maybe then, I could stay busy enough minding my own business that I won’t have time to care about anyone’s suffering but my own. Maybe then, I won’t have time to think about society’s problems and the capitalistic tyrants.
What if I run for the hills, and escape into the wilderness? Will I be able to find freedom then? Will I even be able to find any wilderness left? Humans have been running into the wilderness for thousands of years to escape society’s sufferings. The Jews left Egypt; the Europeans left Europe to come to America, the Americans went westward. The wilderness was freedom. Now there is almost no wilderness left. Most of it has been turned into housing developments, roads, oil fields, strip mines, strip malls, and recreational areas. Capitalistic freedom and the ownership society are killing the wilderness.
There is nowhere to run to, no place to hide. There is no escaping human suffering or planetary suffering. In a world dominated by capitalistic thinking, there is no freedom from constantly worrying about money and the economy. It’s one thing to worry about survival needs and quite another thing to have to worry about money. These days survival is equated with money. In the world controlled by capitalistic money, the greedy get richer and the needy get poorer. The system is designed to feed greed and empower the rich. The system doesn’t work to feed the poor in need. The natural resources and the workers of the world are exploited and enslaved by the power of the rich oligarchy in a system designed to protect the power of the rich. The only real threat to the capitalistic oligarchy’s freedom is real democratic freedom.
In all actuality, real democratic freedom is the only way we can all survive on this one earth that we all share together. The capitalistic system will soon collapse, and destroy the planet in the process, if real democratic freedom does not stop it. The greedy will do everything in their power to keep getting richer. The needy must not be deceived by the false profits of capitalistic freedom. The time has come for change.
Perhaps in the grand scheme of things (depending on who’s doing the scheming) science, technology, and capitalism have served their purpose as the driving force of the past 500 years. Perhaps the gifts they have provided have been beneficial on many levels. But at this point in time, the consequences of allowing the capitalistic system to control science and technology and determine the planet’s future will be catastrophic. Capitalism can no longer be solely in charge of controlling and allocating the world’s limited natural resources based purely on ability to pay, motivated primarily to make a profit. The world cannot afford to do business like this any longer. This is no way to treat fellow human beings, our co-workers, or the living earth that we live on. It’s time for true democracies to take control, to take charge of the changes.
I am not advocating for a centralized big government to take control from the capitalistic oligarchy. Rather, I advocate for many small, local, regional, and worldwide democratic governments and associations of people working together to make decisions and plans for the future. Using democratic methods, these groups will focus on meeting the survival needs of the whole planet and all the people of the earth within their spheres of influence. Empathy, compassion, equality, fairness, justice, reverence, respect, cooperation, and community will be the guiding principles of democratic freedom rather than a focus on money, profits, competition, ownership, and power. Once we stop prioritizing our relationships with money and focus our attention on our relationships with each other and on the one world we all share—then and only then will we be able to free ourselves and each other from economic suffering and save the planet for our children’s children. Let’s hope it’s not too late to believe in the real possibilities of democratic freedom.