An open letter to the world
Dear World,
I would just like you to know that not all of us believe in U.S. world hegemony. We are fighting to expose and end it, but the battle is uphill. I beseech you for patience—this struggle can be best and most peacefully resolved internally. We are a proud, prickly nation, attempts at intercession will only make the road harder.
Because our state is organized according to democratic principles, to overturn the paradigm we must turn the majority against it. Any perceived influence on the part of other powers will make that more difficult, as many here are quick to perceive and reject patronization and adopt an “us-against-them” mentality. And I hope it is immediately evident that a military option would be disastrous for all involved. It would not only fail to accomplish the objective, but would surely make it impossible for generations.
Believe me when I say that we are winning. Slowly but surely. Oft-quoted lately among one corner of this movement is Ghandi: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” A glance at our current election picture will reveal at least two candidates for our highest office who at least nominally oppose at least one facet of our imperial policies. While progress is slow, it could perhaps be described instead as “inexorable,” as the pressures exerted upon us by a vision of empire become more evident and more detrimental to our well-being.
In the end, we will either change or die. Either the anti-war movement will succeed and the United States will return to the policy of “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations—entangling alliances with none,” or we will go the way of all other historic empires. In any case, perseverance—wating and hoping—will ultimately win the battle for you. Empire is not sustainable.
(Prompted by discovery of this.)
I would just like you to know that not all of us believe in U.S. world hegemony. We are fighting to expose and end it, but the battle is uphill. I beseech you for patience—this struggle can be best and most peacefully resolved internally. We are a proud, prickly nation, attempts at intercession will only make the road harder.
Because our state is organized according to democratic principles, to overturn the paradigm we must turn the majority against it. Any perceived influence on the part of other powers will make that more difficult, as many here are quick to perceive and reject patronization and adopt an “us-against-them” mentality. And I hope it is immediately evident that a military option would be disastrous for all involved. It would not only fail to accomplish the objective, but would surely make it impossible for generations.
Believe me when I say that we are winning. Slowly but surely. Oft-quoted lately among one corner of this movement is Ghandi: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” A glance at our current election picture will reveal at least two candidates for our highest office who at least nominally oppose at least one facet of our imperial policies. While progress is slow, it could perhaps be described instead as “inexorable,” as the pressures exerted upon us by a vision of empire become more evident and more detrimental to our well-being.
In the end, we will either change or die. Either the anti-war movement will succeed and the United States will return to the policy of “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations—entangling alliances with none,” or we will go the way of all other historic empires. In any case, perseverance—wating and hoping—will ultimately win the battle for you. Empire is not sustainable.
(Prompted by discovery of this.)
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determined
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pleased
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