The mass of the American people has become what V. I. Lenin, cofounder of the Soviet Union, would have referred to as "useful idiots." Whenever the United States suffers government-caused calamities such as war, the bulk of people in this country fall in line behind the Great Evil in Washington, D.C., pledge their loyalty, and sometimes their blood, to defend the status quo of big government, a planned economy, and interests completely unrelated to their personal and material well-being.
Unlike Americans of the founding generation, who held the legal recognition of the individual citizen to be the most important measure of a civilized and free society, the modern American has been conditioned since infancy to accept conformity to the demands of the group, the greatness of the presidency, and unquestioning loyalty and service to the state, as the highest order of citizenship.
Americans have been trained to think that whenever "our boys" (and now, girls) are sent into battle somewhere in the world, our freedoms and way of life are being defended from some evil that wishes to destroy them. American flags twist in the wind from homes and flutter from the windows of cars until they are shredded. Americans feel comforted and proud knowing that they are part of some great movement, even though many of them have no clue as to its true meaning. They are simply acting out the part they have been trained to play since childhood – to go with the crowd, especially regarding matters of "patriotism."
Such spontaneous movements of "patriotism" are always co-opted by scheming politicians in both parties. The patriotic fervor of the masses is quickly turned into fuel to advance the power of the state, both domestically and internationally. Since 9-11 the Bush administration has cracked down on the domestic freedoms of Americans; its war on Iraq is the opening round of U.S.-imposed tyranny across the Middle East. Americans, true to their character, stand at attention, enthusiastically wave their flags, and cheer President Bush and his "defenders of freedom" here and abroad.
The mass of the American people will always fall prey to the deceit of politicians so long as they wrap their patriotism in symbols like the flag and emotional clichésabout freedom and democracy. The twentieth-century has demonstrated that such symbols and clichésare easily manipulated by a government eager to concentrate the people's energy to serve its ends. Government propaganda and lies have enhanced the utility of "useful idiots" as a tool of domestic and foreign policy.
Even members of the U. S. military have become "useful idiots" in this new American policy of world conquest and domination. They parallel the mass of Americans who go through life, serving the state, never questioning whether what the state orders them to do is right or wrong. As Charley Hardman said in a recent article on LewRockwell.com, many of the men and women who will rain down the president's destruction on Iraq "are there because they signed up with the employer of last resort, the federal government. In their minds, what happens during their hitch is not up to them. They signed a contract. They are perpetually absolved."
Most Americans and military personnel believe that men and women in the military serve their country. This is false; they actually serve their government. The "useful idiots" among us see no difference between country and government. Hence, their "patriotism" is inextricably linked to the success and survival of the state. After all, it is the state which pays their salaries, provides them with benefits, and secures their entitlements with the confiscated property of all Americans.
The "useful idiots" in American society will continue to believe that this war is being fought to defend freedom, extend democracy, and ensure that good triumphs over evil. In reality, this war is meant to distract Americans from pressing economic problems at home, secure the world's oil reserves under United States control, and placate the Zionists and evangelical Christians that form the core of Bush's political support. The men and women who believe they signed on to serve their country have actually signed on as Crusaders to satisfy the apocalyptic fantasies of bible-thumping crackpots.
Burhan al-Chalabi, an Iraqi exile living in London, said that the Iraqis "will fight and die, not to save President Saddam Hussein, but to protect their home, land, dignity and self-respect from a new world order alien to their way of life." At a more enlightened period in our history, Americans would have lauded such noble behavior. Indoctrinated and intoxicated with service to the state, our nation of "useful idiots" condemns and crushes the same spirit that once made us the freest nation on earth.
March 31, 2003
Harry Goslin [send him mail] teaches strict construction of the Constitution and the superiority of unregulated markets at a public high school in Northeastern Arizona.
