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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Hit and Myth


Illustration by Will Varner
By Dan Hagen
The ancient Chinese had a curse that they had cleverly disguised as a blessing. It was, ”May you live in interesting times.”
When 9-11 happened a dozen years ago, I wrote a newspaper column warning that this was precisely the kind of event that leaves societies vulnerable to fascism.
"Cassandra Spoke" by Kelly Naylor
Since then, the U.S. has invaded and occupied another nation in a war based entirely on government lies, instituted the use of torture, moved steadily toward a universal surveillance police state, and seen a president declare that he has the power to murder anyone in the world, including American citizens, without trial, due process or any rule of law. 
Meanwhile, the economically browbeaten citizens have remained largely supine, bovine and silent, waiting for the tide of history to wash them out to sea.
Yes, I confess, I always wanted to be a mythic figure. But playing the role of Cassandra is no fun at all.
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2 comments:

  1. Dan HagenMarch 4, 2013 at 6:26 AM

    And who's a "terrorist?" Why, anybody at all, anybody who gets in the way. http://www.progressivepress.net/detained-for-silence-the-return-of-mccarthyism/

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  2. Dan HagenMarch 4, 2013 at 8:23 AM

    “Imagine a single issue that is so heavy, it bends our ideological steel rod into a perfect circle that unites both sides. Conservatives and liberals perfectly aligned; dogs and cats living together. Such is the weight of Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, a provision so potentially destructive to our democracy that it has galvanized both liberal and conservative activists alike. Known as the indefinite detention provision, it deals with the circumstances under which the government has authority to detain persons deemed to be supportive of terrorism.”
    http://www.longislandpress.com/2013/03/01/ndaa-indefinite-detention-civil-liberties/

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