Amerindia US Blog

We have had some feedback regarding our recent post regarding Wikileaks & Bradley Manning. We covered a lot of ground in that post, looking for a way to make sense of a situation that seems unfortunately to repeat itself so often in these times, within the US, with only a change in details and characters.

We found fundamental problems in an unhealthy concentration of wealth and power. “Big”, as we called it, is able to buy influence on a colossal scale, while also hiding behind a wall of secrecy. The big powers can silence reports, science, or facts, and can all too often point the finger in a misleading direction.

But what our worry is, besides the divergence of wealth, is the divergence of justice. Some background facts from the BBC indicate that Manning may have been a man tilted toward trouble, military justice is necessarily strict, and national security should be considered. But is his situation torture, is it just, or how do we know? How close to torture are we to the most vulnerable in our society? When, or where – and for whom – will that boundary be crossed? We worry about it in warfare, and have seen it happen. But we also see the US deny it’s accountability to adhere to the Geneva Conventions.

We see a new order where those rules don’t apply. There are “terrorists.” We have no evidence that torture of suspected “terrorists” brings us any closer to safety, but US politicians argue the right to behave without the protocols of humanitarianism anyway. Where is the mirror to show where all this is going?

And why aren’t the powerful and influential held accountable in the same manner? Maybe, because the powerful understand they will never be held accountable, or can avoid consequences, thus the consequences have the potential for being more dire. It’s not only stupid, but dangerous, that US Vice President Biden calls Manning a “terrorist.” The US has decided that “terrorists” have fewer rights, and can be treated unmercifully if that’s decided. What’s telling is that Mr. Biden could only have had that slip of the tongue if he never thought that he could Ever be in such a position of accountability. It’s not just the gaff, it’s the danger beneath it, that understanding that some people may have to suffer restrained (or unrestrained) consequences. But others, those protected by the power structure, will never have to consider such consequences for themselves, regardless of their behavior.

We were reminded of the reign of Elizabeth I. While those on the lower rungs of society may not have had an easy time of it, surely, surely, her advisers, nobles, heads of military, or anyone of state was held thoroughly accountable. It was a time when even royalty could pay with the price of their life as a consequence of their actions.

Now that we have democracies, where are the sovereigns that hold their government officials accountable? US citizens, are not you, “We The People”, sovereign? The people, the sovereigns, should no doubt be holding their government, and it’s officials, more accountable. While talk of democracy goes on, democracy seems to be asleep. We in Amerindia are wide awake, demand accountability, believe in equal treatment before justice, and demand an equal hand in human rights for every individual (including immigrants).

The Queen of Amerindia

We haven’t posted in awhile. There is so much being posted in the social networks, and it’s being pushed, fed, emailed everywhere. However, we came across this video by a young girl from Canada who sums up everything, and sends a stunningly sensible, and also alarming, message to the world by a delivering a 5 minute commentary in front of the UN.

She manages to cover it all. Everything we teach our children (that is good), seems to be what adults can’t get through their heads. For adults who propose to be working on solutions, it’s clear they aren’t doing a good job, and most likely have more self interest in it than the sense of urgency needed to leave a better world for the next generation.

She’s right, we’re “fixing, fixing” but we don’t seem to get what’s broken, if it’s broken enough, we don’t care enough, don’t get organized enough, and probably, for all our talk, our meetings, reports, and billions and trillions(?) spent, don’t know how to fix it. The will to get it right, as this young lady has, is missing in our world leadership. And it’s critically important, imperative, that we get it right – now. It’s not good enough to have report after report of vanishing species, spreading illness, continuing war, conflict, starvation, disease. There seems to be more hunger for reports and discussion than hunger to actually get the job done.

As she points out, we have to see ourselves as all one people, which we are obviously having a difficult time doing. And we don’t see the absolute necessity of sharing, of spreading the wealth that is available. We are hoarders – of time, wealth, self importance, and solutions.

Please listen take 5 minutes to listen to this message, and then pass it along.

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

A bit more about Democracy. In a democracy, the people are sovereign. Is that (liberal) populist? – we think so. We also think that the terms “activist” and “socialism” have been unfairly demonized in too much of the US consciousness. Many fellow countries that we count as friends are socialist, and in their commitment to the welfare of their people, they are doing reasonably well.

Somehow the old Cold War opposition to Communism, as an economic system, is still feeding into the term Socialism. And to avoid the now ancient specter of (socialist) Communism “nowhere else in history, have so many [US citizens] voted against their own interests.”

The divide between rich and poor in the US continues to grow. Developing nations bring more of their citizens into a middle class, while in the US the middle class is ever more hard pressed, and dwindles. And help for the Poor, as they are defined, is based on a 40 year old calculation that isn’t updated for fear it will break the bank.

United States people, remember that you, in a Democracy, are sovereign. In Amerindia, we have a monarchy that speaks in the person of we, with the understanding and intent that we, the leader, is representative of, and obliged to, all of the people. Here leaders are sovereign to the people, and people sovereign to their leaders.

The Queen of Amerindia