Americans’ muted reaction to the quarter-century anniversary of 9/11 reveals a waning zeal for the American imperial project. We tolerate it only because we believe it can’t end. But it can.
i know. and power has been spreading and dilluting that us-centric view about what their freedoms and of others are. this is not how others think, it’s how you do.
i’m not saying all of the many ways in which we choose to defend our interests are moral and correct.
i’m saying that in general, most of us aren’t like america and never have, and that we all already have the seeds for a better world.
i don’t mean to be rude, i’m just trying to put it.
The disembodiment of freedom is an American idiomatic example of the general pattern I’m talking about. Leaders cloaking their cronyism and corruption in the Branding that best hides their true purpose from the people they seek to control. They can do it with “Freedom”, or “Republic” or “Independent”, or “Populist”, or “Blue-collar”, or “People’s” or literally any word that ever existed.
This kind of branding hijacking depends on the word having a strong emotional resonance with the people because the leaders seek to co-opt the value of the word for their own selfish ends. The more valuable the idea, the better to steal.
This is a universal dynamic of human political behavior, and whoever told you it’s an American peculiarity is taking advantage of you.
i know. and power has been spreading and dilluting that us-centric view about what their freedoms and of others are. this is not how others think, it’s how you do.
i’m not saying all of the many ways in which we choose to defend our interests are moral and correct.
i’m saying that in general, most of us aren’t like america and never have, and that we all already have the seeds for a better world.
i don’t mean to be rude, i’m just trying to put it.
The disembodiment of freedom is an American idiomatic example of the general pattern I’m talking about. Leaders cloaking their cronyism and corruption in the Branding that best hides their true purpose from the people they seek to control. They can do it with “Freedom”, or “Republic” or “Independent”, or “Populist”, or “Blue-collar”, or “People’s” or literally any word that ever existed.
This kind of branding hijacking depends on the word having a strong emotional resonance with the people because the leaders seek to co-opt the value of the word for their own selfish ends. The more valuable the idea, the better to steal.
This is a universal dynamic of human political behavior, and whoever told you it’s an American peculiarity is taking advantage of you.