Anyone able to imagine one’s own child in a pool of its own blood would have to be against a society that writes off millions of dead children as collateral damage. US military action in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Iraq alone, brought death to 5 million dead kids! If one is a normal human being and loves all children as one’s own, being anti the Americans doing, or in agreement with, the killing, is a loving attitude.
Let’s figure something out here.
It is supposed to be kind and fair not to blame the German people, as a whole, for the million-fold death and destruction throughout Europe and North Africa during the twelve years the Nazis were in power, correspondingly, not to blame Americans or the American people as a whole for the tens of million-fold death and destruction throughout the world during the more than one hundred years their financial-military-industrial-complex has ruled the USA and beyond. [Yes, ruled! In 1932, the last aristocratic and wealthy insider US president, Franklin Roosevelt, wrote a confidential note to his close confidant Colonel House, who was President Wilson’s advisor orchestrating the Federal Reserve.) “The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned this government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson”(Jackson was US president from 1829 to 1837.) Already in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said “The banking powers are more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. They denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw light upon their crimes.” Even earlier, in 1816, Thomas Jefferson declared, “I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies…Already they have raised up a money aristocracy… the issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.”
As this octogenarian recollects, there wasn’t a kind American attitude toward the German people during the Second World War war and certainly not right after the war was over, when the eye rebounding horrific photos and newsreels of piles of Jewish bodies and other Nazi victims in extermination camps and the horrible skeleton like condition of survivors of the gas chambers were seen.
In 1952, your author was drafted into the US Army and stationed in Germany as part of the occupation troops and for having made himself fluent in German, and passing for German, he got to hear many gruesome stories about how dangerous it was to be even only less than enthusiastic about Hitler during the war years. (For example: after the war, your author lived in Munich while doing post grad studies at its Hochschule fur Musik. In Bavaria and Austria the age-old most popular greeting is ‘grüss Gott,’ in place of ‘good morning or good day,’ even sometimes used as farewell, and is answered ‘grüss Gott.’ Nazis would replace ‘grüss Gott’ with ‘Heil Hitler!’ and citizens who were brave enough to answer with ‘grüss Gott’ instead of answering as greeted with ‘heil Hitler!’ were identifying themselves as not being a fan of Hitler nor supporting the Nazi government, and would have reason to fear retaliation.)
Contrast this with the situation for Americans over the last hundred years, wherein everyone has been relatively free to express opposition to their country’s bombings and invasions of smaller countries overseas.
An attitude of not faulting those Americans, who, with astounding public support, followed orders to invade, bomb and shoot people in their very own beloved countries, has held for over three or four generations and served well the investors in the extremely profitable illegal, unconstitutional and genocidal use of US and allied national armed forces and secret services like the CIA.
Americans in the military are still being told that they are ‘serving’ their country in other people’s countries all around the world while in mortal combat with citizens of those countries, and that those GIs who are killed or maimed doing so are heroes. This is the standard belief fostered in America’s mainstream media made up of a cartel of six gigantic entertainment information and news corporations, which also publish the books used in schools, all under the watchful eye of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (See ‘Operation Mockingbird[1])
The rather inconsequential in number dissident and anti-imperialist organizations and intellectuals apparently do not dare challenge or denounce this hero-worship of US veterans of imperialist wars. From what your archival research people’s historian has chronicled over many years of observation, the entire alternate media of the so-called ‘Left,’ made up of anti-imperialists, peace and justice church ministries, war resisters, socialist historians, and eminent progressive journalists, also does not fault ordinary Americans for supporting bombings and invasions of other people’s countries as Martin Luther King did. Read or listen to King’s 1967 New York Sermon ‘Beyond Vietnam a Time to Break Silence :
“Look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the country. This is a role our nation has taken, … refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that comes from the immense profits of unjust predatory overseas investments these atrocity wars and covert violence are meant to protect.”
This ‘Left’ loyal opposition anti-imperialist anti-war journalism does not hail those who took part in the bombings and invasions as heroes, but neither does one find in this alternate and independent media much protest of the hero status awarded in mainstream media, nor any demand for lawful justice for victims, survivors and their tormentors. In fact, ‘law,’ ‘merciful justice,’ ‘compensation, indemnity, reparations,’ ‘crimes against humanity,’ ‘the Nuremberg Principles’ and ‘crimes against peace’ are words and terms rarely, if ever, appearing in anti-war, or anti-imperialist journalism. Even the simple word ‘crime’ is indeed almost never found in journalism criticizing or condemning US foreign policies. In alternate media as in mainstream criminal media, foreign policies are not reported upon as the crimes that they really are, but rather as awesomely authoritative foreign policies within a Realpolitik as unchallengeable as the weather, even though acts within those policies bring death and destruction to millions and are continually genocidal in nature. (See legal definition of ‘accessory after the fact’[2]
During the 2011 GOP Presidential Debates reported on prime time television, candidate Rep. Ron Paul repeated over and over again, “All US bombings and invasions beginning with Korea, were illegal, unconstitutional and a horrific loss of human life.” No leading peace and anti-war organization or anti-imperialist writers took up Ron Paul’s so well publicized truthful cry implying openly that crimes had been committed.
In 2007, all day for two weeks running, the major networks telecasted sound bites of Obama’s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, shouting “God damn America for her crimes against humanity!” followed by ridiculing smirks and indulgent smiles from news commentators. To this archival research people’s historian’s knowledge there was no noticeable echo of Wright’s damning America’s crimes and if one goggles “God damn America for her crimes against humanity,” of the entries that pop up first are many articles by yours truly, jay janson. Apparently, anti-imperialist authors had zero interest in Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s passionate call for God to damn America for her crimes against humanity. Could it have been the Rev. Jeremiah’s use of the word ‘crimes,’ that was a turn off?
In alternate antiwar media, these seemingly crime-less bombings and invasions are the government’s fault and the fault of corporate media deceiving its viewing, listening and reading audience. Alternate media, made up of anti-imperialists, peace and justice church ministries, war resisters, socialist historians, and eminent progressive journalists are either in fact or in effect pro-American. Without exception, they consider Americans as mere victims of lies and propaganda by their own often reelected government and the corporate commercial media Americans are addicted to. Some find Americans to be just as much victims as the people overseas being killed or maimed, their homes destroyed, by Americans.
If the vocal and active US dissenters weren’t pro-American, they would call for the prosecution of Americans, and by the way, not just token prosecutions of US presidents, government officials and generals, but all Americans who follow criminal orders to bomb and invade someone else’s country. These Americans should be tried and punished under Nuremberg Principles of International Law numbers One through Four. They have also violated US Armed Forces Law by following illegal commands instead of reporting them. [see Every GI Who Invaded Vietnam, Iraq, etc. Was a Criminal By International Law & US Army’s Own Law, Minority Perspective, May 28, 2017]
The most highly educated American intellectuals emphasize their being Anti-war but not anti-America’s warriors, pro peace but not calling for the public to demand the prosecution that would bring peace, and they amazingly refrain from calling for compensation, indemnity and reparations for the unlawful deaths, injuries, destruction of property and theft of natural resources that has been suffered by innocent populations of dozens of former colonies of the empires of Europe and Japan since end of WW II. But what else would prevent further bombings and invasions by Americans other than having to pay for what damage Americans have done up to now. It’s a rather solid adage that reads, ‘crime that pays will continue.’
Peace Without Justice
When the USA withdrew its armed forces from Indochina and gave up killing communists (because it couldn’t kill enough of them), there was little or no interest in protesting the crippling international sanctions the USA put on Vietnam that brought intense suffering to a war ravaged nation, and there was no interest in demanding the reparations Martin Luther King had said we must make, “Then we must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. We must provide the medical aid that is badly needed, making it available in this country, if necessary.” [Beyond Vietnam a Time to Break Silence] All those mighty street protests were not meant to do as Martin Luther King did, namely, give voice to the voiceless Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians. The great anti-Vietnam protests organized were something entirely between Americans.
After a lifetime of sinking feelings in the stomach at each new genocide perpetrated by fellow Americans, this archival research people’s historian has come to the conclusion or better said belated awareness, that to be against the flow of Wall Street generated genocide, but not against the Americans doing and supporting the killing, is illogical, terrifically lacking in merciful compassion, contrary to what is right and just, and empty of any will to stop the murder and maiming of millions of one’s own planetary brothers and sisters and their children, who are our children as well.
It is just plain incorrect and wrong to assign responsibility for unlawful death and destruction to one’s government or even the corporations and investment banks which set the policies of government.
Let us consider the words of Judge Robert Jackson, in his opening statement at the Nuremberg Trail of Nazi war criminals:
“Of course, the idea that a state, any more than a corporation, commits crimes, is a fiction. Crimes always are committed only by persons. While it is quite proper to employ the fiction of responsibility of a state or corporation for the purpose of imposing a collective liability, it is quite intolerable to let such a legalism become the basis of personal immunity.” “The Charter recognizes that one who has committed criminal acts may not take refuge in superior orders nor in the doctrine that his crimes were acts of states. These twin principles working together have heretofore resulted in immunity for practically everyone concerned in the really great crimes against peace and mankind. Those in lower ranks were protected against liability by the orders of their superiors. The superiors were protected because their orders were called acts of state. Under the Charter, no defense based on either of these doctrines can be entertained. Modern civilization puts unlimited weapons of destruction in the hands of men. It cannot tolerate so vast an area of legal irresponsibility.” [Robert H. Jackson, The Case Against The Nazi War Criminals: Opening Statement for the United States of America.]
Albert Einstein put it in a more personal and intrinsically moral manner, “The Nuremberg Trial of the German war criminals was tacitly based on the recognition of the principle: criminal actions cannot be excused if committed on government orders; conscience supersedes the authority of the law of the state.”[Address to Chicago Decalogue Society, 2/20/1954.]
Martin Luther King in his world shaking blistering New York sermon Beyond Vietnam – a Time to Break Silence, in 1967, held all Americans including himself responsible for the atrocity wars and covert violence since 1945, ‘ all the death and destruction by US military is meant to protect “unjust predatory investments,” but activist anti-war journalists keep pointing a finger at the government and away from themselves and their American readers who perhaps bask in an aura of innocence for their applauding of the protesting and denouncing of each new genocide they read about.
Your author, when chatting with members of his Korean and Vietnamese families, friends, colleagues and students, has had the embarrassing experience of making the mistake of mentioning that many Americans were against what was being done to their countries. Sudden dead silence! Everyone looking at the ceiling, wall or floor, a real conversation stopper. I would realize they must be truthfully thinking, ‘Our people were being mass murdered and these “good” Americans only protested but think they did us a favor.
Shall one feel pro-American, knowing that every single musician in the Ho Chi Minh founded Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra lost family? “Killed by the Americans,” they would say in Buddhist equanimity – as if a tree had fallen on them. I mean, if my child had been killed by Vietnamese, Koreans or Iraqis invading the USA, I suppose accepting it as destiny would bring some resolution, but since I recognize or feel some responsibility that Americans killed Vietnamese, Korean and Iraqi children, chalking it up to destiny would be an attempt at escaping my own conscience.
It is normal and merciful to be able to feel responsible as an American, for the genocide perpetrated by Americans said to be acting in the name of all Americans. How shall an American feel when reading of the Iraqi father desperately trying to push his son’s brains back into his head because four panicky Blackwell USA private mercenary contractors were shooting wildly in his son’s country? [Blackwell USA]
Seems anyone able to imagine what it would be like to see one’s very own child in a pool of its own blood would have to be against a society that felt obligated to constantly write off millions of children as collateral damage. Just adding up children killed by US military action in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Iraq alone, comes to something near five million. Five million dead kids! If one is a normal human being and loves all children as one’s own, being anti the Americans doing, or in agreement with, the killing is a loving attitude.
End Notes
1. Mockingbird was a secret operation by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to influence media. Begun in the 1950s, organization recruited leading American journalists into a network to help present the CIA’s views, and funded some student and cultural organizations, and magazines as fronts and also worked to influence foreign media and political campaigns.
After 1953, Operation Mockingbird had major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. The usual methodology was placing reports developed from intelligence provided by the CIA to witting or unwitting reporters. Those reports would then be repeated or cited by the preceding reporters which in turn would then be cited throughout the media wire services. These networks were run by people with well-known pro-American big business and anti-communist views. The CIA currently maintains a network of individuals around the world who attempt to influence opinion through the use of covert propaganda, and provide direct access to a large amount of newspapers and periodicals, scores of press services and news agencies, radio and television stations, commercial book publishers, and other foreign media outlets.”
The CIA and the Media – Carl Bernstein
www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php
After leaving The Washington Post in 1977, Carl Bernstein spent six months looking at the relationship of the CIA and the press during the Cold War. Newly Declassified Govt Docs Reveal Operation Mockingbird is Alive …thefreethoughtproject.com ” Be The Change
Oct 2, 2015 – For those unfamiliar, Operation Mockingbird was a CIA operation began as the Cold War ramped up in the 1950’s. In an attempt to gather …
Newly Declassified Govt Docs Reveal Operation Mockingbird is Alive and Well
Operation Mockingbird, CIA Media Control Program – YouTube
2. Accessory After The Fact | Wex Legal Dictionary / Encyclopedia | LII …
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/accessory_after_the_fact
Someone who assists another 1) who has committed a felony, 2) after the person has committed the felony, 3) with knowledge that the person committed the felony, and 4) with the intent to help the person avoid arrest or punishment. An accessory after the fact may be held liable for, inter alia, obstruction of justice.
Jay Janson, who lived and taught in Korea for six years, is an archival research peoples historian activist, musician and writer; has lived and worked on all continents in 67 countries; articles on media published in China, Italy, UK, India, Sweden, Germany Vietnam and the US; now resides in NYC; First effort was a series of articles on deadly cultural pollution endangering seven areas of life emanating from Western corporate owned commercial media published in Hong Kong’s Window Magazine 1993; is coordinator of the Howard Zinn co-founded King Condemned US Wars International Awareness Campaign: and website historian of the Ramsey Clark co-founded Prosecute US Crimes Against Humanity Now Campaign featuring a country by country history of US crimes and laws pertaining.
Jay spent eight years as Assistant Conductor of the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra in Hanoi and also toured, with Dan Tai-Son, Tchaikovsky Competition First Prize winner, who practiced in a Hanoi bomb shelter. The orchestra was founded by Ho Chi Minh,and it plays most of its concerts in the Opera House, a diminutive copy of the Paris Opera. In 1945, US ally Ho, from a balcony overlooking the large square and flanked by an American Major and a British Colonel, declared Vietnam independent. Everyone in the orchestra lost family, “killed by the Americans” they would mention simply, with kind Buddhist equanimity.
