When we think of propaganda, we see in our mind’s eye
bespectacled minions in dark offices cranking out screeds extolling the virtues
of the fatherland. But propaganda comes in many forms. In America, it’s not
necessarily the government churning out historical fairy tales of our
exceptionalism, although that certainly happens, but the
industrial/military/media complex, whose CEOs and presidents and generals have
a vested interest in keeping the masses quiet, content and complacent.
So our American history books and movies and television series
all tell a nice little story of a powerful democracy that fights for freedom
and justice. We are the guys in the white hats who oppose tyranny and
oppression wherever it raises its ugly head around the globe. We are even
blessed by the almighty, who made us the bestus country on the whole gosh darn
planet.
That’s the propaganda. As is always the case, reality is
quite different, and much darker. I recently watched the video, “JFK to 9/11 A
Rich Man’s Trick,” and while it has its flaws, it offers a compelling
alternative history of the twentieth century that you won’t find in textbooks
or see on PBS.
America has been an oligarchy since the very beginning of
the Industrial Revolution well over 100 years ago. As the first railroad tracks
were laid, the first oil wells tapped, the first automobiles built, a small
cabal of ultra wealthy men in America have used the government to make
themselves and their families richer. Our government has been controlled by the
one percent for over a century. It is only because of the Internet that
ordinary folks have been able to get a peek behind the curtain separating the
elite from the rest of us.
Let’s take a look at just a few historical realities that
have been left out of the official narrative of America.
The Attempted Coup:
Feeling threatened by the policies of FDR in the 1930s, a group made up of some
of America’s richest men, including Prescott Bush, George W. Bush’s
grandfather, planned an armed coup against the Roosevelt administration. They
wanted to build an army and take over the government by force. These were all
men who openly admired and were doing business with Hitler, and their new U.S.
government would be a fascist dictatorship.
It failed only because of one man, the general they chose to lead their
rebel army. That courageous soldier blew the whistle on this group of traitors,
and the plan evaporated. But guess what? No one was arrested. Not one person
served a day in prison for actively plotting to overthrow the U.S. government.
Allegiance to
Fascism: In the 1930s and 1940s, our titans of industry had no problems
doing business with Hitler, and in fact admired his blooming fascist state.
They admired it so much, some of them kept doing business with Hitler throughout
World War II. Many of Germany’s troop trucks, the trucks that brought Nazi
soldiers to the battlefield, were powered by Ford engines. American made parts
were used in German tanks and artillery. Hitler was so pleased by the support
from our elites, he gave Henry Ford the most prestigious award the German
government could give to a civilian.
In Bed with the
Mafia: Since the end of World War II, the CIA and the Mafia have worked
hand in glove as both drug and gun runners. Money made from these illegal
endeavors was used by the CIA to instigate violence around the globe, which
resulted in the sales of even more American-made weapons. The mob and the CIA
were also deeply involved in the assassination of JFK.
Creating the
Propaganda Machine: In the wake of the JFK assassination in the 1960s, many
people began to question the conclusions of the Warren Report. To counter this
growing criticism, the CIA began buying media outlets — newspapers, television
and radio stations, Hollywood studios — and recruiting prominent members of the
news and entertainment industries. A new era of disinformation and suppression
of information began.
So that’s our history lesson for today. I need a shower.
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