The progressive movement in this country brought major victories to
American history - women's rights, Civil Rights, the end of slavery,
labor rights and unionization, education reform and reproductive rights.
There's nothing that makes me smile more than to see left-wing causes
being discussed in our increasingly corporate and right-wing media. So
when the Occupy movement started last year, I thought it was the PERFECT
answer to the Tea Party and the right-wing paranoia engulfing our
nation and our people. My super left-wing heart soared. I went to the
protests, I got involved. I had hope in the movement. But sadly, I would be very disappointed.
In its beginnings, Occupy seemed like it had a
future. It felt like we actually has a springboard for change. We could
make this happen. The people were speaking with one voice. But all of a
sudden, it hit its crescendo, and started to slowly
spiral. It seems Occupy has since turned into a mess of people, unwilling to be organized or have any sort of centralized message. They never once reached out to field candidates to run for office so the changes we all hoped for could be enacted, which is where the process begins.
What really brings us here today is what I read on Facebook. This afternoon I noticed I was
still a 'fan' of Occupy, and something they posted caught my attention. The
article
in question, titled, "Resisting Genocide: Syria, North Korea and Cuba"
is a real hoot. It blames the US for all the worlds ills, and uses the
Ron Paul libertarian argument of "leave all nations alone. Let them deal with their
own problems." Yes, let's let countries run by dictators with a
disregard of human rights, run rabid and do as they please. If Assad
made good on his promise of using chemical weapons, the world is
supposed to sit by and watch? The author essentially argues that US
imperialism and intervention around the world is the sole basis for the
reasons Syria, North Korea and Cuba are having the problems they are,
yet gives examples that said country's are far better than we realize.
To some degree, that's absolutely correct. Because of America's
unnecessary embargo on Cuba, for example, it does not have access it
needs to quality healthcare equipment (no matter what Castro says.)
America has caused undo destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, where we
had no business being in the first place. However, the article seeks to
deceive the reader by using flawed claims, dubious and inflammatory language and assumes
the general reader is not going to actually do research, which, when distributing propaganda for the masses, isn't hard. It's easy to
read that the former head of the World Health Organization thinks the "DPRK
had a healthcare system that should be the envy of the entire developing
world." Really? In what universe? In actuality, Amnesty International
(which the author of the article, Gearóid Ó Colmáin, doesn't seem to care for. So much for
prisoner's rights) has
reported that North Korea's healthcare system is some of the worst in the world.
“North Korea has failed to provide for the most basic health and
survival needs of its people. This is especially true of those who are
too poor to pay for medical care,” said Catherine Baber, Amnesty
International’s Deputy Director for the Asia-Pacific"
According to the World Health Organization’s last available figures,
North Korea spent less on healthcare than any other country in the world
– under US$1 per person per year in total.
Well, there goes that glowing review of North Korea's failed healthcare system.
Looking for an unbiased, unfiltered view into North Korea? check out the
Vice Guide to North Korea.
It's a terrific inside account at the truth of North Korea. No filters,
no political blinders, no propaganda. After, watch the video Vice did
about traveling to a North Korean "work camp" in the outskirts of
Sibera. It's eerie but worth the watch.
In Syria, Bashar Al-Assad - the man who slaughters his own people, has cabinet members fleeing from Syria in droves (Ask Syria's
former
military police chief why he defected) and even went so far as to
threaten to prepare chemical weapons to use on his own people, has given
the Syrian military one order - kill those who do not comply. Genocide
Watch has tallied at least 37,000 people have been killed since the
start of the Syrian civil war. Something I found interesting was that
the article makes note that bakeries in Syria are "open and ready for
business." In actuality, these places are shells of their former selves.
Bakers are barely able to make enough food to feed the tremendous lines
of starving people who stand and wait all day, hoping they might be
able to eat. Humanitarian groups, who do not idly by and watch people
die, have been able to bring in small batches of rationed ingredients so
people may be able to eat that day. Also,
this
happened. A few days ago, warplanes bombed one of those bakeries,
killing scores of people. But you must suppress any outrage you have at
that, because you know, Syria will just work it out.
This
is not an endorsement of war with these nations, or violent
interventions I don't believe there's use for war and that's because I
truly believe with all I am, that there are peaceful, non-violent
solutions to the worlds problems. We wouldn't sit and watch someone kick
a dog, would we? Of course not. So why should we stand back and let
dictators run the world? Occupy craves freedom and liberation here at
home. It's the central core in their mess of messages. Doesn't that
extend beyond the borders of America? If we are struggling to fight for
freedom here, it's the height of hypocrisy to deny it elsewhere. Human Rights are universal. It's an issue everyone should hold near and dear.
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