The petition can be found online at the Justice for Lynne Stewart website: www.lynnestewart.org or at www.change.org/petitions/petition-to-free-lynne-stewart-save-her-life-release-her-now-2

Please go to these sites and sign it.

PETITION TO FREE LYNNE STEWART: SAVE HER LIFE – RELEASE HER NOW!   Lynne Stewart has devoted her life to the oppressed – a constant advocate for the countless many deprived in the United States of their freedom and their rights.   Unjustly charged and convicted for the “crime” of providing her client with a fearless defense, the prosecution of Lynne Stewart is an assault upon the basic freedoms of us all.   After years of post-conviction freedom, her bail was revoked arbitrarily and her imprisonment ordered, precluding surgery she had scheduled in a major New York hospital.   The sinister meaning of the relentless persecution of Lynne Stewart is unmistakably clear. Given her age and precarious health, the ten-year sentence she is serving is a virtual death sentence.   Since her imprisonment in the Federal Prison in Carswell, Texas her urgent need for surgery was delayed 18 months – so long, that the operating physician pronounced the condition as “the worst he had seen.”   Now, breast cancer, which had been in remission prior to her imprisonment, has reached Stage Four. It has appeared in her lymph nodes, on her shoulder, in her bones and her lungs.   Her daughter, a physician, has sounded the alarm: “Under the best of circumstances, Lynne would be in a battle of the most serious consequences with dangerous odds. With cancer and cancer treatment, the complications can be as debilitating and as dangerous as the cancer itself.”   In her current setting, where trips to physicians involve attempting to walk with 10 pounds of shackles on her wrists and ankles, with connecting chains, Lynne Stewart has lacked ready access to physicians and specialists under conditions compatible with medical success.   It can take weeks to see a medical provider in prison conditions. It can take weeks to report physical changes and learn the results of treatment; and when held in the hospital, Lynne has been shackled wrist and ankle to the bed.   This medieval “shackling” has little to do with any appropriate prison control. She is obviously not an escape risk.   We demand abolition of this practice for all prisoners, let alone those facing surgery and the urgent necessity of care and recovery.   It amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of human rights.   There is immediate remedy available for Lynne Stewart. Under the 1984 Sentencing Act, after a prisoner request, the Bureau of Prisons can file a motion with the Court to reduce sentences “for extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Life threatening illness is foremost among these and Lynne Stewart meets every rational and humane criterion for compassionate release.   To misconstrue the gravamen of this compassionate release by conditioning such upon being at death’s door – released, if at all, solely to die – is a cruel mockery converting a prison sentence, wholly undeserved, into a death sentence.   The New York Times, in an editorial (2/12), has excoriated the Bureau of Prisons for their restrictive crippling of this program. In a 20-year period, the Bureau released a scant 492 persons – an average of 24 a year out of a population that exceeds 220,000.   We cry out against the bureaucratic murder of Lynne Stewart.   We demand Lynne Stewart’s immediate release to receive urgent medical care in a supportive environment indispensable to the prospect of her survival and call upon the Bureau of Prisons to act immediately.   If Lynne’s original sentence of 28 months had not been unreasonably, punitively increased to 10 years, she would be home now — where her medical care would be by her choice and where those who love her best would care for her. Her isolation from this loving care would end.   Prevent this cruelty to Lynne Stewart whose lifelong commitment to justice is now a struggle for her life.   Free Lynne Stewart Now!   Ralph Poynter and Family

Press Release Contact: Ralph Schoenman, 707.552.9992 Lil Gregory, 508.746.7427   DICK GREGORY TO FAST UNTIL IMPRISONED ATTORNEY LYNNE STEWART IS FREED   Dick Gregory issued a declaration today, on the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., that “I shall refuse all solid food until Lynne Stewart is freed and receives medical treatment in the care of her family and with physicians of her choice without which she will die.”   The 73-year-old Stewart, a renowned criminal defense attorney, is suffering from Stage 4 cancer. Gregory, known for his social activism as much as his for comedic wit and political commentary, has taken this step to reinforce the worldwide petition in support of Stewart’s application for compassionate release. Over 6,000 people, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pete Seeger, have signed to date with the numbers growing by the minute.

As a criminal defense lawyer for over 30 years, Lynne Stewart defended the poor, the disadvantaged and those targeted by the police and the State. Such has been her reputation that judges assigned her routinely to act for defendants whom no attorney was willing to represent. One of these was the blind Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who Stewart represented with co-counsels former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Abdeen Jabara.   In 2002, Lynne Stewart was targeted by then-President George Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft for providing a vigorous defense of her client. She was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist activity after she exercised both her and her client’s first amendment rights by presenting a press release to a Reuters journalist. In 2006, while the Department of Justice demanded a 30-year sentence, Judge John Koetl, handed down a 28-month sentence noting: “By providing a criminal defense to the poor, the disadvantaged and unpopular over three decades, it is no exaggeration to say that Ms. Stewart performed a public service not only to her clients but to the nation.”   That sentence, however, was not to stand as the Second Circuit Appellate Court, withdrew Lynne Stewart’s bail — even though her case is still before the courts — and remanded the case back to Judge Koetl with the harsh demand that he revisit his sentence and issue a severely enhanced one. On July 15, 2010, Judge Koeltl increased Stewart’s sentence from 28 months to 10 years imprisonment. This has become a virtual death sentence for Lynne Stewart.   As Gregory so eloquently states:  “The reason for the prosecution and persecution of Lynne Stewart is evident to us all. It was designed to intimidate the entire legal community so that few would dare to defend political clients whom the State demonizes and none would provide a vigorous defense. It also was designed to narrow the meaning of our cherished first amendment right to free speech, which the people of this country struggled to have added to the Constitution as the Bill of Rights.”

###   DECLARATION BY DICK GREGORY — APRIL 4, 2013   I hereby declare on this day commemorating the life and sacrifice of my friend and brother in struggle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that in the spirit of his moral legacy, I demand the immediate release from prison of the legendary lawyer Lynne Stewart, who devoted her entire professional life to the poor, the oppressed and those targeted by the police and a vindictive State.   I further declare that from this day forth, I shall refuse all solid food until Lynne Stewart is freed and receives medical treatment in the care of her family and with physicians of her choice without which she will die.   There is no time to lose as cancer, which had been in remission, has metastasized since her imprisonment. It has spread to her lymph nodes, her shoulder and appears in her bones and in her lungs.   A criminal defense attorney in New York for over 30 years, Lynne Stewart’s unwavering dedication as a selfless advocate was acknowledged by the community as well as judges, prosecutors and the entire legal profession. Such has been her reputation as a fearless lawyer, ready to challenge those in power, that judges assigned her routinely to act for defendants whom no attorney was willing to represent.   In 2002, Lynne Stewart was targeted by then-President George Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft for providing a vigorous defense of her client, the blind Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.

She was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist activity after she exercised both her and her client’s first amendment rights by presenting a press release to a Reuters journalist. She did nothing more than other attorneys, such as her co-counsel former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, have done on behalf of their clients.   The reason for the prosecution and persecution of Lynne Stewart is evident to us all. It was designed to intimidate the entire legal community so that few would dare to defend political clients whom the State demonizes and none would provide a vigorous defense. It also was designed to narrow the meaning of our cherished first amendment right to free speech, which the people of this country struggled to have added to the Constitution as the Bill of Rights.   The prosecution and imprisonment of Lynne Stewart is an ominous threat to the freedom, rights and dignity of each and every American. It is the agenda of a police state.   I ask you to join with me to demand freedom for Lynne Stewart. An international campaign has been launched with a petition that supports her application for compassionate release. Under the 1984 Sentencing Act, the Bureau of Prisons can file a motion with the Court to reduce sentences “for extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Life threatening illness is foremost among these and Lynne Stewart meets every rational and humane criterion for compassionate release.   Join with me, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pete Seeger and 6,000 other people of conscience throughout the world who have signed this petition to compel the Warden of the Federal Medical Center, Carswell and the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to act. Act now. There is no time to lose.

The petition (above) can be found online at the Justice for Lynne Stewart website: www.lynnestewart.org or at www.change.org/petitions/petition-to-free-lynne-stewart-save-her-life-release-her-now-2

When Will Radical Become the Norm?

By Solomon Comissiong

Institutional Racism, war, white supremacist values, prison and military industrial complexes, sexism, and police brutality are all routine aspects of American society. These are norms that far too many Americans have come to accept as just that—norms. Xenophobia, plutocracy, and a society that places profits well before the interests of human beings are also spot-on descriptors of America. Although some Americans may see these things as bad elements within any society, far too many have accepted them within their own.

American Exceptionalism is a mental illness predicated on the delusional idea that America is the “gold standard” for the rest of the world to follow, regardless of the category. The American Exceptionalism myth has well prepared countless Americans to overlook their country’s numerous flaws—-seeing them, in some warped way, as positive traits. This destructive way of thinking affects Americans from all walks of life and political persuasions. Even the so-called American “progressive”, sadly, believes that they represent some kind of socially liberal fresh air needed to improve society. Unfortunately, these neo-progressives’ ideas are limited just like the imaginary world they, too, enjoy residing within. The limited “changes” they are willing to address essentially sustain the overall status quo. And those whose ideas are actually constructive and could improve humanity, if collectively fought for—are labeled as “radical”. This labeling of many sensible minded individuals plays a significant role in obfuscating people who would make excellent social justice fighters, if only they weren’t so mentally programmed. They have been trained to associate the word “radical” with something that is automatically negative or impractical, without ever examining the ideas of those labeled “radical”. This way of thinking is no accident; it is as planned as America’s electoral politics.

Many American minds have been carefully crafted within laboratories otherwise known as public schools and university classrooms. They have been indoctrinated to buy in to ideas that are inhumane in nature and extoll people who were barbaric. Naturally when presented with ideas, systems and individuals antithetical to “The American Way“, they are seen as “bad”, “wrong”, or, yes, even “radical”. Those that speak out against the US’s insatiable appetite for war and destruction are conveniently characterized as “radicals” or even social deviants. Those who believe these narratives are unaware that their minds are trapped within an alternate reality where up is down and down is up. They are sadly programmed to eschew things that are rooted in humanity not realizing how they have lost their own since of morality. If more Americans could escape this alternate, yet nefarious, mental prison, they would start to comprehend how they have been cleverly trained to fight against their own human interests.

Far too many Americans dwell within a constant state of government sponsored consternation. Americans have been duped in to believing that “socialism” is actually something evil lurking on the precipice of their so-called society—-waiting to pounce upon their so-called “freedoms”. Many foolishly fail to realize that a more socialist society would bring them, and their loved ones, things like a true universal healthcare system, free or extremely low cost tertiary education, and affordable housing for all, to name just a few (of the many) benefits of life within a truly socialist society. Instead of embracing positive aspects of a more socialist society Americans blissfully suffer within a society predicated on  rugged exploitation.

Americans embrace capitalism while at the same time, a great many, fail to truly understand this unforgiving economic system. If most fail to understand capitalism, it should be of no surprise that even more lack any understanding of socialism—they have been well trained not to. Americans eat whatever psychological poison is fed to them by the corporate media and government alike. American citizens have methodically been taught to believe they reside within the world’s most free and open “democratic society. They have heard these lies hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times. Those devoid of critical thinking skills quickly believe false narratives if they are repeated enough times. This strict, yet implicit, propaganda is virtually ubiquitous, which makes it all the more effective. Training the American mind to believe that the US is a “gold standard” for all other societies to mimic also trains the same mind not to ask for things that should be seen as human rights. This is why, despite the fact that over 40,000 Americans die each year simply because they lack health insurance, a socialized healthcare system is seen as an “entitlement” that would break the US federal budget. And those who press for a single-payer socialized healthcare system are deemed “radical”. Those advocating for things like socialized healthcare and free tertiary education are “radical” evil socialists who want to eviscerate Americans’ so-called “liberties”.

The socially engineered American mind does not see the spending of a trillion dollars a year on military as something that breaks the budget or robs them of their opportunity to obtain quality healthcare for all. Somehow it is justified to spend over a trillion dollars a year on things like imperialist wars, which ultimately murder countless innocent civilians, from other countries. This is not considered a radically evil action put in place by radically evil politicians.

The two-headed corporate party dictatorship (Democrats & Republicans) recently held their political conventions in Tampa Bay, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina, respectively. For those who have somehow found a way to break away from the American system of indoctrination it was a most depressing sight. It was a human sea of sheep-like people who have bought in to the hypnotic political rhetoric fed to them. It mattered not that the political food they were swallowing was filled with empty calories, and much like eating a box of doughnuts, it was superficially “sweet” yet devoid of substance—-and ultimately harmful. Most of the convention goers were going there to willingly be led by their political shepherds. These people, like many Democrats and Republicans, have been trained to base political merit on fancy conventions replete with amoral politicians and their well-crafted speeches. It matters little whether the speeches are hollow and ultimately baseless. Much of the American voting populace are attracted to shiny trinkets that distract them from tangible actions necessary toward building a much better society. For instance, every four years since 2000, the Democrats roll out their political Godfather, Bill Clinton, to use his forked tongue as a tool to galvanize an already sycophantic base of voters/zombies.

These folks are ready and willing to vote for whomever the Democratic Party places in from of them, just like their Republican counterparts, regardless of what they say. Facts anchored to their destructive policies matter little—-they often refuse see their political masters’ polices as destructive. They have, in essence, been trained to look no further than the shiny surface. This is why politicians like Bill Clinton and his buddy, Barack Obama, can say whatever they like, to tens of millions of their “supporters”. Watching Democratic convention-goers while Clinton and Obama gave their speeches was similar to witnessing members of a cult as they attentively hang on to every word spit forth by their leader. And for this African/black author, it was especially depressing to see other African/black people buy in to the rubbish being fed to them without realizing that as long as they blindly support this political party they will see no tangible or progressive changes in their/our communities’ living conditions.

Bill Clinton is a man who, while president, endorsed a number of actions that dramatically impacted the African/black community, in negative ways. He expanded the building of prisons far beyond that of the socially evil Ronald Reagan. Clinton made sure that black and brown communities were heavily policed and remained within a perpetual police state via his “tough on crime” polices. And Clinton, like his chum Barack Obama, used military force to attack Africa, not only in Somalia but also in Sudan when he bombed a vital pharmaceutical plant. Bill Clinton is only a mythological friend to African/black people where he exists within the minds of those who are hopelessly obsequious to their Democratic Party puppeteers. Bill Clinton is a man filled with a laundry list of evil deeds that he voluntarily committed, such as executing a mentally challenged African/black man while he was governor of Arkansas. When you see scores of African/black people cheering Clinton on, as if they are at a sporting event, you must then realize that you dwell within a society that considers talk of eviscerating white supremacy and institutional racism as somehow “radical”. Clinton and Obama have convinced people of color that they give a damn about them, despite the fact that many of their actual policies are antithetical to their wishful thinking.

America is like a manufactured zoo habitat, created by white supremacist Euro-Americans, capitalist elites, and imperialist war mongers (to name a few of the menagerie of the wretched). I understand the previous statement may seem a bit redundant but those descriptors are necessary if for nothing else to serve as accurate reminders of the illusionary society that some of us have forgotten we live in. The American habitat is replete with distractions methodically positioned to, not only control the peoples thinking, but also to maintain a status quo that is deleterious for the entire planet. Among these distractions is the baseless rhetoric spewing from the mouths of white liberals and conservatives, as well as from black operatives like Michael Eric Dyson and Al Sharpton. Dyson and Sharpton work for the interests of the white liberals that write their checks. You can rest assured that if the likes of these two characters were working in the interests of people of color, or real progressive change, they would not be paraded across TV airwaves controlled by corporate media like MSNBC (Comcast/General Electric). Black commentators like them are paid rather well to euphemize, down play and flat out not mention specific issues impacting Black/African America. Malcolm X had a term for individuals like these—-”House Negros“.  Their job is not only to keep black/African people from thinking comprehensively about certain issues; it is to help funnel people of color in to Democratic Party’s traps. All these roads (traps) lead to the status quo. Ideas and plans that would lead people of color towards necessary collective organization geared at social justice, equality, and liberation, are deemed “radical” and are, therefore, to be “feared”.

Socially progressive  ideas and actions are needed to rearrange this society in to one that facilitates justice, equality, and peace. As this moment in time (2012) America continues to reign as one of the most unequal and socially unjust societies on earth. America does not only confine its injustices within its own stolen and manufactured borders, the US exports terror, injustice, and plunder. These words are only deemed “radical” or “a shock” to those who have, unfortunately, spent their entire lives within the illusionary house built for them by the state. This is the only housing the US government is willing to socialize. A government that voluntarily places itself within a constant state of war should be been deemed radically nefarious.

Sane and humane societies reject war and global plunder, however most Americans seem to embrace, or at the very least, accept it. They reside in the smallest of “worlds”. Americans have allowed themselves to accept whatever poisonous narrative is mentally fed to them by their butcher-like government. Many Americans have bought in to the idea that there are “humanitarian wars” and that “their” government engages in these mythological wars. And those are the wars that the easily fooled support. Facts and innocent lives lost, from other countries, matter little. The name of the game throughout American society is superficiality, which is why the political candidates that spend the most money usually win the elections. Americans are generally not interested in studying the fine print that comes on the labeling of their favorite candidates. Like toddlers, many American voters are attracted whatever “shiny” trinkets that are presented to them each election cycle.

Barack Obama was one of those new “shiny trinkets” that masses of Americans gobbled up without any regard to what they were politically devouring. Within their politically manufactured world, they were doing something of social significance—-they were “change agents”, just like the man they hoped to elect in 2008—Barack Obama. It really didn’t matter what he said or how voted while in senate. His support of things like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and expanding America’s imperialist war in Afghanistan was not even an afterthought. They conveniently forgot the fact that they opposed those types of draconian and anti-democratic policies during the criminal Bush/Cheney reign of terror. And now that Barack Obama is president, a war-mongering president, these faithful Democratic Party cheerleaders have decided to make excuses for their president’s reprehensible policies and actions. Obama starts a war with a North African nation (Libya), under false pretenses, and they say—”he had to do it”. He orchestrates more drone attacks than George Bush could have ever wished for and Obama’s supporters defend his monstrous actions without pause. Obama supporters have even found ways to create excuses for his deceptive signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) —something that makes the Patriot Act pale in comparison. Obama signs anti-worker Free Trade Agreements and deports more than one million people—once again—”he had to do it!”

Within a virtual world created by white liberals and conservatives, alike, “leaders” like Barack Obama are seen as “progressive”. Their actions, no matter how despicable and destructive, are not only tolerated, they are embraced. And within this same world black political operative snake-oil salesmen/women like Michael Eric Dyson, Melissa Harris-Perry and Al Sharpton, are anointed “black leaders” and “progressive”. However those who reject the “American way” status quo, as well as the rhetoric and policies of the aforementioned—they are labeled as “radical” or “anti-American”. If opposing imperialist wars, white supremacy, capitalism, institutional racism, and all forms of injustice, make one “anti-American”, you may include this author within that rubric. If America were a more humane society, truly centered on equality, justice, and peace, these actions would never be seen as “radical”—they would be the norm. Those who truly want to make this world a better place have their work cut out for them—nonetheless the work must be done—humanity depends on it.

America may be a country with an abundance of social potential; however it continues to fail miserably at achieving that potential, if it is even trying at all. Many Americans, due to government-sponsored social engineering only see the world they are allowed to see. They don’t see the brilliant lessons to be learned outside of America’s manufactured borders and they certainly don’t see the beautiful society (and world) they, and future generations, could dwell in. It is imperative that those of us who see these things continue to speak out as loudly as we possibly can. We need to continue to organize as hard and diligently as we can. We must never accept injustice in any form, no matter what the person looks like that is delivering it. Reject the “boxes” the corporate political parties try to place us within. Create open spaces free of walls and inhumane restrictions. We need to reorganize and create a new, more socially just, society—one where the term “radical” is applied to those who support wars, imperialism, institutional racism, sexism, white supremacy, plunder and injustice (in general). Those are the social regressive radicals. We all need to do work that is meaningful and conducive of being labeled (not by ourselves but by others) as socially progressive “radicals”. However, hopefully, one day actions of today deemed “socially progressive” and “radical”, will be considered the norm.

Solomon Comissiong is an educator, community activist, author, and the host of the Your World News media collective (www.yourworldnews.org). Solomon is the author of A Hip Hop Activist Speaks Out on Social Issues. He can be reached at: solo@yourworldnews.org

Originally published in Daily Censored in 2012

The Democratic Illusion

By: Solomon Comissiong

The illusion of democracy within the illegitimate borders of America continues to psychologically obfuscate masses of US citizens. Just as people who are strung out on opiates begin to hallucinate imaging a “reality” that simply does not exist, so too are most Americans as they continue believing that their country is some sort of utopian democracy. Many Americans believe that their country is the gold standard when it comes to democracy. They believe that in their day-to-day lives they are making well informed decisions, from politics-to-entertainment-to-education, predicated on a robust platter of options. Unfortunately, they could not be further from the truth.

Webster’s dictionary defines democracy as: “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” It also lists democracy as, “political or social equality; democratic spirit.” Those definitions, regarding democracy, reside only within the seedy elitist hamlets scattered throughout America. For it is the disproportionately wealthy (the one percent that control more wealth than the bottom 90 percent) that have redefined the term “democracy”. The United States is much more of a Plutocracy (a government or state in which the wealthy class rules) than it is a democracy. The wealthy (upper class) consistently make decisions on behalf of the lower classes (middle, lower, and working). Because the wealthy are economically rich it is they who ultimately control every power generating mainstream institution within America (media, education, and politics). Unfettered control of these institutions allows the wealthy ruling class to inculcate their amoral ideals and interests to the disengaged masses. Their interests are, as they have been since the unscrupulous and unequal founding of America, to maintain control. The so-called founding fathers very much wanted to keep control of America in the hands of people like themselves—rich white men. An engaged and politically educated populous would represent a formidable threat to their power structure within any legitimately democratic society. Unfortunately for us, we don’t have such a society in the US. The media, healthcare, politics and education are all controlled, more or less; by the same elitist class that, by and large, controls America.

Legitimate democracies do not methodically omit and marginalize large pockets of information simply as a means toward the mass programming its populous. Despite the hollow promulgations by corporate backed government officials, that America is the world’s greatest democracy, it is not. Control over institutions where most Americans receive their information (schools and the media) has allowed these capitalist minions to manufacture a most perfect illusion of democracy. The US government, corporate media, and myriad educational institutions are in the business of false propaganda; and they do it ever so well. Without false propaganda and the strict control over the flow of information, and the mediums that carry it, they would not be able to systematically convince most Americans to faithfully follow their one-sided agenda. From cradle to grave Americans are taught to obey their government as well as to question very little about its actions, no matter how deleterious they may be. This is how and why many Americans seldom stand on the side of justice when their government is illegally occupying other countries, inciting imperialist wars, or supporting oppressive nations. They are told, day in and day out, that their government’s actions are ultimately making them safer. Yes, the US government also uses fear to effectively mass control its population.

When innocent civilians are destroyed is it not called murder or state sponsored terror; it is simply collateral damage and a means to a justified end. Iraqi or Afghani lives are not thought of as being equal to that of American lives, their lives are considered expendable. This mentality is irrefutably xenophobic in nature and supported in everything from civic courses to the halls of congress. Meanwhile the corporate media hides the fact that over 1.3 million Iraqi civilians (www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq) have perished as a result of the US occupation and scores of Afghanis have been slaughtered by the indiscriminate actions of US drone attacks. They also will not discuss the hundreds of thousands of children who have lost their lives by way of brutal US sanctions in countries like Iraq and Zimbabwe.

Americans have been desensitized from understanding, caring about or fully grasping the ramifications of their government’s foreign policies. Like an overprotective parent, they have been sheltered. However this parent (the US government) cares much more about its contrived reputation than it does the overall and long term well being of its obedient children (US citizens). Americans have been taught and told who their enemies should be and who they should support as allies. Much like the white children of racist parents, they are taught who to love and who to hate. These justifications are often as limited as the purveyors of those same destructive ideologies.  They are taught to hate countries like Cuba because they are allegedly run by so-called dictators and that they are somehow a threat to the American way of life. Most Americans imbibe this psychologically limiting cocktail without ever examining the historical and factual context. If they did they would discover that those countries are often hated by the US government simply because they had to audacity to liberate themselves from white colonization and to reject capitalism. The American government never gave a damn about the masses of Cuban people who were oppressed and destroyed by the government of Fulgencio Batista. The US government loved him because he allowed the US to have unfettered reign over much of Cuba’s resources. The Cuban Revolution put an end to all of that and ushered in socialism, thus putting an end to US monopolization of Cuba’s natural resources. This is a significant reason why the US, to this day, programs its citizens to mindlessly hate Cuba. The great irony is that America was stolen by white “settlers” who were trying to escape an oppressive government and system within England. However, the America democratic illusion even prevents this irony from ever surfacing.

A legitimate gold standard for democracy facilitates an atmosphere in which a wide array of thoughts, perspectives, and historical accounts publically surface. Alternative thoughts, perspectives and historical accounts are routinely suppressed everyday within America. Freedom of choice is supposed to be something that runs freely and openly within the body of any legitimate democracy. However, within the US, even cultural art forms are suppressed. Many American youth into Hip Hop have a limited understanding of rap music, without evening knowing that their comprehension of that musical genre has been methodically limited. Their favorite rappers are not really their favorite rappers; they are simply the ones that the corporate media finds acceptable enough to play and to therefore popularize. Artists and songs that encourage audiences to think outside of their governmentally manufactured “boxes” are systematically prevented from ever becoming as popular as their mind numbing corporate backed alternative. Racially stereotypical and socially regressive rap music is eagerly supported by the corporate media (radio, TV, and record labels). Can they really be one’s favorite rappers if the selection from which to choose has been carefully and cautiously predetermined?

In the same fashion that rap music is popularized within the US so too are the political parties and candidates that the vast majority of Americans routinely support. In 2010 it is by no accident that American politics are controlled by two corporate financed political parties. Both parties (Democrats and Republicans) are heavily financed and supported by the capitalist elite whether they may be on Wall Street, Silicone Valley, or within the Healthcare and Military industries. Even the corporate media outlets which are mistakenly thought to be the medium that informs and educates the US masses are frolicking around in bed with mainstream politicians. They are the tail that wags the dog, the elephant and the jackass. However, it is often hard to distinguish who is wagging who since the corporate world is much bigger than the actual government. They clearly control the politicians’ actions far more than people who they were elected to serve.

The Democratic and Republican parties are systematically beholden to the corporations that supplement their incomes as well as finance their campaigns. Sadly, most Americans have been duped into believing their votes actually matter or that they are voting for candidates that best represent their interests. This is often not the case. Routinely, as in the 2008 presidential election, alternative party candidates are structurally kept from equally participating in elections. Green Party nominee (www.gp.org), Cynthia McKinney (http://mothball.runcynthiarun.org/node), was not permitted to participate in any of the nationally televised presidential debates. Tens of millions of eligible voters were not “democratically” given the opportunity to even hear her platform, ideas, or perspectives, despite the fact that she won her party’s nomination.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (www.debates.org) mission, as stated on their website, is: “…to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. Its primary purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates.” As stated in their mission they “produce” debates and “provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners”.

In other words they manufacture debates as well as provide the best possible batch of “acceptable” information to potential voters. They understand that there is very little difference between most Democratic and Republican candidates therefore if they limit alternative parties and their nominees; they significantly limit most Americans from even imagining a better political structure. Alternative candidates, like McKinney, represent a bold potential threat to their sheepish voting blocks. Even though the Commission on Presidential Debates claims they are a non-partisan non-profit organization, they are supremely influenced by both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the corporate media that televises the debates. The Commission on Presidential Debates is controlled, operated, and sponsored by a wide array of big businesses, former Democratic and Republican politicians, as well as vastly wealthy individuals. Grassroots organizations and working class citizens are clearly not welcome to participate, unless they support the mainstream agenda. This “commission” is simply part of the larger system that continually limits the range in which Americans could be engaged politically. This system does and cannot support alternative views to the manufactured mainstream corporate financed political structure in America.

America’s version of “democracy” continues to be one of the most perfect illusions created by man. Americans are born into a system that is driven by exploitation and greed, by any means necessary. The system robs, destroys, and plunders, all in the name of “democracy” and its citizens. Because most Americans were mentally cultivated by this limited and illusionary form of democracy, they support it with blind faith, regardless of the fact that it significantly hurts their quality of life. Ironically their government’s relationship and loyalty to the corporate world (sounds like fascism to me) is a significant reason why they (the American working class) continue to trudge along in a quagmire of unfulfilled potential. Political fornication between Capitol Hill and the corporate world have prevented millions of Americans from having everything from a single payer healthcare system to heightened access to a college “education” to a world class public school system. Unfortunately, none of the above exists within America. However, most Americans strongly believe that the US is a beacon for freedom, justice, and equality and, yes, even democracy. They are protected by the painless bliss of ignorance that looms large within the mythological world that has been created for them by their own government. It is one thing to not know and it is another to not know what you don’t know. Most Americans truly have no idea as to how many decisions they think they are making for themselves have in fact already been made for them.

Most public schools are filled with history and social studies courses laden with misinformation training American youth to start thinking a certain way about themselves and the world they live in. That “certain way” often consists of a narrowly framed perspective thus limiting most Americans from becoming good world citizens. Americans are taught to worship and glorify murderers, war mongers, and racists. Americans are not supposed to critically think about how their government uses its military within the dangerous parameters of aggression. They are not supposed to be able to connect the dots between the fact that more than 40 percent of their tax dollars are spent for military purposes yet never wondering why thy may never have universal healthcare. They are ultimately well trained to unconditionally support manufactured systems that abrogate their own freedoms and civil liberties. As was said in the cult classic, The Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”Not knowing how they are systematically repressed prevents a great many Americans from demanding a truly radical and tangible change in this system to something that places human needs first and the quest for capital last. Until a well mobilized and organized social revolution of poor and working class people successfully fruits, Americans, by and large, will continue to aimlessly wander about within the illusionary land of democracy—America.

Solomon Comissiong is an educator, community activist, author, public speaker and the host of the Your World News media collective (www.yourworldnews.org). Solomon is the author of A Hip Hop Activist Speaks Out on Social Issues. He can be reached at: solo@yourworldnews.org