William Henry Blum (1933
– 2018) was an American author, historian, and critic of the United States
foreign policy.
Referrtng
to the expansion of United States imperialism and initiation and participation of this country in innumerable wars he wrote in a well known statement/ text as follows:
"If I were president, I could stop terrorist attacks against the United states in a few days. Permanently. I would first apologize-very publicly and very sincerely-to all the widows and orphans, the impoverished and tortured, and all the many millions of other victims of American imperialism. Then I would announce to every corner of the world that America's global military interventions have come to an end. I would then inform Israel that it is no longer the 51st state of the union but-oddly enough-a foreign country. Then I would reduce the military budget by at least 90% and use the savings to pay reparations to the victims and repair the damage from the many American bombings, invasions, and sanctions. There would be more than enough money. One year's military budget in the United States is equal to more than $20,000 per hour for every hour since Jesus Christ was born. That's one year. That's what I'd do on my first three days in the White House. On the fourth day, I'd be assassinated."
(back cover of "Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire")
He also wrote:
“If they have a halfway decent knowledge of how the Taliban ran Afghanistan, then the examples I give in the same statement would be my explanation. If they have no knowledge to speak of about the Taliban (which would apply to millions of Americans, I'm sure), then it's sort of hopeless. It's not easy to undo a lifetime of conditioning with a few sentences. How can I match 10000 hours of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and The National Enquirer?
In the current edition of my newsletter, The Anti.Empire Report, coming out soon, I write about such people, whom I call the Valueites. There is now thought amongst progressives about reaching such people, trying to win large numbers of them over. This is certainly an understandable goal, but I suggest that we not waste our time, energy, and resources.
Certainly, with any one individual amongst them, if we secluded that person on a farm with a dozen articulate progressive activists for a year, and with a plethora of moving audio-visual materials, something would probably click in that individual's head. But we haven't got enough activists, time, or farms to make even a crease in the target population of "Valueites".
As ignorant and lacking in imagination as they might be, these people, if transported to Iraq to see the bombs falling, the houses destroyed, the missing limbs, and the mangled children's bodies; if forced to look upon and smell the burning flesh of victims of policies they support -- even such Americans would be moved to a higher political consciousness. This has already happened with a number of American military personnel in Iraq, but is of course impossible to arrange for the many Valueites.“
"If I were president, I could stop terrorist attacks against the United states in a few days. Permanently. I would first apologize-very publicly and very sincerely-to all the widows and orphans, the impoverished and tortured, and all the many millions of other victims of American imperialism. Then I would announce to every corner of the world that America's global military interventions have come to an end. I would then inform Israel that it is no longer the 51st state of the union but-oddly enough-a foreign country. Then I would reduce the military budget by at least 90% and use the savings to pay reparations to the victims and repair the damage from the many American bombings, invasions, and sanctions. There would be more than enough money. One year's military budget in the United States is equal to more than $20,000 per hour for every hour since Jesus Christ was born. That's one year. That's what I'd do on my first three days in the White House. On the fourth day, I'd be assassinated."
(back cover of "Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire")
He also wrote:
“If they have a halfway decent knowledge of how the Taliban ran Afghanistan, then the examples I give in the same statement would be my explanation. If they have no knowledge to speak of about the Taliban (which would apply to millions of Americans, I'm sure), then it's sort of hopeless. It's not easy to undo a lifetime of conditioning with a few sentences. How can I match 10000 hours of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and The National Enquirer?
In the current edition of my newsletter, The Anti.Empire Report, coming out soon, I write about such people, whom I call the Valueites. There is now thought amongst progressives about reaching such people, trying to win large numbers of them over. This is certainly an understandable goal, but I suggest that we not waste our time, energy, and resources.
Certainly, with any one individual amongst them, if we secluded that person on a farm with a dozen articulate progressive activists for a year, and with a plethora of moving audio-visual materials, something would probably click in that individual's head. But we haven't got enough activists, time, or farms to make even a crease in the target population of "Valueites".
As ignorant and lacking in imagination as they might be, these people, if transported to Iraq to see the bombs falling, the houses destroyed, the missing limbs, and the mangled children's bodies; if forced to look upon and smell the burning flesh of victims of policies they support -- even such Americans would be moved to a higher political consciousness. This has already happened with a number of American military personnel in Iraq, but is of course impossible to arrange for the many Valueites.“
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