| Despite my unusual name, I happen to be a woman. I | | | | deliberate misinformation over the phenomenal cost of |
| am also an American child and adolescent psychiatrist | | | | war - an extremely unpopular public policy to begin |
| with more than 30 years of practice under my belt. | | | | with - make it very difficult for Americans to |
| Seven years ago I emigrated from the US to New | | | | understand much less have a voice in how their tax |
| Zealand, mainly for political reasons. I describe the | | | | dollars are spent. |
| unusual events leading up to this momentous decision | | | | The reality is that exponential increases in US military |
| in my upcoming book - The Most Revolutionary Act: | | | | spending over the past thirty years have resulted in |
| Memoir of an American Refugee. | | | | deep cuts in domestic spending for education and |
| Obviously a lot has happened in seven years. I have | | | | important social programs. Most of the developed |
| learned I am not alone in deciding to emigrate out of | | | | world understands and accepts that unmet social |
| frustration with the Bush administration. It turns out tens | | | | problems, such as homelessness, mental illness and |
| of thousands of Americans emigrated between 2000 | | | | drug and alcohol abuse, illiteracy, unemployment, child |
| and 2008. Polls show most of them were liberals and | | | | poverty and child abuse seriously compromise the |
| progressives. In November 2003 expatriate Americans | | | | quality of life for the entire society. Yet here, too, the |
| led the London demonstrations protesting Bush's | | | | US is more like a third world country than an advanced |
| London visit and the war in Iraq. Expatriates also | | | | industrialized society. I only saw this clearly after |
| formed major voting blocs for Kerry in 2004 and for | | | | moving abroad. |
| Obama in 2008. An unexpected result of creating a | | | | As the military budget has increased exponentially |
| new life for myself as an expatriate is the unique | | | | over the past thirty years, the commitment to universal |
| perspective it has provided on my former life in the US. | | | | education, job training, housing and full employment as |
| An Awakening: Militarism is the US Government's | | | | essential to meaningful participation in an advanced |
| Number One Priority | | | | industrial democracy has vanished from public |
| Ironically it is only in coming to a remote South Pacific | | | | consciousness. The only "antipoverty" programs that |
| nation, whose population has just exceeded four million, | | | | persist are federal and state prisons. The US now |
| that I can fully appreciate the way military domination | | | | exceeds China in its incarceration rate. Which |
| and control of the third world takes precedence over | | | | represents an extremely uneconomical use of |
| all other US foreign and domestic policy. Owing to | | | | government funds in a recession. At an average cost |
| vigorous censorship that occurs in the corporate | | | | of $29,000 each (totaling nearly 100 billion dollars |
| controlled media, much of this information isn't readily | | | | annually), there is no question that locking people up is |
| available to US residents. Prior to the mid-nineties the | | | | the most expensive way to address social problems |
| US relied on economic dominance over smaller | | | | that lead to criminal behavior. |
| countries to extract a continuous supply of cheap | | | | An Awakening: the Loss of Civil Liberties in the US |
| resources they couldn't produce domestically - such as | | | | The negative effect of our government's drive for |
| gasoline, coffee, sugar, chocolate, nitrogen and | | | | global military domination is not limited to negative |
| phosphate fertilizers and platinum, nickel, chromium, | | | | economic consequences - namely our inability to meet |
| cobalt and other strategic metals. With the decline in | | | | basic health, education, housing and social welfare |
| US economic strength over the past 15 years, the | | | | needs. The loss of civil liberties over the last eight |
| government has come to rely on its military might to | | | | years is also more typical of a third world military |
| acquire the resources it needs to guarantee | | | | dictatorship than the participatory democracies |
| Americans' continued high standard of living. It seems | | | | enjoyed by most of the developed world. This, too, |
| to be common knowledge among many New Zealand | | | | was something I only fully appreciated after moving |
| intellectuals that this is the primary US government | | | | abroad. |
| agenda. | | | | Most of the covert activities I describe in my book - |
| An Awakening: the News Media Keeps Americans in | | | | the monitoring of my calls, emails and financial |
| the Dark about Their Government | | | | transactions, the theft of business and personal mail |
| It was only on leaving the US that I recognized how | | | | and even the clandestine break-ins - was illegal in the |
| successfully the US media monopoly censors and | | | | late eighties. However the US government engages in |
| sanitizes public information about international events | | | | all these activities legally now, thanks to successive |
| and government activities. Although Rupert Murdoch's | | | | versions of the Patriot Act. |
| News Corp controls much of New Zealand's access | | | | Worse still Obama has left most of these laws, which |
| to international news, we still have independent media | | | | violate basic Constitutional rights, essentially intact. He |
| outlets that regularly challenge and embarrass our | | | | has also preserved the right of police and federal |
| government. Presently this type of investigative | | | | authorities to arrest and hold US citizens without |
| reporting is extremely rare in the American | | | | charge - a violation of the right of habeas corpus |
| mainstream media. | | | | guaranteed in the Bill of Rights - an fundamental |
| An Awakening: the Price Americans Pay for Global | | | | feature of civilized society dating back to the 1215 |
| Domination | | | | Magna Carta. |
| The first thing that hit me on waking up in a new | | | | This loss of civil liberties also occurred in Rome, when |
| country was the enormous personal cost, in terms of | | | | its leaders were forced to abandon their democratic |
| quality life, that Americans pay as citizens of a regime | | | | form of government to pursue the wars of conquest |
| intent on establishing and maintaining a global military | | | | that resulted in the formation of a vast Roman Empire. |
| empire. For example, although New Zealand ranks as | | | | In most cases, military conquest and occupation of |
| one of the poorer countries in the OECD (22nd out of | | | | foreign territory only benefits a tiny elite at the highest |
| 30), Kiwis take for granted that their government will | | | | level of society. Ordinary people are naturally repulsed |
| use their hard earned tax dollars to provide free health | | | | by the idea of war and almost universally expect their |
| care for all New Zealand residents, a program the | | | | hard earned tax dollars to be spent on public programs |
| public considers essential for the long term well being | | | | that directly benefit them. |
| and sustainability of their country. | | | | If allowed any meaningful input, they rarely willingly |
| In New Zealand it is fairly easy to support universal | | | | agree to squander government funds on military |
| health care and the taxes that fund it, because this | | | | expansion. This is why a campaign of military |
| country doesn't invade or occupy other countries and | | | | expansion can only succeed if the government is |
| bans the use of nuclear materials as weapons or for | | | | effective at suppressing dissent in the ruling country. |
| energy production. In the US, on the other hand, | | | | An Awakening: How US Militarism Affects the Way |
| reaching consensus on joining the rest of the | | | | Americans Think |
| developed world in providing universal government | | | | The most alarming discovery I made in acculturating |
| sponsored health care is next to impossible. There is | | | | myself to a new country was the extent to which I |
| enormous resistance to increasing federal tax to pay | | | | unconsciously bought into all the brainwashing and |
| for such a program, given that Americans are so | | | | propaganda I was exposed to as a child in school and |
| heavily taxed already to pay for wars in Iraq, | | | | as an adult via the mainstream media. When I first |
| Afghanistan and Pakistan and to maintain a US military | | | | arrived in New Zealand I genuinely believed that the US |
| presence in more than 50 foreign countries it considers | | | | was not only the strongest military and economic |
| strategic to its interests. In the past five years the | | | | power in the world - it was also the best at nearly |
| number of overseas military bases has increased from | | | | everything else. |
| 700 to 1,000, as the US military expands into Eastern | | | | I write about this discovery in my book. Obviously New |
| Europe, Pakistan, North and West Africa (owing to the | | | | Zealand has no military ambitions, and Kiwis would feel |
| strategic importance of African oil reserves) and | | | | pretty silly about promoting their country as the most |
| Columbia (owing to the threat posed by left leaning | | | | democratic, productive, efficient, cleanest, healthiest, |
| governments in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia). | | | | transparent, just and scientifically advanced nation in |
| An Awakening: the US is Less Democratic than Other | | | | the world. |
| Developed Countries | | | | I myself feel pretty silly that as a committed leftist I |
| More importantly Americans seem to have no say in | | | | continued to believe - as recently as five years ago - |
| the decisions resulting in the allocation of nearly 50 | | | | that the US was way ahead of other countries in |
| cents of every tax dollar for military related spending. | | | | these areas, as well as in military and economic |
| In fact in many ways the US is far less democratic | | | | strength. At some level I have known for at least 20 |
| than other developed countries. Although polling shows | | | | years that the US was less democratic than other |
| Americans don't want to spend their tax dollars spent | | | | industrialized countries. I also knew that US |
| on escalating the war in Afghanistan - that they want | | | | corporations had significantly weakened American |
| to spend them on government sponsored health care | | | | economic influence by moving its industrial base to |
| - the Obama administration does just the opposite. | | | | sweat shops overseas. Likewise I knew that air and |
| Obama sends 35,000 additional troops to Afghanistan | | | | water are seriously polluted in the US and its food |
| and persuades congressional Democrats to drop the | | | | supply one of the most contaminated in the world - |
| public option and Medicare expansion from his health | | | | with its reliance on toxic sludge fertilizers, as well as |
| care reform bill. | | | | infestation with Mad Cow, E Coli and other |
| The New Zealand government would face massive | | | | illness-causing organisms that the powerful food lobby |
| street protests for enacting legislation opposed by the | | | | prevents the government from regulating. |
| majority of New Zealanders. Yet for some reason | | | | I knew from my own research into alternative AIDS |
| Americans seem to take for granted that they have | | | | treatments that the US lags far behind other |
| no say in decisions that are fundamental, not only to | | | | industrialized countries in scientific research. Mainly |
| their own personal welfare, but to the long term | | | | because it gives powerful corporations the power to |
| economic viability and sustainability of their country. It is | | | | dictate most of research Americans scientists engage |
| only in living abroad that I have become aware of this | | | | in and to suppress any negative findings that might |
| a deep resignation and apathy in the American public. | | | | impact corporate profitability. |
| It's a mindset I believe stems from deep and pervasive | | | | Ironically the US can no longer claim to be the most |
| political repression - which is essential to maintain order | | | | powerful economic force in the world, a fact rarely |
| in a society dedicated to global military dominance. | | | | acknowledged by the US media. Although they still |
| An Awakening: the Planet's Newest Third World | | | | represent the world's largest economy, the US has |
| Country | | | | less and less sway over the Asian economic |
| Obviously there are other important reasons why the | | | | powerhouse represented by China, India, Japan and |
| US doesn't have publicly sponsored health care like | | | | South Korea. The world media frequently reports on |
| Zealand and all other industrialized countries. The | | | | examples of the US government caving in to China |
| channeling of hundreds of billions of tax dollars into | | | | and India during trade and climate change negotiations. |
| military expansion is only part of the problem. There | | | | The loss of American economic influence should be |
| happen to be other powerful corporate interests - led | | | | obvious from the steady drop in the US dollar in |
| by the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies - who | | | | relation to international currencies. However because |
| invested billions of dollars in the 2008 election to ensure | | | | the mainstream media never makes this connection, it |
| that the Democrats and Obama refrained from | | | | is rare for most Americans to make it. It never occurs |
| enacting publicly sponsored health care. However the | | | | to them that the main reason for the surge in the price |
| prioritization of the military conquest and occupation | | | | of gasoline, food and other imported commodities is |
| over the all domestic spending and the secrecy and | | | | the dollar's loss in value on the world markets. |