Our Government Insists That It Has It All Under Control—That’s What Worries Me . . .

1)    Present at Buchenwald, Arthur L. Johnson recalled a bitter and shocking memory “…all these people who claimed they didn’t know anything about it…and [they were] just 10 or 15 miles from Weimar.” Staff Sergeant Whiteway of the 99^thInfantry Division noted that according to them “no [German] ever saw a concentration camp or an atrocity.”

2)    Combat Surgeon Brendan Phibbs heard German after German plead, “nie gemurtet, nie gemurtet, we never suspected.” Staff Sergeant Powell traveled across the German countryside and regularly heard civilians announce that they were, of course, anti-fascists and then disclaim any knowledge of the camps.

“What Did Most Germans Know About the Nazi Concentration Camp System?” http://phdast7.hubpages.com/hub/What-Did-Average-germans-Know-Concentration-Camps Accessed 7-7-13.

Not long ago, this topic resurfaced in the American press. People are still debating exactly what the Germans did or did not know about the Nazis. Will we ever know the truth about this? What amazes me even more is the list of questionable to atrocious actions attributed to the present U.S. government—and yet life goes on in this country as if not much is happening. U.S. citizens cannot pretend not to know what is unfolding in our country—cell phone cameras, the internet, and whistleblowers have seen to that. But the government seems unabashed by the disapproval of so many of its citizens regarding the questionable, terrifying, or disgusting actions of those in power.

Guantanamo is still perched down there off the coast of Florida. Just today the media described our government’s intention to force-feed Guantanamo prisoners even on days when their religious beliefs call for them to fast. I am ashamed of this prison and the acts that have happened there. Many Americans continue to express strong opposition to this place, and yet the President of the United States seems unable or unwilling to end the nightmare.

Just a couple of days ago our government misled the governments of several European nations and forced the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s plane to land so that a search for the dissident Edward Snowden could be conducted. This desperate act followed attempts to keep President Morales of Bolivia from granting asylum to Snowden. Would our country react with only words of indignation, as President Morales did, if our president’s plane had been forced to the ground? By what right does the taking of such a liberty occur? If our government wishes to convince U.S. citizens that Snowden’s revelations have somehow put American soldiers or secret operatives at risk, let the government make its case to the American people. Too many strange events have been happening in the country for citizens to simply accept the government’s claim that Snowden has created peril. And I can’t help but notice that the government has no detailed response to the information Snowden released and that he claimed demonstrates the illegal activities of our government. Instead, the government diverts attention from the substance of what Snowden provided and focuses on what seems a desperate attempt to lock the man away inside the U.S.

Another whistleblower, Bradley Manning, is about to present his defense in a military court. Media analysis suggests that the government’s case has been unconvincing. Meanwhile, the American people are not being assured that Manning’s torture at the hands of the U.S. military is at an end, and no explanations are being provided about the manner in which Manning has been detained. Was it really necessary to keep him naked? Was it necessary to attempt to break him by leaving him in a cell that is cold, or constantly lit? Governments, including ours, may have newer ways to make an accused’s life hell, but our prisons and the horrible prison conditions of the 19^th century do not seem so far apart. Charles Dickens wrote more than A Christmas Carol. He would have been writing about the travesty that our justice system has become.

My list could grow much longer, but what I don’t want to ignore are the inequities within the U.S. that we have suffered for a long time and that seem unlikely to be addressed any time soon. Here I’m referring to the failure of states and the federal government to fund public schools and the constant slide of government policy toward charter schools and private schools. I guess those in power hope to keep the American people poorly educated, except for a wealthy few who are able to afford the very best educations. I’m also referring to the country’s chronic unemployment and under-employment, or the nation’s abysmal minimum wage standard, or the country’s inability to put in place the same national health care coverage for its citizens that almost every other so-called industrialized country has managed to provide for its people. I mention here our country’s inability to support renewable energy and public transportation to the same extent—at least—that it is propping up the oil and gas industry. Even though the industry itself admits oil and gas is a finite resource. Even though the International Energy Association has reported that the planet MUST turn from fossil fuels if the catastrophic effects of climate change are to be avoided.  And I’m talking about a government that believes shoring up financial institutions that are now contributing nothing to our economic recovery matters more than supporting Americans who were unscrupulously counseled by realtors and bankers into buying homes they could not afford.

I began this blog by describing some of the things my husband and I experienced during what came to be called the 500-year flood of Grand Forks, North Dakota. I will end what I admit is a bit of a rant with a few more details about that flood.

When my husband and I drove back into Grand Forks after having been evacuated for two weeks, we approached the city from the east, driving first through the devastation of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, and then crossing the downtown bridge over the Red River. We saw the Grand Forks downtown with several buildings gutted by fire, and flood damage in some cases up to the second floor of buildings. We drove into our neighborhood and saw all that the Red’s waters had brought to the town. But when we pulled into our driveway, our next-door neighbor was already there. We worked that day, he in his house, we in ours, to pump out our basements, and pile destroyed property at the curb. The next day we were joined by other neighbors. We began sharing what we had with each other. Everything from generators to submersible pumps, coats, food, bandages and bottles of water. And after many days, some of us felt great happiness when we were able to spend the night in our own homes rather than driving two hours out of town to the only motel room we’d found in the area. Our little portable lights shone out on the block as if to say, “We are back and we are not beaten.” We continued to help each other, organizing to get new electric boxes installed, the utilities turned back on after we’d managed to have new furnaces put in. And though we stared out our front windows at an ugly mountain of trash that covered the berms up and down the block to a height of ten feet, and as deep below, we knew that the clean-up had been our doing.

Many writers are describing what people should be doing to safeguard themselves during these unprecedented times. And the suggestions are very helpful. I would add to those lists, though, just one more important idea:

1.     Get to know your neighbors, if you don’t already know them. Try to anticipate how you might help each other if times become difficult. Talk to each other as openly as you can about the strange things our government is doing in our name. Share information with each other, and share your sources. I believe you will learn, as my husband and I did, that your neighbors are amazing, fascinating people with all sorts of talents and abilities you never guessed they possessed. And especially talk with people with whom you may disagree. You’ll learn the most from them.

U.S. citizens hold within them the potential to turn around a country that has gone astray.