History Repeats Itself

‘The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican War, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.’ Instead of Mexican War the reader may insert another say Vietnam War or War in Iraq. Thoreau’s argument for resisting evil governments would be still valid. Recently we read that that America is for greater cooperation with Vietnam. Is it because Vietnam could send the US army home packing? Or perhaps the Communist ideology did not make the people anymore red than the capitalist America did not make Americans any more capitalistic than before? The ideologies are merely eyewash but people are flesh and blood. People are easily hoodwinked.That is all. The Mexican War was for some an advantage as any war is. Only that those few (who stood to benefit) need to expend the lives of so many in order to achieve it. In order to gain their ends they use some smokescreen of slogans and arguments. How come we do not hear anymore imminent threats on terrorist strike as before? The mass media itself found other subjects to spend its attention on than ‘crying wolf!’ It is the duty of every nation to educate their citizens to think straight and share equally the burden of running a good government. Nations that leave the people less informed let the crooked to rank and fester. It may suit their purpose but not for the nation.
‘Vietnam was granted unconditional normal trade relations (NTR) status by the United States in December 2006. … In 2009, Vietnam was ranked 17 among all suppliers of food and … (ack:www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn) One would think that if nations given a better insight and understanding of human nature they could co-exist with one another and enjoy the trade and commerce across the globe. Instead the Vietnam divided the people all over the world and nation against nation. The social revolution that it set off changed America once and for all. Reefers,coke, LSD came out into the open. Then of course many other drugs would appear across campuses and street corners. Heroin will hook many and their insatiable appetite for such drugs will create their own phalanxes of drug pushers.
Footnote: Thoreau wrote his essay when the Mexican War was going on. Mexico may have lost Texas. But did the war settle peace between the USA and Mexico? We do not hear the ringing cry ‘Remember Alamo!’ but instead the war on drugs has spilled across. Drug pushers target ethnic groups and each has his own supply chain and users. Manifest destiny of America is not to be drowned in a pool of blood shed by drug wars. But just the same many innocent families are caught up in it and shall bring many more.
Has peace come to roost south of the border?
benny

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