The Silence of the Empire’s Lambs: Half of our Tax Money Goes down the Rabbit Hole of Military Spending
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Jesus, New Testament)
In Jonathan Demme‘s superb 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, homicidal manic Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) asks FBI agent Sparrow (Jodie Foster) about the killing of the Spring lambs. She relates how the lambs all went to their slaughter in silence. Such it is with most of our Amerikan public, under the command of our current empire. Many go forth to their demise in relative apathetic silence:
- Half of our tax money goes down the rabbit hole of military spending, with few complaints or perhaps even FULL RECOGNITION of this fact from the Congress, the mainstream media and of course John and Joan Q Public.
- This new ‘Tax Reform Bill’ AKA ‘Giveaway to the Super Rich, the Corporations and the Pentagon’ will cut more and more of the once cherished ‘Safety Net’ while not one word of how much is still being spent on the military.
- The propaganda spin that ‘We are at war’ will continue to mesmerize most of the public and of course the media and Congress.
- We have NOT been officially ‘At war’ since Congress last declared war was in 1941.
- Our military operates out of over 1000 bases in over 100 different countries, and we still occupy Afghanistan and parts of Iraq… ILLEGALLY!
- All of our sporting events still spend the opening minutes in celebration of our military even though we are NOT at war!
- Many of our neighbors drive around with cars carrying specialized license plates honoring our military, as if we are still ‘At war’.
- Ever notice how the ‘born again’ right wingers love to huddle around Jesus, as if he would ever condone our immoral and illegal invasions/occupations? Or if he would ever condone this obscene current system which celebrates the super rich? Any of those holy rollers remember their New Testament:
As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
This madness is frightening to say the least. It is as if fewer and fewer Amerikans will stand up to this craziness that is actually bankrupting us! Cutting taxes on the super rich and the already super rich corporations (where CEOs and top executives earn in the MEGA MILLIONS) while the overwhelming majority of working stiffs like you and me are a few paychecks away from financial desperation is almost criminal! Meanwhile, the drumbeat for more phony wars continues. This time take your pick: North Korea, Syria or Iran… maybe soon they will con you once again into another Cold War with Russia. God forbid they even try to factor in China, because those folks will pull out of our bonds and T-bills and really bankrupt us!
What is the solution to this mess? This writer plans to once again get out on the street corners of my town in a weekly peaceful protest. You see, it is NOT just about the new Caretaker for the Military Industrial Empire. Yes, this new guy is really bad news. Alas, if Mrs. Clinton was now in office ( as with Mr. Obama ) this ‘ Military madness ‘ would be just as bad. My sign will read:
Save our Cities..Our Troops.. Our Safety Net.
End this Military Industrial Empire!!
Philip A Farruggio is a son and grandson of Brooklyn , NYC longshoremen. He has been a free lance columnist since 2001, with over 300 of his work posted on sites like Consortium News, Information Clearing House, Global Research ,Nation of Change, World News Trust, Op Ed News, Dissident Voice, Counterpunch, Activist Post, Sleuth Journal, Truthout and many others. His blog can be read in full on World News Trust., whereupon he writes a great deal on the need to cut military spending drastically and send the savings back to save our cities. Philip has a internet interview show, ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid’ with producer Chuck Gregory, and can be reached at [email protected] )
