By Evan Long, on December 29th, 2010% Metanoia’s “ Human Resources,” a follow-up to “ Psywar,” concerns those social systems currently in effect which tend to induce a transformation in the free-born, natural human beings who enter them into spiritually broken worker-consumer drones and the behaviorist psychological theories which contributed directly to their development. (Contrary to widespread misconception, the corporate jargon term in question, “human resources,” does not refer to “resources for humans” but rather, “those resources which are human.”) As the gears of this terrible machine turn, a certain type of “progress” is made, one which leads directly toward the total enslavement of mankind. “Human Resources” is a fairly direct confrontation of the non-recognition of the intrinsic value of life which lies at the heart of psychopathy. [END] Permalink: Human Resources: Social Engineering in the 20th Century
By Evan Long, on August 25th, 2010% This German documentary gives an intimate view into the lives of U. S. soldiers in Iraq. Firefights, sniper attacks, all manners of violence are presented here in true documentary fashion. The first Gulf War began in 1991, a decade of sanctions which killed more people than the bombing of Hiroshima followed, and now a bigger war continues to drag on and on, year after year. What will be the end of the United States’ war in Iraq? [END] Permalink: Iraq: The Continuous War
By Evan Long, on July 21st, 2010%  Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 novel, It Can’t Happen Here, is simply a must-read. While more widely known and certainly important social and human commentaries such as Orwell’s 1984 or Huxley’s Brave New World have received the lion’s share of attention among dystopian literature enthusiasts for their surreal, almost fantastic depictions of totalitarian super-states, It Can’t Happen Here, out of print for years but republished in 1993 and now available for free on-line, paints a starkly realistic portrait of a political seizure of the United States by fascists. Several European governments had come under fascist regimes at the time of the novel’s writing and Lewis, with his keen grasp of American politics, was able in It Can’t Happen Here to create a convincing narrative of such a series of events taking place in the U. S. Indeed, the reactionary incrementalism which has made itself felt since about the time of Nixon and especially during the George W. Bush presidency has borne more than a passing resemblance to Lewis’ detailed and accurate vision. In 2010, the worst may be behind us or it may still lie ahead. In any case, this brilliantly prescient work can serve for us as a potent aid to reflection and also to action on the political, economic and social crises we are facing. As Lewis’ thoughtful protagonist, fictional Vermonter Doremus Jessup, notes from his flea-ridden bunk in a “Corpo” (corporatist) concentration camp, It Can’t Happen Here‘s fascists were able to have their way mainly because those who believed in American democracy did not do enough to halt its destruction. [END] Permalink: It Can’t Happen Here
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