Part 2 –
Catching-Up with Cynthia McKinney… and Looking (Worriedly) Ahead
By Gary Corseri
(continued) from: http://www.pressenza.com/2016/04/catching-cynthia-mckinney-looking-worriedly-ahead/
GC: And, “Transformational Leadership”?
CM: That’s the kind of leadership that professes values that James MacGregor Burns calls “end values”: liberty, dignity, justice, peace! In my dissertation, I conclude that Chavez is not only a Parrhesiastes, but also a Transformational Leader! And the evidence that I provide comes from the very real policy achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution, as well as from interviews with Venezuelans, Africans in the Diaspora–mainly the Caribbean–and scholars and journalists.
Interestingly, what I uncovered from WikiLeaks is that the U.S. was particularly worried about the relationship between Qaddafi and Chavez. Through the Africa-South America Summit process, those leaders sought to integrate their respective continents (and the Caribbean countries) in the spirit of South-South economic cooperation and racial and cultural harmony. We now know from Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and the former Chairman of the Presidential Election Commission in Haiti that Jude Celestin, in 2010, was fraudulently denied the opportunity to become President of Haiti by Secretary of State Clinton, who claimed that Celestin was “too close to Chavez.” Now, because of the work of Secretary Clinton on behalf of President Obama, those who objected to Chavez’s and Qaddafi’s assertion of sovereignty for Venezuela and Libya—because of their “Parrhesia”—those who objected will no longer have to worry because both of those leaders are now dead!
The people of the U.S. have a lot to atone for. On my FaceBook page, when the State Department admitted in December 2014–that yes, President Eisenhower had approved the murder of Patrice Lumumba and the CIA had set aside $100,000 to accomplish the dirty deed, I asked the people on my page how we could make up for that and also repair the damage that the U.S. did to the Lumumba family. I was shocked when most respondents claimed that they bore no responsibility for what the US government had done then–or does now! I was stunned that people could so easily slip out of responsibility!
GC: I remember, when I was a child, seeing a movie newsreel of Lumumba’s murder. I was shocked! On the 50th anniversary of his murder—5 years ago–the UK’s Guardian newspaper—called the CIA assassination of Lumumba “the most important assassination of the 20th Century.” It is certainly a tragic event that changed the course of modern history; something about which our Empire’s “citizens” should know much more!
CM: In fact, according to a recent study, Whites are now dying prematurely and a lot of the angst being felt in the 2016 election is a result of the fact that the genocide and human trafficking that White males’ ancestors engaged in—with which they never came to terms, even to this day with the descendants of the victims–, well, now, the country that they built is no longer theirs and their supremacy has been displaced and now they are treated just like they treated us!
Yes, I know it’s harsh, but it’s the truth! So, until we can deal with these truths, the U.S. will continue its decline, even as the snake-pit thrives. And that’s because we will all be easily pitted against each other rather than turning to each other for help, solace, and liberation. The U.S. is kind of like a husband and wife who are now at each others’ throats. Either we will divorce and go our separate ways or we will work together to salvage our relationship. I would like for the people of the U.S. to acknowledge the past–as painful as it is–and then move forward together in an even stronger relationship! My parents were married for over 50 years….
Now, why are we at each others’ throats? Because as long as we’re fighting each other over really unnecessary things, the big criminals paraded before us on television as our “leaders” never get justice! Nor the ones lurking in the shadows, directing the so-called leaders, depositing their ill-gotten gains in burgeoning bank accounts. The U.S. is being stripped to the bone. Everything the U.S. used to be is being erased. We can’t even educate our citizens any more because the relationship between teacher and student–between professor and students–is mediated by the Chamber of Commerce and bankers. We’re sicker because the relationship between the doctor and the patient is mediated by insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and profit-seeking corporations. Our infrastructure is falling apart because the relationship between the elected official and the voter is mediated by corporations looking for an easy buck from the government while paying no taxes. And, just as bad, homeless families have their tents bulldozed to make way for stadiums that billionaires are given tax breaks to build! When will it stop? It won’t stop! That’s why Whites have joined everyone else in the U.S. with premature deaths. This situation is stressful! And while we’re stressed to the max here, US bombs are destroying whole countries in Africa and Asia. And that carnage will not stop, will only expand–to more and more countries. That’s what President Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” is all about!
GC: Oh, Jeez, we need you back in the US Congress! We need you making a speech, or giving a talk–an analysis–like the one above! Yes, all the interlopers, all the “mediators,” as you say, standing between the people and their “elected” officials! Not only in politics! But the “mediators” or “administrators” standing between students and their professors! Or, the “mediators”—the pundits—between the people and true journalists! How can we call ourselves a “democracy” when the people have so little, or no, control?
I even heard Mike Huckabee recently talking about the “donor class”—the wealthy donors now encouraging the anti-Trump movement in the Republican party, and how the Republican politicians have become so comfortable with their relationships with their “donors” (“mediators”!) that they fear Trump will upset their cozy relationships… and so they promote the “Anyone but Trump!” movement. (Even Hillary would be preferable for them!)
Well, I don’t support Trump, and I don’t support Hillary! If Bernie Sanders were ten years younger, he might have a chance. Of course, to a lesser extent, he must play the game, too. Every American politician must give obeisance to Israel—Israeli policies—if he or she wants to have a ghost of a chance of being heard! If he or she were to embrace “Parrhesia”—well, he or she might very well meet with Chavez’s or Qaddafi’s fate!
It’s obvious from what you’ve written above that you’re not very fond of Hillary Clinton! I’d be remiss, in this political silly-season, not to expand on that. To tell you the truth, I’ve been amazed to see the support she has garnered in the Black communities! I don’t think she’d be so far ahead of Sanders, I don’t think she’d have a real chance at the nomination, were it not for Black support!
There are, of course, the talking Black heads on Fox, MSNBC, etc., but Jeez!, do we even need Morgan Freeman articulating his praises in that rich, resonant voice of his? Except for Cornell West and Glen Ford, I have not heard, or heard of, any Black leader speaking against Hillary—or, for that matter, Obama! You’ve been eloquent about Whites’ failures to address their past and continuing racism—even “genocide.” Could you share your views on “leadership” conundrums in the Black community?
Obviously, we all need to be better informed–but HOW? I often think that the “average” person–White, Black, Brown, Asian, et. al., is overwhelmed living his/her “normal” life, and distracted in a thousand ways: with “entertainment,” or “religion,” or “sports,” etc. How to break through? How to organize? Do you feel the “message” that we are already in a global crisis–in terms of the environment, the wars, population growth, domestic violence, racism and xenophobia, pandemics, etc.–is that message getting through?
lOOking forward–GC
CM: My latest on the Hillary Clinton campaign is one for RT [Russia Today] entitled, “Loose Lugs Lose Elections,” in which I describe all of the outstanding scandals/policy failures, etc. that lay in Secretary Clinton’s wake. I describe the situation as one in which the Clinton campaign car already has five loose lugs and one more loose lug will have the car careening off the street. Let’s see what happens between my writing this and its publication!
But, yes, I do want to address your questions….
Frankly, I don’t know what kind of women want for their President someone who doesn’t hesitate to set the stage for the wholesale murder of men, women, and children! My feeling is that Hillary is a hired gun, a mercenary, who needs the approbation of significant others, and who will do anything to get it–including destroying whole countries. But, you know, people like that, who portray themselves as leaders, but who are really only the worst kind of sycophant, command no respect from the people they lure to become their followers. Everything is a transaction. And so, they too, become dispensable when the next better deal comes along. That’s Barack Obama in 2008; could be Bernie Sanders in 2016. We shall see.
I think it’s outrageous that Black voters would be the deciding factor in support of Hillary Clinton’s limp campaign. It just shows how bought-out and sold-out the Black political class has become. After Haiti, Libya, Benghazi, Syria, and Cote D’Ivoire before that. Honduras even before that. And, that’s just on U.S. foreign policy alone. A continuation of the Obama policies at home will devastate Black America even further. I watched a CNN interview of Black voters that took place just before the South Carolina primary. I was saddened to see such lack of information. Such parroting of mainstream media memes. If all you know is what you’ve been told by CNN, MSNBC, and the lot of them, I’m very sad to say, you “know” nothing. We really have reached the point of 1984: “Ignorance is strength.”
I have one question for the voters of the U.S.: Are you better off today than you were eight years ago?
I daresay I know the answer!
Western European capitalism brought the world colonialism, its attendant genocide, and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Yes, Thomas Piketty explains the corrosive nature of capitalism on society and neoliberalism is capitalism on steroids. James Wolfensohn, in an extremely important speech at the Stanford Graduate Business School, stated that the organizations of the world (IMF, World Bank, UN) were created with the extant corrosion of global apartheid in mind. Certain countries enjoyed unearned privilege and the great struggle today is for some to displace that privilege while others fight to hold onto it. Venezuela, Brazil, Libya–all must be seen in this light. The U.S. military is being used to protect and extend somebody’s privilege. But does that privilege extend to average U.S. citizens? The answer is no.
Now, more and more U.S. citizens get it, but there are still so many who are walking around in a daze. The matrix is real and you and I, we’ve taken the red pill, but so many are still high on the blue pill. Otherwise, there should have been a rebellion by now. In fact, it was George Herbert Walker Bush who reportedly said to Texas journalist Sarah McLendon, in response to a question about Iran-Contra, “Sarah, if the American people ever find out what we have done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us.” Whether this anecdote is a fable or really happened, it most certainly is true. And I’ve done my part to help the American people know what they have done.
I’ve had the book thrown at me; either you learn from such experiences or you rot. So, thank goodness, I chose to learn. Therefore, I look at what is happening at Trump rallies, and I can honestly say that I’ve been there, too. The forces allied against me orchestrated a riot on election day at my headquarters!!!!! It was so painful to watch! It was then that the degree of PhD in political chicanery was conferred upon me! Therefore, with reference to Trump, I know it when I see it. That was a pure case of campaign dirty tricks. The orchestrators can congratulate themselves on a job well done, but they won’t be able to put a dent in Trump’s appeal using those methods that at least one person can see through.
I studied Security Studies for my Master’s Degree. I know about “Asymmetric Warfare.” That’s what COINTELPRO was: destroying people’s marriages and such. That’s what “Arab Spring” was; and the people who did it, will not hesitate to create an “American Spring.”
GC: Hi Cynthia,
Very glad to find your latest response in my Inbox today! And, even happier after reading thru this once.
I think it’s perfect as is. You raise questions, answer what you can, provoke, and, like my favorite journalists/writers, contextualize brilliantly.
My aim was to create a format allowing for something perdurable. A continuing reference point. You have done that.
Thank you for all that you’ve done, are doing, and will do.
[Gary S. Corseri has published interviews, reviews, articles, fiction and poems at hundreds of periodicals and websites worldwide, including, The New York Times, Village Voice, Redbook Magazine and Georgia Review. He has performed his poetry at the Carter Presidential Library, and his dramas have appeared on PBS-Atlanta and elsewhere. He has published 2 novels, 2 collections of poetry, and a literary anthology (edited). He has taught in US public schools and prisons, and in US and Japanese universities. (Contact: gary_corseri@comast.net.) From Wikipedia: “Cynthia McKinney is an American politician and activist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party of the United States nominated McKinney for President of the United States. She was the first black woman to represent Georgia in the House.” McKinney served as a Commissioner in The Citiens’ Commission on 9-11…. In Congress, she advocated unsealing records pertaining to the CIA’s role in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
