Perkins John. The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption
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"I'm asking you," I respond, "not to sacrifice your children's
futures. Make sure the brands you buy are made by
environmentally and socially responsible companies. Wal-Mart
does not meet those criteria—at least not yet. Wear fewer T-shirts
if necessary. Keep them longer. Remember too that sometimes
you actually pay more for the sweatshop brands. Nike products
aren't cheap. Be sure to let the 'good' companies and stores know
why you patronize them and let the 'bad' ones know why you
don't."
This last is critical. We must work together to send a new
message across our planet; those impacted by our actions need to
hear
325THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
EMPIRE
our reasons and feel our passions. The corporatocracy prospers
from deception and secrecy. We must expose their lies.
Think of the stories of assassination and corruption you read
earlier in this book, the ones that made your skin crawl. When
you do not shop and live consciously, you ensure that these
stories will continue to unfold; you support the EHMs and jackals.
As a boy growing up in New Hampshire, I wished that I had
been born in the 1700s so I could have participated in the
Revolution. Now I give thanks that I am alive today. I know that
you and I have launched ourselves on perhaps the greatest
adventure our country has ever known, and one of the most
exciting in world history.
I like to make a special appeal to people over fifty years old.
"Many of you no longer need to worry about being fired," I say.
"Your children have left the nest. So, this is your time to make a
real difference. Stick your neck out. Mentor the young. Shake up
the boardrooms. Take action—and enjoy it."
And to the young I say, "Some of you can work for
corporations and inspire change from within. Others will only be
corrupted by the process, and should instead work from the
outside, for NGOs or other such organizations. You alone know
what is best for you. Above all, understand that success is not
defined by the size of your house, or by cars and yachts—it comes
when you feel good about yourself."
I encourage everyone to join activist organizations.
Throughout our history civil movements, like the Sons of Liberty
during the American Revolution, have been essential to our
democracy. Never have they been more needed than today. Lists
are provided in Appendices A and B. You can find others on the
Internet by searching for words that describe your deepest
passions and deciding which most appeal to you. Participate in
their e-mail campaigns, rallies, and demonstrations, donate ten
dollars or ten thousand dollars, volunteer to answer telephones—
or simply get yourself added to their lists, be counted, and commit
to learning more.
We possess all the resources we need for a world that is stable,
sustainable, and peaceful. The corporatocracy has provided them
326TODAY IS THE DAY
for us. The education, communications, financial, and
transportation networks, the minerals and other resources, the
scientific information and technological advances are here to
serve us. We can save future children from dying of hunger and
disease, provide basic amenities, close the gap between poor and
wealthy, and we can see to it that the corporations pay their fare
share to the communities where they operate. But the key is that
you and I have to stand up and be counted!
In addition to deception and secrecy, the corporatocracy
thrives on lethargy. It counts on us to remain passive, to accept its
advertisements as gospel, to buy unconsciously and allow it to
continue destroying our planet. This must stop. Every one of us
must shake ourselves awake. Taking action is the only way to
ensure that our children and grandchildren, our nieces and
nephews and their children, will inherit a world that is not torn
apart in hatred and suffering, not ravaged by war and terrorism.
You personally have a great deal of power; it is essential that
you allow your passions to rise up, channel them in ways that
complement your talents, and take action. The course you choose
must come from your heart, not from the dictates of anyone else.
You simply need to step forward.
Am I optimistic? Absolutely. How can I not be, given what I
know about the thousands of organizations that are successfully
fomenting change, all the people working for corporations who
want an excuse to do the right thing, and the millions of unsung
heroes who donate their time or money to good causes? How can
I be anything other than optimistic given what I know about the
power you and I have?
Over the past one hundred years we Americans have pledged
ourselves to what we called "progress." We visualized huge cities
where automobiles replaced horses and electricity lit our homes
and ran mammoth factories, and where we could enjoy fresh
produce in the middle of a northern winter. We applied ourselves
to tasks aimed at realizing these and similar visions every day.
We talked
327THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
EMPIRE
about our dreams and produced books, movies, and TV shows
glorifying them. We encouraged everyone to join in this process.
Caught up in it, we became so preoccupied that we allowed a few
men to exploit us and the world. They dreamed of empire and
they used their media networks to convince us that their empire
was a democracy, a champion of the oppressed, a promoter of a
healthy planet. Subtly, without us noticing, our vision was
transformed into a sort of nightmare.
We allowed it to happen and we can reverse it. Our true
vision, we now realize, was about pulling ourselves out of
poverty, living healthier, more dignified lives. Wanting to rid
ourselves of the pollution caused by streets jammed with horses
and buildings that lacked sanitation systems, desiring greater
comfort and more nutritious diets, we embraced visions that
appeared to satisfy our needs—and did for a while. Now we see
that we were duped by the corporatocracy into employing
methods that were selfish and destructive. The visions they
foisted on us excluded billions of people; they damaged habitats
and the species living in them; they threaten us, our offspring, and
the very survival of the planet as we know it.
Today our country exhibits all seven of those characteristics of
an empire that were defined in the Prologue of this book. This is
not what we intended. It is not what we want. It is, in fact,
contrary to our most basic beliefs. We desire something more
important than materialistic consumption and the comforts
afforded by our modern cities, cars, factories, and shopping malls.
Our dream is about life. It is about enjoying peace, stability, and a
sustainable planet, about adults dedicated to passing the ideals we
most cherish on to our children.
One of those children recently identified the essence of both
the problem we humans have created and the solution to that
problem. Sayre Allyn Herrick heard my graduation address to her
school, Hartsbrook High School in Hadley, Massachusetts, in
2006, during her junior year. The next fall she wrote the following
essay:
328TODAY IS THE DAY
I saw the entire world for the first time in second grade, laid
out on a paper map. The ocean was blue and the countries were
yellow, green, and pink. This way of looking at our planet has
shaped the perceptions of people for hundreds of years.
Just once, I would like to catch a glimpse of the world free
from any human perception except my own—to see our globe
suspended in dark space the way it must look from the window of
a shuttle. I want to see that the borders and names imprinted on
maps are our own creation. In recognizing the impermanence of
the man-made boundaries that separate us, we can reveal how
truly united we all are on this planet.
What we have been shown or told to be true can stay with us
forever. Yet, I think it is our task as an evolving world community
to take even the most fundamental preconceptions, recognize
them for what they are, and realize their impact on us. Only then
can we begin to take the actions necessary for the survival of fu-
ture generations.
The hour has now arrived for us to take those actions. We
have acquired everything we need to realize a new vision. All the
resources, the networks, and systems are in place. In recent years
we have also found that we have the will. We—you and I—
possess the necessary tools.
Today is the day for us to begin to truly change the world.
Appendix A
Organizations Described in This Book
Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org
Cinema Libre Studio
www.cinemalibrestudio .com
Democracy Now!
www.democracynow.org
Dream Change
www.dreamchange.org
Ecova-mali
(founded by Gregory Flatt, Cynthia Hellman, and Sire Diallo
to promote sustainable development in Mali) www.ecovamali.org
Educating for Justice
{founded by Jim Ready and Leslie Kretzu, filmmakers who
lived like Nike workers in Indonesia)
www.educatingforjustice.org Sweat, the film depicting conditions
of Nike workers: www.sweatthefilm.org
Global Awareness and Change Club (GAC)
{founded by high school students Joel Bray and Tyler
Thompson) At www.dreamchange.org, see "Dream Change
Projects"
Global Dialogue Center, The
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
MoveOn
www.moveon.org
331
Pachamama Alliance, The
www.pachamama.org
Rainforest Action Network
www.ran.org
Appendix B
Entry Points for Living Democracy
By Frances Moore Lappe
Author of Diet for a Small Planet and Democracy's Edge: Choosing to
Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life
Tens of thousands of citizen initiatives nationwide are
transforming the very meaning of democracy into a living
practice. Linking and learning with them, we each can find
satisfying entry points to help break the dominant cycle of
destruction. In my 2006 book Democracy's Edge I strive to
capture the lessons they are teaching. John Perkins kindly
welcomed me to share with his readers some of the organizations
and resources highlighted in that book. The following list is
abridged to reflect the nature of John's book. For a more extensive
compilation, please see Democracy's Edge.
Also, please visit www.democracysedge.org for additional
leads. Many have newsletters and other publications. Some have
training programs. Reach out and be inspired! I also welcome you
to search the American News Service (my 1990s newswire) for
our online archive of 1,600 still-relevant stories of citizens
tackling our biggest problems—from health care to reforming
prisons—at www.smallplanetinstitute.org/ans.php.
National and International Environmental and Social
Issues
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Tel: (877) 55ACORN
Web site: www.acorn.org
Bioneers
Tel: (877) BIONEER
Web site: www.bioneers.org
The Gamaliel Foundation
Tel: (312) 357-2639
Web site: www.gamaliel.org
333APPENDIX B
Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF)
Tel.: (312) 245-9211
Web site: www.industrialareasfoundation.org
National People's Action (NPA)
Tel: (312) 243-3038
Web site: www.npa-us.org
National Training and Information Center (NTIC)
Tel: (312) 243-3035
Web site: www.ntic-us.org
Pacific Institute for Community Organizations (PICO)
Tel.: (510) 655-2801
Web site: www.piconetwork.org
Working for a More Democratic Political System
Center for Responsive Politics
Tel.: (202) 857-0044
Web site: www.opensecrets.org
Center for Voting and Democracy
Tel: (301) 270-4616
Web site: www.fairvote.org/irv
Clean Elections Institute, Inc. Tel:
(602) 840-6633 Web site:
www.azclean.org
Common Cause
Tel.: (202) 833-1200
Web site: www.commoncause.org
InstantRunoff.com
Tel.: (312) 587-7060
Web site: www.instantrunoff.com
League of Independent Voters/League of Pissed-Off Voters
Tel.: (212) 283-8879
Web site: www.indyvoter.org
League of Women Voters
Tel.: (202) 429-1965
Web site: www.lwv.org
534APPENDIX B
Public Campaign
Tel.: (202) 293-0222
Web site: www.publicampaign.org
Public Citizen
Tel.: (202) 588-1000
Web site: www.citizen.org
Working Families Party
Tel.: (718) 222-3796
Web site: www.workingfamiliesparty.org
Working for a More Democratic Economy
The Alliance for Democracy
Tel.: (781) 894-1179
Web site: www.thealliancefordemocracy.org
American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA)
Tel.: (406) 582-1255
Web site: www.amiba.net
As You Sow Foundation
Tel.: (415) 391-3212
Web site: www.asyousow.org
Bi-Mart
Tel: (800) 456-0681
Web site: www.bimart.com
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)
Tel.: (415) 348-6284
Web site: www.livingeconomies.org
Center for Working Capital
Tel.: (202) 974-8020
Web site: www.centerforworkingcapital.org
Citizens Trade Campaign
Tel.: (202) 778-3320
Web site: www.citizenstrade.org
Clean Clothes Connection
Tel.: (207) 947-4203
Web site: www.cleanclothesconnection.org/search.asp
335 <SAPPENDIX B
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)
Tel.: (617) 247-0700
Web site: www.ceres.org
Co-Op America ,
Tel: (800) 584-7336
Web site: www.coopamerica.org
Corporate Accountability International
Tel: (617) 695-2525
Web site: www.stopcorporateabuse.org
The Corporation
Web site: www.thecorporation.com