12-30-11
On December 9th, 2011, Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation to mark Human Rights Day and Human rights week. From this proclamation comes the following paragraph:
"The human race reflects a myriad of vibrant cultures and unique identities, yet we are united by the innate liberties that are our common birthright. The rights to assemble peacefully, to speak and worship as we please, and to determine our own destinies know no borders. All people should live free from the threat of extrajudicial killing, torture, oppression, and discrimination, regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability."
This from the president who ordered his first extrajudicial drone strike in Pakistan three days into his presidency, and whose drone attacks have since killed hundreds of innocent civilians in several countries.
The president who signed an executive order immediately upon taking office to close the extrajudicial prison camp at Guantanamo within one year, but who continues to oversee its operation three years later.
The president who said "We need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards" regarding his refusal to pursue prosecution of his predecessor's crimes against humanity, but when asked about the human rights abuses of former Indonesian president Suharto responded with "We can't go forward without looking backwards."
The president who has just signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows for the indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens on American soil, without charge, trial or hearing, on mere suspicion of association with terrorist activity.
The words of Barack Obama's proclamation express a desire to protect the human rights we were all born with, but his actions, which we all know speak louder, reflect an ever-expanding tyranny that could not care less about anyone's rights. What's truly shocking in the face of such raging hypocrisy is that so many otherwise intelligent people still treat this Pretender-in-Chief as a credible leader. In reality he's just another player on the grandest of stages, doing the bidding of the corporatocracy that is bleeding this country dry. Sadly, far too many are still blinded by the smoke and mirrors of hollow partisan politics to see what's really happening.
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