U.S. Imperialism and the working class

By Randi Nord

The following talk was presented to over 500 people gathered in Detroit at an annual celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Randi Nord, editor of Geopolitics Alert delivered this message on January 20, 2020 at the Historic St. Matthew’s and St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.

Many people don’t realize this, but the United States is a massive empire.

In the decades following World War II, Washington strategically replaced the British Empire as the world’s violent right-wing imperial force. This comes at the expense of innocent people just like you and me in countries like Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Jordan, and Libya. In Latin America stretching from Chile to Cuba and Mexico. In Asian countries like Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. And even in Europe.

Throughout every corner of the globe, people are denied their God-given rights to political self-determination, economic freedom, and basic human dignity so US capital can expand its empire. Trade deals like NAFTA, the TPP, and whatever Trump’s coming up with seek only to benefit the ruling class while leaving us workers fighting each other for scraps.

We hear a lot about immigration, borders, and walls, but make no mistake, there are no borders in the chronic expansion of US capital interests.

This global pursuit of capital also comes at the expense of the working class here at home.

For starters, the US empire is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars against our will. Every week, at least a quarter of your paycheck is seized by the US government to fund this war machine. We know all too well that money doesn’t go to food programs, healthcare, schools, infrastructure, jobs, or anything to benefit the needs of the people. It goes to maintaining the empire and subsidizing US weapons manufacturers so they can kill and infringe on the rights of people like you and me around the world to the tune of over one trillion dollars each year.

In turn, these weapons we fund to expand the US capital empire abroad are then turned on us here at home. Sometimes when we dare step out of line in cases like Standing Rock or Ferguson. Other times, for no reason at all other than existing.

The empire is extremely united against the working class. Not only do police departments receive surplus military and surveillance equipment, but they also routinely travel to occupied Palestine to train with the Israeli Occupation Forces and learn their genocidal tactics to use against us here at home.

It’s also worth mentioning that the United States military is the world’s number one polluter. Drone strikes on civilian homes in Yemen and aircraft carriers floating around the South China Sea 24/7 are absolutely not eco-friendly.

We see this destruction literally in our own backyards with the pollution of our fresh water sources with PFAS and other military runoff chemicals. And I have no doubt that the water problem is much worse than we’re led to believe.

The people of Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Venezuela, Mexico, and each of the countless countries hosting US military bases are not our enemies. This is why we must oppose the empire at every turn, whether in Iran, Cuba, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, or China.

Not only for the sake of people around the world, but for us here at home and the future of the world.