What if the transatlantic slave trade never occurred?

What if the transatlantic slave trade never occurred? By Jay Meeks

What if the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire had never issued Dum Diversas and the transatlantic slave trade never existed? What if the transatlantic slave trade never occurred? The transatlantic slave trade did occur and over 15 million Africans were either transported into the blood soaked chains of slavery in the Americas or were brutally murdered or died during the wretched slave ship conditions of the Atlantic crossing. In addition, after almost 400 years of American slavery and the creation of the United States (with all her original promises prior to the emergence of cotton success), a period of racial segregation, which spanned longer than a century, followed the end of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation to widen the troubling economic, social and racial gaps created by slavery and racial segregation. History can’t be changed, so what is the purpose of asking the question: what if the transatlantic slave trade never existed? The main purpose behind this hypothetical questioning, contemplation and reasoning is to analyze history as it happened, to examine how that history has impacted and developed our American (and international) society, and to better reflect on how the factor of cause and effect is intricate in advancement from the most minor and isolated incidents to large scale national and international events. Therefore, I have developed several questions based around the broader question of “What if the transatlantic slave trade had never existed?” With each question posed, I have attached my views, opinion, branching questions and ideologies in response. I strongly encourage anyone, especially those with a passion for history, recognition of the importance of historic truth (no matter how ugly), the education for our American children, the exchange of knowledge and viewpoints, and the push to further develop the vital ability for critical thinking among ourselves and our American peers….to please post their own views, values, contemplations and answers for the following questions. There are no wrong or right answers in this mental exercise as we are all develop views and opinions from various intellectual, economic, moral, religious and even racial ideologies (and experiences)….yet we are all products of history, inhabitants of the same land and uncertain future, and share the same concerns for the future of the United States and our children (despite our ugly history and degenerating moral conditions).

1) Would the United States exist today if not for the transatlantic slave trade, and if so, would it have become an economic and military superpower?

From the early developments of British colonization in North America, it seems that exports of tobacco, sugar, and cotton (among many other vast natural resources) were exported back to Britain. These exports were cultivated under the toil, sweat and blood of American slavery prior to the establishment of the United States and it was this accumulating value of exports and resources that made the British colonies so valuable to the crown (and so heavily taxed after years of British wars and overexpansion). If the transatlantic slave trade had never occurred, would the colonists have tried to force slave labor from the original people of America or poor European whites? It appears that early Spanish historical written accounts from the Caribbean colonies complained of resistance from the native people and physical fatigue (under such climates) from the captives of original people of America. Looking at the English colonies, which would eventually become the United States of America, the transatlantic slave trade was already in motion prior to their creation with Britain, following Spain and Portugal’s lead, prepared to expand the transatlantic slave trade to all new levels. African captives transported through the transatlantic slave trade were inserted into slavery in an unknown and unfamiliar land, surrounded by captors of an unknown language, and surrounded by unknown and frightening technologies, fierce and unfamiliar animals, unknown landscape and climate, and unfamiliar food while the original native people of America knew the land better than the newly arrived European oppressors, were surrounded by their own technologies, animals, crops, language and culture. While Africans had been imported as individuals from various African tribes, the natives of American soil were in their own land and knew the lay out of where other tribes were and which would assist in resistance and would be able to resist forced slavery (at minimal to the point of hindering production). Therefore, it is my opinion, that if the transatlantic slave trade never occurred, the original native people of American soil would not have been a powerful labor force (under forced labor) and the level of economic exports required to make the colonies valuable enough to exploit (and thus evoke a war for independence) would never have been achieved or would have been greatly delayed decades, possibly even a century or more. Would the British have enslaved whites at the bottom of the economic caste, apostates, or criminals? I contemplate what the Salem witch trials (or other religious trials and digressions) might have looked like if economic development and forced slave labor were at stake for those landed gentry in power and who were tithing church authorities (as these methods of Christian land grabbing were also evident during the Catholic Inquisition). Remember, the papal bull Dum Diversas originally allowed non-Christians to be captured or traded for on the west coast of Africa by Portugal and exported as slaves to the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean. It was not until years prior to the creation of the United States when British/American Christian slave owners (grasping at a way to pacify their slaves after fearful stories of slave rebellions in the Caribbean) began teaching their slaves limited Christianity, which eventually brought the moral dilemma of Christians enslaving fellow Christians which basically shifted the emphasis of American domestic slavery from religious to race based. Even if the moral fear of enslaving poor white Christians did not hamper labor production to increase the value of the colonies, the endeavor would probably fail and develop serious civil conflicts between various factions of Christian elements. Christian landowners shouldn’t have been so infested with greed and simply worked hard in an honest manner, huh? Regardless of how labor would eventually be initiated and maintained in the absence of the transatlantic slave trade, it is my opinion that if indeed the colonies were able to become valuable enough from exports (and resources) to brake away from England due to excess taxation (and American Revolution), the events may have been greatly delayed in the speculative historic timeline until technology from the industrial revolution reached the shores of America and, as a result, due to the unknown strengths and weaknesses of Britain after such a lengthy delay in event development….perhaps the United States never breaks free and would remain under British rule and would not break free and declare independence until centuries later and look quite differently today.

2) If the transatlantic slave trade never existed, what would be the identification of black people today and what would racial demographics in the United States be like today?

Black people around the world, but especially American descendants of the transatlantic slave trade are one of the greatest symbols of strength, endurance, determination and survival in world history. Not even the Jewish people can come close to the claim of overcoming the most intense levels of oppression, degradation, genocide, rape and straight out evil that black American bloodlines have survived, advanced against, and ultimately triumphed against by emerging as equals to the descendants of their captors, with the rare accumulated developed qualities of strength, durability, endurance, intelligence, and profound pride painfully derived under 400 years of wretched captivity. Yet, what if it never had happened? First, what would be the racial demographics of the United States be today if there had been no transatlantic slave trade? Would the predominant demographic races be white and Hispanic? Or, should the Spanish colonies had struggled to stay afloat without African slave labor, would Northern America be predominantly white and Native American? With no transatlantic slave trade there would be no American Civil War, but what other wars concerning the vast land might have occurred? Might the conflicts between the original people of the land and the Europeans developed and concluded differently than originally happened? Might there have been different wars concerning Mexico (or concerning Texas or California)? Might the extensions of European nations engaged in wars that may have resulted in different conclusions? These prospects would depend on many factors, but would especially depend on whether the Spanish succeeded or not in their Caribbean colonies. The possibilities are limitless and one single missing element would inevitably change the results of history. Would there be any people of African dissent in the United States? Surely there would be, but the demographic landscape would be very, very different indeed. After all, there are white people in China. If there had been no transatlantic slave trade, no struggle, no centuries of bondage, and no human triumph of such adversity transformed into brilliant advancement (unmatched by any people in the history of the world), what would the identity of black people in America and around the world be? Would they be just like everyone else with good and bad in their African history? Perhaps there would be African national prejudices and attractions like have been seen with the Europeans? How much edge, fire, love, animosity, resentment and pride would be lost if there had never been the greatest oppression, struggle and triumph in the history of the world? Would there really be no racism, as the concept of race was basically generated by western slavery and a purely western concept. Perhaps people would still judge people and develop hostilities over various nationalities or another form of forced labor since the transatlantic slave trade never occurred? I have no answer to how the world would view Africans or how Africans would view themselves if the transatlantic slave trade had never existed, but I am sure it would be quiet different from how black American view themselves and their history…as events on the African continent and the African people would have developed vastly different histories and there would be no dominant black American culture. It would have never been created.

3) Would there still be a major economic gap and high crime problems in the modern United States if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade?

We will leave aside the possibilities of the United States never breaking away from Britain or being greatly delayed in becoming economically valuable to the point of developing the animosities associated with taxation to cause a break from Britain. We know that the United States is a capitalistic society and since the beginning of its creation has been ruled and motivated by capitalistic interests (domestically and later internationally). Slavery in the United States did not end until the 1860s and segregation was not officially ended until the 1960s (though we know racial segregation and racial sentiments unofficially continued decades afterwards). There are a few factors based off today’s American economic caste that require contemplation: 1) Race slavery and racial segregation delayed black Americans for over 200 years in economic origins concurrent with a capitalistic society. For example: while the majority of blacks in the United States were still enslaved prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, Euro-whites and Jews (with capital stemming across the Atlantic) bought up the majority of land and accumulated more capital from it. This trend would continue westward shifting gradually to the domestic land gentry and bankers financing and profiting from the expansion. The golden principal of capitalism is that a person must have capital to create capital. Not only did slavery prior to the 1860s prevent blacks from being able to accumulate capital, the century of racial segregation hindered them even further. Segregation hindered the opportunities to obtain higher education, obtain business loans, and many other areas of economic advancement. Therefore, we have a serious issue of a delayed starting point with ramifications that can be clearly seen today in the economic break down among ethnic groups. 2) Why is there such a large populous of lower economic whites? If you study back through historical records, you will see a large influx of European immigration (especially after 1860) and many of these immigrants were poor Europeans with no capital that came to the United States chasing a dream (that either never existed or was already owned by capital holding land gentry). I would have to assume, simply by what I have studied and witnessed of capitalism and humanity, that there would still be a wide economic gap between the so-called bourgeois and the working class proletariat regardless if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade or not. After all, students of European history can easily recall the exploitation of the European Serfs before the creation of the textile mills and windmills (Note: both, the emancipation of the European serfs and the abolition of American slavery occurred after the appearance of new technology that made current manufacturing techniques (the term capitalism had not been coined yet) into outdated modes of production and greatly reduced the requirement numbers for manual laborers: 1) The windmill and textile mills…before the emancipation of European serfs. 2) The industrial Revolution before the abolition of American slavery. Again, I do not believe the absence of slavery in America would have any effects on the past or modern exploitation of the American working class. In addition, where there is economic exploitation and poverty, there will always be crime. There were high crime rates and debauchery problems in Britain during the industrial era of the late 1700s and entire 1800s when capitalist exploitation took root and began to expand outward while sucking the life out of the working class beneath its boot. One area that should be addressed toward the conversation of the American crime epidemic and what that crime problem would possibly look like today if there had been no transatlantic slave trade…. is modern hip hop culture. What once was a positive music and cultural influence has turned violent and self destructive to the youth and community. Many people do not believe that any music influences people or society, but I tend to believe that music and media, especially such a strong cultural influence as hip hop culture, indeed plays a very large part in influencing the American society, especially on the youth, from the good to the self destructive. Sadly, the owners of the American media and music industry and their constant production of murderous, self destructive rap tools is an entirely different conversation, but one that should not be left out of consideration where addressing modern American crime in the absence of the transatlantic slave trade. I hold the opinion that the self destructive hip hop culture that is force fed the American youth (by Jews and whites), among other factors such as parental neglect, is a major influence (a cause producing effect) behind the massive amounts of young black men (and young men of all races) who are seen murdering each other in the streets over money, reputation and meaningless ignorance along with the masses of young black men (and young men of all races) boxed in the prison industrial complex. In closing, I believe that the United States would still face the same economic gaps and high crime problems that we have today, even if the transatlantic slave trade had never occurred.

4) What would the face of American religion look like if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade?

The United States was founded of Christian principals and is apparently still a predominantly Christian nation (though it certainly does not behave according to the doctrine I frequently hear Christian friends speaking on). With the multi-faceted splinter branches of Christianity across the United States, this is a clouded and difficult area to consider. It would appear that there would be no Nation of Islam (quite different from traditional Islam), Minister Louis Farrakhan, or even Malcolm X. Considering the previously mentioned manner in which black Americans were integrated (or assimilated) into Christianity (in order to mollify possible slave insurrections and pacify individual slaves), it is quite possible that there would have never been a Martin Luther King Jr. in America. Which branches of Christianity would be most impacted (or possibly cease to ever exist) if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade? The Southern Baptist church recently, in 1995, issued an apology for their support of slavery and segregation. Perhaps if there had never been race slavery in the United States, Southern Baptist Christianity would have never fully developed, spread and been able to economically support itself and its spiritual ideology. Overall, I do not think that religion would be drastically altered if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade. On the other hand, with no forced labor or race slavery in the United States (which led to the Civil War conflict between two different regional economic interests, the north with new industrial technology and the south, still relying on slave labor), and considering the possibly delayed economic growth off the vast resources from American soil due to no slave labor….it seems highly likely that the various Christian landowners (who maneuver government through economic influence) would soon be at war with each other within the land. While we only have four synoptic books and a one-line quote from a Jewish Historian, Josephus, to prove the existence of Jesus….we have 2000 years of recorded history showing the institutional Christian appetite for power, wealth and conquest.

5) How much would American culture be affected if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade??

So, so very much. Just to name a few inventor names: George Washington Carver (agriculture)… Granville T. Woods (electric and industry)….Lewis Latimer (contemporary of Edison)……Jan Matzeliger (shoe industry) …..Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (open heart surgery). What if the transatlantic slave trade had never occurred? Would the many, many inventions by African-Americans ceased to ever develop? Or would they develop elsewhere in the world? No Alex Haley or Roots. No Good Times. No Jeffersons. No Sanford and Son. No Chaka Khan. No Minnie Ripperton. No Earth Wind and Fire. No Muhammad Ali. No Jesse Owens. No turntable DJs. No break dancing. No Soul Train. No Dr. Percy Lavon Julian. No Ida B. Wells. No writings by Phillis Wheatley, Harriet Jacobs, or Alex Haley. No Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman or Sojourner Truth to learn from. No James Weldon Johnson. No Harlem Renaissance. No ApolloTheater. No President Barak Obama or the Michelle Obama (whether you like them politically or not). Honestly, I could go on all day about which famous people would be missing from American culture from categories such as famous inventors, scientists, entertainers, writers and revolutionaries and yet I will never know all of the many, many individual (African descended) American firefighters, police officers, military members, doctors, builders, teachers, mothers, fathers, and great contributors to our American society.

Closing question

How did we get to this insane position in history and in our current conversation to realize that we face a painful paradoxical and oxymoronic admission in that if there had never been a transatlantic slave trade, the wretched centuries of American slavery and the triumphant victory of black Americans from the beginning storm of darkness in the era of our long gone forefathers to the grey clouds of America’s uncertain future today…. America would not be culturally whole. It would be incomplete. It would be missing half its soul, missing half its being, missing half its culture, missing half of its identity, missing half of its family. The conundrum of this history is that many modern white Americans today abhor what was done during the transatlantic slave trade and domestic American slavery, are sickened by it, and wish it had never happened. In being granted that wish (should it truly be possible) they would lose half their American family and their American identity. This brings up an interesting closing question considering all the questions that have been posed, contemplated and discussed: How many modern white Americans, if they could, would erase the wretched history of slavery to never have had the positive influences and culture that developed through that wretched timeline? To never have had the individual friends, loved ones, parents, children and teachers that came through that time line because their descendants were never brought to this land? How many modern black Americans, if they could, would erase the wretched history of slavery? I ask you now. Would you?

I feel that I could go on longer contemplating my thoughts on this period of our American history which has impacted (and will continue to impact) our modern United States, her society, her future and our unified children, but I feel that I have gone on long enough. I hope that others will participate in this mental exercise and share their thoughts, knowledge, feelings and views. Please feel free to add additional questions for thought and contemplation.

Peace, focus and strength, my Americans.

Jay Meeks

RESEARCH LINKS

English translation of papal bull Dum Diversas

http://unamsanctamcatholicam.blogspot.com/2011/02/dum-diversas-english-translation.html

Reference on the transatlantic slave trade and number of Africans transported

http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/activity1.php

http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_florida_slavery.htm

http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces

Information on cotton exports

http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_cotton.htm

http://www.history.org/almanack/people/african/aaintro.cfm

Income statistics by race 1975-2006

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104552.html

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bio

http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs218.html

African American Inventors

http://www.africawithin.com/jeffries/aapart31.htm

http://www.black-collegian.com/african/aaprofil.shtml

Domestic Slavery in the United States: Using the Christian Religion as Passive Ideology

Domestic Slavery in the United States: Using the Christian Religion as Passive Ideology

Prior to the 19th century and the prohibition of trans-Atlantic slave imports, designed more toward economically inflicting damage on Britain than for moral reasons, organized slave revolts such as the 1739 Stono Rebellion in Stono, South Carolina, were beginning to grow in numbers which caused increased apprehension and paranoia among American slave owners. While excessive demonstrative ‘legal’ punishments, ranging from extreme torture to brutal execution, were often utilized against leaders of these slave rebellions, a great unease continued to grow among Christian slave owners in the United States. Growing concerns about violent slave rebellions resulted in movements throughout the South designed to ‘civilize’ slave populations through the teachings of Christianity. It is no secret, even to the non-scholar of religious study, that the basic principles of Christianity are imbued with the qualities of forgiveness, the promise of life everlasting after physical death, extreme individualism and an unquestioning belief in the human form of God who suffered and died upon a Roman instrument of death for the sins of all mankind which re-enforced forgiveness. Christianity was indeed a perfect ideology for indoctrinating a growing slave population with a passive and forgiving mentality toward their oppressive slave owners and their physical human bondage, especially after the prohibition of trans-Atlantic slave trading in an era where slaves were reproduced domestically Based off of the moral dilemma, and fear of an afterlife Christian punishment, of Christians enslaving other Christians, even slaves who had embraced Christianity, it would be the spread of Christianity to the slaves of America that would eventually transform the original religion-based slavery of the trans-Atlantic slave trade into race based slavery within the Americas and the United States. The ideology of Christianity, indoctrinated in American slaves early on, can be clearly identified as being taught to slaves and can be seen working effectively in the subconscious mind of the slaves by analyzing two most important slave narratives from the 19th century, “Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass. I have chosen not to use examples from “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe due to the author being a white, Christian woman who obviously imbued her own strong Christian ideologies into the main character as she thought slaves should behave, and more importantly because the account is fictional with no historical merit.

Analyzing subconscious statements and thoughts in “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” clearly shows that all hints of African religion within the majority of American slaves had been destroyed by the beginning of the 19th century through the indoctrination of Christianity. Referring to the benefactress that hid her in the beginning phases of her tribulations while on the run from slave owner Dr. Flint, Brenda Jacobs instinctively states “For that deed of Christian womanhood, may God forever bless her!” (Perkins 1742). Upon the next morning in the same location, Brenda Jacobs “thanked the heavenly father for this safe retreat.” (Perkins 1743). While the term ‘heavenly father’ is a vague statement, it is a verbal concept greatly used in Christianity. A third example of subconscious Christian indoctrination and influence can be seen in Brenda Jacobs’ statement about Dr. Flint, “Truly, Satan had no difficulty in distinguishing the color of his soul!” (Perkins 1738). The terminology and concept of Satan emerged out of the New Testament and clearly originates from Pauline Christianity. Even though Brenda Jacobs rebelled against the vast injustices surrounding her, the evidence of Christian indoctrination into American slaves, born and raised on American soil, is abundant enough to poise the question of how many unknown slaves plunged silently into their indoctrinated Christian religious beliefs which encouraged the docile acceptance of their physical bondage on the future promises of a lofty Christian afterlife.

In the writings of Frederick Douglass we can see the indoctrination process from the slave owner to the slaves in the statement “there was a white young man, a Mr. Wilson, who proposed to keep a Sabbath school for the instruction of such slaves as might be disposed to learn to read the New Testament.” (Perkins 1771). While we only get a glance of these types of indoctrination processes in Douglass’ narrative, the practice was widely spread even before Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831. What is shocking is the 19th century appearance of freed slaves spreading Christianity. After leaving Mr. Covey’s, Douglass mentions another example of the Christian indoctrination process, this time established by a “free colored man” teaching “all ages, though mostly men and woman.” (Perkins 1783). Historians can only develop theories on how many generations had passed before the majority of African cultural and religious customs had been completely transformed into the passive ‘turn the other cheek’ religion of the slave owners, which in reality created a completely hybrid religious culture among the slaves and their future descendents which can still be identified today.

While the establishment of subconscious Christian thought in American slaves and the trickle down teaching of this passive and ultra-individualistic religious ideology, the religion of the slave owner, can be seen, at some level, in almost every American slave narrative in existence, it is clearly illustrated in the slave narratives which we have reviewed in this short paper.

In closing, the phenomenon of the religious indoctrination of Christian passiveness and individualism on American slaves only begins with the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the abolition of American slavery. Before ever reaching physical freedom and facing over a century long struggle for equality, an entire geographic ethnic bloodline was stripped of their cultural and religious identity and assimilated into their oppressor’s cultural and religious identity, the passive and ultra-individualism of Christianity.

Works Cited

Perkins, Barbara & George. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Basic Arguments Against U.S Foreign Aid

11 March 2011

Jay Meeks

Cutting U.S. Foreign Aid:

In the Midst of a 14 Trillion Dollar Deficit

The United States should consider cutting economic and military foreign aid to foreign nation-states for multiple reasons. While a proposal of this magnitude would face strong opposition from lobbyist organizations, especially those acting as an agent for foreign nation-states, it is only feasible with the United States under a 14 trillion dollar debt which is forcing fiscal budget cuts to a plethora of domestic programs from the federal level to the state level. In addition to financial instability, it is easily proven that there are foreign nation-state recipients of U.S. foreign aid who have abused military aid and there are foreign nation-state recipients of U.S economic aid that are not under the same heavy levels of economic debt that the United States is under.

The United States has recently surpassed the 14 trillion dollar deficit level and Congress, in reactive manner, has began fierce political arguing along divided party lines as they roll out domestic fiscal cut proposals to the FY11 and proposed FY12 federal budgets. Most states have already incurred cuts or are pending cuts in the education and law enforcement areas, and while these are only two vital domestic categories out of many, these two areas will be used to illustrate the effects of domestic cuts due to the federal deficit.

One of the hardest state cuts on education to this date has occurred in the state of New York where Governor Andrew Cuomo rolled out 1.5 billion dollars in cuts to education for FY2012 after 1.4 billion dollars in cuts to educational resources the previous year. In a New York Times article by Jeremy Peter, Democrats characterized the FY2011 education cuts as painfully unavoidable (A25). FY2011 and FY2012 education cuts do have one thing in common and that is the fact that unchallenged outgoing foreign aid continued to flow during both of these years. It is important to note that New York is only one state out of fifty and that education is being cut across the board.

In Camden, New Jersey, more than 300 police officers were recently laid off due to domestic budget cuts and Camden, New Jersey is no stranger to high crime statistics. In November 2010, Camden was reported as the poorest and most dangerous city in the United States where “knots of young men in black leather jackets and baggy sweatshirts sell weed and crack to clients, many of whom drive in from the suburbs” (Hedges 17). Crime is an epidemic in Camden and other American cities, yet law enforcement resources at the state levels are forcefully cut due to shrinking state budgets. Not only are we seeing police officers laid off, but states are unable to afford to incarcerate as many criminals and therefore criminals are receiving less jail time, if receiving any jail time at all. The American streets are already flooded with drugs and crime and now we do not have the funding to even protect our own American citizens, so why do we continue to hand out foreign aid in abundance?

Looking at these deep domestic cuts on education and law enforcement resources in every American state, it makes no sense that the White House and the United States Congress continue an irrational annual foreign aid policy. In recent months, the news channels have been filled with live feeds from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia as civilians in those nation-states filled the streets in government protests that called for democracy. Using the FY2011 Executive Budget Summary as an example, even though prior year summaries and the proposal for FY2012 are also the same song, Egypt is, and has been, the second largest military recipient of U.S foreign aid behind Israel (128). Former Egyptian President Mubarak, a long term recipient of U.S foreign aid, attacked and brutalized the challenging Egyptian civilian population during the recent civil unrest using a military bought and paid for by the United States tax payer under the label of U.S foreign aid. The current events of unrest and government crackdowns in Libya and Tunisia, while certainly not at the massive foreign aid level of Egypt, are similar situations with United States foreign aid. Atrocities and aggressions were used against civilian populations in those nation-states which bordered human rights violations. While it is difficult to determine the depth of U.S military aid utilized against the civilians of these nation-states and the topic completed avoided by the U.S. government, it is certain that these actions contradict the moral principals of the American people and has contributed to the current fiscal deficit faced by future American generations. If this type of atrocious misappropriation of foreign aid could happen with three different governments on the United States foreign aid recipient list within a matter of months, why wouldn’t the White House and Congress reconsider their foreign policy procedures? How exactly did it strengthen the United States and the American people to provide former Egyptian President Mubarak with 2 billion dollars each year for a 30 year period?

Another argument worth considering is cutting U.S. foreign aid to nation-states on the recipient list that are not under similar high levels of external debt as the United States. Israel is the highest annual recipient of annual U.S. foreign aid receiving over 3.2 billion dollars a year, an annual payout which has existed since the creation of that nation-state in 1948. The nation-state of Israel has a very long history of human rights violations against the Palestinian people, the original people Palestine who lived on the land before the modern nation-state of Israel was created by the United Nations, which makes the annual foreign aid to Israel morally questionable at best and generates international hostilities towards the United States from many nation-states in the region who view Israel as an aggressor and an oppressor. The nation-state of Israel is the highest recipient of United States foreign aid and accounts for over thirty percent of the Unites States total foreign aid budget. According to a 2010 Military Technology special edition on rebalancing and reforming U.S. defense, Israel received 2.77 billion dollars of military aid in FY2010 from the United States and the payments are scheduled to increase annually to 3.1 billion dollars by FY2013, a total amount of 30 billion dollars between the periods of 2008 through 2018. This is just accounting for military aid provided to Israel and does not even touch on economic aid and financial aid to assist Jewish migration from Eastern Europe to Israel. Does this sound like the rational actions of a government that is under 14 trillion dollars of international debt?

It makes sense to borrow funding in order to provide humanitarian assistance to nation-states who truly need help, but it does not make rational sense to continue building the pockets of political allies from beneath 14 trillion dollars of external debt which equals almost 99% of the annual gross domestic product. The United States is borrowing money to hand out in the form of foreign assistance. Why should American children have their educational resources cut domestically while foreign aid is being given out to nation-states that are not required to make the same domestic cuts that diminish their children’s future? Why should American citizens have to fear crime on police reduced streets while citizens in recipient nation-states are not required to make the same domestic cuts? In closing, I believe it is evident that slashing our current foreign aid budget is not only a logical plan of action, but a necessary action to avoid the further deterioration of our national infrastructure.

Annotated Bibliography

Hedges, Chris. “City of Ruins.” The Nation 291.21 (2010): 15-20. Print.

In this article, Hedges provides a description of the crime, poverty and unemployment in Camden, New Jersey. It was natural that I would use this desolate description along with the police lay-offs which occurred there earlier in the year.

Peter, Jeremy. “State Senate, Trying to Trim Deficit, Offers Budget Plan Cutting $1.4 Billion From Schools.” New York Times 25 March 2010: A25. Print.

In this article, Peter reports on the FY2010 education cuts in the state of New York. The article is informative.

United States. Dept. of State. Executive Budget Summary Function 150 and Other International Programs. Washington: US Department of State, 2010. Print.

The State Department shows the American people every year exactly where the American money is going on the international scene. Only Americans would rather watch American Idol.

“Rebalancing and Reforming US Defence: QDR 2010” Military Technology 34.1 (2010): 270-277. Print.

This is actually a quarterly journal that follows a theme each quarter. In this edition, the journal actually breaks down informational statistics on every nation-state (mostly pertaining to military).

Works Cited

Hedges, Chris. “City of Ruins.” The Nation 291.21 (2010): 15-20. Print.

Peter, Jeremy. “State Senate, Trying to Trim Deficit, Offers Budget Plan Cutting $1.4 Billion From Schools.” New York Times 25 March 2010: A25. Print.

United States. Dept. of State. Executive Budget Summary Function 150 and Other International Programs. Washington: US Department of State, 2010. Print.

“Rebalancing and Reforming US Defence: QDR 2010” Military Technology 34.1 (2010): 270-277. Print.

The how and why of the AIPAC-Christian relationship and how it effects the United States

I always attempt to discuss with my fellow Americans the influence of AIPAC (a lobbyist group under the name of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on the American Congress and therefore our nation-state’s actions (from a domestic and international economic level, a domestic and international political level, and military level). I use the word ‘attempt’ because the majority of Americans seem more attracted to discussions on meaningless topics or topics that do not challenge the status-quo. This should not be the case because we, as Americans, must not fear delving into various religious, political and ideological views and issues which effect our future. Therefore I will offer my honest views on this question: Outside of apathy and disinterest on the part of the American people, why is it that AIPAC and Israel have such a strong influence on the actions of our nation-state government (which effects all Americans and the future of our children)?

The answer lays in the demographics of our nation-state. Approximately 78.4% of Americans (predominately gentile) are Christian in ideology, spiritual belief and church branch. I pulled these statistics from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. This is a great website for statistics in the United States by categories of religious affiliation by Democratic and Republican party lines, social and political views, and a score of other categories.

http://religions.pewforum.org/reports

The most important thing for the future of America and our children is to be able to look at the facts, even those as touchy as religious affiliation, and think critically about them and how they effect us politically. Since we have already looked at two facts, that AIPAC influences the U.S Congress on behalf of the nation-state of Israel (as an agent to a foreign government) and approximately 78.4% of Americans are Christian, it is time to look at the reasons for a lack of objection and challenge (by the American people) to the actions of the nation-state of Israel (in cases damaging to America) on the following issues:

1.) The fact that (year after year) AIPAC successfully lobbies the (elected) men and women of our Congress to hand over 30% of our foreign aid budget to the nation-state of Israel (an ally, but an ally that is economically strong) despite the United States being under a record breaking economic deficit that is resulting in Congressional contemplation on reducing educational resources for our American children, reducing the amount of teachers for our American children, reducing resources for law enforcement and proper training for American police officers (in which it must be admitted that our American cities are plagued by crime of all categories), and even the down sizing of the American military instead of withdrawing our forces from Afghanistan and Iraq (wars that began with sanctions pushed by AIPAC through Congress just as current sanctions are being pushed by AIPAC setting the stage for possible future military occupation against Iran). These military withdrawals and future resistance to proposed sanctions (which would only benefit Israel) would save the American economy billions of dollars annually (instead of continuing to topple governments on behalf of the nation-state of Israel) which in turn creates more international hatred of the American people (who are not even paying attention). Americans already face an unemployment level which fluctuates just above 10% and teachers, police officers and military are some of the only solid career trade jobs we have left. I strongly endorse ending foreign aid to Israel (and any other nation-state who does not need it) until the crisis with our monetary deficit crisis is brought under control.

United States Foreign Aid

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s1298.pdf

Congressional Research Service report on the cost of the wars

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf

2.) The fact that the American government (reflecting the American people as perceived by our international peers) remains silent toward the crimes of humanity committed by the nation-state of Israel against the Palestinian people, who lived and farmed on the land (now known as the nation-state Israel) prior to the establishment of the nation-state of Israel.

Background: Prior to the Zionist movement attempting to cause revolution in the middle east region while the region was under Ottoman control (prior to the first World War), the Zionist movement had already began purchasing as much land as possible in preparation for a Jewish state. Once Britain (a gentile and Christian nation-state) took control of the region after WWI, the Zionist movement (similar to how AIPAC works in the United States) pushed for the Belfour Declaration (which promised a Jewish state). After WWII, the United Nations (pushed by the power of Britain and her European allies - who were pushed from within by Zionist influences using the same tactics of AIPAC) partitioned the region of Palestine and established the nation-state of Israel over an already occupied (by human beings) land. Regardless of your political and religious views, the following is historical fact: The nation-state of Israel was created over the land called Palestine (with people living on it) and the Palestinian people were pushed inside refugee camps and cut off from the world (and the world sat silent since and still does) while the state of Israel has committed genocide, occupation and oppression against them. In closing, while the so-called American media often portrays the conflict in Israel and Palestine as religious based conflict, the truth is that this conflict is based solely on stolen land and is a land conflict.

Timeline of Palestine:

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/20085251908164329.html

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/missionstudies/israelpalestine/timeline/

http://www.zionism-israel.com/zionism_timeline.htm

So, what are the basic ideologies behind the lack of challenge to Israeli (and AIPAC on Israel‘s behalf) unjust actions (and influence on our Congress) regardless of the negative impact on the United States and her people?

1) Apathy on behalf of the American people

2) The American media, predominately under Jewish ownership, is pro-Israeli and purposely runs programming of low intelligence or meaningless issues aimed to keep the American people mindless and distracted. This is not blaming the owners of television at all as this is a shrewd political method of propaganda (and propaganda has existed for at minimal 500 years or more and is a political tactic), but the blame is on those who fill their minds with junk and shallowness and then pass it down to their children.

3) Our Congressional representation. These are the men and women who the American people have elected to improve and strengthen the United States of America, but instead they buckle under the pressure of the Jewish lobby (fearful of not getting re-elected should they go against Israel regardless of the potential harm to the United States people and the future of the United States). If it is not greed and bribery that sways a Congressional vote, it is the fear of losing that Congressional seat for the upcoming year (as is certain to occur when one challenges the rights or wrongs of Israel).

So, why do the American voters (and American people in general) not stand up to these international and domestic injustices? And to show I am not just singling out the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I will add a few other examples of Israeli aggression which went unchallenged by the governments of the West:

Israeli bombing of the USS Liberty

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/margolis12.html

Israel attacks Aid flotilla to Gaza - kills 9

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37423584/ns/world_news-mideast/n_africa/

Israel completely levels Lebanon, calling it collateral damage

http://www.cggl.org/scripts/document.asp?id=46271

Aggressions against the Palestinians

http://www.eaazi.org/ThorsProvoni/Palestine/timeline.htm

Again the question, besides the three reasons already concluded (on my part and reflecting only my opinion), why do the American people not speak out about these international injustices and domestic economic extortion/laundering of the American tax payers hard earned money?

4) It goes back to the demographics at the beginning of this writing. Somewhere along the way, the people of this nation-state were hood winked (fooled) into believing that politics and religion should be (and actually are) separated. This is not the truth at all and it is evident by the conscious efforts of a good portion (not all) of Americans of Jewish ethnicity that pledge their prime support to the Jewish nation-state of Israel instead of placing their top priorities and loyalties to the nation-state where they live, the United States of America. To further detail that religion and politics may be conscious separated, but not subconsciously segregated: 78.4% of Americans are Christian and subconsciously (and in many cases consciously) support Israel. Why? There are two categories of American(in many cases blind) Christian support:

A) The average hard working American (raised Christian) was never taught to read the scriptures (foundations of Christianity from OT onward) during youth to the point of being able to critically think for themselves. In most cases, these same Christian Americans certainly do not have the time to read the scripture as working class adults (attempting to provide for, protect and enjoy some of their time on Earth with their American family) under the yolk of a collapsing economy. This category of Christian Americans are usually very righteous, though have digested most of their Christian knowledge through the translations, analysis and views of the pastors, priests and religious leaders. As the many American news reports of embezzlement and child molestation (among all kinds of other scandals) by American religious leaders seem to be a continuous flow, I will leave the reader to decide if it is best to read the foundations of religion for oneself and children or to rely on another human to instruct in the meaning and metaphors of scriptural writings. This class of American Christians usually supports anything labeled Jewish or Israeli due to their loose understanding of the Hebrew Bible (OT) which contains an ancient promise (of which no one is certain if the promise was oral tradition or added at a later date) to the tribes of Israel by God, but anyone that takes the time to research international politics is surely to realize the difference between a modern nation-state government and man written scriptures promising land to a ethnic tribe of people thousands of years before the first destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and before the appearance of Jesus to the world (who I might add once turned over the money lender tables in the temple).

B) Speaking of the temple in Jerusalem and the modern day blind support for Israel by Christians, regardless of damage to the American nation-state structure or the American people present and future, are a category of Christians that are well studied in Christian scripture and hold a strong belief that the establishment of the nation-state of Israel must be established and secured in the hands of the Jewish ethnic race (and the temple resurrected) in order for the Christian messiah to return to Earth and set up the Kingdom of God on Earth. The Jewish people certainly do not share this view, but it appears that the Zionists will gladly take all the generous support and do as they please (under the protection of that gentile Christian support). The gentile believers and Christian organizations under this category are called Christian Zionists. I kind slightly understand their ideology of giving up the physical kingdom in place of the spiritual kingdom they assume will come, but I do not agree with the ideology since it places the future of our children and the future generations of Americans hanging on a religious assumption.

One of many sites on Christian Zionism:

http://www.newgateministries.com/jerusalemchronicles/rebuilt-temple.html

　　

In closing, I have taken the time to write my concerns, opinions and views in order to open dialogue with my fellow Americans and address awareness at the issues we, as Americans, face and the future issues that our children will face in the future. I do not put these views on paper to offend anyone or anyone’s beliefs, to bash anyone politically, and blame any group or ideology. I simply have written my views and concerns as I feel in my mind. I have noticed that the majority of Americans shy away from these types of topics which includes religion and politics. In our current condition in the United States, I do not think we have that luxury any longer. The more we exchange dialogue, views and suggestions, the more we will all be able to network for positive improvement and understand each other as indispensable pieces of the nation-state of the United States (and as members of the world wide human family). I believe God created every human equally and that each human being is my brother and sister. I want to say peace to the reader (granted that you have read this far) and I look forward to any discussion, questions, views or comments that you may offer.

May God guide us, so that we may guide our families and our nation-state! Peace.

-J. Meeks