The empire betrays itself

What was previously only revealed by whistleblowers, investigative journalists, activists, and dissident media, is now being shown by the empire itself, because the truth about something so perverse cannot be hidden forever.

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE

It used to be difficult to make Westerners see the depravity of the American empire. Now it's there, before everyone's eyes, with stark images of genocide and an incredibly perverse warmongering with direct economic consequences.

It took a lot of work to help the average Westerner understand that NATO aggression actively provoked the war in Ukraine, or that Western interventionism played a key role in the violence and chaos in Syria, or that the US economic war was largely responsible for the suffering of Cubans and Venezuelans.

The murderous bestiality of the empire was hidden behind layers of confusion, allowing propagandists to portray the Western power structure as a passive witness to the abuses of foreign regimes.

Now propagandists have very little to work with, so such confusions can no longer take place. There's no way to present a school full of children destroyed by a double US air strike as anything other than what it is.

There is a limit to the narrative manipulation that can be exerted on unedited video footage of a Western-backed genocide unfolding in full view of the world, day after day, for years.

There is no way to make Westerners believe they want to pay significantly more money for fuel and food.

I saw former MEP Luis Garicano complaining on Twitter that Trump's actions are making it seem like leftists have been right all along about the American empire. Garicano said the following:

"Many of us liberal Europeans spend decades rejecting the caricatured version of America held by the European far left (it's all about oil, imperialism, getting rich at the expense of others) and then a stupid administration comes along and represents that caricature perfectly."

Garicano's entire worldview hinges on his ability to avoid acknowledging the obvious truth: that the so-called "far left" has always been right, and that the empire he worships has always been evil. He simply finds it increasingly difficult to conceal his true nature, precisely because of the evils he has tried to hide.

Everything is being revealed more and more. It's becoming increasingly transparent. What was once done only by whistleblowers, investigative journalists, activists, and dissident media, is now being done by the empire itself, because the truth about something so evil cannot be hidden for long.

An empire held together by lies, corruption, and endless slaughter was never going to go unnoticed. The brutality required to dominate the planet had to be exposed sooner or later.

"Let everything come to light" has been my prayer for our world for many years. That deep-seated desire is now being heard, and the truth is as horrifying as expected.

Let everything come to light. Let everything that is hidden become visible. In the empire. In our governments. In our culture. In our community. In our interpersonal relationships. In ourselves.

All abuse ultimately boils down to a lack of clear vision. Governments can abuse people because the public doesn't clearly see the dynamics of corruption and tyranny; if they truly understood what their leaders are doing to them and their world, they would rebel violently.

Domestic violence and sexual abuse within the family can only continue when the rest of the community does not see or understand what the abuser is doing.

Our own abusive tendencies can only persist as long as our responses to trauma and our maladaptive coping mechanisms remain hidden in the shadows of our subconscious.

All these dysfunctional dynamics will lose their relevance as we become increasingly aware of what is truly happening, both within ourselves and in our world. Things seem ugly now because the truth is ugly, but only when the truth is revealed can we move toward health and harmony as a species.

If you've ever done deep inner work on your own psychology, you'll have seen this play out in your own personal experience. You can heal your inner wounds if you can muster the courage to delve into your own darkness and confront, with unflinching honesty, the uncomfortable realities you've been avoiding within yourself your entire life—but you kept those things in your unconscious for a reason.

They are frightening. They are painful. They are shameful. Facing them can feel like the end of the world. However, only by bringing them into the light of consciousness can they be fully seen, reconciled with, and healed.

The whole world is like that. Human beings, as a collective, cannot solve problems that we do not see or understand clearly.

Our rulers devote so much energy to maintaining influence operations, such as media propaganda, Hollywood psychological operations, Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation, and government secrecy, in order to hinder our clear vision and understanding.

But now everything is coming to light. It's becoming more and more visible.

Let the lies and confusions continue to be unraveled. Let the truth continue to be revealed.

Caitlin Johnston is an Australian independent journalist, writer and poet who is supported by  her readers. Her latest book, in collaboration with Tim Foley, is Woke: A field guide for utopia preppers.