EXCELLENT! — Smothered by Riches: A History of the Powell Memo by Peter Coyote

This is an excellent, powerful, illuminating, and incredibly important documentary that I hope will be watched and shared widely. 

Smothered by Riches: A History of the Corporate Takeover That Came After the Powell Memo

Written by Peter Coyote and Steven Rosenfeld, and narrated by Peter Coyote. Edited by Camel Music by Greg Anton.

Smothered by Riches is a documentary. It's the story of a memo by U.S. President Richard Nixon that captured the attitudes of an establishment frightened of democracy, and was treated as a key blueprint by the ideologues and philanthropists determined to keep corporate power and elite interests on top.

Read Peter Coyote's written history of the Powell memo and its consequences, and help Smothered by Riches get seen by more people here: https://observatory.wiki/Smothered_by...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51KQNOy2Wpw.

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It’s my belief that we are living in a time of the collapse of the American Empire. At the same time there is ever growing solidarity to birth a radically new nation. Certainly the crushing defeat of Andrew Cuomo by Zohran Mamdani — a Muslim progressive Democratic Socialist who stands courageously against the neoliberal status quo and for the actual needs of We the People and the planet, who isn’t in the pockets of any powerful wealthy interests, who would arrest Netanyahu if he steps foot in New York, etc., etc. — gives us a hopeful glimpse into the new world that is trying to be birthed.

What I witness is that there is a shadow side to our government and nation that stretches back decades. Trump is but a horrifying symptom of this long toxic process that has brought us to the precipice where we now find ourselves at.

Without diving deep into all of what has been in play related to the powerful moneyed interests that have taken over our political system and mainstream media, I don’t believe that there is any hope of finding our way out of the growing horrors upon us.

The genocide in Gaza, the dehumanization and deportations of immigrants, the endless wars, the burning of fossil fuels and obstruction of transitioning to renewables, the for profit healthcare system that leaves millions uninsured and dying, the prison industrial complex, the power of Wall Street and Dark Money, the millions who are homeless and living at or below the poverty level, the politicians and a mainstream media that act out of allegiance to AIPAC and other wealthy interests, the vast and ongoing criminal redistribution of wealth upwards, and on and on — all of this and more has continued regardless of which political party is in power.

Smothered by Riches illuminates all of this and more.

My deep dive into researching and seeking to understand the shadow side of my country began in the wake of 9-11. The horrors of that day have compelled me to embrace a profound commitment to truth — no matter where it led. There’s been so much that I did not know!

Today I personally also don’t believe that I can hope that our conservative sisters and brothers will look into the deep shadow side of the Republican Party if I am unwilling to do the same regarding the Democratic Party.

I also do not believe that radical changes and solutions will come into being as long as we remain in denial or unaware of the larger picture of the problem and the many layers and many decades that have brought us to where we are at today. Again, Trump is but a symptom of our collective long neglect of doing the shadow work that is essential for positive and urgently needed radical change.

Shadow work is incredibly disillusioning, painful, scary, and life changing. And yet my life would not have been so radically healed and transformed without my embracing and bringing to light my alcoholism and the many other symptoms of the deep ancestral and cultural trauma that I carried in my body.

And it is this deep dive into our collective shadow work as a nation that I believe is so incredibly needed. I love bell hooks and the wisdom she embodied when she illuminated this larger picture of what has impacted us all. She called it “imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy.” This is what I believe needs to be seen, understood, and dismantled within our individual and collective psyche. It’s a much larger perspective that frees us from the polarization of democrats vs republicans.

So, yes, solidarity is absolutely essential. And what is it that we’re gathering in solidarity around? What are the values, the truths, the fierce love that we embody in our passionate solidarity?? 

Can it be to not just to get rid of Trump, but also to also dismantle the longstanding systems that have brought us into this fascist era, that have corrupted our political and media systems, that enable and fund the genocide in Gaza, that fuel endless wars and violence, that create excruciating poverty and suffering, that dehumanize and polarize and traumatize, and that have placed life on Earth on the brink of no longer sustaining a habitable planet due to the climate crisis? These are the thoughts and inquiries that I believe are so important for us to be asking ourselves.

It’s certainly a humbling experience and courageous lifelong process to do these deep dives into shadow work, both individually and collectively. There are so many layers to uncover. I feel so much compassion for us all. It is not easy to be human. And we need each other. We truly are all in this together.

Bless us all, no exceptions...

Molly

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And deepest gratitude to Peter Coyote.