By Kwa David Whitaker

Humpty Dumpty, the 15th century English term denoting fat or obese, provides the perfect metaphor for America’s gluttonous nature and its present economic predicament. Historically, Humpty Dumpty referred to a very large canon that was strategically positioned atop St Mary’s Church to protect Colchester’s Parliamentarian stronghold during the English Civil War. When a canon shot weakened the wall beneath Humpty the canon came crashing down and the Royalists, ‘all the kings men’, could not reposition Humpty, even with the help of ‘all the kings horses’.

Like Humpty Dumpty, Americans have strategically positioned its politicians for protection in the face of attack. Today, the nation is under economic siege and we ask two fundamental questions. Where are the king’s men? Where are the king’s horses?

Regrettably, as the world seems to be teetering on total collapse, America’s politicians seem more concerned with finger pointing and self-serving rhetoric than solving problems. The increasing radio, Internet and satellite perspectives results in an information overload without any clear sense of what is really going on and, more importantly, why. This commentary hopes to provide an easily understood framework concerning national-global issues and how they impact our daily lives.

It is undeniable that the United States can boast of significant accomplishments in many areas, including its military superiority, advancements in medicine, transportation, social infrastructure and space exploration--to name a few. What is also undeniable, although unknown to all but a small minority, is the fact that these achievements are due not just to Americans’ rugged individualism, ingenuity or creativity, as we are taught. To the contrary, these successes also rest upon a firm and unflattering foundation of domestic oppression, national imperialism and global exploitation. How can I say this?

First, 250-plus years of free labor from the diabolic enslavement of Africans jump-started America’s development and fueled Europe’s resurrection. This socio-economic advantage was reinforced by the harsh domination and eventual displacement of America’s indigenous population. Generations of immoral and inhumane plantation servitude, deceptive treaties, discriminatory legislation and cruel public policies galvanized the second-class status of those considered undesirable while ensuring privilege and prosperity for the ‘haves’ and perpetual agonizing misery for the ‘have-nots’.

Second, and most important, is the fact that the American population (300 million) is less than 5% of the global population (7 billion) yet Americans consume nearly 80% of all global resources. This insatiable appetite allows Americans to boast of a life style that is unknowingly subsidized by the massive suffering of its non-industrialized neighbors. Adding insult to injury, Americans arrogantly characterize its victims as undeveloped, backwards and somehow responsible for and deserving of their Third World plight. Given this disparity in numbers verses need America would never consider purchasing resources at fair market value as this would bankrupt the country and strengthen the economies of some of its most hated adversaries. Therefore, America feels compelled to refine and expand the deceptions it uses to secure natural and other resources that support the illusion of its independence, progress, prosperity, leadership and greatness.

Third, to avoid implosion, the American economy requires continuous growth opportunities and credible enemies to satisfy its insatiable greed and to justify its imperialist pursuits. This, in large part, is the secret rationale for maintaining America’s massive military arsenal and its ever-expanding global interests. Now that the country is fully developed (and in need of significant repair) America desperately seeks foreign territories to expand its presence and to avoid facing the reality that it is a very small part of the world’s population in need of massive, cheap imports to maintain its image. Calming unsophisticated voters at home and suppressing growing protests abroad represents a significant political dilemma. On one hand, America’s professed values do not permit the outright taking of others’ resources. On the other, America’s refusal to be honest with its own citizens prohibits realization of the transparency that elected representatives promise but can’t afford to deliver. The preferred American strategy has always been covert. As one example, the American people are unaware that a great number of the world’s most despised dictators acquired their tyrannical skills right here in Georgia’s School of the Americas! Once in power, these American trained dictators protected America’s interest without the appearance of direct American involvement. This and other diversions are a significant part of the geo-politics to avoid the truth concerning America’s greed and its role in the cyclical conflicts that erupt around the world. While politicians constantly say that others hate our democratic values, this is not the case at all--they actually hate the governmental policies that support America’s greed and exploitation and the human suffering that these policies cause their citizens.

Fourth, going forward, competition for and control over America’s lifeblood (oil) will be affected by China’s emergence as a world power, India’s continued growth, Cuba’s resilience to sanctions, Iran’s defiance of everybody, Japan’s nuclear catastrophe and a whole host of unknown Middle East developments. The only option--short of divulging the truth and making the systemic changes to live within its means--is for America to maintain the military superiority that will permit the taking of needed resources. More and more, we see evidence of America’s willingness to do just that. Despite these efforts, America will continue to lose ground. Why?

Fifth, Viet Nam caused a serious blemish to America’s image, and exposure of the School of America’s dictator training, along with America’s cozy relationships with the likes of Ben Laden, Saddam Hussein and others has made it worse. Compounding the problem is the fact that many nations realize they have been abused by their leaders-many of whom served as United States alter egos-and they now seek fundamental and immediate change. Even if America can repair its image it will not avoid the mounting pressures of the expanding European economic crisis, the unending Israel-Palestine conflict, the collapse of American-backed Egypt, the aftermath of Libya, or the dangerous uncertainties of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria--just to name a few. America already spends 40% of the total combined military budget for the world. The projected military cost for America to become the global police force is astronomical and the potential loss of American life, even with the use of drones, is incomprehensible.

The facts are irrefutable and the projections are dire. America is truly at a crossroads where it must embrace a new course of honesty, transparency and fundamental change and abandon the insanity of maintaining the status quo. Five percent of the world can’t expect to continue consuming eighty percent of the world’s resources without consequences. To think otherwise is morally indefensible, socially irresponsible, fiscally unsustainable and ultimately suicidal.

Notwithstanding these implications, the historical record confirms that American leadership-from the slave-owning Founding Fathers to the present-has never adopted truth, integrity and transparency as guiding principles. Predictably, absent some incredible political epiphany or the massive ingestion of a political truth serum, Humpty’s fall is inevitable. We ask again. Where are the king’s men? Where are the king’s horses?

Kwa David Whitaker, Ph.D., Esq. is an original thinker based in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the author of the newly released Rites of Passage: A Journey of Transformation. He can be reached at ashe1ltd@aol.com