Oliver Stone's Untold History of the US, the Petraeus Scandal, and the Future Generation

I just watched the interview of Oliver Stone at CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight. I agree very much with most of his points from the General David Petraeus scandal to Obama's chauvinist pronouncements. I wish I could see this Oliver Stone's documentary series "The Untold History of the United States".

There's something deeper in Obama's greatest-nation-on-earth victory speech that must be taken seriously. Central to this is the agenda to re-write history away from the point of view of the victims, away from reality, away from the truth. Remember Winston Churchill: "The victors write history." And also, George Orwell: "Those who control the present, control the past...."

Soon enough, right after Obamania, we're confronted with the realpolitik of the political-economic national, material, and ideological interests of the United States, its vested interests, and its military-industrial-Wall Street Complex.

In this regard, Oliver Stone is doing a great service to peoples of the world by writing a book and making a documentary that challenge the regime of mendacity that is being protected and promoted by Obama, the right-wing intellectuals, and the network of the reactionary powers-that-be. Oliver Stone said that his series touch on America's history from the start of the US empire when it entered the Philippines in 1898, to the US denial of the history of the Vietnam war, and the absolute failure of US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the Petraeus scandal, it always fascinates me how powerful people, mostly in the Atlantic, resign from their offices or fall down for the 'wrong' reasons. Sexual harassment and other sex scandal cases have become tools to put down these powerful and controversial individuals — including the infamous Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky affair and the IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's rape case. (The same tool was also used to instigate the silencing, persecution, and downfall of WikiLeak's founder Julian Assange.) Mainstream media easily jump on these sexual misconduct issues. Of course, extramarital affairs and rape are serious moral, legal, and public concerns. But I do hope that the authorities and the media should also be critical of the misdeeds of these public officials in the actual performance of their duties and responsibilities. 

Importantly, General Petraeus is never a hero — not for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for their purported 'reconstruction', and arguably not for the US reputation as a global policeman! Petraeus should have long resigned for the destruction of civilizations and of current and future generations of human lives in the Middle East and in the world as a whole. The pains, wounds, and cruelties that Petraeus has orchestrated are crimes against humanity that will not be healed in, and even by, our present generation.

Hopefully, soon, our generation can tell the story of our past and share with the future generations in a remorseful yet jubilant way what we used to learn in school through this classic composition by Tom Paxton and sung by Pete Seeger, "What did you learn in school today?" (HT: JH):

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that Washington never told a lie.

I learned that soldiers seldom die.

I learned that everybody's free,

And that's what the teacher said to me.

That's what I learned in school today,

That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that policemen are my friends.

I learned that justice never ends.

I learned that murderers die for their crimes

Even if we make a mistake sometimes.

That's what I learned in school today,

That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

I learned our Government must be strong;

It's always right and never wrong;

Our leaders are the finest men

And we elect them again and again.

That's what I learned in school today,

That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today,

Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that war is not so bad;

I learned about the great ones we have had;

We fought in Germany and in France

And someday I might get my chance.

That's what I learned in school today,

That's what I learned in school.