What freedom?

Where did it all go wrong? Was it the fall of the Berlin Wall? Hardly a week goes by without post-communist Europe putting one of its feet in its mouth. And the other on the neck of a refugee. You’d think a continent with so much intellectual wealth would know better. But evidence suggests intellectual scarcity rather than abundance.

The USA is fretting about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. But in Europe we already live with a multitude of Trump-like presidents. The Americans fear the possibility of one Trump while we must live with the actuality of one hundred ‘Trumps’.

It looks like The Free World can’t handle freedom. It never could. It never wanted to. Because freedom has always been the last thing on its mind. For this reason the Freedom of The Free World is a crime against humanity. By creating the illusion of Freedom, The Free World has trapped humanity in a nightmare. The image of Freedom being the bait for endless acts of inhumanity.

Take your pick: the Free Market, Free Speech, Free Elections, the Free Press, Free Movement, Free Europe, etc.. Each one is a lie that is sold as the truth. And humanity pays dearly for it. Last year in Europe the Greek working class was the price. This year the Syrian refugees are the price.

However as the European Union falls apart so does the illusion of Freedom. And while the reality that is emerging is ugly we nonetheless welcome it because it is reality. After so much cruel and unnecessary Freedom we need a reality check. Because the alternative Europe and World needs to build upon the reality rather than the illusion.

The reality today in Europe is our neighbour: Syria. The reality is that Europe’s allies and proxies (al-Qaeda and Isis) have destroyed Syria. And now the reality is that Europe’s policies are doubly destructive. Not only is Europe destroying Syria: it is destroying the humanity of the refugees fleeing Syria in search of Freedom.

Syria of course is only the latest victim of The Free World. Libya received the same treatment for the same reason: Freedom. In the name of Freedom Libya was also destroyed by Europe. And in the name of Freedom, Europe is also blocking the escape route of those Libyans seeking Freedom.

In reality the list of nations destroyed by the Free World is endless. In reality the Freedom of The Free World is a torture rack. If it’s not war it’s economics. Either way, the end result is refugees in desperate need of real freedom – not the trap called Freedom but real freedom – freedom from war and poverty – freedom from imperialism and capitalism.

After being bombed by Nato and the IMF the Arabs and Africans have nowhere else to run to but Europe. Believing in the illusion of European Freedom the Arabs and Africans however enter a trap without an exit. On the one side is the social destruction of the place they are fleeing from. And on the other side is the racism of the place they are fleeing to: Europe.

The reality is that the Europeans also believe in the illusion of Freedom. And that’s why they’re racist. They’re more addicted than anyone else to The Free World. If everyone is Free no one can blame anyone else for their predicament. If the Syrians and Libyans (the Asians and Africans) are suffering it’s their own fault. There must be something wrong with them. They must be inferior, etc. Europe is innocent.

The reality of course is that Europe is guilty. The reality today is that Europe is blinded by Freedom. But it is a blindness that is losing its grip. Ironically the blind leaders of the Free World are making us see the truth. Their words are so Free they are transparent.

The cruelty of the Berlin Wall was nothing compared to the cruelty we witness today. The walls Trump wants to build in America are already up in Europe. But they are crumbling. The reality is too much.

This article has been excerpted from: ‘There ain’t no freedom in the free world, but there’s plenty of racism’.

Courtesy: Counterpunch.org