Those tiny skeletal bodies you’re seeing on your social media feed are the fruits of the empire.

Caitlin Johnstone

Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

 

They’re doing it right in front of us. Right in front of us.

So many people have dedicated their entire lives working to expose the criminality of the empire, and then the empire comes right out and commits a live-streamed genocide right in front of us.

Whistleblowers. Investigative journalists. Authors. Documentarians. Conspiracy analysts. Peace activists. Their whole lives devoted to the task of uncovering the crimes of the undeclared empire we live under and drawing attention to them, saying “Look! See?? We really are ruled by monsters!” Only for the monsters to come right out and intentionally starve children to death on all our screens all around the world.

 

People like me are almost redundant at this current point in history. I’ve been writing about the depravity of the empire for years, thousands of articles and millions of words, and I’ve never said anything that illuminates the reality of our situation nearly as well as the fact that western governments and media have openly colluded with Israel to exterminate a group of innocent people because they’re the wrong ethnicity.

I mean, what could I possibly say about that that they’re not already saying themselves? The message is already there, fully baked. Perfect. Complete. They’re telling us everything we could possibly need to know. There’s nothing I could add.

I don’t have much use for scripture, but if I had to pick a favorite line from the Bible it would be “You will know them by their fruits.” Those seven little words cut through all the lies and distortions of life under the western empire, because they tell us to stop paying attention to all the spin and PR and justification and excuses we hear from the imperial propaganda machine, and just look at the products of the empire on their own. Ignore their words, and watch the results of their actions.

Those tiny skeletal bodies you’re seeing on your social media feed are the fruits of the empire. The shredded, eviscerated, decapitated children you’ve been seeing in footage from Gaza since 2023 are the fruits of the empire. This is known now, and it can never be unknown.

As Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are.”

 

This is who they are. This is who our leaders are. This is who our complicit news media are. This is what Israel is. This is what Zionism is. This is what the empire is. This is what western civilization is. We know that now. We know them by their fruits.

This is who they are, and it’s who they’ll always be. That’s why it’s important never to forget what they’ve shown us about themselves in Gaza, and to never, ever forgive them.

Our rulers have shown us that they must not be allowed to rule any longer. The empire has shown us that it should not be allowed to dominate our planet any longer. The apartheid state of Israel has shown us that it should not be allowed to exist any longer. Western supremacism, Zionism, racism and imperialism have shown us that these things must be eradicated from our world.

They have planted seeds of knowledge inside you about who they are and the status quo we’re being asked to consent to. Let those seeds sprout and grow. Tend to them with care. Help them to flourish. 

Someday the tree that they planted in us will bear fruit of its own.

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