The Secret History of an American Empire
ISBN 978-0452289574
Back in 2007, John Perkins was busy writing about some deep, dark conspiracies that grace the pages of his book The Secret History of an American Empire. Much of what he had to say concerned the NSA, hitmen and regime changes, and a quite unflattering picture of American policy working in tandem with things like the IMF and the World Bank. Before even this book came out shortly after 9-11, Mr. Perkins wrote another book that might have been a kind of confessional to unburden himself for having taken part in the apparatus which he now writes concerning.
Mr. Perkins story begins with his joining the Peace Corps so that he could sidestep the issue of being drafted into Vietnam. This Peace Corps experience puts him in touch with some Shamans who live in the rainforests and it is there that he begins to learn the nature of the journey he is undertaking although he certainly falls into the staunchly materialistic paradigm of the world for an extended time. This puts him into contact with both powerful military industrial corporations and indigenous peoples who are being exploited by them. It is evident that the tension between these positions is something that has caused Mr. Perkins high levels of discomfort and indeed, likely embodies the “wounded healer” aspect of any Shamanic Journey.
Mr. Perkins learns from the Shamans that the world is “dreamed into being” but it appears the American Dream has become an industrial nightmare. After many harrowing interactions with dangerous people in foreign places such as in Brazil, Sudan, or Indonesia, he eventually decides the Shamans are right and that the children of the world need a new dream if they are to have a future.
Reading the many reviews of this book is interesting for the simple reason that many dismiss it as conspiracy theory, and yet, the facts were researched by the New York Times and found to be consistent. Mr. Perkins says that during the writing of his books he was threatened for having spoken about these issues and it does make one wonder how on earth a book such as this was published in the pre-Trump political landscape of the twilight of George Bush Jr’s presidency.
Still, Mr. Perkins has managed to carve out a decent living as a writer and a speaker concerning these issues. It will require more than a confessional with extensive writing contracts to “make up” for the damaging systems he participated in earlier on. Troublingly, Mr. Perkins seems to believe it is possible to have World Peace without something rather drastic happening to allow this to be so. (Think Biblical-level world events?) While the world is partly a dream, it is not entirely a dream. If it were so, one would never need to “wake-up”. People do not, for instance, simply enact nightmares by nature at the scale Mr. Perkins is seeing without there being something fundamentally wrong with the people involved. While it is laudable to make a check list of proactive actions to try to “wake people up”–a lot of Mr. Perkins’s book feels like one is a priest inside a Catholic Church listening to someone unburden their soul. Is he looking for the reader to absolve him? Is his courage in speaking and focus on a future for his children enough to make him like the Shamans that taught him? Or, is it the case that Mr. Perkins has found yet another way to rob indigenous people of more resources–in this case their spirituality–to create a brand and a niche writing market for himself? It proves hard to trust those who have been entangled deeply in the tendrils of the NSA.
Still, blowing the whistle does require courage and a willingness to go against the system. The above questions are really only answerable by God and Mr. Perkins. Perhaps one should apply the principle and dictate that if Mr. Perkins is not “for” this industrial military melange, then perhaps enemy of the enemy of the people is the people’s friend after all.
Regardless, the book makes for an interesting read that fills in some gaps in American history from a unique perspective. There is a Third Edition of this book now available, which may also makesome needed amendments to the work given the changing times. That edition was not available for review at this time, however, if it becomes so in the future expect a follow-up.
