In every oppressive society, there are the seeds and signs of its own self-problematizing and self-destruction. It makes problems for itself by its hypocritical, dishonest, and oppressive practices. And it becomes self-destructive in that it produces unresolvable contradictions which divide it against itself and signal it can no longer exist in its current form.
It is an irony of history and a tragedy for the world that before we can finish making resolutions for a new and promising future, let alone begin building one, pathologies and problems of the past continue to pursue us, impose themselves on the present and threaten our very existence. And so, now we are confronted with the real possibility of a war in West Asia (the Middle East) which will no doubt, not only engulf the region, but also extend around the world. To speak of the pathologies and problems of the past is to speak of not only Trump’s thuggish act of war of assassinating Gen. Qassim Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Army and perhaps the second highest ranking government member, but also of the continuing legacy and brutal practice of empire, imperialism, raw and unrepentant.