KESHA ROGERS:
Fighting for the Real American Tradition
The afternoon panel was moderated by Dennis Speed, who introduced the keynote speaker, Kesha Rogers. She ran in the recent Texas Democratic primary election as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, winning 28% of the vote against the Obamacrat candidate who spent $5 million of his own money to defeat her.
Dennis Speed: ... One of the elements of the Schiller Institute that we always emphasize is Friedrich Schiller’s warning, that often in history, great moments find little people, and that there are certain apertures in history, in which you can change everything. Helga LaRouche often remarks that one of the very first pieces that she wrote in her political career was called, “A Revolution Is a Question of Time.” And when you have the time, you need those people to stand up and be heroic. The person who is going to give our keynote speech has demonstrated that kind of heroism and that kind of character: Kesha Rogers, who is a member of the National Policy Committee of the LaRouche Political Action Committee, and former U.S. Senate candidate of Texas—Kesha.
Kesha Rogers: Thank you. Well, I have to say, first of all that I’m not heroic. When I’m given a mission, I answer the call. And I think that what I’d like to do today, is to give each and every one of you a mission and give you a calling, that you must seek to answer.
The first panel started off with the discussion of what has happened, and what has gone awry, what has gone wrong with our nation, and how the world looks at the United States. Well, what I want to talk about, is that the conception that you have of the United States is not the real American tradition. I want to talk to you today, about how we must fight to restore the uniquely true American tradition, that once inspired all nations, and get rid of the imperial tradition which has now usurped what we once were proud of, in this great nation. That’s the optimism that Helga was speaking of earlier [see last week’s issue of EIR], the nation of the United States represented under the leadership and the ideas of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Quincy Adams, and others, who were not heroes, but actually had a calling and a mission that they answered to.
Joint Campaigns: Texas and California
Many of you know, throughout the United States, that I led a campaign in the state of Texas, joined by my colleague in San Francisco, Michael Steger, running for the U.S. House of Representatives against the infamous Nancy Pelosi. We ran our two campaigns in two leading states in the Union that once actually represented a direction for the nation, of the greatest commitment to agricultural-scientific progress; the state of Texas, where you saw President John F. Kennedy lead the way in crafting a vision and commitment, with the commitment to the space program; and California, where you saw the food production that was essential, that went out to most of the population and most of the world—all of that, that identity, was taken away when you saw, from West of the Mississippi, all the way throughout the two largest states of the United States [by population], Texas and California, being destroyed by an identity which had usurped the real American patriotic tradition, for the benefit of the imperial push for war, economic chaos, and social distress.
As I intervened in the state of Texas, the most conservative state in the Union, and Michael intervened in the state of California, the most liberal state in the Union—in San Francisco, mind you—what we were both able to do, is to recruit the entire generation of “forgotten men,” in the segments of the population from both parties, in the tradition of John F. Kennedy. And we found that people who thought that there were no common interests among these two groups, found that their common interest lay in something greater, in their commitment to act for the betterment of our children, our grandchildren, all recognizing that President John F. Kennedy brought that out in everyone. That that was something that actually took away the divisiveness of party politics, which, as George Washington once said, was the bane of our nation’s existence.
Our two campaigns reflected a universal quality of the American System, to the international aspects of our constituents. And as we went around and organized throughout both Texas and California, we recognized that it was a vast array of people from different backgrounds, whether it was Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Latin American—that all of these of these people had one, unique goal in mind: They came to the United States because of the vast greatness that it once represented. And they saw, in running into our campaigns, that that can become a reality once again. When these people came to the United States, whether it was the Chinese working with President Lincoln on the development of the Transcontinental Railway system, the Irish, the Russians—that that was the United States they knew of, it was the United States which invoked the international reflections of an America which was embodied in great leaders, such as Sun Yat-sen, Benito Juárez, and other great minds who saw that the traditions of the United States were not just “for” the United States, but they were for all of mankind, to be able to partake in this true freedom, which they could participate in, as well.
Break the Grip of Empire
Let’s take a look at what we’ve been living through, with three Bush administrations and one and a half Obama administrations: You’ve got Papa Bush, too evil; Baby Bush, just dumb; and Obama, well, he ain’t “just right”! All of these administrations have shown how far astray we as a nation have gone, how far we have gone away from that American tradition, as you see Presidents acting as pawns for a bankrupt British Empire, destroying the very core of the American tradition defined in our nation’s Constitution and its Preamble, which uniquely identifies us as sovereign and free from the destructive grip of empire.
The fight for this identity has not always come easily. Throughout the tests of our nation’s strength, great leaders have had to fight off the grip of the ugly control of the Empire’s intent to suppress mankind, through the evil of the Satanic Zeus, to take away and destroy the creative powers of mankind that would create a world free from thermonuclear war and hunger; that come together to solve the problems that confronted mankind.
I waged my campaign to stop the outbreak of thermonuclear war, of World War III. And the focus of my and Michael’s campaign together, was to bring about a renewed mission for the United States, to inspire the world, as Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy had intended, to bring an end to war.
Now, interestingly enough, in order to do this, I ironically had to put a Hitler moustache on the President of the United States, as a Democrat, in the United States. And I put this moustache on the President of the United States, to actually lead the nation out of fear, to free people from the bestial grip that had started not with President Obama, but with a society that had gone along with popular opinion over truth, and which had set out to destroy itself since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Throughout the recent period, more and more people have come to realize that popular opinion is wrong. It tells you, the way to avoid war is to be divisive, and not tell the truth. What more and more people have come to understand, as they encountered my campaign in the United States, Michael’s campaign, the work of the LaRouche movement and the Schiller Institute, is that only through defying popular opinion and telling the truth, can you gain victory over the enemies of mankind.
As we know, victory is not simply expressed in a vote. I think about what we did in Texas. Those who did everything in their power to make sure that my campaign was attacked, viciously, for telling the truth, and tried to do everything to make sure that we were not victorious, actually failed in their endeavors, because victory is not a Pyrrhic victory: Victory is a victory to actually save the existence of all of mankind from an empire. And as those individuals are sitting there, looking at what they just did, they realize they don’t have a direction, where to go next, and where to actually lead this nation, and they will be calling us back in, soon.
So, victory is not simply expressed in a vote; it is transforming the thinking of your society, to not be enslaved, to fight for a better future. And that’s what people were encouraged by and inspired by, as they encountered our campaign; that they, too, can actually free themselves from the grip of empire, can actually restore a commitment we once had, with the identity of our uniquely American patriotic tradition under our Constitution. And when people ran into our campaign, they realized that this was something that they had to participate in, and they had to defy popular opinion, because it was the only thing that could save their lives. And it’s only through breaking free of empire that we can put an end to war. Only by defining a vision for the future of mankind, can mankind truly be free.
Four Steps to Recovery
Economist Lyndon LaRouche has put out what I define as the scientific and revolutionary four points, which define the future for mankind, to crush empire. The United States, if we do our job, can and must now be saved, and must retake its rightful place as a leader in society, in promoting the most advanced scientific progress of mankind. And the institution of the Presidency of the United States must be redefined according to the principles laid out in the Preamble of our Constitution, and act within its limits of power, as we have not seen under this current administration, as invoked in the administration of our first President, Gen. George Washington, along with his brilliant Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.
The four crucial steps for recovery were referenced here earlier today by Mrs. LaRouche; they must be put forth immediately to save the world and promote a world of truly sovereign nation-states. These steps call for freeing our nation of the grip of the evil Empire and its control of Wall Street interests, to crush Wall Street, now; Glass-Steagall banking reorganization, as a first step, must be redefined; secondly, we must restore a credit system, defined by Alexander Hamilton; and three, the use of Federal credit; four, adopting a fusion-driver for the nation.
That is the vision that we once had, when we actually said, “We do these things,” with President John F. Kennedy, “not because they’re easy, but because they’re hard.” This was a vision for going to the Moon, to actually recognize that we were going to act for the benefit and interest of all mankind, and not for Wall Street and not for an empire.
And so, the question at hand, as Mr. LaRouche has defined it, is: What is the value of human beings? What is the significance of human beings? What is mankind’s unique role? That power lies in recognizing the creative powers unique to human beings. History and events are not trapped in an empty vacuum of space and time, because we, as human beings, have the power to direct and change the course of history, and to define our future. We must put an end to the bankrupt British Empire, and all of its intent to reduce the population throughout the planet, destroying the productive and creative powers of mankind to replenish, multiply, and subdue the Earth. We must eliminate the financial oligarchy’s system of bail-in, once and for all. The anti-science Green agenda must be eliminated: No more fracking!
The revolt that we’re seeing coming from within the United States, against this bestial agenda, and within nations around the world, is from those who understand that we cannot live in a world, as President Abraham Lincoln once said, “half-slave, half-free.”
The current war-drive that’s being pushed on behalf of the British Empire, contributing directly to a global war of extinction, can only be brought to an end, through the development of truly peaceful relations among sovereign nations. This signifies a return to the productive powers of mind, and an increase in the commitment to scientific progress, with an increase in higher and higher states of energy-flux density.
Man’s Promethean Identity
We must soar, and take dominion over our Solar System. We must move forward, with a commitment to man’s identity in space, to answer and solve the problems of hunger, of economic collapse, that actually devastate the planet today. We can bring about a collaboration among nation-states, on the common aims of mankind. This has been the inspiration of the United States, when it has acted in accordance with the truly Promethean identity of man to define a future of progress for all mankind.
President John F. Kennedy spoke at the 30th anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority at Muscle Shoals. He speaks of the inspiration of this powerful work, which gave the world an impact that it would bestow on generations to come, and he said:
“As a final example of its national role, I would cite to you—and I consider this one of the most important contributions of the Tennessee Valley, and it isn’t written in any credit or debit book—the 2,000 people who come from abroad to the TVA, from other lands, kings, prime ministers, students, technicians, people who are uncommitted, people who don’t know which way to go, people who are unsure. They come here and gain an impression not by merely visiting Washington or New York, but by coming to this valley. They gain an impression of vitality and growth, and the ability of people to work together in a free society. This has been one of the most powerful advertisements for the picture of the United States around the world that we have had, for these people come from nations whose poverty threatens to exceed their hopes, who do not feel they can solve their problems. They come here and compare this valley today to what it was 30 years ago, and they leave here feeling that they, too, can solve their problems in a system of freedom.”
Think about how John F. Kennedy was looking at how the past was shaping the future. He was living in the future, and what happened during the period of the Tennessee Valley Authority of President Franklin Roosevelt, was a thought-process in mind, for what would shape the future to come. And as Kennedy said, “We can look forward into the future, and say, what will shape the year of 1984?”
We now are in the year of 2014: What will shape the year of 2030? That’s my task for you all.
I want to close by sharing a personal story with you. Having just concluded both my campaign and Michael’s campaign, in which we effectively went to war with profound ideas, to save mankind from war with thermonuclear weapons, my mind was naturally drawn to a moment of profound reflection. So my husband and I took a trip, and we took the opportunity, as we were out helping Michael with his campaign in San Francisco, to take some time to visit the majestic Muir Woods National Park, just north of San Francisco. And here you find great redwood trees, hundreds of feet tall! These are one of the oldest living species on Earth. These trees have been around for millions of years, longer than any nation!
At the entry of the park, there’s a stump, showing a tree that was born in the year 909. It was alive when Columbus sailed the Atlantic; it was alive when the Declaration of Independence was written; it was alive for well over a thousand years. And to our delight, walking among this living cathedral of trees, we came across a plaque, and it turns out, after World War II, when delegates from 46 nations of the world came together [to found the United Nations] to put an end to war, and to dedicate themselves to the peace that comes through mutual progress, this was the spot in the forest, that President Franklin Roosevelt had intended them to be brought through. For as it says: “Not only would this focus attention upon this nation’s interest in preserving these mighty trees for posterity, but here in such a ‘temple of peace’ the delegates would gain a perspective and sense of time that could be obtained nowhere in America better than in a forest.”
I would suggest that we all, in remembrance of that, go find a park or a forest, and reflect.
But I think it’s fitting that two minds, separated by almost 90 years, but engaged in the same struggle for freedom of man, would reach the same conclusion in the same place. And this is an example of what Mr. LaRouche defines in his fourth point, as he talks about the unique role of man and the example of Vernadsky, to actually gain power and dominion over our Solar System. And the Vernadskyian conception of man, as that identified with the Promethean idea of looking into the future.
I want to read a quote from Vladimir Vernadsky, as we think about the representatives from those 46 nations, sitting among these beautiful forests, where the idea of the noösphere coming together with the biosphere couldn’t have been more clear. Vernadsky says: “Mankind’s power is not connected with its matter, but with its brain and its work, guided by its mind. In the geological history of the biosphere, a great future is opened to man, if he realizes it, and does not direct his mind and work to self-destruction.”
He goes on to say, “Mankind taken as a whole is becoming a powerful geological force. Humanity’s mind and work face the problem of reconstructing the biosphere, in the interests of freely thinking mankind as a single entity. The new state of the biosphere that we are approaching without notice, it is the noösphere.”
This is the true American identity, that nations around the world have come to love and admire, and which we can once again restore in a world free of empire. And that is the mission, and the very purpose for mankind, which brings us here together today, on this 30th anniversary of the Schiller Institute, to dedicate mankind to a peace which comes only through mutual progress.
And I leave you with that.
