Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity

by Robert Jensen

Citizens of the Empire probes into the sense of disempowerment that has resulted from the Left's inability to halt the violent and repressive course of post-9/11 U.S. policy. In this passionate and personal exploration of what it means to be a citizen of the world's most powerful, affluent, and militarized nation in an era of imperial expansion, Jensen offers a potent antidote to despair over the future of democracy. In a plainspoken analysis of the dominant political rhetoric-which is intentionally crafted to depress political discourse and activism-Jensen reveals the contradictions and falsehoods of prevailing myths, using common-sense analogies that provide the reader with a clear-thinking rebuttal and a way to move forward with progressive political work and discussions. With an ethical framework that integrates political, intellectual, and emotional responses to the disheartening events of the past two years, Jensen examines the ways in which society has been led to this point and offers renewed hope for constructive engagement. Praise for Citizens of the "He couples his opinions with a solution for those progressive thinkers who want to help, making the book a sort of handbook for people who are looking for new ways to engage fully in the democratic process of citizenship."— Publishers Weekly " . . . a small, thoughtful, eminently accessible book, Citizens of the Empire is intended to be a citizen's manual of sorts, an encouragement to a thinking, effective electorate. Jensen's message is meant to be one of optimism, an antidote to the resignation and despair about the future of democracy in the face of increasingly mindless group-think on the part of the electorate and unresponsive policy-making on the part of their elected leaders. The conclusion of this slim volume is to urge the reader, whether or not s/he shares Jensen’s political views, to get up and get actively engaged, to reclaim the rights of a citizen of this country, and of the world, in a decisive election year."— Chapel Hill News

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Robert Jensen is an emeritus professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. He lives in northern New Mexico with his wife, Eliza Gilkyson, a two-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter.

Reviews

[Elisabeth]

A little gem of a book about empire, morality, free speech, critical thinking, and political struggle. Written back in 2004, this book is as relevant today as it was at the beginnings of the never-ending war on terror the US empire began waging in the aftermath of 9/11.

[Jeff]

This book really changed the way that I view privilege and my responsibility as a US citizen with lots of it. Instead of rambling, I want to just copy this excerpt from the book, which really shook me to the core:

"Given the overpopulation problem, she said, would it really be a good thing to spend lots of resources on developing those drugs?

About halfway through her sentence I knew where she was heading, though I didn’t want to believe it. This very bright student wanted to discuss whether it made sense to put resources into life-saving drugs for poor people in the Third World, given that there are arguably too many people on the planet already, or at least too many poor people in the Third World.

I contained my anger, somewhat, and told the student that when she was ready to sacrifice members of her own family to help solve the global population problem, then I would listen to her argument. In fact, given the outrageous levels of consumption of the middle and upper classes in the United States, I said, one could argue that large-scale death in the American suburbs would be far more beneficial in solving the population problem; a single US family is more of a burden ecologically on the planet than a hundred Indian peasants. “If you would be willing to let an epidemic sweep through your hometown and kill large numbers of people without trying to stop it, for the good of the planet, then I’ll listen to that argument,” I said.

The student left shortly after that. Based on her reaction, I suspect I made her feel bad. I am glad for that. I wanted her to see that the assumption behind her comment – that the lives of people who look like her are more valuable than the lives of the poor and vulnerable in other parts of the world – was ethnocentric, racist, and barbaric. That assumption is the product of an arrogant and inhumane society. I wanted her to think about why she lived in a world in which the pain of others is so routinely ignored. I wanted her to feel what, for most of her life, she has been able to turn away from. I wanted her to begin to empathize with people who aren’t white like her and not comfortable like her, people whose suffering is far away from her."

[Edmund]

Interesting to read this well written treatise on post-9/11 thoughts and feelings of living in the US empire more than a decade after it was penned. Worth your consideration. It's a thoughtful, passionate piece by a professor who believes in little "d" democracy and equality across national boundaries. He concluded by asking, "Do we have the courage to stop being Americans become human beings? Do we care enough about ourselves and the world to struggle to claim our humanity? The rest of the world is waiting for our answer." Sadly, by more metrics than not, the world need not wait any longer.

[Jim]

Thought provoking book that I frequently come back to in order to discuss with others. Jensen asks us to examine three common assumptions: (1) the U.S. is the greatest nation on earth, (2) we should support the troops, and (3) patriotism is a positive value.

I have been surprised when I engage in conversations how many people can agree with Jensen's statement that no American soldiers have died defending our freedom since World War II.

[William Crosby]

Agree or disagree he raises issues we need to think and converse about.

Be prepared for an extremely critical analysis of the U.S. current presence. He seeks to change our conception of the U.S. and he is hoping that this will result in a friendlier, more helpful nation instead of a domineering world police bully.

Discusses some of our U.S. mythological assumptions and sayings about ourselves.

[Kelly Holmes]

A quotation from the book: "We can either predict the worst -- that no change is possible -- and not act, in which case we guarantee there will be no change. Or we can understand that change always is possible, even in the face of great odds, and act on that assumption, which creates the possibility of progress."

This was a good read.

[John]

This book, by a local UT professor here in Austin, is simply outstanding. No matter what your political views are it is hard to ignore the truth and urgency of his arguments regarding the history of US military intervention and the systemic nature of our empire building policies.

[C.B. Daring]

This book was pretty awful, but his writings on gender studies are pretty interesting.

[R.K. Cowles]

4 1/2 stars