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Time for Citizens to Convene
Just when many conditions seemed ripe for a progressive political
movement, the likelihood is fading fast. Concentrated corporate power
over our political economy and its control over peoples lives knows few
boundaries.
As Republican investor advocate leader Robert Monks puts it: “The
United States is a corporatist state. This means that individuals are
largely excluded both in the political and corporate spheres.”
Since Wall Street’s self-inflicted multi-trillion dollar collapse last
year, the corporate supremacists have shown no remorse. They have
become more aggressive: they are blocking regulatory reforms; pouring
campaign donations into the governing Democrats’ coffers; and,
shamelessly demanding more bailouts, subsidies and tax reductions. They
also continue to block avenues for judicial justice by aggrieved
people, whether they be the wrongfully injured, defrauded consumers and
investors, or jettisoned workers and bilked pensioneers.
The problem: large corporations have too many structural powers over
the citizenry. These “artificial persons” have acquired the
constitutional rights originally given in 1787 only to “natural
persons.” In fact, corporations have enormously greater privileges and
immunities than the people themselves because of their global control
over politicians, capital, labor and technology.
Normal sanctions do not adequately deter multinational companies that
can obscure their culpability, escape jurisdictions or create their own
parents (holding companies) and endless progeny (subsidiaries) to evade
or avoid accountability.
Even the most ardent progressives in Congress, and the most organized
progressive groups, cannot begin to deal with such gigantic mismatches.
Decades ago, there was more debate about the need for different “rules
of conduct,” to use conservative Frederick A. Hayek’s phrase, between
corporations and human beings. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
warned about corporations becoming “Frankensteins.” Presidents Teddy
Roosevelt and William Howard Taft wanted to replace the permissive
state chartering laws with tough federal chartering laws for large
corporations.
For two generations the ever-expanding superior status of corporations
has gone undiscussed in political realms. During that time,
corporations and their attorneys rode roughshod over the “we the
people” preamble of the Constitution. Our charter of government never
mentions the word “corporation.”
Unabated, the corporate crime wave continues. The corporate welfare
kings get fatter, the power disparity expands between corporations and
shrinking unions, and the pull-down pressures, created by the corporate
shipment of jobs and industries to repressive regimes abroad, further
corrodes American work opportunities. More of government, including
military functions, is being corporatized despite recurring reports of
rising waste, fraud and abuse.
The federal government’s budget for auditors, investigators, inspectors
and prosecutors is laughable, given the scale of looting: the
defrauding of medicare; abuses of Pentagon contracts; the taking of
minerals on the public lands; and the giveaways of government research
and development to favored companies.
Corporate profits keep going up, except for bailout periods, while most
Americans’ standards of living decline. Our country, so full of
unapplied solutions, is gridlocked—stuck in traffic. Record levels of
poverty, unemployment, home foreclosures, consumer debt and
bankruptcies, and people lacking health insurance persist, yet
corporate political power has not waned. A bad sign. Indeed, it has
increased, notwithstanding large majorities of Americans decrying too
much corporate control over their lives. The leave-it-to-the market
ideology of Big Business, and its claims of patriotism, have lost
credibility in this globalized era. Yet, the myth lives on even as
socialism routinely saves big capitalism from its own greed.
What can active progressives do? In Congress, amongst the
Republicans and corporate Democrats, the small progressive caucus of 83
members generates little political impact. Ironically, many of those
progressive legislators are busy dialing for the same commercial
campaign dollars.
Outside Congress, progressive groups have been on the defensive for so
many years that they have few offensive political strategies. The two
parties are in the narrowest channels of self-perpetuation. They
gerrymander their opponents into one-party districts and together
produce a matrix of obstacles to keep competition from third parties at
bay.
Both parties give preferential access to the hordes of drug, coal,
banking and other industry lobbyists, who are allowed de facto to
choose many of the nominees that lead the government’s departments,
such as the Defense and Treasury Departments.
Enough abuses have been documented. Enough power has been concentrated
to shred our democratic processes and institutions. It is time to
decisively shift power from the few to the many. Democratic power is
the essence of progressive political philosophy, and the precondition
for the emergence of a just society nourished by higher public
expectations.
How to begin? Progressives—elected, civic, labor and funders—need to
come together in a national convention to aggregate the existing forces
for change. Such a gathering could create a clear-eyed vision of the
common good to shatter debilitating public cynicism and passivity.
In attendance must be a broad range of energetic community organizers,
thinkers, the seriously generous progressive mega-rich and the heroic
dynamos who have risen from their suffering to act on behalf of
“liberty and justice for all.”
There is ample historic precedent for the galvanizing effect of
founding social justice conventions. This proposed convocation needs to
take civic and political action to unprecedented levels, powerfully
fueled by committed resources and strategies to build enduring
democratic institutions.
Unused knowledge, and many working models of community economics,
environmental advances and educational quality exist to further the
larger progressive dynamic.
Lincoln once observed the crucial importance of “public sentiment” for
moving a society forward. That “public sentiment” is here, deep,
widespread and ready for clearly explained “redirections.”
If a mantra is needed in the convention hall, let the eternal words of
the Roman, Marcus Cicero, be emblazoned for all to see: “Freedom is
participation in power.” For this aspiration places responsibility
where it must always reside: on the shoulders, in the minds, and in the
hearts of an empowered American people.
- Posted in
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140 Comments so far
Show AllMr. Nader, if you tuly believe that "Progressives—elected, civic, labor and funders—need to come together in a national convention to aggregate the existing forces for change" then book the hall and send out the invitations and let's get this show on the road.
I am fortunate that I was born before TV brainwashed US kids from the time they were born. Although I first watched TV when I was 6 years old, the media was still refining its brainwashing skills and processes, therefore the propagandists were not able to make the corporate paradigm stick to me.
It is safe to say that anybody born after 1960 (a significant majority of the US electorate) was brainwashed during childhood by TV to the extent that their ability to think critically outside of the corporate paradigm is seriously impaired.
I don't mean to imply that everybody born before 1960 possesses and utilizes critical thinking skills, they simply had less media assault actively compromising their abilities when they werre children.
Lacking an electorate that thinks critically outside the corporate paradigm, a thousand Ralph Naders and a thousdand credible whistleblowers will have little influence on an electorate that selects its elected officials the same way it selects its toothpaste.
Like you, I remember a much simpler time. I can recall "commercials" that actually taught children about other cultures, and still others that taught about nature and science. That, and many of the 'children's' programs were somewhat bi-lingual with some Spanish, some French and even some German phrases and counting system included.
But about our elections.... Today people are indoctrinated into believing that elections are like putting down a two dollar bet at the race track. MSM convinces the electorate that it is their job to 'choose the winner', not that it is their job to become informed as to the issues and the track record of those running and vote for the person who most closely relates to one's point of view. When people answer opinion polls and state that "it's okay to give up rights to protect our freedom", I fear our country is already lost.
Will the last person to leave please turn out the lights....
Back to the basics:
Democratic governments are specifically crafted with the assumption that all public officials, however honest they may start out, might be corrupted. The goal is to take away the occasion for their corruption.
You cannot have a corrupted political system without having a corrupted mainstream media. We have both.
commondreams is part of the corrupted powers that be. They went with the corporate democratic party.
We see now that the democrats are in front, that they weren't being blocked by republicans from ending the war or bringing single payer health care under Bush. Instead they were in practical lockstep with them.
End the war
Single payer health care
demand nothing less
We need to raise our children to be critical thinkers, to think freely and express their opinions. Most are indoctrinated by public education and quickly lose their ability to decipher or care about these things. More than ever they are being drugged into submission.
TV propaganda brainwashes kids before the education system sinks its claws into them.
Critical thinkers don't make very good corporate zombies.
Don't know if I can accept your putdown of public education. Don't you think "indoctrinated" is a little strong? As a teacher, I do not remember indoctrinating my students, though I do remember trying to get them to care about my subject, trying to instill good work habits in them, and--gasp!--even trying to teach critical thinking skills. Do you imagine schooling in nonpublic education is that much better--the narrow-minded parochial schools, the academies, the bigoted homeschools? It isn't. In fact, in many cases it is worse. Why not say America needs to teach its children how to think? That means supporting schools on occasion. Furthermore, it means that we all need to work on the goal, not just the beleaguered teachers of the public schools.
Basics:
Capitalism is good for generating lots of products cheaply.
Capitalism is weak at preventing the corrupt selling of goods, worker fraud, consumer fraud, inventor fraud, supplier fraud, local community fraud, the ripping off of the environment which is a public trust, the ripping off of our grandchildren.
Furthermore, unrestrained capitalism leads toward monopoly capitalism. In 1000 ways, a larger company tries to squeeze a smaller company out of a particular market, after which the larger company can raise all of its prices for greater profits.
The government's job is to regulate the "free market", which is not free at all in the 21st century.
The free market was never free in the US. US Polticians have been corrupt for 233 years.
Agreed. Even in the earliest days of the country, fabulously wealthy slavers bought their way around the state and national laws and ideals.
Restrained capitalism is democracy, just regulate all the excessive profit, greed and guts out capitilism and bingo -- DEMOCRACY.
Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with our capitalist President and all his greed loving capitalist politicians in Congress.
Regulation is like trying to keep a 30-foot python in a particular corner of the room. The only one who benefits from that arrangement is the snake, since there's nothing the snake can provide us that we can't get in some safer way, but the moment we make a mistake --and errare humanum est-- the snake has us for lunch.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
So sayeth the capitalists when the regulations aren't written by the lobbyists THEY pay for. There have always been regulations both good and ill. It's not regulation but the specifics of what is being regulated and how well it is regulated in terms of promoting the General Welfare that matters.
After much brainstorming I've come up with what I believe is the best shot for progressives to get their message heard and break through the corporate controlled media barrier.
I call for every progressive political website to agree to run an identical headline at the top of their website and not remove it until the aim is achieved.
How about this headline in 4 inch letters:
WE DEMAND A CBO ESTIMATE OF SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE AND EQUAL TIME ON EVERY TELEVISION NEWS PROGRAM THAT USES THE PUBLIC'S AIRWAVES.
Every progressive website, HuffPo, Kos, ThinkProgress, The Nation, Buzzflash, Alternet etc. places this GIANT HEADLINE in four inch letters at the top of its site and refuses to remove it until we our goal is attained.
This is a political protest that cannot be stopped by Tasers, Tear Gas or Police.
Nothing else is working.
I'm convinced this would.
Problem is, only us progressives and liberals would see it and after a week or two it would be an irritation.
Don't believe we need more people, just become a more dedicated people.
If dedicated we could organize 20% of society and take over all of government.
Democrats and Republicans each have a dedicated 5%, we could have a dedicated 20% and surely victory is ours.
Big bottleneck is a 60% self-absorbed majority that never get involved, and like brainwashed slaves always vote for the one media says is most popular.
Forget all the deadwood in society -- Start the Revolution without them!
That's what I always say.
The show of unity and refusal to be distracted by sensational celebrity stories or passively agreeing to move on to the next important story would be a story in and of itself.
The corporate media would be forced to cover it.
Especially if we refused to budge for 30, 60, 90 days.
A "virtual" protest march by all the progressive websites.
And we better do it before net-neutrality is smashed to bits.
It would help. Under Bush, these sites used to have bold headlines announcing anti-war actions. You don't see that too much anymore, perhaps because many of them don't want to make it tough on Obama, the man the nation fell in love with and who they now must protect - because he's just so guileless, right? Now it's all talk, all the time. Who needs action when we can come here to vent?
Daily Kos is NOT a progressive site. It is NOT a leftist site.
It is Democratic party site. The purpose of Daily Kos is getting Democrats into office. That's it.
I propose a progressive oligopoly tax, or a "too big to fail" tax, on every huge company. Banks that are too big to fail are a pox on our democracies. So is a General Motors that is too big to fail. By progressively taxing market size for every product line and in every geographical market, companies will have a natural incentive to split up and then to compete.
Furthermore, I propose that the government take up a "bail-in" philosophy. If an innovative product exists in an oligopolistic market, the government should foster a new startup, the better for the consumer.
Millions of reasonably intelligent people should have the right to become doctors because they have good hearts. They need a buy-in to the profession. Our country's demand that only highly brainy people should become doctors is almost as loony as our country's demand that only highly brainy people can drive postal trucks for a living. Medical school shouldn't be a half a million dollar purchase to exclude all but the rich. Medical residencies shouldn't be a 100 hour per week torture test.
One answer to this state of affairs would be a cure for the mental virus that permeates the electorate: the belief that it makes no sense to vote for people who cannot win even if you believe they would be the best person for the job.
The truth is, no one knows who might win if citizens were willing to vote for what they truly want coming from a place of integrity. But as long as people believe that only Democrats or Republicans can win, we will only vote for what we don't want and then spend the next 2, 4, or 6 years trying to get the people who are elected to be something they are not, don't have the courage to be, or don't know how to be. We should be able to find enough citizens among us who would honorably tell us what they believe in and have the courage and decency to work for what they believe in once elected... all we need is the common sense and courage to find such people and then vote for them no matter who the media tell us can't win an election.
I suspect that you are correct in asserting that more people would vote for third parties if they could get over the mental block of in essence "voting for the lesser of two evils." Unfortunately, far too many people feel that it is impossible for a third party candidate to win an election because they don't get the media exposure of the Democratic or Republlican candidate. Further, though I don't have the stats to prove it, I think there are still a great deal of people out there who do indeed support the party over the candidate.
This past election, I (and I admit fully that I was wrong) voted for Obama. Not because I truly believed that he would force "change we can believe in", (in fact I became very leary of him because of his charisma...kind of a JIm Jones thing), but because of the sheer terror I had in the even slightest possibility that McCain/Palin (in other words, a Palin presidency because of McCain's failing health)would slip into the WHite House. Of course as it turns out, nothing of any substance has changed.
Personally, from now on, I intend to vote my conscience. I have had it as far as being completely betrayed by mainstream candidates. I believe than less evil is still evil and voting for the less evil candidate still leads the country over the proverbial cliff, albeit maybe a bit slower than the more evil. Unfortunately, unless the situation arises such as that during the populist uprising of the late 19th and early 20th century, where the populist party made some inroads into congress, I don't see a third party making much of an impact given the lack of resources and media coverage they have available to them. I am certainly open to suggestions on how to overcome this barrier however and just hope that if things get bad enough, enough people will make the leap and vote their conscience.
I feel comforted by the many, many comments on CD and elsewhere disparaging the "lesser of two evils" strategy, which has been a hugely successful scam orchestrated by our two corporate owned parties. The proof is in. It's a strategy that consistently moves us further to the right. I think Obama is further to the right of Reagan!
I'm in awe of how minds can be so easily controlled through the media, including the internet. Progressives are no more immune than conservative, bible thumping Republicans.
To understand where most of Americans are politically, look at the polls, don't listen to Obama or Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck, they're a distraction meant to manipulate progressives' attention and anger away from corporate crooks and their political whores and instead towards and against a small minority of not so informed Americans who have been encouraged and egged on but are discredited in the polls. Democrats have a triple majority! They can pass single payer health care, the system the majority says it favors!
The distraction is calculated strategy designed to steer our attention away from the real causes of our crisis - a voraciously greedy, powerful, mean and out of control corporate fascism backed by both political parties. We have shown them they can have their way with us. It's time to buckle down, assuming there's still time to change things without bloodshed.
Forget the right wing. They have been discredited. Their approval ratings are historically low. Keep your eyes on the prize because there will be many distractions. "Oh my God, Sarah Palin wears fabulously expensive clothing and she is a wolf hater!" "Fight racism. Vote for Obama!" So get ready for even more scams. They don't even pretend to be sophisticated ones. The powerful realize: it doesn't take much to fool the people. The more desperate we are, the more easily we are manipulated.
Let's concentrate on our agenda, on finding and voting for people who will represent us rather than oppose us.
aussidawg,
Please remember this in 2010 and '12 when the Republicans are looking like they're going to win and the proven centrist Democrat (maybe a woman?)--president, congress, or whoever--starts making wild promises about how far to the radical left their actions will be once we knuckle under and vote for them. Will you look at their voting records, written positions, voting records, party platform, voting records, and then hold firm?
Let's start now--the Green party needs an exciting candidate who will capture imaginations and break through the monopolist lockout on coverage and debates--a Schwarzenegger of the left. We need to begin getting ready right now for fund raising and blogging and have talking points and the phone numbers and email addresses of every media outlet that people in our districts see. If we do this right we can not only get our candidates elected but move the Democrats, and thus the Republicans, to the left.
Will you pledge to do these things?
Remember this feeling when it’s time to give and vote.
Take the pledge:
I, your name here, PLEDGE TO NOT BE FOOLED AGAIN.
I pledge to begin now to find, work for, vote for and support to the end of the election in question excellent candidates and a party who truly believe as I do.
I pledge to support candidates at every level who have and will continue to speak for, vote for, and work for the true progressive principles I believe in. I pledge to look at voting records, all statements, positions and party and individual platforms and employment history and ignore vague and contradictory promises. I pledge that no matter what promises or threats the Democrats make, no matter what radical right wing loony Neanderthal Republican may win, I will hold firm to my belief in and support for the candidate who will support me and believes in what I believe in, rather than choose the evil of 2 lessers. I recognize that only by holding firm against comfortable mediocrity will our rapid death by climate catastrophe, impoverization, war and disease and shortage, abetted by authoritarian corporate rule, be avoided.
(Fill in your nom de net and repost this here; feel free to change the wording however you want.)
J4zonian, trust me (yeah, I know...Nixon said the same thing) I have had my fill of the "lessser of two evils." As I said, I voted for Obummer out of fear. Well, things are the same as before Obama (B.O.). In fact, I would venture to say worse. It is worth it to me in the future to be able to point the finger at those who have failed to learn the lesson this time around. It isn't much, but it beats the guilt of perpetuating the same old crap again!
As far as your above pledge...sure, I will be happy to fill in the blanks!
The simple answer is IRV: Instant Runoff Voting. It's already being used in San Francisco and several other jurisdictions (I believe also Australia). Vote for your REAL choice, then for the "safe" preference. It eliminates the"throw your vote away" argument.
Of course! IRV would go a long way in helping us avoid the continuing shift to the right wing, with polls saying Americans are more progressive than anyone is willing to admit, even progressives themselves.
I'd urge you to do some research on IRV. I too thought it would be good, but ran into an assessment site and found that it has the same problem with encouraging tactical voting that FPTP does - probably because it *is* FPTP, just collapsed in time. Its one virtue seems to be its simplicity, but it's the same deceitful simplicity that FPTP has.
There are other systems that do a better job of discouraging tactical voting, such as Tydeman's version of Condorcet's system.
I favor more than two legislative bodies.
5,000 legislators earning $15,000 apiece would be 1/10 as corrupt as the current 500 legislators all earning $150,000 apiece.
I favor the election of groups of around 10 legislators by proportional representation. This takes almost all the mud out of political campaigning. Whenever 20 people vie for 10 seats, the political value of tarring any 1 candidate pales in comparison to the political loss of being the tar thrower. So, in practice candidates tend to discuss major issues in enormous detail. Also, a ten million dollar contribution would probably buy no more than one of the ten votes in a district, so the power of rich lobbyists would be diminished by perhaps a factor of 10.
PaulK,
I'm with you on the tarring thing. I like your idea. But tar isn't even close to being our main problem, even if you're just talking about cigarettes.
Why not make it 3 million legislators, each paid 5$? That's called democracy, and would do nicely in comparison to our current unrepresentative unrepublic--IF we had an emotionally healthy body of legislators. Of course, without that--a mature, wise and educated electorate--no system devisable will be much better than what we have. Change the system? The gamers will simply change the way they game it.
I see a number of really good brainstorming ideas here, and maybe a bunch of them together would temporarily break the hold of corporations just enough that we could start to educate people, heal them emotionally, and change things in time to save our asses from the 3Cs and the P: Climate Change (and other ecological devastation), the Constitutional crisis (and the rule of law) and the power of Corporations over our lives and politics, plus Peak Everything. But in the end, only psychological health will bring about the real change we need. That should be the goal, and inform every intermediate step we make.
I could easily imagine more than 5,000 legislators. 300,000 legislators would be 1 per every 1000 people. If half of everyone is of voting age, then 300,000 legislators would be 1 for every 500 people.
Three million legislators, or one per 50 voters, is an awful lot of legislative professionals. At that level I would start to worry about legislators thinking that their votes didn't matter much, and also about legislative traffic gridlock from the sheer volume of people. If you can solve these problems, we could try the higher number.
Let's give 300,000 legislators a raise to perhaps $1000/year to cover basic expenses. That would cost the country $300 million/year, but it's worth it. Under no circumstances should the government pay any legislator a huge cash prize to stay in office. Let running for office be for the love of country, not a profit-making business.
oops. what I meant to write was 300 million legislators. THAT'S democracy.
the problem with low-paid legislative jobs is that many people will make them high paying jobs by taking money from places and people they shouldn't. of course, the problem with high-paying jobs is that they attract people who like money and they're likely to never get enough of it, so they also will take money from places and people they shouldn't. essentially you could say that's the problem with money, but what it really is is the problem with an emotionally stunted, traumatized and addicted species.
you could raise the pay to current levels for any number of legislators you want, but as one of those ways and means guys with an office building named after him said, a million here, a million there, and pretty soon you're talkin about real money.
but...
why are we arguing about this as if it's going to happen? shouldn't we be discussing strategies that may actually solve some of the problems we have?
Imagine people offering themselves as legislative delegates. You don't want to do all the research and foobar involved in conscientious legislating, so you find someone whose politics match yours and hire her/him for some small negotiated amount per month, say for example $10. That person then becomes your registered delegate for an indefinite period, cancellable at will or by death etc. If 9,998 other people also hire him/her, that person casts 10K votes every time they vote, while pulling down ca. $100K/month in fees from which they pay their own research staff, office expenses, travel, etc. And to keep them honest, it could be made unalterable law that their only source of income be their delegate fees for as long as they remain a delegate.
It would make a considerably more responsive legislature, I think.
Thanks for the great summation Ralph. It's time to look to the Swiss. They resolved these problems over 150 years ago.
Democracy -- The death of a capitalist society
A capitalism government functions on the illusion that we all deserve to be rich, which gives everyone a clear conscience as they compete for excessive wealth. For the unregulated freedom to compete against those weaker, poorer or slow of thought, this is what capitalism is all about.
Whereas a democratic government functions on the reality that no one deserves to be poor, which gives a man no peace unless he passes his excess down to those less fortunate where it belongs.
So yes, a moral government can make a people moral, as a matter of fact the force of law is the only thing on earth that can enforce morality, and thereby establish an equal and just democracy.
For regulation establishes democracy. And does so by destroying capitalism with all its excessive wealth and hypocrisy.
Another good article by Ralph.
I can see the convention now.
In-fights over whether the Truthers and Anarchists get the prime time.
Of course the real billionaires or the "Super Wealthy That Could Save Us" won't show for security reasons, but maybe the Yes Men will come and it could be a hoot.
Face it: Nothing is going to happen soon enough to overthrow the corporate fascist state via elections in time to avoid an even deeper catastrophe for the majority of the American population. Unconventional means are called for, means that have been used effectively in other parts of the world but never here. In order to break the mass mesmerization maintained by the corporate media and the entertainment state we need to monkey wrench the communications system. Because the brainwashing is more deep seated here than anywhere else on the planet except perhaps North Korea, we need to break into corporate media transmissions and get truth to the masses. Individually and as families and groups people realize that the situation has become intolerable and that it has something to do with concentrated wealth and power, but ordinary Americans feel powerless and hopeless to change anything. With very few exceptions members of congress are part of the problem. They will not be tossed out of power any time soon. They're well entrenched. The courts will also for the most part continue to serve the corrupt status quo. So what do we do? We will have to try to model socialism on a local level as much as possible. We need to have more mutual aid societies to help the unemployed especially those who either never got unemployment compensation or have run out. As Chris Hedges compellingly points out the hour is late in this country. Forces on the far right stand ready and organized to fill the power void that will appear as the economy goes into yet another tailspin or after a terrorist attack. Socialism on the local level is the way to start standing up to the corporate state.
Face it: Nothing is going to happen soon enough to overthrow the corporate fascist state via elections in time to avoid an even deeper catastrophe for the majority of the American population. Unconventional means are called for, means that have been used effectively in other parts of the world but never here. In order to break the mass mesmerization maintained by the corporate media and the entertainment state we need to monkey wrench the communications system. Because the brainwashing is more deep seated here than anywhere else on the planet except perhaps North Korea, we need to break into corporate media transmissions and get truth to the masses. Individually and as families and groups people realize that the situation has become intolerable and that it has something to do with concentrated wealth and power, but ordinary Americans feel powerless and hopeless to change anything. With very few exceptions members of congress are part of the problem. They will not be tossed out of power any time soon. They're well entrenched. The courts will also for the most part continue to serve the corrupt status quo. So what do we do? We will have to try to model socialism on a local level as much as possible. We need to have more mutual aid societies to help the unemployed especially those who either never got unemployment compensation or have run out. As Chris Hedges compellingly points out the hour is late in this country. Forces on the far right stand ready and organized to fill the power void that will appear as the economy goes into yet another tailspin or after a terrorist attack. Socialism on the local level is the way to start standing up to the corporate state.
Face it: Nothing is going to happen soon enough to overthrow the corporate fascist state via elections in time to avoid an even deeper catastrophe for the majority of the American population. Unconventional means are called for, means that have been used effectively in other parts of the world but never here. In order to break the mass mesmerization maintained by the corporate media and the entertainment state we need to monkey wrench the communications system. Because the brainwashing is more deep seated here than anywhere else on the planet except perhaps North Korea, we need to break into corporate media transmissions and get truth to the masses. Individually and as families and groups people realize that the situation has become intolerable and that it has something to do with concentrated wealth and power, but ordinary Americans feel powerless and hopeless to change anything. With very few exceptions members of congress are part of the problem. They will not be tossed out of power any time soon. They're well entrenched. The courts will also for the most part continue to serve the corrupt status quo. So what do we do? We will have to try to model socialism on a local level as much as possible. We need to have more mutual aid societies to help the unemployed especially those who either never got unemployment compensation or have run out. As Chris Hedges compellingly points out the hour is late in this country. Forces on the far right stand ready and organized to fill the power void that will appear as the economy goes into yet another tailspin or after a terrorist attack. Socialism on the local level is the way to start standing up to the corporate state.
I suggest something along the lines of the Black Panther Party, but on a much larger scale - working in communities across the country. The BPP not only provided protection to the Oakland community from police brutality (that was their original intent), but later morphed into providing community services and engaging their communities - breakfasts for schoolkids, legal aid, help with housing services, health care clinics.
I am thinking that the first wave of such volunteer community organization might be around health care - volunteers starting up clinics for the uninsured.
We are facing a crisis of unemployment and poverty in this country like we haven't seen in generations, and I like to think that Americans will rise to the occasion and begin serving one another, OUTSIDE of the government channels, the public channels which have failed us so miserably.
Once these community organizations grow - legal aid, housing/squatters aid (millions of foreclosed homes are sitting empty), health aid, child care or food aid - whatever it might be - this is the start of a more massive build-up of revolutionary action. The kind of action that needs to take place to destroy our corporate capitalist system.
Swiss socialism -- Why not?
The Swiss are a people mostly of equal intelligence, about 90% of the intelligent middleclass, and equality for them is no challenge. Just a simple matter of mutual gratification, everyone taxed about equal and receiving back social benefits about equal.
But here in Empire USA, about 50% of society is of my slow and careful thinking laboring class. For we have not the intelligence to finish high school, most earn less than $10 an hour, and because of capitalism we are denied equal healthcare.
So you have 30% of the intelligent middleclass, 20% among the gifted rich, and to give us who labor equal healthcare, this would about destroy free market capitalism for the rich.
WARNING -- THREE DUPLICATE POSTS BELOW -- THREE DEEP IN DARKNESS BELOW
Below you will find three duplicate posts by a capitalist trying to fool us into thinking he is socialist for equality. But surely not, for he writes in a complex jargon that he knows we of the laboring class cannot even begin to comprehend.
how's this for "equality" or something similar?
did people know that IN SWEDEN....men are EXPECTED, socially, to do housework as the women? and that when the wife gets pregnant...the nine months? the MAN can get NINE MONTHS OFF from WORK - paid leave - to be home with the wife and help her with housework and ensure that she has a healthy pregnancy.
yup. that's a fact.
Great article but I'm not giving up either. In addition to what Nader proposed on the need to unite, I have two ideas:
1. I have read suggestions that we pay attention to our local and state races too in addition to the federal ones. Excellent idea to those who proposed it. We reap what we sow and it all starts locally.
2. I can't stress this enough but open your hearts and minds to judging and voting for candidates who actually identify best with you issue by issue rather than allow corporate media polls and peer pressure to dictate the perceived "winner". Look me up in the archives for more details. :)
Great. More delusional advice on "voting'.
Z-zzzzzzzzzzz
P.S. And I hope the nitwits at MoveOn.org paid a hefty price to CD for their ad.
"Great. More delusional advice on "voting'."
Exactly what is it that is delusional? Please explain if you dare !
"Z-zzzzzzzzzzz"
I swear ! What is wrong with you today? Thanks for being that annoying !
Ignore the posts by the nay sayers Jennifer. Local and state elections are a great place to start.
"Just when many conditions seemed ripe for a progressive political movement, the likelihood is fading fast."
But Ralph is right about this. Its been thrown in the dirt by fools and poltroons. Its not the Corporations as much as people that don't understand people.
"Local and state elections are a great place to start."
Thank you Henry8. All of our presidents are either governors or Senators at the most. People in Congress? Go through the history of each of these pols and you'll find that a great deal of them came from state Senate, state assembly, or whatever equally high influential position. Same with the Senate except they're even worse for the most part. Hey, Barack was state Senator or he would have never made it to US Senator let alone president. I still hold strong hopes that there are a lot of people scattered across the country who share Nader's vision for America and want to climb up the political ladder by getting into local and/or state politics or at least equally influential positions that will give them some clout to help them make it to Congress. It's tough enough to get people to open their hearts and minds on judging candidates but having something to show can be very helpful.
I saw you, maxpayne, JWVerez, and others from the archives give this kind of advice on the need to pay attention to local and state elections. I have said repeatedly that I do vote on all levels because I think it does matter. Whether who I vote for wins or loses is another matter but politics doesn't feel so bad on the local and even state level because there's not as much poison politicking involved. I sometimes have a hunch that if more people paid attention to local or at least state politics, they would be immune to all this political poisoning from the media. It's just so embarrassing that mayoral elections get a 15% turnout at best even when presidential elections get 60% !
I know you, my old friend JWVerez, and countless others including my own favorite uncle tried to calm me down when I used to get emotional wishing that Nader had been president. While I still do get upset upon that wish, I'm unable to shake off the truth that this same Congress would have done everything to persecute him to no end even if he were president. But then again, the electorate would have to vote with an entirely different mindset and we would be having a totally different Congress that would at least give him some chance out there.
"But Ralph is right about this. Its been thrown in the dirt by fools and poltroons. Its not the Corporations as much as people that don't understand people."
I think it's still both the corporations pushing our buttons and then the electorate resigning itself to exploiting one another just because they're afraid to take on the giant culprits. I don't know though. I'll have to assess what you said in detail. Thanks for the thought though. :)
P.S.: JWVerez nowadays takes more interest in local politics back in El Paso County since his wife now works instead of him. I'll send him an email begging him to share with us his experience working with local politics. He probably doesn't expect TX to turn blue anytime soon and I would be tickled if it did anytime this upcoming decade.
thanks again ray and elaine both of you are right on target!
ray your posts are always clear and concise and are the work
of a person that marches to your own drummer. most of us
here probably have had this our entire lives and it hasn't
always been a gift has it? my sisters children are in their
early 20's and their lack of critical thinking skills
is startling. this is the problem and these corporate
monsters are behind this. nelson rockefeller and his pals
started planning this in the 50's and also the exodus of
jobs to other parts of the world. i clearly remember
the manufacturing sector leaving nyc in the 60's as they
were tired of dealing with unions and the beginning of
the end of good union jobs here. the unions today are a ghost of their former selves due to not only these factors but their
corruption as well! this is one of the tools we can utilize
to begin to reclaim america. but first the thing that
needs doing is to teach people to think for themselves
which actually may prove harder then beating down the
global corporations that have enslaved some of us!
people today only think of numero uno and fuck
everyone else and they cannot think of the ramifications
of this behavior! me me me has been as much of the big
picture problem as the rest of the equation! we have to fix
this to have a shot and this will take time. time we may
not have as a nation!
Good idea, Mr. Nader. Said convention should deal with structural reform of the political side of the system, i.e. abolishing the Congress and enabling national electronic plebiscites to resolve important issues.
Look very closely and you will see that the Congress is the central concern and delegation of authority the villain in the piece. Athens did not need a Congress, neither do we.
In a real democracy you don't vote for candidates, you decide issues. That's the only way capitalism can be controlled effectively.