So go to the precincts and take back the party in your state. If a bunch of dirty hippies could do it in ‘68, surly a few yuppies could break away from their latte’s to do it. Instead, the voting age yuppies whined that “you can’t fight city hall” and ran off to get the goods, working for corporations and buying sweatshop-made Nikes to jog to Starbucks. Totally abdicated their civic duties and now want to blame others for not “giving” them anyone to vote for. Puke.
The problem is that the wealthy have sophisticated, effective propaganda, as well as the funds to blast it everywhere, massively influence the thinking of most of the population, and the normal people who know what's going on don't have the resources to combat that and to get more honorable, well-informed people elected and others writing good policies which will be implemented by the elected.
Bad guys rise when good guys can't figure out how to overcome that obstacle.
A good analysis. But bad guys have always bad that power, especially under the Hearst empire. But FDR took it away from them and we had a wonderful period of stepping on the oligarchs and empowering the workers for about 50 years. Then the Civil Rights act passed and as LBJ said, there goes the party for the next 50 years. And he was right—whitey didn’t want to share with Blacks and thought they lost jobs because of the peace movement and decided to go Republican and Southern in their voting. And the Dems had no answer and just abandoned the field to these reactionaries, the Reagan Democrats and it’s been downhill ever since.
Back in 68 lots of people THOUGHT real changes were coming. But mostly they did not. I don't live in a state, I live in a province, but still, there is no real democracy. Still dominated by money and quests for power. The economy take first place. People, the climate, the earth, the creatures who live on the earth.......all subject to the state of the economy. All subject to the whims of a few rich people who value the economy above all else. Corporate media has given in too, mostly reporting in a "safe" manner so as not to lose their funding.
I was not thinking about the stock market when I used the term "economy". I worked at a small newspaper many years ago and the editor refused to publish something that I had written about the subjugation of women because he said "the advertisers won't like it". More recently there was a situation where a provincial premier and his staff tried to sell or give land from the green belt to their wealthy friends. Perhaps using the term "the economy" is incorrect in these situations; perhaps I should have said "individual financial gain".
Real changes were coming and did come, which is why there was such a huge backlash from the terrified Right. I was there. And maybe there’s no real democracy for a people who still considers themselves “subjects” of a king, but where there are citizens there is representative democracy and it’s been proven here over and over. Just because it doesn’t stay that way without constant vigilance doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Running around blaming the rich and the media for your lack of vigilance is just a cop out. And trying to tell me what we thought “back then” is really pathetic.
In our society, now and "back then" the ability to consume seems to indicate to many people that those who have that ability are successful. It is not the rich or the media that are really the issue, but it is our acceptance that they are correct or truthful that is the problem. I was there when we thought those changes were coming. I don't think the right backlash is out of fear alone, but also out of anger at the suggestion that traditional thinking from a religious, political, or societal perspective may not be the only correct way of thinking. In fact, sometimes it may be downright wrong, unethical, inhumane. Right now, witness the horrible backlash against anyone who may express their sexuality differently than the Christian, man/woman perspective. Those people backlashing don't want children to be taught that there are other ways of expressing ourselves other than what those "parent's rights" people think is correct. I have spent a good part of my life working to promote a more humane world. I have seen some progress in the rights of people with disabilities. For a while, things were better for women, but that is regressing quickly. The Vietnam war seems to have taught nothing to anyone. The west has fomented all kinds of wars since then and so many have died. War is a huge contributor to climate destruction as well. And Jeano, rest assured that most Canadians do not consider themselves subject to a king. I can hardly believe I read that.
I’ve known everything you’re mentioning here for 40 years. Not new information as it seems to be to you. Just because the Yuppies ran off to be consumers and vote people off the island instead of voting people out of office, doesn’t mean that we didn’t make real changes in the 60’s and 70’s. And Susan, whether you consider yourselves subjects or not, it’s what your form of government calls you. I’d be so ashamed.
I don't base my feelings of self worth (or lack of) on anything the government says or does. Altho our government is made up of people who are human as I am, we appear to have very different perspectives on how the world should be.
So go to the precincts and take back the party in your state. If a bunch of dirty hippies could do it in ‘68, surly a few yuppies could break away from their latte’s to do it. Instead, the voting age yuppies whined that “you can’t fight city hall” and ran off to get the goods, working for corporations and buying sweatshop-made Nikes to jog to Starbucks. Totally abdicated their civic duties and now want to blame others for not “giving” them anyone to vote for. Puke.
The problem is that the wealthy have sophisticated, effective propaganda, as well as the funds to blast it everywhere, massively influence the thinking of most of the population, and the normal people who know what's going on don't have the resources to combat that and to get more honorable, well-informed people elected and others writing good policies which will be implemented by the elected.
Bad guys rise when good guys can't figure out how to overcome that obstacle.
A good analysis. But bad guys have always bad that power, especially under the Hearst empire. But FDR took it away from them and we had a wonderful period of stepping on the oligarchs and empowering the workers for about 50 years. Then the Civil Rights act passed and as LBJ said, there goes the party for the next 50 years. And he was right—whitey didn’t want to share with Blacks and thought they lost jobs because of the peace movement and decided to go Republican and Southern in their voting. And the Dems had no answer and just abandoned the field to these reactionaries, the Reagan Democrats and it’s been downhill ever since.
Back in 68 lots of people THOUGHT real changes were coming. But mostly they did not. I don't live in a state, I live in a province, but still, there is no real democracy. Still dominated by money and quests for power. The economy take first place. People, the climate, the earth, the creatures who live on the earth.......all subject to the state of the economy. All subject to the whims of a few rich people who value the economy above all else. Corporate media has given in too, mostly reporting in a "safe" manner so as not to lose their funding.
And it's not even the real economy - it's just the stock market. (The stock market is not the economy!)
I was not thinking about the stock market when I used the term "economy". I worked at a small newspaper many years ago and the editor refused to publish something that I had written about the subjugation of women because he said "the advertisers won't like it". More recently there was a situation where a provincial premier and his staff tried to sell or give land from the green belt to their wealthy friends. Perhaps using the term "the economy" is incorrect in these situations; perhaps I should have said "individual financial gain".
Real changes were coming and did come, which is why there was such a huge backlash from the terrified Right. I was there. And maybe there’s no real democracy for a people who still considers themselves “subjects” of a king, but where there are citizens there is representative democracy and it’s been proven here over and over. Just because it doesn’t stay that way without constant vigilance doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Running around blaming the rich and the media for your lack of vigilance is just a cop out. And trying to tell me what we thought “back then” is really pathetic.
In our society, now and "back then" the ability to consume seems to indicate to many people that those who have that ability are successful. It is not the rich or the media that are really the issue, but it is our acceptance that they are correct or truthful that is the problem. I was there when we thought those changes were coming. I don't think the right backlash is out of fear alone, but also out of anger at the suggestion that traditional thinking from a religious, political, or societal perspective may not be the only correct way of thinking. In fact, sometimes it may be downright wrong, unethical, inhumane. Right now, witness the horrible backlash against anyone who may express their sexuality differently than the Christian, man/woman perspective. Those people backlashing don't want children to be taught that there are other ways of expressing ourselves other than what those "parent's rights" people think is correct. I have spent a good part of my life working to promote a more humane world. I have seen some progress in the rights of people with disabilities. For a while, things were better for women, but that is regressing quickly. The Vietnam war seems to have taught nothing to anyone. The west has fomented all kinds of wars since then and so many have died. War is a huge contributor to climate destruction as well. And Jeano, rest assured that most Canadians do not consider themselves subject to a king. I can hardly believe I read that.
"The Vietnam war seems to have taught nothing to anyone."
What do you mean? The Vietnam War taught the oligarchs many things, such as how better to manage the press and public opinion.
I’ve known everything you’re mentioning here for 40 years. Not new information as it seems to be to you. Just because the Yuppies ran off to be consumers and vote people off the island instead of voting people out of office, doesn’t mean that we didn’t make real changes in the 60’s and 70’s. And Susan, whether you consider yourselves subjects or not, it’s what your form of government calls you. I’d be so ashamed.
good thing you live where you do then.
Yes. And it’s no accident. And your self worth is beside the point. It’s the worth of others that counts. What do you do for them?
I don't base my feelings of self worth (or lack of) on anything the government says or does. Altho our government is made up of people who are human as I am, we appear to have very different perspectives on how the world should be.