Sea Change Afoot?

So are we on the verge of a sea change in American politics? I ask this in all seriousness. Given the utter disarray of the current Republican Party nomination process and the sorry field of canidates, will they realize after losing the next election cycle that going to the right of Gingus Khan is no way to win an election? To me, any good ideas they may have on the economy, foreign policy, healthcare or other pressing issues (I'm not saying they have any but if they did) is drowned out by constant pandering to so called "Christians". Gay people are not our problem. I'll decide what family values are for myself, thank you very much. Religion is not under attack, though it should be for some of the lunacy that people are lead to believe in. See "chosen people" for example. As a practicing agnostic, I find the idea of a god / supreme being taking sides in wars, picking one faith over another or one jock over another utterly repulsive. Yet, the current leadership of the Republican Party thinks this is the way to go. Even people who don't believe this bullshit have to pretend they do. That means you, Mittens! Mormon my big black ass, this clown believes in only one thing, money. There's something causing this shift ever rightward, the Democrats.

The Democrats have appearantly decided the only way to defeat your enemy is to become your enemy. Obama is so far right, he's pushed the Republicans so far right they are falling off a cliff. He's pretty much followed in the steps of George W. and the Cheney Administration. Black sites, drones, new wars bank bailouts and so on and on and on and on. Even the democrats have to pander to the religious wackos. Just try running as an agnostic or dare I say athiest and see what happens. Both parties have completely sold us out for money but change is in the air.

Everyone with three or more functioning brain cells knows our election cycle is a farce. The same group wins every time, the . 1 percent. But this cannot go on forever. As more and more people are enslaved around the world in crushing poverty via capitalsm and neo-liberalism unrest grows exponentially. Sooner or later the myths will stop working and look out world, the wars of the twentyth century will be the good ole days. But unlike religious fanitics of all stripes, I think we have a choice.

Here's how you do it Republicans. Learn how to conserve. Bring back the notion of personal responsibility for all, especially business. Put defense back in the Defense Department. Conserve our strength by pulling out of on going unwinable wars. Conserve our cash by not forever giving it to wreckless business blowhards and while blaming our woes on the poor. And please stop the war on intelligence. Being a dumbass in not a virtue.

A new game called real democracy

It is easy to get on here and whine about our crumbling democracy here in the USA. Finding solutions is harder. I have no magic bullets to fix everything, seems I've ran out but how about a few starting points?

1. If we are ever to have a real democracy here in the USA, we have to find a way to get the massive sums of money out of our political system. I have no secret Swiss bank account and cannot buy influence in the current political system. I think this is the root of much of our troubles and also the hardest problem to solve. But it is not totally hopeless. Check out Move to Amend. Sooner or later, we must stop giving our support to political parties that do nor support us. We the people cannot win when the fix is in.

2. Recreate democracy starting at the most local level possible. The Occupy movements popping up all over are a good start and give me a much need ray of hope. We in the movement and who support it must be careful not to start playing the game the state does so well. Let's all be leaders and work through consensus and not allow ourselves to get bogged down in positions, personalities and power structures. When that happens, Occupy becomes just another failed movement assimilated by the most powerful. Here in Greensboro, NC our local Occupy movement has many sub-working groups; Healthcare, Employment, Arts and Education Enrichment. Each is actively seeking real solutions. The Employment group for example is researching how to set up employee owned co-ops to create jobs. This is the meaning of being the change we want to see in the world.

3. Delegitimize the current two party system. In other words, stop playing the game controlled by the powerful for the powerful. Let Washington continue to play games while we rebuild democracy one community at a time via consensus building. 51% should not be able to hold tyranny over 49%. We need to develop ways beyond the current win / lose oppositional politics that serve only the few. There are alternatives!

4. BE WARNED. If the any of the above starts to show signs of real success, the state will use its favorite tool, direct violence. Once the myths of freedom, land of opportunity, the American dream and the rest evaporate, direct violence will be the state's last card. If we meet violence with violence, we the people will lose. As we have seen the state is very good at violence. What they are not good at is non-violence. This may be a way to transform the game. It is not without cost.

In short, what we have to do is create a new game called real democracy, while we still have a legal means to do so.