We have nothing to fear but Words.

Immigrants, communists, socialists and terrorists are tried and true good old American words to whip up fears and stir hatreds. We have always had the old immigrants are gonna take our jobs and trash the neighborhood talk. After World War II Communists became public enemy number one. There were reds in every town and under our beds, including yours! Don't like somebody, call them a Commie and watch their career spin into the ground. Don't like a movement? Call it Communist and a threat to our Holiest of Holy, National Security. Reap the bloom of beatings, police brutality, bombings and assassinations. Real Communists murdered? Watch the killers go free! We recoil away from our darker selves choosing instead to hide away in a land of myth and make believe where soldiers defend our freedom from evil aggressors like the North Vietnamese, Panama, Grenada, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. Oh wait, those last three were to fight terrorists and evil doers who hate us for our freedom. Hate us for our freedom? In what universe does that make any sense? Here more recently we have the latest scary word, Socialism.
Socialism according to Merriam Webster:

Definition of Socialism

1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

2a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property

b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.

3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.


Yup, sounds scary. Getting rid of private property changes everything. What, I cannot sell my house or plant a garden? Well that sucks! Let's look at a bigger picture. I can't discharge toxic waste into the stream running through the land my paper plant sits on? Sounds like old fashioned Communism to me! It is all in perspective. What exactly is "the state?" The state is supposed to be us, the people. Then along came Ronnie and Margaret in the '80's. The state was changed into nameless, faceless bureaucrats who were in our way and holding us back via over regulation. Ronnie and Margaret helped replace democracy with something seldom if ever mentioned in polite company or on prime time TV, Neoliberalism. Now we have a truly terrifying word and concept that almost no one ever talks about.      

Is Authoritarian Communism what Bernie supports? No, I don't think so. He supports something called Democratic Socialism. If you take a few minutes to read the linked information, you can see a clear difference. It goes something like this; people run things, not a handful of oligarchs. It is more Democratic. But those in power will stick to the scary socialism definition to discredit Bernie. The Cold war trained us to lump Socialism in with Authoritarian Communism (old Soviet Union).

We've already talked about terrorism. That's old news. The Donald and company now want us afraid if immigrant caravans coming to pick fruit and vegetables near you...   

So... What Can I Do?

We are trained from a pretty young age to believe we are powerless. That's not always so. Consider Rosa and Greta.  Movements start with people. If you don't want to start one, well there are plenty to support for a better world. Here are a few examples:

The Poor People's Campaign 

Amnesty International

Climate Justice Alliance 

Southern Poverty Law Center

Advancement Project

Do you really think screaming at your TV or angry facebook rants are going to change anything?

We cannot afford to sit this out.  

The Enemy is Us

As a country, we are terrible at self-reflection. We cannot dare look in the mirror. What would we see looking back? We had a brief moment in time where we were the "good guys." That was decades ago in the Second World War and for a short time afterward. We crushed the expansionist dreams of Japan with one hand and put an end to Germany's "Master Race" madness with the other. Then we helped both rebuild (along with much of the rest the world). We saved South Korea from the dark rule of the Kims. Sometime afterward we lost our way.

Was it the Communist scare of the 50's? Was it with Kennedy's assassination or Nixon and the "Southern Strategy?" None of these helped. A little later we added the deadly mix of religion and politics and the new Golden Rule. You know, "He who has the gold makes the rules." Let's not forget our much older (unacknowledged) transgressions; genocide, slavery and colonization. How do these affect us today? Well, there are a number of people who think we can do no wrong, have never done anything bad and our leadership is unquestionable and infallible. The ethnic cleansing of the west and the horrors of slavery are glossed over in most schools if they are taught at all. Colonization? Forget about it! How can we expect a nation incapable of self-questioning to hold itself and it's leaders accountable? We cannot.

We look on as the show trial in the Senate follows the script we all read before. Almost everyone knew Emperor Donald would not be convicted of anything. We do nothing. Our so called opposition Party oozes corruption incapable of learning anything from the last election. They squirm around trying to find a candidate unoffensive to their millionaire and billionaire masters. The will of the people be damned! Now it is the turn of the courts to cash in their independence. They are stacked with judges who are far more concerned with the rights of property owners than civil or human rights. Our three branches of government have merged into one, The Executive.

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How about a look in the mirror friends? We are going down "faster than groupies on the Limp Bizkit tour bus." We face financial collapse, climate collapse and ecological collapse. You have a choice. You can accept this fate assigned to you by others or fight like hell.
                 

Keep on winning with Emperor Donald

The pundits are practically ejaculating all over themselves talking about how great the economy is doing. Low unemployment, low interest and a soaring stock market makes for a rosy picture indeed. We vote with our wallets (and whoever we would rather have a beer with because that's important). So does that mean four more years or even The Donald for a lifetime self-appointment to the presidency? Would enough of us even care? Yeah, sure the economy is chugging along at the moment; the food is still getting to the cities, crime is down and society is still functioning more or less. There is only one little problem. It is not sustainable.

Debt. Running a massive debit seems to be the American way. Hey, watch your share grow here. I've never been a debt worry wart But at some point this will matter. What happens when our credit runs dry? No more wars to watch on TV. No more bailouts for banker-gamblers. Even the wealthy will have to start paying taxes! Funny how one political party has gone quiet on this issue (unless we ask for something that may help people). Debt will kill off the good times by itself. But wait there's more! 

Climate change. Man made, God made or made by space aliens secretly taraforming the Earth for their own ends, this IS happening.  I'll go with man made. Because you know, SCIENCE. Things are going to change fast in often unpredictable ways. They are not going to be good for humanity. Hey, the planet will be just fine. It is just us and many other life forms that are screwed. Even our good friends in National Security understand this. Putting our fingers in our ears and screaming LALALALA does not change what s happening one bit. None of this is good for a functioning economy much less a society. The next item is a true killer as well.      


Massive income inequality. This never works out well. Here is a brief overview of some of the consequences. It is also a hard thing to stop once it is going. Consider wage stagnation for the last fifty or so years. The .1% running away with all the money always backfires spectacularly sooner or later. Here is some more good general reading on income inequality.     

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This explains a lot. Hypernormalization - a long doc but well worth your time.         

Good News Readings 1.7.2020

Remember despair is the best weapon of your enemy. I'll post some positive stuff from time to time to help keep us all going. There is still a lot of good and reasons to be hopeful in this world. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020! 

Solar-powered Plant in Kenya Gives Thousands of People Clean Drinking Water After Five Years of Drought

Here are 19 things that made the world a better place in 2019

Canada wants to welcome more than 1 million new immigrants in the next three years

 Make it better: 22 positive, practical things you can do

99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn't Hear About in 2019

 

 

 

 

A Reading 1.5.2020

The Age of Last Chances

A good summary of the messes we find ourselves in at the start of the roaring 20's. The Earth will go on with or without our civilization.

War with Iran? Probaby Not.

So General Soleimani was probably not a nice guy. It was his job to do Iran's bidding all around the Middle East via Qods Force / Sepah-e Qods /Qods Corps / Jerusalem Corps. They were not exactly showering their neighbors with flowers and greeting cards. But let's not knock the dead guy. So now what happens?

Iran has more to lose than the USA. Any war will be fought in their backyard or even within their own borders. They may be able to pull off a few terrorist attacks here but that's not anywhere near the dangers they face from the US military and our good friends, the Israelis. Iran knows this. They will have to retaliate but not so much to further provoke a president with mounting troubles here at home who needs a new war with 24/7 media coverage.

The US does not need a new war to add to our list of on going conflicts and concerns. Our military has been run into the ground for almost twenty years now. Remember Rumsfeld's backdoor draft? Then there is the ever cagey Kim Jong Un. Who knows what he is going to do. Oh, sure we could fight him too. But who's gonna loan us the money? Look at the national debit clock! Sooner or later our creditors are gonna pull the plug. One or two more wars may do the trick. Lastly, there the logistics. Sending a few thousand troops does not make an invasion force. To invade Iran would take troop numbers with six or seven digits. That would take longer than Emperor Donald has in office. We are not really going to re-elect him, are we?

Random But Related Thoughts...

-Wars, once started, take on a life of their own. No one can claim to predict the actual outcome. 

-Starting a war with Iran, and whoever else jumps in, will only accelerate our decline.

-Trump does not care. No one he knows will be in harm's way. 

-Political violence here when things go bad? 

- Get to know some of the people we are going to war with. They are only people after all.