A reckoning is inevitable. It will come one of two ways. Soon, as an act of collective awakening, or too late.
It will involve a fundamental shift in our relationships, with each other and with the planet.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Spade is a Spade is a Spade.

Executives at NPR are forced out of their jobs for telling the truth. Obama dodges responsibility to lead at every turn. The spineless, corrupt Democrats pass for a ‘centrist’ position, when they clearly represent the Republicans’ bitch. Voices of the progressive left are shouted down and out of the public conversation, while the neo-fascist shills at Fox continue to pass for sane. Truth tellers like Chris Hedges are crowded off the edge of the platform and “liberals” continue to back away from their core beliefs. Discouraging? Just slightly.

Let’s not mince words or dice the truth. The Tea Parties are dominated by uneducated, scared racists. The few who don’t fit that profile have simply (and justifiably) lost faith in the ability of government to function in their behalf, or for anyone other than the moneyed elite. Did one of those NPR execs make some reference to their “stupidity”? Oh dear. We are watching what will likely be seen as the final battle between human intelligence and human ignorance, willful ignorance, fear and denial. It’s the top of the 8th, and stupidity is up by ten.

There are peer-reviewed studies, documented and reproduced, that demonstrate significant patterns of difference between those who hold the conservative mindset and those who identify as liberal / progressive. Those on the left are better educated, less materialistic, less nationalistic, more in favor of human rights and humanistic values, and more open-minded, more flexible in their thinking, more creative and appreciative of culture. Sadly they are more inclined to play by the rules, even when their opponents are cheating at every opportunity. Conservatives are motivated, in general, across their experience, more by fear than confidence in the future or hope. They are more resistant to change AS change, regardless of the reasons for change. They are less willing to question their assumptions or prejudices. DUH. Liberals are conversely all too willing, continually, to question their assumptions, values, goals, strategies, clothing choices, religious beliefs and diet. To a fault. To THE fault that pushes human civilization and humanity toward the brink: the tipping point of global eco-disaster. Every statement here is already established fact, or provable tendency.

Chris Hedges, in a “book talk,” links the global financial fraud with the global eco-crisis. He sees that they are two sides of the same issue. He acknowledges that we can’t address one without addressing both. He points out that at the root of both problems - the environment at risk and the economy sucked dry - are the same corrupting influence of money on “democratic” politics, protected by corporate controlled information.

My words, not his: There is a zero-sum equation between the dollar value of total global ecological (and human rights) damage, and the total of accumulated, stolen, exploited and hoarded global wealth. Clues are emerging everywhere, to the only trend that can save us. The middle east rebellions demand punishment for political criminals and the return of the wealth the dictators stole from their own people. Progressives here continue to speak of the shameful refusal to tax the rich or to force corporations to obey tax law. No mention of the eco-damage as yet. One can only hope, that additional link will be established and that rebellions for basic rights will continue to spread.

My last letter to Obama

This is my last message to you, and my last comment on your behalf. I gave money and volunteered for your campaign. I cried with joy when you were elected. I am a life long Democrat and environmental activist. And right now you are my worst nightmare: someone who promised hope and change and has allied with the corrupt corporate state. Someone who is in a position to shift the direction of the global economy from inevitable eco-disaster to a sustainable model, yet who ignores that essential role. You will, as I feared, go down in history ONLY as the first black president and "better than Bush." You are abdicating the most important responsibility any president in history has seen. I'm back to where I was in '68: consider voting for the Conservative in the hope it will bring down the system, rather than continue to be fooled by fake progressives. I did not do that then, but I will in 2012. The apparent fact that you will win re-election is further evidence of the opportunity you are, with your inaction and cowardice, killing.