Refreshing the Tree of Liberty in America
How much blood will it take?
Why are progressives so powerless in America? Is there any hope for radical reforms here that favor the 99%? Stimulated by a question from Jeff Moebus, here’s some thoughts on this crucial issue, lightly edited from the comments section of a previous article:
I’m curious, Bill: What do you think the RNC’s Main Goal is?
In any event, given that that is the DNC’s Main Goal [suppressing progressive voices and power within the Democratic Party], why haven’t the Principled Progressives of America formed their own political party so as to give Americans that choice for Systemic Reform come election time?
Is at least part of the problem that a significant number of Americans disagree with and, in some cases, categorically reject the principles, policy proposals, and promises of Progressivism? Which may explain why there are no “Progressives” in Washington, eh?
Jeff, the RNC seems content to ride the Trump wave, knowing that Trump can be controlled and perhaps coopted as well.
Trump lacks core principles, so I think the RNC's main goal is to shove Trump in directions that are consistent with RNC imperatives, such as lower taxes on corporations, financial deregulation, and the dismantling of the welfare state and anything that smacks of socialism.
What do you think?
I agree completely with your assessment of the RNC, Bill. Especially the part about Trump being controllable and cooptable. If he wasn't, he would have never become a President who completed a full term in office.
In any event: Do you have any thoughts as to why the Principled Progressives of America have not formed their own political party so as to give Americans that choice for "Systemic Reform" come election time?
Damn good question.
My guess: lack of money. Corporate cash isn't flowing to progressives. Plus some progressives have been coerced, manipulated, or otherwise propagandized to believe they can "push" Biden (or Harris etc.) in progressive ways. Of course, it's total BS.
Recognize as well that progressives were burned by both Obama and Bernie. Finally, progressive energy is sapped by "woke" cultural issues rather than focusing on class issues and an antiwar agenda that would also prove attractive to some on the Right as well.
That's my quick take. Of course, the other part is the corporate media that smears progressives as "far left," Putin puppets, and therefore untrustworthy and unelectable.
That's a pretty good quick take.
So the problem, basically, is that there are not enough Americans ~ especially those with money to spend on politics ~ who agree enough with the proposals of Progressivism to actively support it and actually work to make it happen.
Can you think of any way to change that?
Strangely, Jeff, I wrote a reply and it disappeared on my own site!
Here's what I think I wrote: What we need, as Bernie said, is a political revolution, but then Bernie decided not to lead it.
How do you effect this “progressive” revolution? It's extremely hard because so many powerful forces are arrayed against it:
1. Both major political parties in America are against progressive reforms.
2. Corporate elites are against them.
3. Corporate media is against them.
4. Coercive forces such as police forces of all stripes are against them.
What is required is a mass movement willing to be disobedient organized along class interests. A movement of left, right, and center. A movement of the 99% against the 1% (and the .1 -.01%).
Rich and powerful "citizens" (and recall that corporations are citizens now) will not simply hand over power. They will have to be persuaded, convinced, and possibly coerced.
Also, the rich and powerful know how to divide, distract, and demobilize the masses, while keeping the many as downtrodden and debilitated as possible. Hence all the "unhoused" people we see, all the immigrants, all the poor people suffering. Those poor unfortunate souls are partly there to scare the rest of us.
Thomas Jefferson famously opined that "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." (That's from memory.) Who is willing to bleed, and how much blood must flow, and even then, will it get any better?
It's easy to be cynical and pessimistic here, but those are paralyzing forces. Instead, we have to be optimistic or at least determined, else the USS America will continue to slip under the waves of mass corruption and bottomless bankruptcy. And by "bankruptcy" I mean spiritual and moral as much as financial.
What say you? Is there any hope for meaningful change in the USA, and how can that be implemented without violence?
******
Rather than putting the onus on Jeff Moebus, what about you, loyal readers? Can meaningful change be effected in America that actually helps the 99%? That moves the country into less militaristic waters? That restores liberty and power to the people? If so, how, and at what price?
One essential step: campaign finance reform. A country where money=speech is by definition a plutocracy. Another essential step: a radical downsizing of empire and a Pentagon budget reduced by 50%. But with a corrupt Congress that loves money and the military, how are these changes to be made?
This is not a new phenomenon. The wealthy have controlled the world since money was invented. The wealthy don't want progressive change. Look at how much the media and government have vilified socialism and communism as the stuff of evil tyrants and dictators. That is absurd as both alternate political systems are about empowering workers and preventing the rise of a wealthy class. If you were a creepy rich person, you would absolutely fear and hate communism the most as it eliminates investors and corporate owners from the picture. If the workers own and operate the industry or business, then the profits flow to the workers, not investors or elite owners. Marx himself made the point very early that the current type of capitalism was of the primitive sort with lots of exploitation and thievery of other countries resources. A more mature form of capitalism would transfer the ownership and benefits of industrial activity to the workers, rather than investors. What could possibly be more terrifying to the investor class?
If you want an answer of how this system can be overturned, there are plenty of examples from the past, and most of them were fairly brutal and bloody. I don't think Americans are ready for the gallows or guillotines yet, but the simmering is starting to get to a boil. I would argue that you Bill, and others like Larry Johnson, Aaron Mate, Ray McGovern, Judge Napolitano, Max Blumenthal and many, many others are already doing what is needed most. Break through the narrative management that floods the airwaves, cableways and printed "journalism". We need to counter the propaganda in engaging ways and get as many people as possible to turn away from the Corporate-Owned-News. It is our best hope right now, so my advice is to keep up the good work, and don't let up for a second.
Bill and Jeff, that was a good exchange of ideas - thanks!
I think partisan beliefs have become another form of identity -along with all the others; take your pick of your acronyms and pronouns. When coupled with economic fears and uncertainties, and constant propaganda about the next thing to fear - we now have 'bird flu' on the way, people have become conditioned by the MSM and the political class to put their hopes and trust in their own avatars of goodness, and hate -not just disagree - those on the other side of the contrived divide.
I fear it will only be something so dreadful that it will awaken our citizens to how many lies they have been fed by a completely corrupt elite: 'the indispensable nation'; the 'land of the free and the home of the brave'; 'the worlds strongest economy'; and having 'the finest fighting force in history'.
I'm not sure if its a sinking of an aircraft carrier and the loss of 5,000 sailors off Iran or Yemen; a limited nuclear exchange in Israel and Lebanon, or a collapse of the US banking system and a shuttering of all ATMs and credit cards - but it will take more than just another political party struggling to break through supported by the alternative media.
People are going to need to throw the sabots (wooden shoes) into the system and say no more. Maybe we'd then even get the guillotine and a few hanging trees.