Isn't it something how issues take a back seat to words such as SOCIALIST (in caps because it gets attention as if it were always in caps). Some may recall how Nixon's appearance supposedly killed his chances against JFK.
It hasn't always been this way. In the Lincoln-Douglas debates lots of humor was based on the giant vs pygmy appearance of the two but people all over Illinois listened for hours to what the two men had to say, eager to hear the points being made and the counter arguments to each point. The text of these debates is available. It's worth reading just one of them to see how far things have fallen in the public political arena. Today, not only would any politician lack the facility with the English language of those times, but the audience would be quickly bored and constantly checking smartphones.
It seems to me we have become incapacitated. Most people have trouble speaking clearly, writing is a shadow of what it was, attention spans are short, patience is rare and the very pace of daily activity leaves no time for even five minutes of engaged thinking. And at all times we are deluged with advertising, piped in music everywhere and all of it unrelated to what we are doing at the moment. Is it any wonder stress is rampant - yet people seek caffeine laced drinks and uppers claiming it helps them think! From Lincoln's time to now we have steadily wandered off the road of thought and into the weeds of confusion. Stimulation we see/hear everywhere, clear thinking and the time to engage in it, nowhere.
In our desperate hyperactivity, we simplify and attend to a word like SOCIALIST to settle our views for or against someone. The tragedy of our times is that nobody, if asked to speak about the future either short or long term, would say that things will slow down. Who wants this? We are out of control of our own future.
Thanks jg, and good questions. I think of that old musical "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off". That isn't possible. We all know of the scene of the person being tied to a railroad track and the train is coming, but we are tied to the train and have no way to get to the engineer (the 1%) to control it.
I think I've mentioned the ancient Greek thought that the best way to destroy a man is to give him what he most desires. In our case, everyone is being given what they most desire in material consumption that is breathtaking, Earth-breaking, and responsible for 70%+ or our economy. Capitalism is the train to which we are tied and it will not accept anything but acceleration. Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg scaling back? No way, and they are only the top of the 1%, a group that lives heedlessly with multiple mansions, private jets, being here today, in Monaco tomorrow, and that not enough.
I think most people are afraid to stop and think of the future. Americans in particular have no idea of any other way to live and at the same time know that the craziness is what provides income. Like piglets who have hold of a teat, I dare not let go or another piglet will grab it and what will happen to me?
Suppose God would appear and say, "THERE IS A LIMIT!" Well, He doesn't need to appear because we have global warming, Mother Nature saying the same thing. Clearly everyone should be thinking of how to personally reduce CO2 production. But Bezos and others are pushing space tourism (big profit), where the rich can greatly increase their (already great) CO2 production for a joy ride to see the (warming) earth.
Cars are the #1 producer of CO2 for individuals, but I frequently see people sitting in idling cars, going nowhere, windows up, engine running for the A/C on sunny and cool days where no A/C is needed. What are they busy doing? Working the smartphone, something that can be done anywhere. It's so crazy I have started tapping on the driver's window to ask "do you know about global warming?"
The best way to stop the mind going to anxiety provoking thoughts is to keep busy. It is a national pastime and the frantic way it is pursued convinces me that fear/anxiety is driving (pun intended) it, that it is compulsive. There are many who dread retirement, when they will not have work assigned and are left to their own thoughts. They can't imagine how they will fill the time! If people have money, off they go on endless travel, places to see, things to do, more frenzy, more CO2. There are very few like Jimmy Carter who see a responsibility to others and act on it. The public accommodates itself to the culture and the culture forms the people who partake in it.
So to answer your question - It might end with personal breakdowns that leave younger people with no alternative (if they want to live by avoiding a heart attack and hypertension) than to change their lives. That can only happen to people one at a time, so it will not change society except over a period of many years with the clear message that our lifestyle is killing us. I don't know the statistics, but I would expect the average American lifespan would now be dropping in comparison to other countries.
I give you three scenarios...
Longer term: As just mentioned, the problem has to be brought home though personal consequences that cannot be ignored. It must be in the nature of the lyrics to the song Amazing Grace...I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. It must have that power. Seeing the Grim Reaper can have that power.
Shorter term or immediate/at any time: Mother Nature brings the show to an end through either global warming or through our use of her long held secret of nuclear power to create weapons.
Reflecting on these three scenarios - they all say the same thing, that nature, in the form of all life on earth including us, cannot bear the wild ride we are on. The irony is that we are not only the cause of the problem, but the only lifeform on earth that can understand what is happening and act accordingly. But, really now, do you know of anyone who feels the weight of this responsibility? Big new vans and pickups tell the story.
Jefferson trembled for his country when he considered that God is just (regarding slavery)
I tremble for my planet when I consider that nature has limits though human desire has none (regarding the only planet known to have life in the universe)
that ancient greek trope, cliff, does not apply to those [sadly in the minority i repine] whose most fervent yearning is that every child birthed into every ambit be afforded the opportunity to develop mental fortitude and compassion swaddled inside a healthy body. yes, i 'tilt at windmills'......
Jeanie, you might know of Rousseau's work, "Emile", in which he sets out a detailed plan for raising a child well into the teen years. It is filled with things than cannot be allowed, even to the point of not interacting with children of the opposite sex, the idea being that all the energy that might be taken by the libido be redirected, guided for the purpose of character development.
It's fiction, but at the time it was written it would have been possible for parents to very strictly determine their child's development. I'd go so far as to say this possibility existed right up to the time that radio became popular, roughly 100 years ago. There really was a strong sense within American society of what was good and what was bad, of what constituted good character and what made a scoundrel.
Now the first impulse is to be non judgmental, different strokes for different folks. Character? Scoundrel? Trump has been President once and may well be that again.
Today, I cannot see any possibility of restriction in raising a child, popular culture takes our children from us at an early age, though they remain in the same house, if only because of peer exposure through schooling, certainly abetted by social media available to at least a few if not most of any group of children (whose parents are often both working). Even the highly praised Sesame Street of years ago was frantic in pace. One can only hope that parents modeling the behavior they want their children to emulate has some effect, but I can't help but feel this unavoidable surrender to popular culture goes a long way to explaining the great number of Americans who are adults in age but remain children in their behavior, which I have mentioned before.
I may be called Mr. Doom and Gloom, but it's impossible to believe consumption for itself is a worthy goal for a human being, or that profit should be the primary driver of human activity. I'd hope Joe and Jane Average would look at Bezos or Musk and see that for all their material wealth they are not satisfied and are on a treadmill, that they are in mighty castles but can only think of expanding them. Joe and Jane would then conclude the uber-rich are obsessed and not to be followed. But I'm afraid that what Joe and Jane actually think about is how to borrow more money to live just a bit larger.
i never had a television in my home whilst 'developing' as a child in the early 1940s and '50s. nor did my husband and i expose our own 7 bantlings to television or any other electronic device... tho' admittedly, it helped that they were all raised in the putative '3rd-/4th-world' countries, surrounded by multifarious depauperate zeitgeists in africa, the caribbean, south asia, southeast asia, the arctic, and the impoverished middle eastern countries. precisely for reasons you have so eloquently elucubrated, clif, their consumption patterns and w/ whom they identified, bore no resemblance to the nefarious outside influences that NA and western european kids were exposed to.
sibling rivalry was also minimized during their developmental years, b/c each one was taught that it was his/her responsibility to help the younger siblings understand and cope w/ the ambit circumscribing them... even down to dressing them in the morning, teaching them how to tie their shoes, how to relate to their friends, and helping w/ their homework. this servitude dynamic was amplified by the fact that they were on average 4 years apart. each one understood that they had 4 years+ more knowledge and patience to impart to the one younger than s/he. thus, each felt 'empowered' to be deferential toward his/her younger sibling. it seems to have been a favourable child-raising approach, now that we see what they have become as adults, ranging in age from 34~56 [soon to turn 35~57]. my husband and i realize that it would have been a near-insufferable challenge to raise them in canada, the US, or western europe, given our mutual values about how to live w/ compassion, humanity, deference to those w/ fewer advantages, an appreciation for parsimony, and sharing whatever scintilla of accoutréments one has available to offer.
The reason that I am not sad about Bernie being shut out by the Democratic Party is that there is no doubt in my mind that he would have soon been ASSASSINATED by those GREEDY & POWER HUNGRY fools. The only thing worse that the Republican Party is.... the Democratic Party.
WE have government BY corporations, OF Corporations and FOR Corporations.
Until we can DUMP "Citizens United" and work for more public funding of elections, things will never change
... what we'll have to vote for come November... status quo for corporations-business, and ongoing-wars ... OR.. open-up the country to increasing-authoritarian-rule (and worse) ... pick-your-poison
... this to be my 16th POTUS election vote upcoming... never as difficult a choice.. some really lousy ones, yet not-ever-as-dangerous... gambling-nuclear-conflicts, or tyrannic-rule ... how can possibly be worse
It's both fascinating and terrifying to see a population become so completely brainwashed, guilty of all the mental shortcuts they (the Democrats) see in others.
I know real people in my life who used to love me and now hate me, because I questioned them.
As for the leaders, I think this is a much more complex question. Does Pelosi, Schumer, AOC, etc believe their imperial hubris? The problem with saying they actually believe this shit is that they have far more information that contradicts their narrative than we have.
As for Biden, honestly I don't know if he's actually alive anymore. Yeah his body is alive, I suppose, but who knows what is in there? Biden believes in ice cream, and that's all I can attest with confidence.
At $12 a pint, the ice cream is less than affordable to the average worker in America. Fortunately, Pelosi has made more than $100 million from "smart" stock trades.
righto, bill; these are tiresome, old 'plastic people' who, aleatorically control most govts, particularly the US govt: phoney wigs, dyed hair, monthly botox injections, face-lifts, polished plastic nails, nose jobs, brow lifts, eye jobs, plastic goop hiding their real visages, phoney speechifying from plastic teleprompter screens, utterly irrelevant sound-bites, non-stop selfies on plastic screens, addiction to 'celluloid', as in the cinema metaphor, as well as the literal camphor and nitrocellulose compound. pelosi, trump, and biden spend more time in cosmetic parlors, spas, and plastic surgery clinics than they do as cynosures who should be tending to their constituents' far more urgent exigencies.
Professor Astore, you cannot get money out of politics! This was perfectly explained in 1905 by John Dewey: "Politics is the shadow cast upon society by big business."
I am going to be contrarian. First, I think the American people are just as self centered (or just plain stupid) as are the politicians in spite of the polling data to the contrary. They are too brainwashed to understand that politicians are just doing what they can to get away with - enriching themselves. Politicians live the American dream that every American also hopes to experience someday by any means possible. Second, Bernie, though claiming to be a “socialist,” is deep down a Machiavellian. He may have changed his stance in 2016 to protect his wife. If that is so, he sacrificed the good of the many for personal gain. That is not principled, it’s opportunistic. His support of the western war in Ukraine and his support of Zionist Israel are further indications of his lack of principles. His support of Biden speaks for itself. What has he really accomplished? Some occasional fiery rhetoric? To quote Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “It is a tale told by an …, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Maybe, you can enlighten me and dispel my pessimism.
Bernie changed the narrative. He created a movement. Results were disappointing, but he did move the needle. And he did alert us to the bankruptcy of Hillary's candidacy. He helped to reveal Hillary for what she was.
And he revealed what the DNC was all about. Or, if he didn't reveal it, he made it far more obvious.
Sure, I'm disappointed in Bernie, but he accomplished a lot for a man given zero chance of making an impact in 2015-16.
If what he did in 2015-16 is a great accomplishment then I suggest we re-define what accomplishment means. BTW, I did and do appreciate your opinions. They are refreshing compared to the daily fare that goes for political commentary.
Hi Karl: Of course I didn't say "great" accomplishment, but I still think he made a difference.
For example, Bernie campaigned for a $15 federal minimum wage. Hillary scoffed at that, then she reluctantly agreed to a $12 min. wage, which spoke volumes about her. Then she finally moved to Bernie's position and $15 when she had no choice.
Bernie helped to "normalize" the idea of a $15 fed min wage, and so we have seen wages increase state by state, even as the federal govt remains stuck at $7.25.
Of course, the Dems in 2021 could have raised that to $15 under Biden, but as we know, they used the excuse of an unelected Senate parliamentarian who said "no."
When the Republicans ran afoul of their own Senate parliamentarian, they simply fired that person. The replacement was much more tractable. :-)
I don't think it is fair to call a population self-centered and stupid when government propaganda is so strong and the internet is so censored. It's a situational thing, not a character thing.
With your slap on my wrist, I would contend that you proved my point. Being an adult means having learned how to differentiate between fact and fiction. I think that is why education is a requirement for children. The failure of education is another topic. I have observed US politics for close to 65 years and don’t see much difference between the sixties and today. You might want to read the late Richard Hofstadter’s book on Anti-intellectualism in American Life (1963).I think he also wrote an essay on political paranoia in American politics.
I am going to answer your question indirectly with a quote by the late Italian scholar and novelist Umberto Eco. He stated in an interview “… there are a lot of people not interested in books because they are not intellectually curious. To be curious intellectually means to be alive. But believe me there aren’t many people alive in this world.” This probably not a satisfying answer for you. I grew up dirt poor with parents who only had an eighth grade education. During supper around the kitchen table there were always discussions. - often of a political nature and occasionally philosophical. My education began at home because my parents encouraged critical thinking.
As a 2016 supporter of Bernie, caving to HRC was a real blow. I thought in 2020, he had no business running again. The far more important course would have been (and is) to mentor someone younger and raise him/her up. The last thing we need are more old farts who don't know when to throw in the towel.
Before laying out all the changes that should happen to this Nation's systems of Government and Governance ~ as Toma quite extensively did earlier ~ the absolutely necessary first step is to determine exactly WHAT the proper function and purpose of Government actually, really is.
Why do Human Beings have Governments? What is its mission? What exactly is Government supposed to do and be doing?
Is it to meet the Human Needs and to satisfy the Human Wants of its Citizens: Health, Prosperity, Security, Literacy, the Pursuit of Wants, and Peace?
Or is the purpose and function of Government to:
First honor and protect the Human Rights of its Citizens: Life, Liberty, Property, Privacy, the Pursuit of Happiness, and Truth?
And second, to facilitate the fulfillment of the Human Responsibilities of its Citizens: 1] To honor, respect, and protect the Human Rights of all Human Beings; and 2], to assist other Human Beings meet their Needs and satisfy their Wants thru voluntary, cooperative social and economic activity?
In answering this question about the correct mission of Government, one of the first problems encountered is agreement as to what are Human Needs and Wants, on the one hand, and what are Human Rights and Responsibilities, on the other.
Are Health and Health Care, Housing, Education, Employment, Income Security, Transportation, Communications, Leisure and Recreation Human Rights? Or are they Human Needs and Wants?
And are Life, Liberty, Property, Privacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness Human Rights? Or Human Needs and Wants?
And what is the relationship between Human Needs, Wants, and Rights, on the one hand, and Human Responsibilities, on the other?
The reason this distinction is critical is because the ONLY way a Government can meet the Human Needs and satisfy the Human Wants of Some of its Citizens is by violating at least some the Human Rights of at least Some Others of its Citizens.
And thus are Human Responsibilities easily and conveniently ignored and forgotten, because the Government is taking care of everything. Or at least some things for some Citizens.
On what basis does anybody claim that Sanders would have gotten more votes in 2016 against Trump than Clinton got?
Particularly in those so-called “Swing States” that everybody just KNEW would go to The Hillary? And didn’t.
How many voters in those states that gave the Electoral College victory to Trump would have voted for Sanders had he been the Democrats’ candidate? More specifically: How many voters in those states were for “single-payer health care for all, a $15 minimum wage, higher taxes on the richest Americans, virtually free college education paid for by taxpayers and/or deficit spending, significant changes to America’s criminal justice system, investment in infrastructure and renewable energy,” and so forth?
The most important thing to remember about 2016 is that it was time for the “eight years on, eight years off” Rule to kick in and take effect. That rule where first one party gets to sit in the Oval Office and do its thing for eight years, and then the other party gets to sit there and does its thing. And so on. Look back on every Presidential election since 1952, and see how many times “8-on/8-off” has happened.
And as far as i am personally concerned, Bernie Sanders showed his true values, character, and face when he ~ along with every other Congressman or woman [except California’s Barbara Lee] and every US Senator [including Biden] ~ voted for the Authorization to Use Military Force [AUMF] against the Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations of Afghanistan and Pakistan following 9/11, thereby launching America’s “The Forever War.”
My guess is that if Sanders had been the Dems' candidate in 2016, that the blowout would have been bigger than 1972 and McGovern.
One can only imagine how much fun Trump, his Team, and his Legions would and could have had running against a genuine, bona fide, hard core left-winging democratic socialist/socialistic democrat running on that platform of promises and proposals.
They believe in their self-interest. Because of that they believe in the advancement of their Party and of making their Party the ruling party of the country. They believe in Israel, because most Jews in the US support them and some of the biggest campaign contributors are Jewish. Oh, and they believe in arresting and imprisoning their political opponents. As usual, the Babylon Bee sees all: https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-asks-why-europe-didnt-just-arrest-conservative-candidates-before-election
I think that Americans are all arguing and analyzing the issue that the government is in no way shape or form of the people anymore, and hasn't been since at least the end of 2nd world war. Or possibly 1913 with the creation of the federal reserve and income tax. Coincidentally created at the same time? Now being used to enslave people? Corporations are considered people yet unaccountable for their actions?
The first step is to agree that the government is no longer representing the people or controlled by the people but by the wealthy. That includes ALL branches of the government as well as the agencies it has established. The "swamp" that needs draining are our elected officials.
For starters -
Politicians are public servants and should only receive subsistence payment for office and expenses and benefits based on average wages for Americans.
Lobbying should be a criminal offense. No political action committees.
Term limits and votes of no confidence enacted.
The electoral college abolished. Majority rule.
Citizens should be able to vote on all bills proposed in Congress - easily accomplished today with the internet.
Elected officials should be held accountable for their actions.
Corporations should have no say in policy making and personhood rescinded.
Campaign funds should come from taxes and distributed equally among all candidates with equal airtime on radio, tv and internet.
The surviallance state must end.
Eliminate the 2 party system. Candidates should run on policies rather than political parties. Stating policies would lead to accountability.
---------------
The fact that our government will not consider any of the above is clear indication that the government is no longer representing the people. Government for the people,by the people and of the people no longer exists.
Elected officials (all) are wealthy and have no concept of what average and poor Americans lives are like.
The United States has become a rouge nation out of control. The day is coming soon when the atrocities it is commiting in other countries will be committed here. Government is now a seperate entity unto itself unaccountable and supported by the people by theft of taxes going to corporate America. The military industrial complex in no way any longer supports the "common good" which should be limited to the defense of the nation.
War is the capitalists dream. Completely disposable high priced goods resulting in the destruction of life and property which leads to future business for rebuilding. Americans supply the weapons to destroy other countries and then supply the money to rebuild them ( showing how compassionate and fair we are). And Americans fall further into debt and dispair as a result.
Say what one will about the GOPers, but they tend to be Christian and have a higher likelihood of reflection that can lead to empathy. The Democrats don't seem to believe in anything except the talking points for however many days or weeks those talking points last, and then they move to the next talking point-there's no restraint because there's no foundation, no reluctance in pursuit of an agenda, no floor on which to land should they fall and take down everyone with them.
Isn't it something how issues take a back seat to words such as SOCIALIST (in caps because it gets attention as if it were always in caps). Some may recall how Nixon's appearance supposedly killed his chances against JFK.
It hasn't always been this way. In the Lincoln-Douglas debates lots of humor was based on the giant vs pygmy appearance of the two but people all over Illinois listened for hours to what the two men had to say, eager to hear the points being made and the counter arguments to each point. The text of these debates is available. It's worth reading just one of them to see how far things have fallen in the public political arena. Today, not only would any politician lack the facility with the English language of those times, but the audience would be quickly bored and constantly checking smartphones.
It seems to me we have become incapacitated. Most people have trouble speaking clearly, writing is a shadow of what it was, attention spans are short, patience is rare and the very pace of daily activity leaves no time for even five minutes of engaged thinking. And at all times we are deluged with advertising, piped in music everywhere and all of it unrelated to what we are doing at the moment. Is it any wonder stress is rampant - yet people seek caffeine laced drinks and uppers claiming it helps them think! From Lincoln's time to now we have steadily wandered off the road of thought and into the weeds of confusion. Stimulation we see/hear everywhere, clear thinking and the time to engage in it, nowhere.
In our desperate hyperactivity, we simplify and attend to a word like SOCIALIST to settle our views for or against someone. The tragedy of our times is that nobody, if asked to speak about the future either short or long term, would say that things will slow down. Who wants this? We are out of control of our own future.
Lincoln and Douglas, Trump and Biden. Progress?
Very well said, Clif. Thank You for sharing Your thoughts.
The Questions then become: "So What?" and "Now What?"
Can any of this be changed? And if so, How? Or is it already too late for Change?
And if it isn't too late for Change, exactly what sort of Change is needed to get us "back in control of our own future"?
Thanks jg, and good questions. I think of that old musical "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off". That isn't possible. We all know of the scene of the person being tied to a railroad track and the train is coming, but we are tied to the train and have no way to get to the engineer (the 1%) to control it.
I think I've mentioned the ancient Greek thought that the best way to destroy a man is to give him what he most desires. In our case, everyone is being given what they most desire in material consumption that is breathtaking, Earth-breaking, and responsible for 70%+ or our economy. Capitalism is the train to which we are tied and it will not accept anything but acceleration. Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg scaling back? No way, and they are only the top of the 1%, a group that lives heedlessly with multiple mansions, private jets, being here today, in Monaco tomorrow, and that not enough.
I think most people are afraid to stop and think of the future. Americans in particular have no idea of any other way to live and at the same time know that the craziness is what provides income. Like piglets who have hold of a teat, I dare not let go or another piglet will grab it and what will happen to me?
Suppose God would appear and say, "THERE IS A LIMIT!" Well, He doesn't need to appear because we have global warming, Mother Nature saying the same thing. Clearly everyone should be thinking of how to personally reduce CO2 production. But Bezos and others are pushing space tourism (big profit), where the rich can greatly increase their (already great) CO2 production for a joy ride to see the (warming) earth.
Cars are the #1 producer of CO2 for individuals, but I frequently see people sitting in idling cars, going nowhere, windows up, engine running for the A/C on sunny and cool days where no A/C is needed. What are they busy doing? Working the smartphone, something that can be done anywhere. It's so crazy I have started tapping on the driver's window to ask "do you know about global warming?"
The best way to stop the mind going to anxiety provoking thoughts is to keep busy. It is a national pastime and the frantic way it is pursued convinces me that fear/anxiety is driving (pun intended) it, that it is compulsive. There are many who dread retirement, when they will not have work assigned and are left to their own thoughts. They can't imagine how they will fill the time! If people have money, off they go on endless travel, places to see, things to do, more frenzy, more CO2. There are very few like Jimmy Carter who see a responsibility to others and act on it. The public accommodates itself to the culture and the culture forms the people who partake in it.
So to answer your question - It might end with personal breakdowns that leave younger people with no alternative (if they want to live by avoiding a heart attack and hypertension) than to change their lives. That can only happen to people one at a time, so it will not change society except over a period of many years with the clear message that our lifestyle is killing us. I don't know the statistics, but I would expect the average American lifespan would now be dropping in comparison to other countries.
I give you three scenarios...
Longer term: As just mentioned, the problem has to be brought home though personal consequences that cannot be ignored. It must be in the nature of the lyrics to the song Amazing Grace...I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. It must have that power. Seeing the Grim Reaper can have that power.
Shorter term or immediate/at any time: Mother Nature brings the show to an end through either global warming or through our use of her long held secret of nuclear power to create weapons.
Reflecting on these three scenarios - they all say the same thing, that nature, in the form of all life on earth including us, cannot bear the wild ride we are on. The irony is that we are not only the cause of the problem, but the only lifeform on earth that can understand what is happening and act accordingly. But, really now, do you know of anyone who feels the weight of this responsibility? Big new vans and pickups tell the story.
Jefferson trembled for his country when he considered that God is just (regarding slavery)
I tremble for my planet when I consider that nature has limits though human desire has none (regarding the only planet known to have life in the universe)
that ancient greek trope, cliff, does not apply to those [sadly in the minority i repine] whose most fervent yearning is that every child birthed into every ambit be afforded the opportunity to develop mental fortitude and compassion swaddled inside a healthy body. yes, i 'tilt at windmills'......
Jeanie, you might know of Rousseau's work, "Emile", in which he sets out a detailed plan for raising a child well into the teen years. It is filled with things than cannot be allowed, even to the point of not interacting with children of the opposite sex, the idea being that all the energy that might be taken by the libido be redirected, guided for the purpose of character development.
It's fiction, but at the time it was written it would have been possible for parents to very strictly determine their child's development. I'd go so far as to say this possibility existed right up to the time that radio became popular, roughly 100 years ago. There really was a strong sense within American society of what was good and what was bad, of what constituted good character and what made a scoundrel.
Now the first impulse is to be non judgmental, different strokes for different folks. Character? Scoundrel? Trump has been President once and may well be that again.
Today, I cannot see any possibility of restriction in raising a child, popular culture takes our children from us at an early age, though they remain in the same house, if only because of peer exposure through schooling, certainly abetted by social media available to at least a few if not most of any group of children (whose parents are often both working). Even the highly praised Sesame Street of years ago was frantic in pace. One can only hope that parents modeling the behavior they want their children to emulate has some effect, but I can't help but feel this unavoidable surrender to popular culture goes a long way to explaining the great number of Americans who are adults in age but remain children in their behavior, which I have mentioned before.
I may be called Mr. Doom and Gloom, but it's impossible to believe consumption for itself is a worthy goal for a human being, or that profit should be the primary driver of human activity. I'd hope Joe and Jane Average would look at Bezos or Musk and see that for all their material wealth they are not satisfied and are on a treadmill, that they are in mighty castles but can only think of expanding them. Joe and Jane would then conclude the uber-rich are obsessed and not to be followed. But I'm afraid that what Joe and Jane actually think about is how to borrow more money to live just a bit larger.
i never had a television in my home whilst 'developing' as a child in the early 1940s and '50s. nor did my husband and i expose our own 7 bantlings to television or any other electronic device... tho' admittedly, it helped that they were all raised in the putative '3rd-/4th-world' countries, surrounded by multifarious depauperate zeitgeists in africa, the caribbean, south asia, southeast asia, the arctic, and the impoverished middle eastern countries. precisely for reasons you have so eloquently elucubrated, clif, their consumption patterns and w/ whom they identified, bore no resemblance to the nefarious outside influences that NA and western european kids were exposed to.
sibling rivalry was also minimized during their developmental years, b/c each one was taught that it was his/her responsibility to help the younger siblings understand and cope w/ the ambit circumscribing them... even down to dressing them in the morning, teaching them how to tie their shoes, how to relate to their friends, and helping w/ their homework. this servitude dynamic was amplified by the fact that they were on average 4 years apart. each one understood that they had 4 years+ more knowledge and patience to impart to the one younger than s/he. thus, each felt 'empowered' to be deferential toward his/her younger sibling. it seems to have been a favourable child-raising approach, now that we see what they have become as adults, ranging in age from 34~56 [soon to turn 35~57]. my husband and i realize that it would have been a near-insufferable challenge to raise them in canada, the US, or western europe, given our mutual values about how to live w/ compassion, humanity, deference to those w/ fewer advantages, an appreciation for parsimony, and sharing whatever scintilla of accoutréments one has available to offer.
The reason that I am not sad about Bernie being shut out by the Democratic Party is that there is no doubt in my mind that he would have soon been ASSASSINATED by those GREEDY & POWER HUNGRY fools. The only thing worse that the Republican Party is.... the Democratic Party.
WE have government BY corporations, OF Corporations and FOR Corporations.
Until we can DUMP "Citizens United" and work for more public funding of elections, things will never change
... what we'll have to vote for come November... status quo for corporations-business, and ongoing-wars ... OR.. open-up the country to increasing-authoritarian-rule (and worse) ... pick-your-poison
Yes, it does seem that way.
... this to be my 16th POTUS election vote upcoming... never as difficult a choice.. some really lousy ones, yet not-ever-as-dangerous... gambling-nuclear-conflicts, or tyrannic-rule ... how can possibly be worse
Democrats believe their own hubris.
It's both fascinating and terrifying to see a population become so completely brainwashed, guilty of all the mental shortcuts they (the Democrats) see in others.
I know real people in my life who used to love me and now hate me, because I questioned them.
As for the leaders, I think this is a much more complex question. Does Pelosi, Schumer, AOC, etc believe their imperial hubris? The problem with saying they actually believe this shit is that they have far more information that contradicts their narrative than we have.
As for Biden, honestly I don't know if he's actually alive anymore. Yeah his body is alive, I suppose, but who knows what is in there? Biden believes in ice cream, and that's all I can attest with confidence.
They're truly in their own bubbles of privilege.
There's that infamous interview of Pelosi during lockdown Covid when all she could talk about was boutique ice cream from Jeni's.
Here's the link to that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgfumenJbXE
At $12 a pint, the ice cream is less than affordable to the average worker in America. Fortunately, Pelosi has made more than $100 million from "smart" stock trades.
Omg i hate to feel nauseous when ice cream is involved but OHMAHGAH
righto, bill; these are tiresome, old 'plastic people' who, aleatorically control most govts, particularly the US govt: phoney wigs, dyed hair, monthly botox injections, face-lifts, polished plastic nails, nose jobs, brow lifts, eye jobs, plastic goop hiding their real visages, phoney speechifying from plastic teleprompter screens, utterly irrelevant sound-bites, non-stop selfies on plastic screens, addiction to 'celluloid', as in the cinema metaphor, as well as the literal camphor and nitrocellulose compound. pelosi, trump, and biden spend more time in cosmetic parlors, spas, and plastic surgery clinics than they do as cynosures who should be tending to their constituents' far more urgent exigencies.
Professor Astore, you cannot get money out of politics! This was perfectly explained in 1905 by John Dewey: "Politics is the shadow cast upon society by big business."
Yes, especially when the Supreme Court equates money to speech and rules that corporations are citizens.
I am going to be contrarian. First, I think the American people are just as self centered (or just plain stupid) as are the politicians in spite of the polling data to the contrary. They are too brainwashed to understand that politicians are just doing what they can to get away with - enriching themselves. Politicians live the American dream that every American also hopes to experience someday by any means possible. Second, Bernie, though claiming to be a “socialist,” is deep down a Machiavellian. He may have changed his stance in 2016 to protect his wife. If that is so, he sacrificed the good of the many for personal gain. That is not principled, it’s opportunistic. His support of the western war in Ukraine and his support of Zionist Israel are further indications of his lack of principles. His support of Biden speaks for itself. What has he really accomplished? Some occasional fiery rhetoric? To quote Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “It is a tale told by an …, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Maybe, you can enlighten me and dispel my pessimism.
Bernie changed the narrative. He created a movement. Results were disappointing, but he did move the needle. And he did alert us to the bankruptcy of Hillary's candidacy. He helped to reveal Hillary for what she was.
And he revealed what the DNC was all about. Or, if he didn't reveal it, he made it far more obvious.
Sure, I'm disappointed in Bernie, but he accomplished a lot for a man given zero chance of making an impact in 2015-16.
If what he did in 2015-16 is a great accomplishment then I suggest we re-define what accomplishment means. BTW, I did and do appreciate your opinions. They are refreshing compared to the daily fare that goes for political commentary.
Hi Karl: Of course I didn't say "great" accomplishment, but I still think he made a difference.
For example, Bernie campaigned for a $15 federal minimum wage. Hillary scoffed at that, then she reluctantly agreed to a $12 min. wage, which spoke volumes about her. Then she finally moved to Bernie's position and $15 when she had no choice.
Bernie helped to "normalize" the idea of a $15 fed min wage, and so we have seen wages increase state by state, even as the federal govt remains stuck at $7.25.
Of course, the Dems in 2021 could have raised that to $15 under Biden, but as we know, they used the excuse of an unelected Senate parliamentarian who said "no."
When the Republicans ran afoul of their own Senate parliamentarian, they simply fired that person. The replacement was much more tractable. :-)
I don't think it is fair to call a population self-centered and stupid when government propaganda is so strong and the internet is so censored. It's a situational thing, not a character thing.
With your slap on my wrist, I would contend that you proved my point. Being an adult means having learned how to differentiate between fact and fiction. I think that is why education is a requirement for children. The failure of education is another topic. I have observed US politics for close to 65 years and don’t see much difference between the sixties and today. You might want to read the late Richard Hofstadter’s book on Anti-intellectualism in American Life (1963).I think he also wrote an essay on political paranoia in American politics.
If education failed, how were these people supposed to learn how to think?
I am going to answer your question indirectly with a quote by the late Italian scholar and novelist Umberto Eco. He stated in an interview “… there are a lot of people not interested in books because they are not intellectually curious. To be curious intellectually means to be alive. But believe me there aren’t many people alive in this world.” This probably not a satisfying answer for you. I grew up dirt poor with parents who only had an eighth grade education. During supper around the kitchen table there were always discussions. - often of a political nature and occasionally philosophical. My education began at home because my parents encouraged critical thinking.
As a 2016 supporter of Bernie, caving to HRC was a real blow. I thought in 2020, he had no business running again. The far more important course would have been (and is) to mentor someone younger and raise him/her up. The last thing we need are more old farts who don't know when to throw in the towel.
Before laying out all the changes that should happen to this Nation's systems of Government and Governance ~ as Toma quite extensively did earlier ~ the absolutely necessary first step is to determine exactly WHAT the proper function and purpose of Government actually, really is.
Why do Human Beings have Governments? What is its mission? What exactly is Government supposed to do and be doing?
Is it to meet the Human Needs and to satisfy the Human Wants of its Citizens: Health, Prosperity, Security, Literacy, the Pursuit of Wants, and Peace?
Or is the purpose and function of Government to:
First honor and protect the Human Rights of its Citizens: Life, Liberty, Property, Privacy, the Pursuit of Happiness, and Truth?
And second, to facilitate the fulfillment of the Human Responsibilities of its Citizens: 1] To honor, respect, and protect the Human Rights of all Human Beings; and 2], to assist other Human Beings meet their Needs and satisfy their Wants thru voluntary, cooperative social and economic activity?
In answering this question about the correct mission of Government, one of the first problems encountered is agreement as to what are Human Needs and Wants, on the one hand, and what are Human Rights and Responsibilities, on the other.
Are Health and Health Care, Housing, Education, Employment, Income Security, Transportation, Communications, Leisure and Recreation Human Rights? Or are they Human Needs and Wants?
And are Life, Liberty, Property, Privacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness Human Rights? Or Human Needs and Wants?
And what is the relationship between Human Needs, Wants, and Rights, on the one hand, and Human Responsibilities, on the other?
The reason this distinction is critical is because the ONLY way a Government can meet the Human Needs and satisfy the Human Wants of Some of its Citizens is by violating at least some the Human Rights of at least Some Others of its Citizens.
And thus are Human Responsibilities easily and conveniently ignored and forgotten, because the Government is taking care of everything. Or at least some things for some Citizens.
On what basis does anybody claim that Sanders would have gotten more votes in 2016 against Trump than Clinton got?
Particularly in those so-called “Swing States” that everybody just KNEW would go to The Hillary? And didn’t.
How many voters in those states that gave the Electoral College victory to Trump would have voted for Sanders had he been the Democrats’ candidate? More specifically: How many voters in those states were for “single-payer health care for all, a $15 minimum wage, higher taxes on the richest Americans, virtually free college education paid for by taxpayers and/or deficit spending, significant changes to America’s criminal justice system, investment in infrastructure and renewable energy,” and so forth?
The most important thing to remember about 2016 is that it was time for the “eight years on, eight years off” Rule to kick in and take effect. That rule where first one party gets to sit in the Oval Office and do its thing for eight years, and then the other party gets to sit there and does its thing. And so on. Look back on every Presidential election since 1952, and see how many times “8-on/8-off” has happened.
And as far as i am personally concerned, Bernie Sanders showed his true values, character, and face when he ~ along with every other Congressman or woman [except California’s Barbara Lee] and every US Senator [including Biden] ~ voted for the Authorization to Use Military Force [AUMF] against the Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations of Afghanistan and Pakistan following 9/11, thereby launching America’s “The Forever War.”
Jeff, No one can say how many votes Sanders would have received in 2016.
But. But. Hillary lost. We all know that. Sanders could not have done worse than Hillary. Either you win or lose.
Sanders, I think, would have had a better chance of wining, but of course I can't prove that. No one can.
My guess is that if Sanders had been the Dems' candidate in 2016, that the blowout would have been bigger than 1972 and McGovern.
One can only imagine how much fun Trump, his Team, and his Legions would and could have had running against a genuine, bona fide, hard core left-winging democratic socialist/socialistic democrat running on that platform of promises and proposals.
They believe in their self-interest. Because of that they believe in the advancement of their Party and of making their Party the ruling party of the country. They believe in Israel, because most Jews in the US support them and some of the biggest campaign contributors are Jewish. Oh, and they believe in arresting and imprisoning their political opponents. As usual, the Babylon Bee sees all: https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-asks-why-europe-didnt-just-arrest-conservative-candidates-before-election
Democrats believe in Mao! Lawfare is show trial, are democracy! Then they go after the supremes!
Their democracy is right up Mao's.
Permanent war and routine application of gestapo like atrocities is fine with them!
Leading Democrats believe in getting re-elected. Is there anything else?
I think that Americans are all arguing and analyzing the issue that the government is in no way shape or form of the people anymore, and hasn't been since at least the end of 2nd world war. Or possibly 1913 with the creation of the federal reserve and income tax. Coincidentally created at the same time? Now being used to enslave people? Corporations are considered people yet unaccountable for their actions?
The first step is to agree that the government is no longer representing the people or controlled by the people but by the wealthy. That includes ALL branches of the government as well as the agencies it has established. The "swamp" that needs draining are our elected officials.
For starters -
Politicians are public servants and should only receive subsistence payment for office and expenses and benefits based on average wages for Americans.
Lobbying should be a criminal offense. No political action committees.
Term limits and votes of no confidence enacted.
The electoral college abolished. Majority rule.
Citizens should be able to vote on all bills proposed in Congress - easily accomplished today with the internet.
Elected officials should be held accountable for their actions.
Corporations should have no say in policy making and personhood rescinded.
Campaign funds should come from taxes and distributed equally among all candidates with equal airtime on radio, tv and internet.
The surviallance state must end.
Eliminate the 2 party system. Candidates should run on policies rather than political parties. Stating policies would lead to accountability.
---------------
The fact that our government will not consider any of the above is clear indication that the government is no longer representing the people. Government for the people,by the people and of the people no longer exists.
Elected officials (all) are wealthy and have no concept of what average and poor Americans lives are like.
The United States has become a rouge nation out of control. The day is coming soon when the atrocities it is commiting in other countries will be committed here. Government is now a seperate entity unto itself unaccountable and supported by the people by theft of taxes going to corporate America. The military industrial complex in no way any longer supports the "common good" which should be limited to the defense of the nation.
War is the capitalists dream. Completely disposable high priced goods resulting in the destruction of life and property which leads to future business for rebuilding. Americans supply the weapons to destroy other countries and then supply the money to rebuild them ( showing how compassionate and fair we are). And Americans fall further into debt and dispair as a result.
I said on a local radio show two years ago:
Say what one will about the GOPers, but they tend to be Christian and have a higher likelihood of reflection that can lead to empathy. The Democrats don't seem to believe in anything except the talking points for however many days or weeks those talking points last, and then they move to the next talking point-there's no restraint because there's no foundation, no reluctance in pursuit of an agenda, no floor on which to land should they fall and take down everyone with them.
Pelosi has said it over and over again, "we are capitalists!". That is the only thing they believe in.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
In her worship of money, Pelosi truly is representative of her circle.