Open Left

Wow (4.00 / 3)

Another hidden talent I didn't suspect - a grounding in mathematics, not based on statistics. Nice summary, I haven't thought about this since high school (Dover books are a great resource).

I just watched the movie musical 1776 again last night and it brought home how the fundamental tensions of our society have been with us since the beginning. I realize that it was a bit over drawn since there was a subtle anti-Nixon message embedded in the history.

However, the conflict between property owners and the common man was well characterized as was the desire for stability and trade versus individual freedom and liberty.

Much of the progressive achievements over the centuries can be viewed as a triumph of the common man, or as the acquiescence to modest change to avert the possibility of greater influence of the masses. The one case where this spectacularly broke down was the Civil War. The southern slave holders could have worked out a much better deal for themselves politically if they had been willing modify their self image as superior beings. We know this because the wealthy continued to dominate the society even after Reconstruction and do so in many places even today.

Unions, universal suffrage, social security and similar advances were all designed to forestall the rise of socialism, communism or other frightening social ideas of the moment.

I ask again, why don't we have people in the streets this time? Unemployment is acknowledged to be 9.5% which really means it is probably closer to 18% and yet people just sit around and take it.  

Policies not Politics

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by: robertdfeinman @ Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 19:10:51 PM CDT

No people in the streets (4.00 / 4)

Because there exists no organization (or set of local organizations) to mobilize them.  And no clear target to mobilize against.  And no clear "we" to come together to speak to power.

Of course it could "happen."  Sometimes things do "happen."

Or existing organizations could be used for new purposes.  

As Paul has pointed out, the "depression" is not new news for many of the most oppressed people in our country.  18% unemployment for many of them would be a luxury.  This silence in the face of employment genocide has been going on for a long time.


--Aaron Schutz (Core Dilemmas of Community Organizing)

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by: educationaction @ Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 21:01:22 PM CDT

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we still have labor unions and community groups (0.00 / 0)

what i would strongly suggest is that the next time people are interested in volunteering for a democratic campaign or giving money to one or otherwise supporting electoral politics that is not ready to be fully supported right now, that they give at least half, if not all, of what they were planning to give (whether in labor or in cash) to labor unions.  We need social institutions that can mobilise, that can go beyond compeltely pragmatic calculations to involve an ethos of justice, and which can focus on greater ends.

A great example is the california anti-gay marriage prop - if the millions that had been invested in that had gone into supporting lgbt community organisations, it would have laid the groundwork for a groundswell on that issue.  Not that that's not happening anyway and that the high profile campaign doesn't have any effects in our media-controlled and electorally controlled culture - I just would like to see a different culture AS WELL AS gay marriage legalised :)

And so forth on other issues...if you want single player health care, support people who believe in single payer health care!  

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by: dr anonymous @ Tue Jul 07, 2009 at 04:50:18 AM CDT

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Denial (4.00 / 3)

Never underestimate the power of denial-Ricky Fitz in American Beauty. There is going to be denial right straight down into the new paradigm. some will just have to die off. It's going to go on a long time. Whether you will survive depends on how fast you can dance, make plans, activate them, etc.

Obama doesn't get it so we might as well face that. And he is going to take the hit for it because it is going to be really really bad.

No answers here.

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by: abbeysbooks @ Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 21:07:50 PM CDT

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Why no people in the street (4.00 / 2)

Of course there's more than one answer to this, and people here have already mentioned some of them. But here are two that I believe don't receive nearly enough attention from armchair radicals wondering why nobody's out in the streets.

1. Lack of unions, job security, and a social safety net: People see successful general strikes in Europe and wonder why not here? Well, compared to the U.S., most places in Europe where we see those massive general strikes have excellent social safety nets. The workers there aren't risking losing health care for themselves and their families if they get fired. And if they do lose their jobs, they have far superior unemployment benefits. It's a level of security most U.S. workers can't even imagine. Having that kind of "quality of life" security makes a huge difference in peoples' ability and willingness to be politically engaged and active. I agree with Thom Hartmann when he says the War on the Middle Class was/is about keeping working people so insecure that they don't have the time or will to be politically active.

2. Fear: Even though it's rarely talked about openly, especially since 9/11 people are very, very afraid of our police and government, and rightly so. Hardly anyone wants to admit it let alone talk about it, but it's true. And the more we resist talking about it openly, the greater the fear factor becomes.

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by: Oaktown Girl @ Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 23:35:07 PM CDT

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i'm terrified! (0.00 / 0)

when you have to think about what you think or what you say out loud on a space like facebook or on IM, then you can legitimately call that fear and political censorship.

However, I don't think it's since 9-11 - you can start with the Alien and Sedition acts in 1798 or earlier and go from there.  For people who don't fit in the (narrow) confines of acceptable political opinion in the U.S., they have to come to terms with perhaps having a certain level of fear but dealing with it emotionally.  So maybe what we need is more social support from each other :)

At least for those of us with anxiety disorders :)

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by: dr anonymous @ Tue Jul 07, 2009 at 04:52:24 AM CDT

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"I don't think it's since 9-11" (0.00 / 0)

I agree. That's why I said especially since 9/11. I believe that date marks a definite demarkation in the amping up of intimidation and scare tactics in the modern era.

I also agree we need more social support from each other. A good first step would be an open acknowledgment of what everyone seems to not want to openly acknowledge: that we are very afraid of our govt. and our growing police state.

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by: Oaktown Girl @ Tue Jul 07, 2009 at 13:27:31 PM CDT

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