You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -Abbie Hoffman
With incompetent wars continuing worldwide, debt stacked to the ceiling, and rampant corruption in government, it is truly a sad time for America. I keep telling myself that it will all work out, and there does seem to be light at the end of this tunnel--since this is an election year, and so far the chances of wresting at least one branch of the government out of GOP control look good, though taking both would be better. I don't know if the Democrats have the combination of balls and determination it is going to take to regain power, and get to work fixing the result of six years of rampant ignorance, cronyism, and blatant misuse of power. There needs to be a shake up in government--on both sides of the aisle.
With all of the problems that the U.S. faces right now, I would have to say the number one problem is the apathy of the majority of American citizens. The hypnotized masses repeat only what their television fills their weak minds with. People are concerned more with celebrity trash, garbage television shows, and their pathetic little lives than with the screws that tighten every passing day that we allow those in power to lie, cheat, steal, and break the very laws that are supposed to keep this kind of one-party government from occuring.
The psychology of the GOP has always been based on fear and paranoia. They sow the seeds of distrust, and soon everyone is keeping an eye on their neighbors, family, and friends. Even when they notice that something doesn't seem right, they keep their mouths shut out of fear that 'someone is listening or watching'. They have struck right at the heart of one of the things that has always made America a great place--our freedom (and responsibility) to speak out against the kinds of aggresive actions taken, and obvious untruths that this administration continues to spew. This generates a lot of silence on the part of those who might otherwise speak out, but cannot, or will not, due to their fear of being labeled 'unpatriotic'. The definition of patriotism (at least in the GOP supporters eyes) has changed from being someone who puts their country and it's people over any kind of politics, to someone who is self-serving, and most importantly unquestioning.
As Adlai E. Stevenson once said: "Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."
Those who are overly concerned with the way that others perceive them tend to wear their patriotism on their sleeve. The same goes for religion. I have always said that I have no problem with other people's free expression of their beliefs and opinions (as long as they are noted as such, and no effort is made to pass them off as anything other than what they are). Unfortunately, having beliefs and opinions (and the right to express them) doesn't seem to be enough for these people. They seem to require everyone around them to know exactly how pious/patriotic/selfless they are, and they are willing to go to great lengths to make sure that noone doubts it.
These are usually the same people who spent their school years trying so hard to fit in to whatever clique or group that they perceived as being the 'coolest'. They would make decisions from who (and more importantly who not) to hang out with, fashion and grooming, to music and entertainment, social events, and pretty much their entire fragile little world based on the stringent, and ever changing whims of the 'elite'. Their worship of 'elites' plagued them into college, where they joined fraternities and sororities. They were willing to undergo humiliating, and sometimes painful hazing rituals, just so that they could be seen as part of the 'in' crowd on campus. After graduation (or the alternative) they go out into the real world, and while some are able to find positions that make the most of their conformity, most are thoroughly confused when they find themselves without the kind of social structure that they clung to while in school.
Keep in mind that the majority of these people were also raised from before the time they were able to comprehend what they were being told to believe in God, and were forced to worship him as the Supreme Ruler of the Elite, 'The Saved'. To fear this God because he can send you to hell. It is probably impossible to completely eliminate the damage done to a young mind by fundamentalist 'christians' that preach fear, hate, and delusions. Through subtle mind games even seemingly benign religions can latch onto a young childs mind, and not allow them to think freely or ever truly be happy throughout their entire lives.
The alternative that some of these elite worshippers take is to join the military (until another draft, at which point they will no longer have a choice). The military has long had the reputation of whipping young people (well, mostly boys) into shape (and then sending them off to die). The same kind of elite worship bred in children through religions and social structures is again put to work, indeed - religion is intertwined with the military, and the command structure is very simliar to large religions such as catholicism. Each level in the chain of command requires subservience and respect from the lower ranks. Individualism in any form is frowned upon, which of course is required in order to transform a group of kids into a coordinated, lethal, and most importantly unquestioning killing force. There are extremely severe punishments for disobeying or even questioning orders, and any kind of dissonance is immediately dealt with.
After WWII, nazis were infamously quoted as justifying their abominable actions with the pathetic excuse 'I was only following orders'. While of course, they could have chosen not to follow orders (and face being thrown into the camps along with everyone else), the choice was still theirs, regardless of what kind of propaganda they had been fed. It is exactly the same now, when a soldier or an officer stays silent after witnessing detainee abuse, or the obvious negative effect that the US presence in Iraq continues to have regarding stabilization and security in the region. Of course, the military requires this kind of system, where the highest echelons make the decisions, and don' t have to worry about being questioned by everyone below them--right down to the guy on the ground being shot at. This system breaks down, however, when the guy on the ground realizes that those making the decisions, don't have a clue what the fuck is going on.
Outside of the military there are other places that weak minded elite followers can find a similar niche. One of these is in the business world as a corporate whore. A corporate whore is anyone who is willing to put their corporation (and the accompanying slogans) above anything else in their lives. Any relationships these people have outside of work are usually shallow, and most likely have some kind of ulterior motive involving their future with the corporation. Within this world, there is almost nothing that is below them when it comes to sucking up to their boss, the CEO, or whoever they are dealing with. Corporations thrive off of having a large supply of suck-ups that will stop at nothing to beat their competition (co-workers) to make it to the top of the heap. The corporate whore can be extremely successful in business, and might even have a modicum of happiness--though most tend to hit bottom at some point, with the stress and competition forcing them to turn to drink or drugs to ease the pain of the realization that their life is meaningless, just another cog to keep the cash flowing into someone elses pocket. The truly sad corporate whores are the low level type. These are mostly the ones who are put in positions where they manage groups of people and are given the delusion that they may one day work their way up the ladder. Their delusions are glaringly obvious when they communicate with their employees using company slogans, motivational speeches, and all varieties of lame attempts at rallying everyone together to get a job done. The resemblance to the military is uncanny, with exactly the same kind of social structure, and the same problem regarding the obliviousness of the higher-ups.
With all of this conformity, and people's willingness to accept what they are told, and to never consider questioning it, the individual must be incredibly brave when it comes to fighting the system. Most people are too embarrased to speak out at the risk of being ridiculed. Even if they can find something that they believe in strongly, it is easy for them to make mistakes--overzealous individuals often fall directly into the traps set by those who work to keep free thought and logical reasoning out of our government, out of our military, and out of our workplaces. There are mountains of false or innacurate information in the news and on the internet. Some is the work of people who actually believe in what they are writing about, but a growing percentage of the nuttiest sounding theories and information are being planted by those wishing to discredit legitimate questions regarding the illegal activities of this administration and it's complete lack of regard for the American people who they work for.
The problem for a lot of individuals seems to be that they can't envision an alternative. They can see plainly that Dubya & co. need to get the boot, but they are concerned that the Democrats do not provide a sound alternative. Third parties in the last few elections have mostly only managed to take votes away from Democrats, ensuring GOP majorities (and then there's Diebold--but that's a whole other subject). The important task at hand right now is to get as many people as possible informed about what is actually going on in Washington DC right now. This administrations failed policies, illegal activity, and blatant war profiteering need to be pointed out whenever anyone from this administration speaks in public. They have shown repeatedly how fast one of their press conferences can go downhill as soon as someone starts to ask the hard questions. They will not admit their shortcomings however, and instead have all taken the 'non-answer' approach where they answer a question, but not the question being asked. The speeches that they give continue to have that same hollow ring, as they preach to the converted, and carefully screen out anyone who might want to point out that the emperor is butt-nekkid.
Next Time: Possessions, Greed, and Happiness
