Evolution of Consciousness

A great new essay from David Michael Green, called “Suicide by Regressivism,” examines the supreme illogic of the Teabag rant.

It strikes me as pompous and presumptuous, how this recently contrived temper tantrum has assumed the mantle of the original Boston Tea Party (1773). Here’s how one “Tea Partier” explained her position to The New Yorker:

“Government is for the post office, and to defend our country, and maybe for the roads. That’s all.”

Really? That’s all? (And I like how she maybe-ed the roads, like she’s thinking: if everyone drove a Hummer, then we wouldn’t have to pave at all.) Maybe this modern-day patriot ought to expend another millisecond of thought on the subject. I think a better name for the new movement might be “The TV Party” (2010), to honor the true source of propaganda that actually drives the thing (Fox News).

Not to slight the influence of Hate Radio, which I recently sampled…

A couple months ago, I caught Glenn Beck doing his radio show and was struck by how unhinged his presentation is. He sounds like he’s on the brink of a mental/emotional breakdown. Having heard so much about this guy, I didn’t expect such a whiny, victimized tone, but now I think I see what he’s doing.

Beck’s job is to sing a siren song to the frustrated American, all those people who have been on the receiving end of trickledown for too long. Now that Reagan’s economic sham has played out, Americans are thoroughly worn down and feel their backs against the wall. They know they’ve been had, but are unsure who did it or how it happened.

So Glenn assumes the sympatico tone of hurt, anger and desperation, in order to establish a bond with his target audience. Once the bond is established, his mission is to pour into those beleaguered ears yet another round of policies to benefit greedy wealth. A tall order, to be sure, but this frontman seems to be earning his lucre.

Then, about a week ago, trolling the AM dial once again, I heard a fellow named Michael Savage going absolutely ballistic on immigration. He was whipping up some white-hot fear and hatred with his listeners, using the argument that Mexican men are culturally inclined to rape “our women,” and we (American men) are wimps if we continue putting up with it. Upon hearing this, I realized I was listening to a modern-day Goebbels. Replace “immigrants” (or “terrorists”) for “Juden” and the echoes are unmistakeable and alarming.

There is too much of this sort of irresponsible, dangerous dis-info-tainment in our media these days. Sinister forces are at work in this country. Americans need to be aware and vigilant, to avoid complete disaster.

History is important, as are the stories we tell ourselves. Lately, we’ve been failing on both fronts: remiss in understanding our own recent history, while swinish ideologues narrowly frame our stories in false and misleading ways. These are depressing times.

But I believe/hope/pray the darkest days of this cycle have passed, and it is now imperative that we educate ourselves, so that facts might inform our stories, about where we’ve been and where we’re going. Toward that end, I’d like to recommend some reading…

Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture
by Thom Hartmann, July 2009

I’m listing this book first for a couple reasons: it’s the most recent, and it does a fine job pulling together the many and disparate threads of this subject in a concise and accessible manner. It’s not a perfect work, but if you read only one book on this list, there is a good argument for this being the one.

Moyers on Democracy
by Bill Moyers, May 2008

Soaring and inspired collection of speeches given over the past 30 years, all around the topic of American democracy. Drawing upon his considerable experience in both politics and journalism, Moyers has much to offer.

The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Krugman, October 2007

A well-written history on the rise and fall of that great American phenomenon of the twentieth century, the middle class. Roughly spans FDR to GWB, thus providing a good grounding in the recent history of our collective economic fortunes (or lack thereof).

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi Klein, September 2007

A detailed look at how economic hegemony has been practiced by American financiers over the past few decades. At times long and ponderous, this work remains important for illuminating how economic concerns have trumped human concerns.

Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004
by Hendrik Hertzberg, July 2004

This collection of essays, from a brilliant and accomplished writer, is as much a pleasure to read as it is instructive. Hertzberg is often at his best explaining nuances of wonkery, such as how we could improve the American electoral process.

Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes
by Chuck Collins and William H. Gates Sr., January 2003

Excellent treatise from a couple of wealthy guys on why they — and their brethern — should be taxed, fairly and responsibly, for the benefit of all. Written in response to the selfish and greedy attack on the estate tax by those rich kids in the Bush/Cheney Administration.

So, there’s six of my favorite (fairly recent) books on politics. If you have any recommendations, I’d like to hear them.

A couple little victories in Washington last week…

On July 21, the Senate voted 58-40 to amend the $680 billion ($680,000,000,000) military bill to remove $1.75 billion ($1,750,000,000) for seven more F-22 fighter jets (the Pentagon already has 187 of these Cold War relics, isn’t using them, and didn’t want any more — Congress initially ignored this advice and insisted on paying for and making more).

Credit for this glimmer of sanity goes to Defense Secretary Gates, who urged the repeal, and Obama, who threatened veto (goes to show what good leadership can do). Jeers go to local senators Boxer and Feinstein, who porkishly voted against the cut (in fact, the amendment would not have passed without the support of 15 Republican senators).

This is, hopefully, a first baby step away from the unbridled military spending that we’ve undertaken in this country for far too long. We’ve got more weaponry than is good for us, or any other living thing on this planet. It’s time to tack left.

On July 17, the House Education and Labor Committee voted 27-19 to approve a Kucinich amendment allowing states to create their own single-payer healthcare plans (again, without 13 Republican ayes, this amendment would have perished).

If our federal government isn’t going to muster the integrity and courage to do what is sensible and right on healthcare this time around, this amendment will make it easier for states to lead the way to single-payer in this country.

The California legislature has twice passed a single-payer bill (SB 840) the past few years, only to watch the Governeggar veto it down both times (goes to show what bad leadership can do). Meanwhile, other states — Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington among them — have active single-payer efforts before their legislatures.

Single-payer began in Canada at the provincial level. Saskatchewan is where it started. Other provinces saw how successful it was and joined in. By 1971, Canada decided to make it federal. Contrary to all the blatant disinformation streaming from FOX News, Canadians (and all the other single-payer nation citizens) like their National Healthcare. Why shouldn’t they? They pay less for superior results (Americans pay the most, by far, yet rank near the bottom).

Remember, folks, Rupert Murdoch is not your friend, he’s just another tax-dodging zillionaire, taking advantage of what America has become (a shooting range for avaricious free-marketeers). Don’t believe everything he and his minions tell you. Read, investigate, circulate, and draw your own conclusions. Until a majority of Americans learn to think for themselves, we will remain, collectively, fish in a barrel.

This brings to mind the letter in last week’s AVA urging Ukiahans to relax and let the “big boys” (in this case, the developers DDR) do whatever they want, so that we might save pennies on our next widget purchase. That is exactly the sort of narrow, short-term, non-thinking that leads straight to the long-term disaster we’re presently caught in (and it is exactly what Rupert and friends want you to think, which is why they purchased most of the media in this country). We’ve got to think a little deeper than that, people, we need to be more aware of the bigger picture. There is a lot of cause-and-effect going on out there. It’s called connecting the dots. Those “pennies off” come at a huge social cost, and many of us don’t want to pay that price.

Survey the landscape before you nibble the cheese.

This latest cutback in education is a travesty. An already starved system, crucial to our future, is being forced to cut even closer to the bone. This is a tragic result of the steady attack our public sector has been under the past thirty years. Here’s the basic question: should the super wealthy pay less tax? or should we educate our children?

You’ve got to hand it to the moneyed class. They got organized, bought the airwaves, and became quite successful at hypnotizing a majority of voters in this country for an extended period of time, to the point where they had that majority voting against their own better interests. That is some impressive manipulation and propagandizing!

Fortunately, it appears the populace is beginning to awaken to the plunder. 

The key thing we have to do is separate money from politics. To that end, I have a few suggestions. Politicians should not be allowed to accept campaign contributions, period. While we’re at it, we should also outlaw campaign commercials (which require lots of money and end up clogging the atmosphere with counterproductive nonsense). Instead, television stations should be required to provide a certain amount of airtime for political debate, giving candidates ample time to address the issues. If any lobby or special interest want to promote their own point of view, they are welcome to do so, but they have to do it themselves, and leave the politicians completely out of the equation. Hustling for dollars should not be part of public service.

Once elected, I’d also like to suggest that lawmakers be required to eat the same hot lunch our kids get served each day at school. “Yes, Representative Boehner, today’s entree is beanie-weinie and that ketchup packet is your vegetable. And, no, Senator Kennedy, you may not set your apple juice aside for a couple days to see if it will ferment.”

My daughter attends Anderson Valley Elementary. Even though this school (like every other public school in this country) is scandalously underfunded, the staff there still manage to do the impossible, day after day, providing a quality education for hundreds of children. I don’t know how they do it, other than through sheer will and dedication, but I am grateful that there are people who continue to answer this noble calling, in spite of the conditions. 

The way the teaching profession is undervalued in this country is a sin, and we will continue paying the steep price of that neglect until we come to our collective senses.

It’s time for revolution. Big money stole America, and it’s time to take the country back. But first, it’s important to understand who and what we’re up against.

One of the usurpers, Grover Norquist, expressed the goal in graphic terms: “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” He is part of the gang who subverted the “conservative” movement, the Republican Party, and the corporate media in this country. Their first puppet was Ronald Reagan, who helped popularize the simple-minded demonization of “big government.” Joe the Plumber is their latest tool.

But the real problem is not big government, it is bad government, which is what we have now. Washington has been thoroughly corrupted by big money. It serves the interests of corporations and extreme wealth at the expense of everyone else. This is not the American dream, it’s an American nightmare, and it is time to wake up.

Think about it: if you are rich and greedy, you don’t want to pay taxes for the public good. You send your kids to private schools, so you don’t care about public education. You can afford healthcare, no matter the cost, so you don’t care about universal coverage. Yes, it is stupid and selfish and short sighted, but that’s exactly who we are dealing with here. It’s time to stop the madness. America belongs to all of us, not just the rich. We’re all in this together.

The place to start is healthcare. Universal single-payer healthcare. Everyone in, everyone covered. Almost every other industrialized nation has it, but we don’t, because the rich don’t need it. They don’t care about you and me. So we have to stand up and fight for it.

There is a bill in Congress proposing healthcare for all. It’s called HR 676. It is the single best solution to the healthcare crisis in this country. It is, of course, opposed by the insurance and drug corporations, so they’ve been pouring money into Washington, to try and keep single-payer “off the table.” Thus far, their strategy is working. You hear the paid-off politicians speaking their lines.

How to fight back? Start with your congressional representative. Ask him or her to co-sponsor HR 676. If you live in California’s First District (the north coast region) your representative is Mike Thompson, who has not co-sponsored HR 676. Tell him to get on it (if you’re in Mendocino County, his number is 962-0933). We need to act in large enough numbers to counter the money he’s receiving from the industry. If he doesn’t respond, then let’s throw him out! That’s democracy at its finest.