"Keep clear of the dupes that talk democracy,
And the dogs that bark revolution.
Drunk with talk, liars and believers.
I believe in my tusks. Long live freedom and damn the ideologies!"
(Robinson Jeffers)
Fair enough. Regardless of the degree of awareness or concern on the part of the majority, it's a worthwhile graphical representation of the degree to which a tiny group of people can dominate so many. While the vast majority are ignorant of the value of the Constitution and learned absolutely nothing from the totalitarian horrors of the last century, there are still people whose eyes are open and interested in new perspectives. The video graphically represents the result of the constitutional betrayal of the Supreme Court and the other two branches, without which the federal government would not have grown to its gargantuan size. If there are no aware people at all your point is well taken, if there are some, the video is a valuable contribution to what might turn into some kind of an awakening. Some argue the American Revolution happened because only 3% of the population made it happen.
I don't fault you for being dubious. Countless times I have referred to the adamant unwillingness of voters to support nationalist parties. They do not have to go head to head with street thugs but merely to mark a box or pull a lever to render support. Yet, in the face of clear and persistent evidence, they fail to do this. Thus, the hope that there will be some kind of an awakening based on some additional evidence is not likely to bear fruit. So I don't see that we differ in that regard.
I disagree that there is simply no "us" as the first appearance of the Tea Party and the last federal election showed that SOMEONE was awake and you cannot deny that there was a change based on perception. Too the Trump phenomenon can hardly be taken as evidence of something other than that a fair number of people are thinking differently about the actions of the elites. The inaction of the congressional Republicans after is also ANOTHER datum that is having an effect in the thinking of citizens. Not a whole lot of them, of course, otherwise Hillary wouldn't be the putative Dem front runner, so help me God.
Also, look at the dominance of the GOP in state government. This doesn't happen by magic but because people saw something new and changed their thinking and actions.
I am not making the video's argument but rather saying that it is one that is worthwhile hearing. Not all will respond but some will. That's all one can hope for, to change a few minds here and there. Though I'm not religious, I think Jesus changed a whole heck of a lot of minds. He didn't say there is no "us" in his time but started preaching things that transformed the thinking of a whole lot of "us." I have no illusions about what influence I might have but it's worth it to try to change thinking.
Notwithstanding this limited optimism, I am actually so pessimistic that I think for the vast majority there is no reasoning with them. They are so wedded to the idea that they can live at the expense of others, and that there will never be an end to the wonders of the great American economic machine, that nothing but absolute catastrophe will reawaken them to the realities of human nature and scarcity.
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Sorry, I stopped about 3/4 of the way through.
ReplyDeleteThere is NO "us"!
There are a handful of unruly livestock scattered through a massive herd of docile, compliant chattel.
The 990,000+ of chattel are blithely driven wherever the stockman wishes them to go.
The unruly livestock are a nuisance. Noted and marked, they will be dealt with in due time.
It does not take 100,000 cowboys to handle a herd of 100,000 cattle. This is NOT a matter of numbers, it is a matter of KIND.
Fair enough. Regardless of the degree of awareness or concern on the part of the majority, it's a worthwhile graphical representation of the degree to which a tiny group of people can dominate so many. While the vast majority are ignorant of the value of the Constitution and learned absolutely nothing from the totalitarian horrors of the last century, there are still people whose eyes are open and interested in new perspectives. The video graphically represents the result of the constitutional betrayal of the Supreme Court and the other two branches, without which the federal government would not have grown to its gargantuan size. If there are no aware people at all your point is well taken, if there are some, the video is a valuable contribution to what might turn into some kind of an awakening. Some argue the American Revolution happened because only 3% of the population made it happen.
ReplyDelete"the video is a valuable contribution to what might turn into some kind of an awakening"
ReplyDeleteI remain dubious.
"Some argue the American Revolution happened because only 3% of the population made it happen."
Are you making the video's "numbers" argument? Or my "kind" argument?
I don't fault you for being dubious. Countless times I have referred to the adamant unwillingness of voters to support nationalist parties. They do not have to go head to head with street thugs but merely to mark a box or pull a lever to render support. Yet, in the face of clear and persistent evidence, they fail to do this. Thus, the hope that there will be some kind of an awakening based on some additional evidence is not likely to bear fruit. So I don't see that we differ in that regard.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that there is simply no "us" as the first appearance of the Tea Party and the last federal election showed that SOMEONE was awake and you cannot deny that there was a change based on perception. Too the Trump phenomenon can hardly be taken as evidence of something other than that a fair number of people are thinking differently about the actions of the elites. The inaction of the congressional Republicans after is also ANOTHER datum that is having an effect in the thinking of citizens. Not a whole lot of them, of course, otherwise Hillary wouldn't be the putative Dem front runner, so help me God.
Also, look at the dominance of the GOP in state government. This doesn't happen by magic but because people saw something new and changed their thinking and actions.
I am not making the video's argument but rather saying that it is one that is worthwhile hearing. Not all will respond but some will. That's all one can hope for, to change a few minds here and there. Though I'm not religious, I think Jesus changed a whole heck of a lot of minds. He didn't say there is no "us" in his time but started preaching things that transformed the thinking of a whole lot of "us." I have no illusions about what influence I might have but it's worth it to try to change thinking.
Notwithstanding this limited optimism, I am actually so pessimistic that I think for the vast majority there is no reasoning with them. They are so wedded to the idea that they can live at the expense of others, and that there will never be an end to the wonders of the great American economic machine, that nothing but absolute catastrophe will reawaken them to the realities of human nature and scarcity.