Saturday, April 13, 2013

Visual Proof That We Live In Opposite World -OR- Not Enough Lifeboats Again

On the floor of the Senate, but rarely on the mainstream mouse circus, Senator Bernie Sanders, waves his arms, points his finger and orates about basic, widely-held American folklore. That our strength lays in the common people. That our virtue is being twisted and abused. That we're getting screwed by a small, but wealthy and powerful minority of a short-sighted, greed-driven, untethered elite. He flat out says we've been sold out by his fellow congresscritters. His words sound queer and funny to the ear. A little bit jumbled and jive-y. He's saying stop, look, LISTEN. The way forward requires that we stop buying what's being sold. Stop because it is a wholly inferior product that few people want; being marketed as our only option. He's saying there are better choices that aren't even being considered.

Hell yeah, I love Bernie Sanders. I love Elizabeth Warren as well. Still, I have to ask why they're the ONLY strident voices who are clearly articulating how we are getting screwed. IN DETAIL. Why should I have to seek out their battles? Why must I endure a Hollywood Squares Set of pundits, who've been absolutely wrong about absolutely everything? Sanders and Warren are shouting into the abyss? Written off as fringe elements? Issue by issue their thinking is echoed by a majority of the American people.

This clip from Bill Maher's Real Time clearly shows this insanity. Stephen Moore and Abby Huntsman? Impervious to facts. Ignoring anything that might derail them from spewing their focus-group tested narrative. It's all great fun ain't it?



Dovetailing nicely with another marginalized voice from the fringe, Noam Chomsky: "The real mass media are basically trying to divert people. Let them do something else, but don’t bother us (us being the people who run the show). Let them get interested in professional sports, for example. Let everybody be crazed about professional sports or sex scandals or the personalities and their problems or something like that. Anything, as long as it isn’t serious.
Of course, the serious stuff is for the big guys. “We” take care of that."


Further examples would border on redundancy. The signal to noise ratio is so poor as to render it impossible to determine where to turn, except OFF.
What would happen if we were to say "Time-Fucking-OUT!" and spend time to set some real priorities? Turning this rig around requires time, space and an actual plan for the future.
Can I suggest a first step?

Spend three hours to watch and listen to the amazing Amy Goodman. You needn't do it in one sitting. Watch/Listen. Consider what you've heard. Extend the anecdotes to other present "debates".
Listen some more. Keep listening until you get what she's saying. That while we haven't always fulfilled the promise of America, we have been better at it than we've shown in recent decades.




Then ask why this voice has to be sought out in order to be heard in our larger discussions? Instead we're most likely to some noise, that, when you sift it, mostly sounds like this.



Even when the signal strength is pegging the meter, the noise drowns it out. Watch Elizabeth Warren seek answers, watch the regulators she's questioning, boldly and openly admit to her premise.
As much as to say, we've legalized it. So What? We're just following orders.

It's all made so complicated when in reality it is simple.


2 comments:

amber ladeira said...

Nicely crafted as usual, B. Hope
you and yours are reasonably (or even unreasonably, like Lotto-winning)well.

I too admire and follow both senators cited here, EW and BS. There are others in the DC legislative stew who feel as they
do, but are less-often open about the waste, fraud and abuse committed by the high-tone gangsters on Wall St. and in DC. HR Rep. Markey still speaks out, our Sen. Durbin too.

I'm afraid it IS up to the likes of you and me to exhort and remind
others (who may be less blunt as well as articulate) to fly the truth flag, how ever mind-bending the repetition must be.

(But you already knew that,right?)

Best Wishes, A.

Rehctaw said...

Oh Amber. I used to believe that is was up to us, but have seen no evidence that such remains true anymore. Just the opposite actually, which is, by my optics, par for the course.

The game is rigged to the point that regardless of the will of the people, the status quo is maintained.
Even the mechanism by which maintenance is performed, change is stymied and perpetuation is assured has the apt name of: CONTINUING resolution.