I feel sad and angry, probably much like the
99%ers occupying NYC, Chicago, Portland and
elsewhere. Inexperienced or incompetent or brutal
police have upped the ante, (along with demonstrators);
blood's been spilled and hundreds are arrested.
Intransigence will now, predictably, harden,
and much of the righteous moral message/
outrage will be obscured by the grim street
theater. There is a real danger that public
perception/approval will start shifting away
from the "Occupy" folks.
A few of the many complex aspects of these issues
swirling around the phenomenon occupy ME right
about now:
(1) This U.S. recession and wretched capitalist
excess does NOT equal the Arab Spring, although I'm
certain that has inspired many of the young
"Occupiers". Neither is it a new idea; "Hooverville"
was a DC tent city which sprang up when Hoover didn't pay
veterans long-promised bonuses which were needed
during the desperate depression era of the 1930s.
The campers were evicted by troops/police; if
the bonuses were EVER paid, I'd be extremely surprised.
(2) There are few who understand/respect the
concept of public or private outdoor spaces
or places. I knew it would all roll downhill
when the tents went up and people didn't leave
at around 10 P.M. every night. Twelve hours
every day, from 10 A.M. to 10 P.M., is STILL
a powerful statement, but noooooo....
(3) There is less than a year to influence
Congress and the state legislators to heed
the better angels of their natures. It's
STILL possible, why not try it?? I have, and
I think I succeeded, at least temporarily.
Changing the laws, i.e., the system, is where
the rubber meets the road, make no mistake.
Not all advances toward civilization have
occurred via violence or revolution, although
many did.
I'll be happier when the "Occupy" leadership
circles tackle this tactic, which has a better
chance to make an impact....
If only I could get more people to believe it.
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I, like you, struggle with this effort. Perhaps, some clearly defined objectives are in order. How about working with Elizabeth Warren to re-regulate the banksters?
ReplyDelete"Hooverville" was broken up by MacArthur by the way. (You probably knew that though.)
Cletis,
ReplyDelete--This is spooky! I JUST, today, wrote
former IMF Chief Economist Simon Johnson
a return email to his blog (I subscribe by
email), The Baseline Scenario. Do you get/read that? He likes Ms. Warren, Krugman, Volcker, et al, i.e, the smart and caring folks high up on the public arena's food chain. You can get it for free at the New York Times, his column, "Economix". (The NYT column is somewhat more condensed than his blog, which he can run longer-you know newspapers, they have space limitations.)
I bet you read 13 Bankers by Johnson and Kwak.
--WHAT a bombshell!! Especially the early part of the book. Eventually I must buy it,
I feel it is a must-read for policy makers
and a concerned public.
Now, seriously, what is happening with your
getting andy off the bill? I suspect it will only
be remotely possible when they change that bill due to nation states' possessing stolen legitimate plates, which (as you knew) occasioned the recent changes.
Best Wishes to you and yours,
Happy Holidays! (--Er, as happy as we can dare to be.)
P.S.: -I Hate Mr. "Fade Away"! If you add up his career he should have been dismissed WAY
before Harry gave him his pink slip--A.
Cletis, I answered your response on the immediately previous post here. GET WELL QUICK,
ReplyDeletethat's an order....oh, if I only had the power.
A.
A.
ReplyDeleteThe torch is being passed to a new generation. It's the same torch that's been passed from the founders to the abolutionists to the wobblies to the hippies.
History may have been scrubbed, sanatized and re-written, but some DO remember.
The battles change. The war is the same.
The people have always held the higher ground.
We prosper most, we progress as a society more, we overcome our differences better when the people have had the upper hand.
Madison's usurpations are ALWAYS at work. Everything is ever at risk. Pogo's wisdom prevails. Florence Reece's question is still the most germane. "Which side are you on?"
It has echoed across history and briefly rung from the community bell towers. The darkness retreats but never surrenders.
-b
I like this sample of your writing much better: for me, accessible, yet learned and eloquent.
ReplyDeleteBUT:
NOW my factoid antenna has begun to vibrate
in shock-What?? -Madison?? --As in James, who
essentially wrote most of our peerless document, the U.S. Constitution? (-I know, actually three, but Madison gets the lion's share of the credit, having had multiple high rank, including Pres.)
Are you really Chris Matthews, telling me
something I didn't know? (-Another political pigeon's pedestal acquires clay feet....)
Seriously, dish re: Madison. If I can believe you, I'll probably cry, because I still believe in some "historical heroes". I get the
Pogo/Walt Kelly reference, still keep a couple of the most famous cartoons I clipped
out when first published. Personally, I always
feel the enemy is also ME, at least theoretically.
Best to you and yours,
A.