Fran, I agree with you, yet I think itтАЩs incredibly easy to move in and out of metaphorical slumber, especially in this neoliberal world. How far are most of us truly willing to go to be disruptors of the many oppressive systems in place? This is what I wrestle with on a daily basis.
When I was 16 I spent the summer reading Darwin's Origin of Species and a whole lot about our closest living relatives, the chimps, who are very territorial, often violent toward other groups of chimps, and even within their own groups. I kind of hung on to this perspective as the source of human behavior, and see people like Cheney, or Netanyahu as alpha chimps on steroids, as are many others, and history really bears that out. Of course I believe that we have evolved over time, but the behavior of some remind us who our true ancestors were. During our Middle Eastern wars I was as active as I could be in the anti-war movement, and there were many that were, including people in other countries. What happened? Nothing. When Obama got in many thought he was a die hard liberal that would end the Bush/Cheney wars. No, he was no liberal, and continued their agenda. The voices against our Middle Eastern wars became very silent in the US during his tenure and the anti-war movement died rather quickly. Well, to sum up, we know that our outrage is too quickly silenced, squashed, but I don't believe in giving up.
I would say that we aren't willing to go very far at all. In the 1980s I told my friends that we needed a General Strike and they were all too scared to do it. They were all whining shitlibs.
If we can' reason and vote ourselves into a more equitable future, we're going to have to just shut it all down. General Nationwide Strike is what we have left.
Mr. Hedges, you have a diamond mind and heart. Thank you for your unswerving commitment to rouse us from our comfortable, self-serving slumber.
Sorry Karen, but the ones listening to Hedges aren't the one's who are sleeping.
Fran, I agree with you, yet I think itтАЩs incredibly easy to move in and out of metaphorical slumber, especially in this neoliberal world. How far are most of us truly willing to go to be disruptors of the many oppressive systems in place? This is what I wrestle with on a daily basis.
When I was 16 I spent the summer reading Darwin's Origin of Species and a whole lot about our closest living relatives, the chimps, who are very territorial, often violent toward other groups of chimps, and even within their own groups. I kind of hung on to this perspective as the source of human behavior, and see people like Cheney, or Netanyahu as alpha chimps on steroids, as are many others, and history really bears that out. Of course I believe that we have evolved over time, but the behavior of some remind us who our true ancestors were. During our Middle Eastern wars I was as active as I could be in the anti-war movement, and there were many that were, including people in other countries. What happened? Nothing. When Obama got in many thought he was a die hard liberal that would end the Bush/Cheney wars. No, he was no liberal, and continued their agenda. The voices against our Middle Eastern wars became very silent in the US during his tenure and the anti-war movement died rather quickly. Well, to sum up, we know that our outrage is too quickly silenced, squashed, but I don't believe in giving up.
I would say that we aren't willing to go very far at all. In the 1980s I told my friends that we needed a General Strike and they were all too scared to do it. They were all whining shitlibs.
If we can' reason and vote ourselves into a more equitable future, we're going to have to just shut it all down. General Nationwide Strike is what we have left.