Perfect or Good
It is a season of discontent.At a Christmas party last night, friends both liberal and conservative were expressing their utter dissatisfaction with the state of things as we bid adieu to 2009. Malaise is nothing new but there is an increasing level of irrationality on the right as evidenced by fellow blogger Craig Bardo: "Yet it is our right to alter or abolish this government. In fact, it is our right ,our duty, to throw off such a government." He's bummed about our Corporate President who he believes is a socialist.He can't mobilize anything but neither can I.
The liberals at the party were a little less insurrectionist but were nonetheless frustrated, disappointed, grasping for a new direction ( one that involved no risk or cost,however.) While I don't see Bardo forming a militia, there are folks in my neck of the woods who might actually act on those sentiments. Liberal apologists, on the other hand, tend to find silver linings and accuse restless radicals of "sacrificing the good for the perfect". The "good" in this case is incremental progress on health care reform or "not losing ground" on climate change. If the Right-Wing is a reality TV show these "progressives" are ANOTHER Christmas Nut Cracker ballet. One grotesquely absurd, one boring as dirt.The Left is not even at rehearsal.
One old friend cornered me as soon as I walked in with something momentous he had just discovered, Insurance companies enjoy an anti-trust exemption! Alerting the citizenry and abolishing this onerous provision was for him the key to a better health care system! What could I say? My wife claims I was curt and dismissive, that to change his belief system I needed to consider his analysis more thoughtfully. What I did was rejected the notion that "more competition" by private insurers was a miracle cure, that it was in fact buying in to a Spectacular Illusion.I said "then you must be for the public option!" just to test his logic.He doesn't like government run anything. I argued against profit taking in a health system. It was the typical foggy, useless discussion one has with conservatives.
If Bardo wants to overthrow the capitalist government, I say fine.I should go back to his blog and encourage him. At least he is not a milktoast liberal arguing that we should be satisfied with U.S. policy because there were only 31,991 deaths by starvation on Christmas ( down by 9) so look at the progress we are making! Slowly but surely! This is the "good" that we wouldn't want to risk by insisting on "perfection". Of course Bardo will not form a Chrysler Convoy or a Briefcase Brigade because that would involve risk. And if liberals want substantive change that is also what they are going to have to accept a measure of. What will the World Social Forum call for?
posted by troutsky @ 1:51 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Troutsky
Bardo is too angry to see the big picture. The American people are angry and if there is a revolt you might be lucky if you get away will a mere tar and feathering. The mere mention of the word socialist is poison in this country.
Obama should have never been elected. The American people will not fall for smoke and mirrors twice. Hugo is calling and commies
should depart.
"The American people will not fall for smoke and mirrors twice."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2004
Comwad Dopeland is still in dementia.
Obama is making President Bush look better all the time.
You miss my point. I've got as much for Barack Owarcriminal as I did for General Bush.
Just pointing out that if the American people settled for eating shit from the spoon marked "Bush" twice, I don't think it's entirely inconceivable they'd do the same from one marked "Obama". It's also entirely possible this is a one term presidency.
Does any of this ultimately matter? No.
I told you it would be the teabaggers to begin the insurrection... and maybe now we will stop bothering the Russians about wanting Putin back... it beats 2 bushes and one obama
Kulure Klown has missed the message of the Tea Bag crowd. The Tea Bag crowd is peaceful and law abiding. The Tea Bag crowd celebrates classic American values embodied in my
( Commies are not American) founding documents. The protests are entirely on message and there is zero room for bigotry of any type. I will contrast this with so called Commie.Protests that are really Nuremberg style rallies.
What you are hearing from CB and others is anger. Obama was elected on a series of lies and distortions
by the Bolshevik media. The media message was that he was going to bring the people together. In fact
his arrogance and neglect of the economy while attempting to make a classic communist cult of personality has back fired. Only at the last second did he start talking about jobs.
While Americans might be angry at Obama's mismanagement and arrogance
we are by enlarge peaceful. Sorry, but political based criminality and
treason is a communist thing, think Bill Ayers the most hated person in the USA.
Dopeland
President Bush is looking better every day. Your comments reflect a mindless dementia that is typical
of those off the political map.
Well, being the black sheep here, although I do thank Beak for crediting me with far left credentials, I have to admit that democratic socialism is just plain dead.
I had put some faith in it and the ability of people to understand the dangers of capitalism run amok. But for most folks it seems that as long as they have a cheap 52 inch flat screen then all is well.
Insurance company monopoly? Crap, they are more concerned with the Sunday football scores than the issue of for profit health care.
The victims of comfort even if that comfort is really starting to fray for a lot of them. Let's see, in recent times productivity has increased and production capacity has increased but wages have decreased. How do you keep consumption up? DEBT. And the consumer thought this was a good deal until the banking system went under and they were left with the bill.
The American people will fall for anything because they have been conditioned to fear even the slightest move to the left.
I tend to agree with ren that change is only going to take place through a large world movement but I don't believe that could happen and the left is a bit amiss by not vocalizing their program although the media in this country makes that almost impossible.
"Liberal media" -- remember, that has become an accepted meme. Mainstream liberal media and a lot of this country will fall for that howler.
Armed revolution? Yeah, they'll get off the couch right after the Patriots game is finished.
"Maybe now we'll stop bothering the Russians for wanting Putin back". I doubt it,kultur although you are incredibly generous to suggest Americans have a society capable of that kind of self analysis.
I had hoped that health insurance would have started at least a bit of analysis of just what value profit in the health care system delivers but there was nothing and Obama simply didn't have the balls to deliver because he didn't want to deliver. He got a package that is a corporatists dream.
As long as we have a society where a near majority consider Obama left of center then progress is not possible.
I have to say Beak, for someone who runs a cowardly reviewed and censored site, you are quick with the insults.
Would you please try to be a little more polite?
Duncy
My blog is in moderation mode because
Comrade gassy sandwich has henchman
who regularly make criminal threats
and invade privacy. Comrade gassy sandwich has his minions do his dirty work while he feigns ignorance.
The only censorship is we do not allow personal threats and criminal behavior. Few people are outright banned and again they are banned for criminal behavior. Your friend Weazie seems to get 100% personal attacks posted so I wouldn't be so rash as to point to censorship. You have never been censored either.
The criminal threats against Junglemom clearly came from a follower of Ren. Threatening children is not political speech, it is a crime that Ren thinks is funny.
You seem to forget that real Jews
see Commies in the same manner that
Blacks view KKK types. Depraved death cultists who have committed
countless crimes against humanity
are not fit to judge anyone.
Ducky, I didn't even want to mention the football thing but since you brought it up... I am probably a hugely overbearing Holiday critic ( and guest at parties) but these games and the commercials can no longer be seen as harmless entertainment. My pals who will not participate in anything political sit in front of the huge screen for hours watching and discussing sports trivia.Theirs is team loyalty replacing class loyalty.
As for the word "socialist", my friends will defend certain social policies and nationalizations but can't wrap their heads around workers owning all the means of production. After the next crash we will become owners by default but will need to figure out how to replace markets or the same shit will reproduce itself.
Ducky - great observations!
Trout - of course football team loyalty wins out; it represents a smaller, more intimate cadre (like a clan...with its own totem as well). It is much easier to identify with such a grouping than an impersonal 'class' of citizens in the best country in the world. Hardee, Har, Har!!
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