Regarding the "grave dangers of rightist reaction" as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once stated . . .
"If such reaction were to develop, If history were to repeat itself, and we were to return to the "so-called normalcy" of the 1920's, then it is certain that even though we shall have defeated our enemies on the battlefields abroad, we shall yielded to the spirit of fascism here at home."
~snip~
"People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made."
~ President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
A dictatorship of Corporations who buy our politicians.
That "so-called normalcy" of the 1920's has returned. The Trusts and Monopolies are back, and bigger than ever. The "rightest reaction" is louder and more insane then ever. History has repeated itself.
Video, transcript and more below the fold
With that in mind, I give you President FDR in a speech from 1944 titled "The Economic Bill of Rights"
After decades of "unfettered free market" corporatism that stood in opposition of the economic ideas of John Maynard Keynes, after decades of repealing FDR's "New Deal" little by little, after the rise of multinational corporations such as BP that can rape and plunder nations in such a way that a foreign army never could, we are there, Mr. President. We are there, and it is the 1920's all over again.
We have, indeed, allowed history to repeat itself. Statistics keep pointing to "the worst since the Great Depression" The monopolies and banks and special interests are more powerful than ever, and they legally bribe our elected officials to do their bidding. This is the "so-called normalcy" of the 1920's, only now it is the "status quo" that manipulates BOTH parties.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.
fdrheritage.org
Barack Obama is not communist. Rather, Corporate Conservative extremists see anything short of their vision of total, unfettered free markets as being akin to socialism. These are the "reactionary rightists" to whom FDR was referring.
And his answer to them was "I welcome their hatred"
But Obama does not. Obama wishes to work with the people who seek to destroy him, him and us. Why, I can not say, but I speculate that Obama's advisers such as Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, free market advocates who stand at the heart of our economic crisis are giving Obama crap advice. Remember, when FDR was President he fought the bankers, he did not bring them into his cabinet and let them fix the mess they created.
Nor did FDR pull his punches. He repeatedly blamed Republicans who created the Great Depression. Obama does not. Obama had the opportunity back in January of 2009 to let the public know that the reason they are suffering is because Conservative policies only help the rich and always hurt everyone else, but he did not. Rather, Obama has given and given to the Conservative "Rightists" and they have betrayed him over and over.
Part of me thinks Obama is to trusting of the Republicans and the Corporations. Part of me hopes that is what it is.
But my purpose in writing today is this. . . .
Dear, Obama, we need you to be our FDR. We need a New New Deal, an Economic Bill of Rights that protects working class Americans from the BP's and Goldman Sachs, the Military Industrial Complex and the Multinational Corporations that care nothing for human rights, labor rights or the environment.
Please, Obama, do not yield to the "grave dangers of the rightist reaction" and "the spirit of fascism here at home". We need you to be another F.D.R., President Obama.
Yes, "we are the ones we have been waiting for.", but we need YOU, President Obama, to lead. America can NOT wait, we can NOT be pragmatic, we can NOT "look forward". We need a New New Deal and we need it NOW.
Because Corporatism is fascism, and that is what we are up against.
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
publiceye.org
Fight BACK.
Because we are almost back to the 1920's and the Rightist reaction that is demanding a Corporatist nation of hungry, forgotten people is banging on our door.
Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.
And with that I beg, I plead, Obama, PLEASE learn more about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
I work for PeanutButterPAC! If you like my articles and want to support Progressive primary and general election candidates like, join PeanutButterPAC, the PAC that fights back!
Vote for me to get a DFA Netroots Nation scholarship!
You can follow me on Twitter at @JesseLaGreca
Crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com