A great recent diary by a gilas girl has me thinking about the changes that have occurred in political discourse with Republican right wingers -- their belligerence, name-calling, ignorance, and anger. I have long been concerned with considering how to "turn" them or forge alliances because at least they have political action in them, which (as we all know) is a precious resource.
That action is fueled by resentment -- not so dissimilar from some of us -- and these could be part of the nuclear fuel rods to foment a meltdown of the current colossus that is threatening us all.
For the rest of this diary, I'm going to call them the "resenters." Follow over the scroll-y thing-y for my thoughts about the source of rightwing angst and resentment.
I think resentment is the band-aid covering a very deep and real wound -- the loss of power of the individual in modern life. As I see it, the "resenters" are suffering from a sense of powerlessness. And I do believe they are suffering -- from disorientation, fear, ignorance, and oppression.
I believe they understand they have been wounded, and that their perception is correct. I agree that they focus on racism, and cultural change, and I think there is something to the argument that that is aided and abetted by the agenda-setting function of corporate media and its pinnacle, Faux News.
However, I don't think the media caused this resentment. Without the underlying sense of powerlessness (correctly perceived), this channeling of resentment would not have occurred. However, once the resentment existed, the corporate media (not just RW media) have fueled and channeled it into racism and fear of cultural dominance. (I compare this situation to the role of the media in the current Arab state revolutions. In my view, Twitter and Facebook did not cause them. Without true dissatisfaction, no media can bring about social unrest...actual grievances from actions that have affected people's daily lives must exist.)
So what are the causes of such grievances? Here's my take:
The Supreme Court ratification of corporate "personhood" is the keystone of the arch of the organizational dominance, a growth that characterized the 20th century. Organizations have captured virtually every political structure, and are well on the way to capturing many social structures as well. People get no relief from the courts, public schools, their utilities, bankers, chain stores and other retail outlets. Their medical care givers are constrained from helping many people because of cost or time-sucking, complex procedures. Consider that all of these goods and services used to be personal.
Adding to the organizational impersonality many people's environment is the rise of science as the primary engine of change and progress, and you have the perfect mix for disempowering a great many people.
It's easy to see why organizational supremacy would create a sense of powerlessness. But why science? Because it requires substantial, discipline-related education to really understand. For example, I have such advanced training, which enables me to at least examine knowledge claims, but I can't follow the specific mechanisms in other disciplines, and must rely on researchers to get that part right.
Many people, and virtually all of the "resenters" do not have such training and, indeed, reject many of the foundations and assumptions that underlay it. As an educator, I have come to see just how much education depends on the learner having an open mind.
I am considering ways to "turn" the resenters. There are multiple paths -- I've often thought that progressive religious groups could play a big role among certain segments of the RW. For myself, I'm currently thinking about entertainment. Specifically, I am working on an outline for a novel that will have "manifesto" in its title. Among many other things (drama, hero, change, etc.), it will model the change of a RW resenter to understand the true nature of the class war that has been unleased upon him and the focusing of his actions on the actual source of his disempowerment and difficulties.
As I work my way through the outline, I'll post more about how I'm approaching the project, and will appreciate your comments and suggestions about it, as well as more general thoughts about communicating with citizens of the US and the world.