A Hillary Clinton presidency would have been marred by nonstop investigations of spurious accusations hurled by fainting Republicans, most of whom are aok with administration corruption that aids adversaries and/or hurts allies as long as it furthers Republican power grabs. This is sharply contrasted with the legitimate investigations of the vast assortment of corruption and betrayal perpetuated throughout the Trump administration. However, many see that contrast differently. Obama’s birth records were never good enough, and Trump’s taxes don’t matter. Many more seem to give up on traversing the flak and chaff required to be informed or involved. My objective is to address why this is important.
Seeking Equitable Justice, Not Power
Eliminating corruption, incompetence and treachery are the objective of investigations, not advancing power. Power should be given by voters to those best advancing voter interests through policy. Democrats have the advantage in policy for middle and lower class voters. Republicans say what they believe people want and distract from serving wealthy white Christians by vilifying Hillary, Obama, immigrants, liberals, and whoever their next victims are. None of our presidential candidates will be an exception.
To be clear, wealthy white Christians deserve all of the service they or any other group can muster above board in a democratic system influenced minimally by money. Gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement, as their favorite party employs, belong on the long list of obviously wrong things to do to win elections.
In one more attention grabber inserted into this attempt at contributing to political discourse between work, let me say that I like Senator Warren and liked Mayor Buttigieg’s interview on The New Yorker Radio Hour. Any of the Democrat’s top 5-10 would be a vast improvement on the current situation. We have the policy and ideas, still flawed, but much better, nonetheless.
Paranoia Strikes Deep
Meanwhile, after subsisting for years on a diet of Whitewater, Vince Foster, AR cocaine, Uranium, Benghazi and emails, many are convinced that the Clintons lead a criminal empire. But, it goes well beyond Bill and Hillary. As Neoliberalism falters and hopefully becomes a relic, our opponents consider capitalism as vital as oxygen, liberals as inherently bad, education secondary to common sense, and religious battles from centuries past as transcendently relevant.
These threads are significant components of the culture we are seeking to move towards a just, equitable and sustainable future. They didn’t just spontaneously weave themselves into the fabric of society. They are propagated by powerful and wealthy members of society, as well as, their devoted adherents.
One means of conveying beliefs and enforcing adherence is through local media. Daily Kos’s own certainot has been telling us this for years. Here is one more recent example.
Oil Companies Spill Oil and Grease Media
TC Energy’s Keystone pipeline was shutdown after leaking thousands of barrels of oil in a wetland connected area of rural Northeastern North Dakota. National coverage has been pretty extensive, with company PR statements balanced by concerns from environmental advocates. Local coverage, by and large, presented only brief statements and mostly parroted company and state responses, with a minimum of historical perspective and opposing facts. This point was repeated by multiple outlets.
“At this time there is no indication that it has impacted anybody’s drinking water,” Karl Rockeman, director of the division of water quality for North Dakota's health department, said. “It appears to be contained within the area.”
Though rural, there are neighbors, and their statements indicate that the spill is not contained. Oil does emit volatile toxins, after all. The linked story, BTW, is a pretty good local news video with interviews of neighbors. I didn’t see it on youtube to link directly here.
So, we have local media mostly providing minimal coverage and largely repeating company lines, despite the fact that these lines are contradicted by impacted neighbors.
One more interesting point from this example is how readily the out-of-state corporate lines are accepted and repeated. Activists, on the other hand, are constantly held as suspicious. Those from elsewhere are cast as paid agitators. Local residents repeat corporate friendly points and resent the outside influence of activists. The irony is lost on most. Wealthy interests are elevated. Others are belittled.
It’s the System
Examples of culture bending to corporate interests are practically limitless. Even when society tries to do the right thing, revenue and profit motives can spoil the efforts. Recycling, for example, could have been much better for us. However, lacking a circular economy with full life cycle costs, and in the perpetual search for cheap labor, manufacturers continue to make more than we can handle, and waste management companies readily took to shipping what we thought was recycling over long ocean journeys to locations with cheaper labor and lax environmental standards. As it has been run, has recycling contributed to polluting oceans and exploiting labor? Would we have been better off by burying all of our waste in landfills?
I hope that my efforts in recycling have helped more than they hurt. Nevertheless, the foundation upon which this industry was built remains dominant. We have learned many times over that we cannot rely on capitalism and trust profit driven companies to do what is best for us and our children.
Ignoring it Won’t Make it Go Away
In meeting with people working in academia and corporations, it is common to discuss gaps between educational opportunities and corporate needs. Most are willing to discuss specific skills and programs. Few step up to speak about the cultural context. There is a strong vein of anti-intellectualism in the United States, and education has been neglected by many states where privatization is revered and academics are scorned. Systemic racism pervades much of the process. Fundamentalism has a strong influence too.
Though it makes conversations more difficult, that is where we are at. Culture, economics and religion will influence any efforts at progress.
My Point
This piece is a precursor to pieces I plan to post on alternative agriculture research institutes. Kind readers here have posted encouraging requests for me to write more about agriculture and practical change. I will do that in upcoming diaries. However, I can’t write about that without acknowledging the context in which these institutes operate. Without this context, it is easy to say that modern, large scale farming has emerged as the best based on productivity and a fair market. We might overlook the billions of dollars being poured into agriculture in search of patents on gene edited crop varieties. We wouldn’t see the great disparity in funding of intellectual property driven research versus the funding allocated to study regenerative agriculture.
In my opinion, cultural and economic systems are the greatest hurdles to developing sustainable agriculture. For example, there is enough food to feed every person. It’s not agriculture that is preventing anybody from getting food.
So, I will post some reviews of alternative agriculture research institutes and their work in upcoming diaries. I’m sure that readers in the Anti-Capitalist Meetup can appreciate that these presentations will not be complete without acknowledging current culture, political and economic realities.