Has mega billions also purchased the soul and conscience of America?
After our earlier pre-school years, what most of us love, like, dislike, hate — or feel indifferent to — are mainly things we are exposed to in everyday life. We tend to absorb the harsh realities and many biases and prejudices surrounding us. Unless we are fortunate to have a truly progressive, creative and forward thinking education, or a significant life experience that awakens us. Either by forward thinking parenting, schooling or some special events in our lives that encourages or stimulates us in a naturally critical thinking fashion.
Politics, Usually a Very Small Part of Life.
Stated simply, to grasp, believe in and even question certain political realities we must somehow learn to think more critically about life and society at large rather than just react to it.
We may, to some degree, be naturally born with these abilities. But they are slowly removed from many of us by a stifling and often authoritarian and mechanical education system as well as the struggles we all have trying to adapt and live within a basically patriarchal, authoritarian society of countless rules, regulations, and behavioral protocols.
Which brings us to:
How Many Americans Perceive Democracy
40% of eligible Americans fail to vote.
The fact that around 40% of eligible Americans typically fail to vote in a presidential election speaks volumes as to how little many view democracy’s importance. Even those that do manage to vote believe democracy itself rarely yields meaningful control over their lives. No matter which party they choose, control will remain in the hands of Wall Street billionaires, and not in their own.
Worse, it’s widely believed that promises made by most politicians will be broken. Expectations are lower than low, and this can also be associated with or even blamed on a democratic system. A common complaint of voters is a feeling like they are voting for who will be their boss for the next four years rather than a public servant. And worse, some feel that what we really need is some strong patriarchal male dictator to set things straight. Electoral paralysis is one reason why both Parties approvals have become so dramatically low.
If You Doubt . . .
If you doubt these scenarios, you haven’t talked to many voters. Millions cast their vote based on superficial appearances, personal prejudices, biases or emotional and irrational reasons as opposed to any perceived class interests or calculated policies.
Rarely do choices relate to policies and problems endemic to a strictly profit orientated system. Some voters may even love the very system that destroys them! A belief not far from the truth is that real policy, not what they thought they voted for, is determined behind closed doors and back rooms as opposed to any stated party platform.
All of these factors can wind up making democracy seem less than an essential societal component.
Rampant Racial Authoritarianism and Patriarchy
KKK March on Washington, 1920s.
Both racially based authoritarianism and patriarchy along with its right hand, misogyny, are a part of the American experience. As it is in different manifestations in many other countries. It’s clearly an obstacle to progress and dulls appreciation for the centrality of democratic institutions and practices. The main electoral appeal of Republicanism has always been, in our lifetimes, pandering to voter pathology and attraction to these tendencies along with pandering to multiple other additional biases. Which also forms the strongest factors attracting fascist movements.
These tendencies are nothing new. They’ve appeared before and dominated the national stage but have never evolved as the primary way in which our ruling circles wished to rule the entire country until now. Skin color slavery and genocidal treatment of Native Americans brought selective dictatorial and patriarchal rule for an extended early period of American racially based dictatorship along with some degree of exemptions for whites.
They Survived the Civil War
The South in the 1960s.
Racially based dictatorial policy even survived post the Civil War in the Southern states into the 1950s. Mass movements of the 50s through 80s partially pushed back these dictatorial and patriarchal tendencies, but did not come close to eliminating them.
The Democratic Party strategy for exorcising Trumpian fascism failed in the long run mostly mainly because the 2024 campaign incorrectly perceived a bitterly divided nation could be rallied to victory mostly under the banner of preserving democracy and the Constitution. They wound up blaming everyone else for their failures but themselves. They provided not a trace of policies or reforms necessary to solve endemic problems that the system they are so fond of praising creates.
Mistaken Assumptions
One of thousands of mass demonstrations in 2020.
What appeared to work in 2020 did not in 2024. Proving that each election is unique. Assumptions were made that the 2020 victory by Biden was a confirmation of Democratic Party leadership strategies to save democracy and prevent dictatorship and that would work again in 2024.
But 2020 was unique in one way that had nothing to do with Party strategy and was largely absent leading up to 2024. That being the many thousands of organized and often spontaneous mass demonstrations in every state against Trump by anti-Trump grass roots organizations. They included Black Lives Matters and a constellation of anti-Trump groups, often joining at the same demonstrations. They did not necessarily win over any pro-Trumpers, but they did stimulate a huge voter turnout for the Democratic Party and Biden in 2020. Unfortunately, this anti fascist anti-Trump activity peaked in 2020 and was insufficiently taken advantage of in the coming four years.
Failed Prosecution of Trump and his Co-conspirators
Trump was like a moray eel let off the hook to live another day.
The opportunity was there at that point when Biden was elected by a large majority to strike a death blow to Trump’s future electoral prospects and to budding fascism by prosecuting him and others as swiftly as possible for his many crimes.
It should be recognized that the Democratic leadership blew the chance to vanquish fascism and allowed Trump and his co-conspirators to literally be resurrected in the following four year period. They also were preparing to run on Biden’s record rather than advance a new and greatly reformed vision of America that was so desperately needed.
Losing with Four Aces
Only Schumer led Democrats could lose with a poker hand of 4 aces.
Instead, Biden’s failing health gets exposed and he gets dropped like a ton of bricks. The Party turned in desperation to V.P. Kamala Harris, expecting her to perform a miracle tackling the demonic beasts of authoritarianism, misogyny and patriarchy. Blaming both Trump voters (high turn out) and Democratic voters (too low of a turn out) for the loss can in no way lessen the incompetence, shortsightedness and weakness displayed by the Democratic leadership. And why, at a time they are most sorely needed, they become nearly invisible.
The Democratic leadership had very strong cards to play after the January 6th failed coup attempt by Trump. He was like a bit fish that was hooked for dinner, but slipped off the hook. More was needed at this point in history. Trump became the slithering moray eel that got away.
What Opened my own Eyes
Vietnamese hiding from the napalm being dropped upon their village.
I often thought about what radicalized me and started me on the way to look at the world differently and start caring about politics. Truth be told, it was not some deep moral principles or beliefs. They came later. It can, quite honestly, me summed up in two words:
Nineteen and Vietnam
In a strange way, getting drafted was like my first day in school. Screaming drill sergeants were not unlike Sister St. Matthew with the scissors announcing she would cut out the tongues of those who talked in class. My father had warned me to go to college for a deferment but I was too stupid to do so, plus the 12 years in Catholic school turned me off to higher education.
A young man gazing at his brother’s name on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.
No amount of someone talking to me could have radicalized or prepared me for the draft notice that arrived in the mail late February on 1968.
Every male 19 year old of sound body without a deferment faced a possible death sentence, disfigurement, drug addiction, becoming a murderer of children, or a life time PTSD.
I had to decide if my fate might be to die a horrible death in a swamp in Vietnam. By the time I got to Ft. Jackson I was ready to think about how I was going to save my life. []
