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from Norman Mailer's 'Why Are We At War?'
El_Kabong
Posts: 4,141
near the end of the endnotes:
By now, our nation has become a democracy that is bereft of a few of the essential elements. Nobody ever said, so far as I know, that a democracy should be a palce where the richest ppl in the country earn a 1,000 times more than the poorest. Should the richest man in town amass 10 times more, even 50 times more, it is not hard to conceive of a reasonably decent society. When you get to the point where you're speaking of 1,000's:1, something outrageous is taking place. The ppl who feel this lack of balance probably make up 2/3 of the country, but they don't want to think about it. They can't, after all, do a damn thing about it. We don't control our country. Corporate power is running this country now. The notion that was have an active democracy that controls our fate is not true. Was I ever able to vote on how high buildings could or should be? No. Was I ever able to say I don't want food frozen? No. Was Iever able to say I want tax money to pay for political campaigns, not interest groups? Nobody's ever been able to vote on many an item that truly matters in terms of how our lives are led. And, of course, we see the political process become more and more money-mechanized. We're on a power trip in which only a small fraction of America manages to participate.
They speak of pre-cancerous conditions in bodies, and I think we have a pre-totalitarian situation here now. I hope we'll muddle through, provided there are no more large disasters. (note, a key point was 9/11 as a pretext to fulfill the wolfowitz/cheney agenda from daddy bush days) There are pro-democratic forces in America that assert themselves when you don't expect them to.
But the situation is serious. If we have a dperession or fall into desperate economic times, I don't know what's going to hold the country together. There's just too much anger here, too much ruptured vanity, too much shock, too much identity crisis. And, worst of all, too much patriotism. Patriotism in a country that's failing has a logical tendency to turn fascistic, just as too much sentimentality will corrupt compassion. Fascism in America is not goint to come w/ a political party. Now w/ black or brown shirts. But there will be a curtailing of liberities. Homeland Security has put the machinery in place. The ppl who are running the country, in my opinion, simply do not have the character or wisdom to fight for the concept of freedom if we suffer horrors; no, not if we suffer dirty bombs, terrorist attacks on a large scale, virulent diseases. The notion that you're going to have your freedom saved by ppl who work for security agencies is curious at best. They're on a 1way street. Anything bad of that sort is very bad for them. So they're going to do their utmost to restrict the freedom of ppl during ciritical situations. In the final analysis, democracy is inimical to security. Americans have to be willing to say at a certain point that we're ready to take some terrorist hits w/o panicking, that freedom is more important to us than security.
Let's suppose 10 ppl are killed by a small bomb on a street corner in some city in America. The 1st thing to understand is that there are 285million Americans. So, there's 1 chance in 28.5 million you're going to be one of thsoe ppl. By such heartless means of calculation, the 3,000 deaths in the Twin Towers came aprox. to 1 mortality for every 90,000 Americans. Your chances of dying if you drive a car are 1 in 7,000 each year. We seem perfectly ready to put up w/ automobile statistics.
By now, our nation has become a democracy that is bereft of a few of the essential elements. Nobody ever said, so far as I know, that a democracy should be a palce where the richest ppl in the country earn a 1,000 times more than the poorest. Should the richest man in town amass 10 times more, even 50 times more, it is not hard to conceive of a reasonably decent society. When you get to the point where you're speaking of 1,000's:1, something outrageous is taking place. The ppl who feel this lack of balance probably make up 2/3 of the country, but they don't want to think about it. They can't, after all, do a damn thing about it. We don't control our country. Corporate power is running this country now. The notion that was have an active democracy that controls our fate is not true. Was I ever able to vote on how high buildings could or should be? No. Was I ever able to say I don't want food frozen? No. Was Iever able to say I want tax money to pay for political campaigns, not interest groups? Nobody's ever been able to vote on many an item that truly matters in terms of how our lives are led. And, of course, we see the political process become more and more money-mechanized. We're on a power trip in which only a small fraction of America manages to participate.
They speak of pre-cancerous conditions in bodies, and I think we have a pre-totalitarian situation here now. I hope we'll muddle through, provided there are no more large disasters. (note, a key point was 9/11 as a pretext to fulfill the wolfowitz/cheney agenda from daddy bush days) There are pro-democratic forces in America that assert themselves when you don't expect them to.
But the situation is serious. If we have a dperession or fall into desperate economic times, I don't know what's going to hold the country together. There's just too much anger here, too much ruptured vanity, too much shock, too much identity crisis. And, worst of all, too much patriotism. Patriotism in a country that's failing has a logical tendency to turn fascistic, just as too much sentimentality will corrupt compassion. Fascism in America is not goint to come w/ a political party. Now w/ black or brown shirts. But there will be a curtailing of liberities. Homeland Security has put the machinery in place. The ppl who are running the country, in my opinion, simply do not have the character or wisdom to fight for the concept of freedom if we suffer horrors; no, not if we suffer dirty bombs, terrorist attacks on a large scale, virulent diseases. The notion that you're going to have your freedom saved by ppl who work for security agencies is curious at best. They're on a 1way street. Anything bad of that sort is very bad for them. So they're going to do their utmost to restrict the freedom of ppl during ciritical situations. In the final analysis, democracy is inimical to security. Americans have to be willing to say at a certain point that we're ready to take some terrorist hits w/o panicking, that freedom is more important to us than security.
Let's suppose 10 ppl are killed by a small bomb on a street corner in some city in America. The 1st thing to understand is that there are 285million Americans. So, there's 1 chance in 28.5 million you're going to be one of thsoe ppl. By such heartless means of calculation, the 3,000 deaths in the Twin Towers came aprox. to 1 mortality for every 90,000 Americans. Your chances of dying if you drive a car are 1 in 7,000 each year. We seem perfectly ready to put up w/ automobile statistics.
standin above the crowd
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Post edited by Unknown User on
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The country is full of fascists in the waiting. I thought I've been hearing about 70% of the nation hating Bush? If people hate Bush so much, how are they wanting to place so much power in the government?
You can't have it both ways. Pick an argument and stick with it.
We don't want to give the US government power, they just take it ($$$) :rolleyes:
When was this published?
'Bout time somebody said it for what it really is.
it was originally written before the war but while the administration was pushing for it. this is a slightly updated version, the only new part being the end notes, which were written very early into the war
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
sort of like how you can't go to war espousing the notions of human rights and democracy but then not practice what you preach at home?
The reason Bush and the likes are in power despite the overwhelming displeasure in their performance is because the public is misinformed and undereducated about what it is they are actually voting for. They are told that 'this' really means 'that'...then when they find themselves recieving 'this' they are unsatisfied because they thought they would be recieving 'that'. PR, catchy slogans, and pricey commercials are what they base their decisions from. The mind control-esque media manufactures consent without consent.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde