The state of the Union... (political rant)
Jan. 7th, 2012 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
averygoodun42So, it's primary week here in New Hampshire. All the candidates are here talking up a storm and getting everyone... well, trying to get everyone to believe that they're the real deal. I've been having fun messing with the polling stats by lying my ass off whenever I get a pollster's call. (Protect democracy: Lie to a pollster!)
But, of course, the side effect of all this political action is that I start looking at the news again and that gets me agitated about the state of affairs in this country and, well, here's today's political rant:
Are we becoming a Police State?
My answer is no. We already are one. But then, I'm a conspiracy-theorist type, so my views are a little extreme. However, I will say that the Defense Act was amended, late in the game, but it was amended to exclude American citizens. However, that portion of the act still needs to be repealed completely, and if Obama doesn't stand by his word on doing that, he will deserve to be listed with the worst presidents in history. Fortunately, he does have a record of standing by his pledges, even if he cedes so much ground that there's a loss of democracy with every "success"...
But democracy is supposedly in action right now, what with the Primary season about to begin. All the Republican candidates are nuts. All of them. Some, however, are nuttier than others. Overall, I think Ron Paul is the nuttiest. I think libertarians in general are loco - not because I don't sympathize with their anger and frustration with politics and big government, because I do sympathize, I really, really do - but because libertarians "Eat liberty," as Page accidentally put it the other day. Because education is the very foundation of democracy, and libertarians want to do away with all government encumbrances except basic military coverage, even though historically that has been proven to bring in anarchy, feudalism or a police state rather than freedom.
So, Ron Paul, in my mind, is anti-democracy, and therefore an even more dangerous candidate than Rick Santorum (who... well, don't get me started on Santorum). However, I don't think Ron Paul is nuts where his government conspiracy theories are concerned. I think he's spot on, for the ones I've heard.
We, as a country, Democrats and Republicans both, have ceded our democracy in the pursuit of "safety." We have given the military and corporations control. Those are two branches of our country we have no democratic control over. We can't just vote them or their leaders out, not unless we are in a privileged position of power already. (And yes, I know the president is the leader of the military, but looking at the actions of the last five presidents, it's pretty obvious that the military owns the president, not the other way around.)
The Teabaggers have the right idea, even if their ideology is as nuts as Ron Paul's, or more so. We need more grass roots movements. We need to take control away from the two party system, because really, two parties are either at least one too few or two too many. But the system is set up against this. Any grass roots movement has to join forces with the dark side (Republicans or Democrats) to get anywhere. And look where that's gotten us.
But no one has the time or energy to really protest effectively. The recession has sapped the middle class (the acting class) of its time and energy. Everyone is so desperate to hold onto their jobs because they know they're lucky to even have a job, so they aren't willing to risk upsetting the boat.
Even though the boat is already sinking.
So... I think it's time to tear apart the boat and build a raft so as to get to land, and I know I'm not alone in thinking this. But I have no idea if it's even possible anymore because the moment we try to do so, even non-violently and democratically, we will find out how strong the police state already is. Because to act against the current Union - even if it's to save it! - would be considered either treason or terrorism. Look at the fate of OWS...
On the plus side, I don't think that the police state is such that I will disappear for posting this publicly, which is encouraging. Yes, it will go into my FBI file (we all have one), but this battle cry is neither public nor influential enough to warrant anything more than a possible phone tap on my international calls (it's happened to me and my family before) where they will find, once again, that I'm too tired, too busy and too unpopular to rally the people to my cause.
I'm toothless. By design.
But, of course, the side effect of all this political action is that I start looking at the news again and that gets me agitated about the state of affairs in this country and, well, here's today's political rant:
Are we becoming a Police State?
My answer is no. We already are one. But then, I'm a conspiracy-theorist type, so my views are a little extreme. However, I will say that the Defense Act was amended, late in the game, but it was amended to exclude American citizens. However, that portion of the act still needs to be repealed completely, and if Obama doesn't stand by his word on doing that, he will deserve to be listed with the worst presidents in history. Fortunately, he does have a record of standing by his pledges, even if he cedes so much ground that there's a loss of democracy with every "success"...
But democracy is supposedly in action right now, what with the Primary season about to begin. All the Republican candidates are nuts. All of them. Some, however, are nuttier than others. Overall, I think Ron Paul is the nuttiest. I think libertarians in general are loco - not because I don't sympathize with their anger and frustration with politics and big government, because I do sympathize, I really, really do - but because libertarians "Eat liberty," as Page accidentally put it the other day. Because education is the very foundation of democracy, and libertarians want to do away with all government encumbrances except basic military coverage, even though historically that has been proven to bring in anarchy, feudalism or a police state rather than freedom.
So, Ron Paul, in my mind, is anti-democracy, and therefore an even more dangerous candidate than Rick Santorum (who... well, don't get me started on Santorum). However, I don't think Ron Paul is nuts where his government conspiracy theories are concerned. I think he's spot on, for the ones I've heard.
We, as a country, Democrats and Republicans both, have ceded our democracy in the pursuit of "safety." We have given the military and corporations control. Those are two branches of our country we have no democratic control over. We can't just vote them or their leaders out, not unless we are in a privileged position of power already. (And yes, I know the president is the leader of the military, but looking at the actions of the last five presidents, it's pretty obvious that the military owns the president, not the other way around.)
The Teabaggers have the right idea, even if their ideology is as nuts as Ron Paul's, or more so. We need more grass roots movements. We need to take control away from the two party system, because really, two parties are either at least one too few or two too many. But the system is set up against this. Any grass roots movement has to join forces with the dark side (Republicans or Democrats) to get anywhere. And look where that's gotten us.
But no one has the time or energy to really protest effectively. The recession has sapped the middle class (the acting class) of its time and energy. Everyone is so desperate to hold onto their jobs because they know they're lucky to even have a job, so they aren't willing to risk upsetting the boat.
Even though the boat is already sinking.
So... I think it's time to tear apart the boat and build a raft so as to get to land, and I know I'm not alone in thinking this. But I have no idea if it's even possible anymore because the moment we try to do so, even non-violently and democratically, we will find out how strong the police state already is. Because to act against the current Union - even if it's to save it! - would be considered either treason or terrorism. Look at the fate of OWS...
On the plus side, I don't think that the police state is such that I will disappear for posting this publicly, which is encouraging. Yes, it will go into my FBI file (we all have one), but this battle cry is neither public nor influential enough to warrant anything more than a possible phone tap on my international calls (it's happened to me and my family before) where they will find, once again, that I'm too tired, too busy and too unpopular to rally the people to my cause.
I'm toothless. By design.
