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December,2004
One Nation, Indivisible
by Frank Scott
The holiday shopping frenzy will have trouble exceeding last months
exercise in cosmetic democracy. Our national election produced nearly
four billion dollars for the economy, and that was its high point. Our
worst president beat his worst opponent , and while a few still claim
votes were stolen, a majority safely assumes that as usual, it is
unrepresented.
While we force democracy on others, our own perverse version suffers
disabling contradictions . America giving freedom lessons to other
countries is like a pimp giving abstinence lessons to evangelicals.
Election day irregularities and injustice are an American tradition ,
with poorer communities denied votes the way they are denied housing,
jobs and health care. Our corrupt system depends on thousands of almost
private, unregulated elections, competing in a supposedly national
referendum. it is finally getting attention, but legitimate criticism
that led to pre-election paranoia has become post election paralysis.
Many still seek reasons for a dreadful defeat by blaming others,
rather than facing the facts of their own shortcomings in backing a
dreadful opposition .
Idealists who once opposed corporate power and the Iraq war , gave
their votes to an elitist who supported both. Under the influence of
Anybody-But-Bush dementia , millions voted for a loser who wasn’t
supposed to be as much a loser as the other loser. A moderate killer
was transformed into a liberal killer , in order to oppose a
conservative killer. And now some of them are still calling for a
recount of votes, while our nation wades ankle deep in the blood of
Iraqis who may never have any votes to count.
The terrible turkey has become a lame duck who shouldn’t be as dangerous
as before, given our economic warfare and its growing lack of support
among many of the established elite. But don’t hang by your lip waiting
for spineless Democrats to fight back ; it will take citizen action to
get that moribund bunch to do anything but obey lobbies and collect
money.
The victorious hard core fanatics will continue their overt attempts to
market the universe, repeal the bill of rights, weaken the public sector
, increase private profit, savage the natural environment and perform
more foreign homicide than their soft core opponents, who prefer
corporate dominance that is more cosmetically covert.
The peace movement which temporarily supported war needs to readjust
and not only strive to stop the horror in Iraq, but work for democracy
that means more than single issue politics. Those who want a better
world must understand that if it isn’t for all of us, it’s likely to
be for none of us. Continued separation of Americans into identity
groups of white soccer dads, black nascar moms , gay secular
republicans, or homeless lesbian immigrants will only further deepen our
divisions, and thereby strengthen corporate power.
And it is to be hoped that those who endlessly respond to the crackpot
realism that urges we deny our highest ideals to accept our lowest
values, and pretend it will somehow make a better world, will benefit
from the shock treatment of this election.
Some egotists claim that there are two Americas, one of intelligent
humanitarians, the other of ignorant fascists, but they are grounded in
the worst bigotry of our national origins. Regarding people as less
than human and treating them with contempt is the problem, not the
solution. The attacks of 911 didn't focus on our bible belt, or our
liberal suspenders. Those who hated us enough to commit suicide in order
to hurt us, did so because they were angry at one identity group:
Americans. The sooner we begin treating one another with respect, the
sooner we may learn to treat others the same way, and understand that
many despise us because we extend our domestic bigotry to foreigners. We
cannot become good neighbors to them or create a better world future as
long as we alienate our closet neighbors; Americans.
This election was stolen like all others; democracy was denied by
financial wealth and its domination of the electoral process. If there
is any conspiracy, it is of corporate capital, and it has been operative
for a very long time. Realism - not the crackpot kind - should bring us
to confront the material world, and do what we can to change it. That
doesn’t mean blaming ignorant masses who somehow conspire against us,
under the direction of satanically evil figures. Such simplistic and
disrespectful attitudes toward fellow citizens can’t possibly
produce a national movement towards a democratic majority.
We would do well to learn that there is no compromise with principle.
The most practical way to do anything is to do it the ideal way. If we
don’t want our rights trampled upon , we can’t trample on the rights of
others . if we don't want our loved ones killed by retail terror , we
have to stop killing others with our wholesale terror . if that is
idealism, and what we have is reality, then reality must be changed by
actions that bring about our ideals. If that is not our intent, then we
should just take our legal or illegal drug of choice, watch Fox , PBS
or any other unreality channel, and forget the real world, especially
any desire to transform it into something better.
But if we are serious about wanting peace, and an end to the
deprivation of some for the profit of others, we might take some heart
at this election. Motivated by nothing more than fear and hostility,
much of it deserved, more than one hundred million voters went to the
polls, mobilized almost exclusively to vote against someone. Imagine
what could be accomplished if they had a party and candidates who stood
for things which they could vote for, in positive hope rather than
negative fear.
We ought to begin working for the uncompromised greater good, now, so
we won’t again be tempted by the unprincipled lesser evil, later.
Happy Holidays.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Frank Scott. All rights reserved.
This text may be used and shared in accordance with the
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Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on
other terms, in any medium, requires the consent of the author
frank scott
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225 laurel place, san rafael ca. 94901
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