America’s Descent Into Madness

[99th_Monkey]

America’s Descent Into Madness
It is crucial that all Americans push back against the coercive forces shaping U.S. culture, before it's too late.
August 12, 2013 * CounterPunch via Alternet * By Henry A. Giroux

America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War. ~ John le Carré

America is descending into madness.

The stories it now tells are filled with cruelty, deceit, lies, and legitimate all manner of corruption and mayhem. The mainstream media spins stories that are largely racist, violent, and irresponsible — stories that celebrate power and demonize victims, all the while camouflaging its pedagogical influence under the cheap veneer of entertainment.

Unethical grammars of violence now offer the only currency with any enduring value for mediating relationships, addressing problems, and offering instant pleasure. A predatory culture celebrates a narcissistic hyper-individualism that radiates a near sociopathic lack of interest in or compassion and responsibility for others. Anti-public intellectuals dominate the screen and aural cultures urging us to shop more, indulge more, and make a virtue out of the pursuit of personal gain, all the while promoting a depoliticizing culture of consumerism.

Undermining life-affirming social solidarities and any viable notion of the public good, right-wing politicians trade in forms of idiocy and superstition that mesmerize the illiterate and render the thoughtful cynical and disengaged. Military forces armed with the latest weapons from Afghanistan play out their hyper-militarized fantasies on the home front by forming robo SWAT teams who willfully beat youthful protesters and raid neighborhood poker games. Congressional lobbyists for the big corporations and defense contractors create conditions in which war zones abroad can be recreated at home in order to provide endless consumer products, such as high tech weapons and surveillance tools for gated communities and for prisons alike.

The issue of who gets to define the future, own the nation’s wealth, shape the reach of state resources, control of the global flows of goods and humans, and invest in institutions that educate an engaged and socially responsible citizens has become largely invisible. And yet these are precisely these issues that offer up new categories for defining how matters of representations, education, economic justice, and politics are to be defined and fought over. The stories told by corporate liars and crooks do serious harm to the body politic, and the damage they cause together with the idiocy they reinforce are becoming more apparent as America descends into authoritarianism, accompanied by the pervasive fear and paranoia that sustains it.

http://www.alternet.org/culture/americas-descent-madness

[russspeakeasy]

1. I understood most of the post and have to say, I agree.

Well written and deserves a read.

[SummerSnow]

2. Excellent post.

[DevonRex]

3. The Le Carre quote refers to GW Bush and the Iraq War in 2003:

The United States of America has gone mad by John le Carre
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2003/01/15/the-united-states-of-america-has-gone-mad-by-john-le-carr.php
Snip

"The imminent war was planned years before bin Laden struck, but it was he who made it possible. Without bin Laden, the Bush junta would still be trying to explain such tricky matters as how it came to be elected in the first place; Enron; its shameless favouring of the already-too-rich; its reckless disregard for the world’s poor, the ecology and a raft of unilaterally abrogated international treaties. They might also have to be telling us why they support Israel in its continuing disregard for UN resolutions.

But bin Laden conveniently swept all that under the carpet. The Bushies are riding high. Now 88 per cent of Americans want the war, we are told. The US defence budget has been raised by another $60 billion to around $360 billion. A splendid new generation of nuclear weapons is in the pipeline, so we can all breathe easy. Quite what war 88 per cent of Americans think they are supporting is a lot less clear. A war for how long, please? At what cost in American lives? At what cost to the American taxpayer’s pocket? At what cost — because most of those 88 per cent are thoroughly decent and humane people — in Iraqi lives?

How Bush and his junta succeeded in deflecting America’s anger from bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is one of the great public relations conjuring tricks of history. But they swung it. A recent poll tells us that one in two Americans now believe Saddam was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Centre. But the American public is not merely being misled. It is being browbeaten and kept in a state of ignorance and fear. The carefully orchestrated neurosis should carry Bush and his fellow conspirators nicely into the next election.

Those who are not with Mr Bush are against him. Worse, they are with the enemy. Which is odd, because I’m dead against Bush, but I would love to see Saddam’s downfall — just not on Bush’s terms and not by his methods. And not under the banner of such outrageous hypocrisy. "

[99th_Monkey]

5. Yes, that same "descent" we THOUGHT we stopped in it's tracks by electing Barak Obama

Little did we know.

[DevonRex]

13. And you know le Carre was an actual spy, right?

And that there's no such thing as an ex-spy.

[KoKo]

20. TRUTH! "99th_Monkey"...Definitely TRUTH ...no matter how old...

Things haven't been fixed... We thought they would be...but, they weren't and it get's even worse.!

[bemildred]

7. Quiite a few of us said then that it would harm the nation greatly and destabilize the Middle East.

How about that?

And we were called names then and we will be called names now.

The silly shits were trying to show that Vietnam was a fluke. Instead they showed that it was still a stupid way to conduct your business, even if you have no ethics or morals to speak of.

[malthaussen]

34. Well, it's kinda like when Nixon invaded Cambodia...

... he just wanted to be sure that he had no other option but peace.

I think you have an interesting insight, there. Many people criticize our Vietnam escapade because we weren't "tough" enough, because we "wouldn't let them win." Well, all of that is out the door, now. All-professional military with no restraints, and we still can't "win." And unlike VN, there is no neighbor next door infiltrating troops and equipment -- we're making all the enemies on our own.

I've been called names for years for pointing out bullshit, I've gotten used to it. But it is nice to be reminded that I'm not alone.

-- Mal

[bemildred]

35. Thanks, I got your back.

I've been listening to that shit since the mid-60s, it never changes. Remember Scoop Jackson? All those war hawks and their jingo bullshit, and all they ever really care about is all that tax money.

I think the "enemies" we treat as existential threats these days are pathetic. I think it's pathetic the way these clowns cling to the past. And I'm seriously pissed offf about what they have done to our country.

[DevonRex]

48. Yes. You've a good head on your shoulders.

I love le Carre. He's probably my favorite real MI6 spy.

[bemildred]

49. I wouldn't know a thing if I hadn't worked in defense

and taken an interest in military affairs for a while. I read some of the reform stuff post-Vietnam and also watched/participated in the beginnings of RIMA when they decided we didn't need reform any more.

But the key change was they went for a mercenary army instead of the old citizen army we had. Citizen armies are a problem when you want to fight wars without the consent of the people. That was the lesson they kept from Vietnam.

And we have been just mesmerized with the idea that science and technology are magic ever since Einstein told us how to make a bomb.

[Enthusiast]

31. That was very well said and reflects my sentiments at the time.

This is kind of what happens when you hand the nation to what is essentially a spoiled brat. A man that did not win the presidential election, but because of his family connections, was awarded the office by a corrupt supreme court.

I would like to hear what President Obama would say about this specific article.

[Martin Eden]

39. "one of the great public relations conjuring tricks of history"

It was a systematic campaign of deceit, lies, and manipulation of post-9/11 public angst.

It was a major war crime, and in a country that prides itself on justice and the rule of law the perpetrators continue to enjoy their freedom, wealth, and the honor that comes with the prestige of their former office.

I will never let this go.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

44. Thanks.

[indepat]

4. If these observations have any validity, it sounds like right-wing madness

on hyper-roids.

[99th_Monkey]

6. Title Deleted by author

IF observations HAVE validity, then it's "right-wing madness". <-- WTF does this even mean?

ON EDIT: I get it now. sorry for missing your point. ^^^^^^Please disregard this entire post ^^^^^^^

[bemildred]

8. Saying if the claims are true, it sounds like a right-wing sort of madness.

Defending us lefties, this is not our sort of madness.

[99th_Monkey]

9. Thanks for a second opinion

I see it was NOT a snark after all.

[bemildred]

11. It was the only way to construe it that makes sense (to me).

The poster may well now tell me I am full of shit.

But that's OK.

[indepat]

15. I do tend to ramble on about right-wing madness. Noam Chomsky describes it as a plutocracy,

and he is so much more intelligent, knowledgeable, and eloquent than I.

[azurnoir]

10. The descent into madness started in the late 1970's

I remember a popular TV sitcom about an 'average' White American family that was shot in front of a live audience, there was an episode where the daughter gets accepted to some prestigious collage and the Dad bemoans that they will have problems sending her there as they really can't afford it, and saying perhaps she could get a scholarship, her reply was that -no she's have to be a "Black/Puerto Rican welfare mother of 2" before she would be able to get a scholarship for anything, the audience went wild cheering on her line-it left absolutely no question in my mind where this country was headed, and well here we are

[bemildred]

12. Yep, "divide and rule", I remember it well.

And I still hear that shit today too, from otherwise apparently nice people. "Americans are lazy and won't work for min wage." That sort of whiney crap.

And how necessary it was to get rid of the nasty unfair "fairness doctrine", and the endless list of devolutionary steps taken since.

[azurnoir]

14. It was keep the peasants so busy fighting each other

that don't notice where the real problem is coming from, the hopeful side of me thinks maybe just maybe people are waking up 3 (at least) major recessions later, and I hope it's not too late

[zeemike]

21. I don't remember that one.

But that was about the time I was not watching TV...
But the one I do remember is where Micheal J Fox played the kid who loved Nixon and was a free market kind of kid in a so called liberal family.
That is when they started selling they young on Ayn Rand and self interest.
The TV is used to teach the young what to believe and how to act...and here we are, just like they want us to be...except for the few that escaped it all.

[azurnoir]

22. The one you remember would be Family Ties

but for the life of me I don't remember the name of the show I recounted, but that line and the reaction stuck with me, it was a 'watershed' moment for me

above I said that perhaps people are waking up to what has happened, and sorry if this sounds CS or CT but that might be in part the reason for the militarization of law enforcement

[zeemike]

25. Thank you , I could not remember the name of that show ether.

And I think you are right, and it is not a CT to me.
TV must have an effect on kids when they watch it 4 hours a day and are fed a constant message of violence.
But it does provide the military with plenty of people willing to do violence and enjoy it thinking that it makes them heroes just like on TV...IMO.

[DissidentVoice]

16. It's called "patriotism"...to hear the RW tell it

There's nothing like ginning up a good old war (for whatever water-weak reason) to get the sheeple to rally 'round the Flag, parrot the "support the troops" line (as a USAF vet, I say: bleurgh ) and show that we're "talkin' real loud, walkin' real proud agin'" (Charlie Daniels, "In America&quot .

That, I believe, is the kind of "madness" the post is referring to.

[99th_Monkey]

17. Yep. and also the madness of the bogus "Wars on ________"

drugs, terror, et. al. <-- which is the trumped up basis for insisting that we
need a 100%-saturation Surveillance & Security State, to "keep us safe"..

[DissidentVoice]

19. And that's exactly what we've got

This graphic shows, well, graphically, that we (and, disturbingly, the UK) are among the worst offenders...



...but nobody is "innocent."

This little bit from The Nation shows the attitudes of far too many Democrats...including some on DU.



My bitterest disappointment with President Obama is that he reauthorised the horrid USA Patriot Act.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Its real name is Right Wing Authoritarianism. nt

[Enthusiast]

32. Dang! I agree. Charlie Daniels is a real mental giant.

[Jackpine Radical]

41. What a fuckin' disappointment Charlie Daniels is.

Back in the days of Uneasy Rider and Still in Saigon I almost thought he was one of us.

[midnight]

23. Being a reporter at Madison State house get's you this:“Charge,” 946.41(1) Resisting or Obstruction

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/16-3

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Giroux's been writing the same article for 25 years

Gawd love him.

[RKP5637]

26. Excellent! n/t

[DirkGently]

27. But our smartphones make pancakes!

[Logical]

28. So true!! n-t

[Cryptoad]

29. I want the right to live

in a world where there are no nuclear weapons.....

But,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!

[Skittles]

30. certainly nails "reality TV"

.............A predatory culture celebrates a narcissistic hyper-individualism that radiates a near sociopathic lack of interest in or compassion and responsibility for others.

[Enthusiast]

33. K&R. We can start by making the American people aware of the betrayal that is the TPP.

America is descending into madness.

[marew]

36. So agree! Great post!

I am in my 60's. I remember a different, kinder world where the pursuit of greed and power did not rule everything. As I have said to my friends on several occasions- I am glad I'm not young anymore. My dad was a WWII and Korea veteran. This isn't what he fought for. I know that. He would not recognize the country today- neither do I.

[LittleGirl]

40. discussed this yesterday!

Exactly as you state it. I'm in my mid-50s and we were discussing how when we graduated high school back in the late 70s that our parents wanted us to get a job not college! We could go work for the phone company or some other employer in our home town and be employed for life and With a pension when we finished off our 30+ yrs! Now, forgetaboutit. Those jobs and job security are gone.
GONE.
Reagan was elected and he started the war with the middle class by firing the air traffic controllers and making unions a dying protection of our rights. Of course, some unions got greedy but he started the war against the middle class. I wanted to go to college and he raised the requirements for getting a Pell Grant and I lost out because of it. It took me 25 yrs to finish my degree and I had to find an opportunity with an employer to help me pay for it by reimbursing me.
There is no American dream unless you're rich.

[99th_Monkey]

43. Me too.

in my 60s that is. And I remember that kinder society as well. I remember my
dad telling me he was voting for Democrat Adlai Stevenson 1952, and why: because
he cared about "the little people" and was very wise. But Eisenhower won the election.
The same Eisenhower who blew the whistle on the "Military Industrial Complex".

Even when the Democrats lost, the nation was not left to be completely ravaged by
predatory beasts of Wall St crooks.

[mountain grammy]

45. Me three. My dad, a Marine, said he voted for Stevenson

because he didn't think Generals should be Presidents. I think he was relieved that Ike was a good president, but he was sure unhappy about going to Korea. He didn't get to live long enough to see JFK elected. He would have loved that.

I'm 65 and also nostalgic about the times I grew up in. Then I remember: segregation, the civil rights fight, murders, assassinations, church bombings, and I think, not so great.

Ah but that March on Washington 50 years ago. Now, that was something! I think we had more hope for a better future than we have today.

[99th_Monkey]

47. Yes, it was not all hearts & flowers

Hippies notwithstanding. I speak of "segregation, the civil
rights fight, murders, assassinations, church bombings, etc"

But damn it, "those dirty Hippies" were right!

[mountain grammy]

53. Well worth watching again and again. Yes they were.

[marmar]

37. k/r

[malaise]

38. MUST READ

Rec Rec Rec

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. excellent excellent piece...and something feminists have been saying

For forty years---

This quote, although as usual, misogyny is left out:

The mainstream media spins stories that are largely racist, violent, and irresponsible — stories that celebrate power and demonize victims, all the while camouflaging its pedagogical influence under the cheap veneer of entertainment. 

Because women have been in the victim position for so long, they have been able to see the larger society from the vantage point that the historical "in-group"--educated white males--has been blind to.

Hyper sexualization and acceptable contempt for women is a large factor in the broader systemic illness of dehumanization that this essay refers to.

What we need is a revolution of humanitarian focused spirituality or philosophy and education. It must progress from individuals outward so that the systems and institutions (operated by people) are eventually reflections of those aware people.

Also, ballooning over-population is a huge contributor to the chaos and madness...too many people with needs that overburden the means of meeting those needs can only result in chaos and dehumanization.

[mountain grammy]

46. Thank you for this post.. I read the whole article

and am so relieved. Sometimes I think I'm the one descending into madness. If I am, I'm in the company of the great Henry Giroux. I see us descending into a madness similar to Germany in the 1930's and it scares the crap out of me.

I'm basically a coward and want to move to Canada, which I see as a kinder, gentler country.

[snagglepuss]

50. to read later

[cantbeserious]

51. Kick And Recommend

eom

[woo me with science]

52. k&r