General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Incremental change" is a Third Way lie. [View all]F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)You are on very different parts of the site than I am, then. For all the usual presidential blather, there are most definitely real and productive discussions happening. They for the most part do not involve working within the system, which I know you disagree with. Unfortunate that you have missed them. Your constructive comments would be valuable, because you clearly have a deeper understanding than most here. It would be better than simply hearing about why everyone else is incorrect in their approach.
As for a constitutional amendment, I think that accusing others of being naive is a bit ironic here. In what world can you see a constitutional amendment overturning that ever being passed? 38 state legislatures voting for that? That is naiveté at it's finest, if you ask me. I'd think we'd see a revolution before that happens. I could see a presidential candidate appointing judges for that, but the only candidate who has explicitly said that is a litmus test for their appointments is the same one that you seem to have so much contempt for. So, I must ask: what is your realistic plan of action? How do you plan to address the staggering inequalities in place at the moment? How do you plan to address the institutionalized racism endemic to the capitalist state? How do expect to fix, and with immediacy, for that is the nature of the problem, climate change?
For all your scorn of others and their methods here, I have yet to see you propose any methods of working within the system that can address these issues in a timely fashion. And time is of the essence--a post from another thread I just made:
In the streets, blacks, the homeless and poor, and the mentally ill are getting assaulted on a daily basis. They're being incarcerated for years and years because of worthless drug policies designed to oppress them. They don't have time for incremental change.
I'm sure the thousands (if not millions) of dead and wounded in the middle east that we are responsible for appreciate your optimism. I'm sure they're just fine with the fact that it's taken us over a decade to get our guns out of their faces...kindofnotreally. The children that we have made fear the blue sky they live under actually love us, don'tcha know?
I'll bet that the women who are losing all their protections under the law are just fine with incremental change. Not like all that incremental change is being trashed before our eyes because your incremental change was worse than useless elsewhere.
Our education system, our infrastructure, our social safety nets--those are all falling apart, but hey guys, it's okay! We'll fix it through incremental change. It's worked really well over the last 50 years.
Our political system wasn't devised by the uber-rich owners of capital back in the beginnings of our country's history and specifically designed to oppress and divide the labor class--nah, we have our Founding (and Benevolent) Father (Figure) democracy(tm)!
America!
You go ahead with your incremental change. It's somehow managed to get us almost nowhere except on a few issues, and even those, barely so. I'm not playing this game. You play the game, you lose. They're winning right now. Your incremental positive changes are pathetic in comparison to the total dismantlement of even an appearance of democracy in this country. (And I say that recognizing full well how far we have come on issues like gay marriage--something that even now is being attacked. Sad part is, that's just marriage. Not even equality.)
Every moment you don't take to the streets to fight this, every moment you waste waiting for that next little bit of change is a moment that those with wealth and power are laughing at you.
Call me bitter, call me pessimistic. I don't care. I live in the reality of the world that is literally hell on earth for millions. I live in the reality of a world that doesn't pretend we're somehow going to be just fine when in fact we are deathly ill. I live in a world where I don't have the privilege to say, "Wait." I live in a world where perfection isn't the goal, but human decency is.
I don't have the time. Neither do billions around the globe.
I am not bitter--I'm fucking angry. Really, really fucking angry, and I burn with the smoldering heat of oppression that will eventually ignite a firestorm.
I'm not fighting the symptoms of a sick system. I'm fighting the entire corrupt oppressive system itself.
It's time for a goddamn revolution, and I'm proud to say I will stand in solidarity with men and women around the globe. I will speak up and our voices combined will be heard, like so many movements before us.
Hear us cry,
Enough!