Reply #10: last paragraph [View All]

[hay rick]

Thanks for a wonderful post. I'm going to comment on just the last paragraph as otherwise my reply would be longer than your post.

"But we've done it before." Depression segued into WWII. We came out of it with the Marshall Plan, the GI bill, a vast unionized work force, 90% marginal tax rates on the wealthiest, and a Republican President who warned us about the military-industrial complex.

"It starts with changing how we think about communities, neighbors, economies, and the role of government." The current knee-jerk skepticism about the role of government is a cultural poison. A society which can not effectively govern itself is doomed to fail. A society which assumes that government involvement in any activity is bad until proven otherwise has taken a giant step in the direction of that failure. The "no new taxes" loyalty oath required of all Republicans in the face soaring deficits and burgeoning unfunded mandates for aging baby boomers is astonishing. The logical extension of their arguments is no taxes and anarchy. There is no magic formula for effective governance and appropriate taxation. It is a matter of trial and error requiring constant evaluation and constant adjustment. Taxes should go up or go down as needs fluctuate and experience dictates.

"It starts with understanding the true nature of security and where it comes from." The current mindset is overwhelming paranoia. The "fighting them over there so we won't have to fight them here" mantra is pure bullshit. The most constructive thing we can do to ensure our security is to take up the new Sputnik challenge- energy efficiency and self-sufficiency. Our military expenditures currently match those of all other nations combined. This is obscene waste. An effective DEFENCE force would only cost a minor fraction of that amount.

"It starts with education." It starts with people opening their eyes and rejecting the right-wing orthodoxy that they are force-fed by the commercial media.

And finally the best part...

"militantly,"

Our opposition- the enemy of a better way of life- have vastly greater resources. We have the power of our beliefs and the strength of our militance...