Reply #108: Please post this as an OP. It is essential for us to remember [View All]

[JDPriestly]

at this time.

And if a candidate truly becomes a maverick, he is swallowed up in controversy, in scandal, fictitious or real.

I think the one man who could rise above the power-makers would be Bernie Sanders, although we have a number of other good possible candidates.

We cannot stand by and allow this travesty of democracy to continue. It weakens us.

I heard a program on KPFK in which the forms of national power -- hard power which is military power -- and soft power -- which is diplomatic power and internal strength == were discussed.

Contrary to popular belief, the power of the United States in WWII was not solely the result of our amazing resources, industrial capacity and military prowess, but mostly due to the unity of the people. And that unity grew from the firm conviction of the majority of Americans that FDR was on their side and that they could trust not only him but their fellow Americans. FDR made lots of mistakes, but Americans could trust him to put their interests and the interests of their neighbors above profit for the special interests at least to a great extent. He had proved that with his New Deal programs.

I know this because I was raised by two people who were teenagers during the FDR era and who loved to talk politics and American history.

Americans were willing to risk their lives and treasure for their common purpose, for each other during the Depression and WWII. And it is that unity, that inner strength whether in an individual or a nation that results in success.

Obama has not inspired that kind of unity, that kind of common purpose. He asks for "shared sacrifice," but has not bound us together or given us reason to trust each other and the willingness of each of us to sacrifice a bit for the other.

In fact, the theory of the Chicago School of Economics to which Obama seems to adhere and the theory of Ayn Rand which is so popular among Republicans are totally opposed to the idea of mutual sacrifice.

So the price of following or even having the "free market above all" theorists, or the Ayn Rand followers in leading positions such as in the White House, the cabinet or Congress is that while the individuals who ascribe to those philosophies may feel themselves to be quite powerful and quite superior, they do not place common national goals above their individual interests. In fact, they think that putting the needs of the other, of the group, or the nation even occasionally above their own is a sign of weakness.

I read Ayn Rand way back when I was a student, and of course, that is the flaw in her thinking. You cannot have a functioning family, much less nation if you take her teachings literally.

Unfortunately, Obama is captured in this culture, in this nation that is divided to the extent that mutual sacrifice would be viewed by a rather large minority as totally foolish. Yes, wrong, philosophically wrong.

And so, it is that unwillingness to place one's own interests below the interests of the group, of the nation, that is dividing us, weakening our soft power. We cannot trust each other. We cannot trust our leaders. This is the hard lesson we have learned since 1980 and Reagan's presidency.

Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are the symbols of our soft power, of our national strength and resolve to truly be one nation, to make sacrifices for each other and work together to provide a minimum of comfort and health for each other.

Abandoning or even just weakening those programs will divide the country and diminish our soft power. That will make us vulnerable to our enemies as well as to ultimate disintegration as a country.

Obama has done nothing to bring us together, nothing to rebuild the soft power that George W. Bush and his predecessors since Carter lost.

As you suggest in your post, truedelphi, our democracy is a sham. But many of us are not ready to admit it. Apparently, Obama does not admit it.

And regaining our national unity will be quite a challenge, but our soft power will continue to erode until we do.