Can We Rescue the Republic Before the Dark Politics Take Over?

[StarfarerBill]

By Kirk Nielsen, Miller-McCune.com.

"Did America slip into a semiliterate, polarized, pre-fascist state over the past decade or so, allowing greedy oligarchs and corporate elites to run the government? Two books I recently read offer reasonably persuasive evidence and arguments that the country did, and a third suggests that dictatorial mindsets could besiege Americans, with an assist from the Internet, if they don't come to their more deliberative senses. Each of the books offers an informed diagnosis of the dangers that widespread ignorance and ideological polarization pose for American democracy, though none offers a comprehensive treatment for the malaise.

"I read the three books in less than two weeks; friends ask how that was possible. The trick is to avoid not only Facebook and Twitter but also: celebrity news, cable news, Oprah, Jerry Springer, American Idol, The Swan, other reality-TV shows, professional wrestling, violent pornography, positive psychology and right-wing Christian fundamentalism."

http://www.alternet.org/politics/144809/can_we_rescue_the_republic_before_the_dark_politics_take_over_

[dfgrbac]

1. The Books - Here are good ones.

You didn't specify which books you read. But here are some good ones for additional understanding.

The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins - a self-confessed American economic hit man. This exposes that our problems didn't just start in the last decade; they started at least back around WWII.

And if you read books by Gore Vidal, such as Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia, you will realize that our problems may have started around the time of the founding of our country. The natural pressures of capitalism existed then but were controlled by the Constitution and other laws.

Did you know that fascists almost pulled a coup on FDR during the rise of fascism in Europe. General Butler stopped it.

[glitch]

4. Excellent recommendations, thanks for posting and welcome to DU! nt

[StarfarerBill]

5. Sorry to be only replying now; I didn't realize that your post was to me personally. :)

The books mentioned in my post were actually those read by the author of the article; I put authors' words in quotes to differentiate them from my own.

Those books you noted sound fascinating. You're definitely right: most of the problems of this country originated with the advent of capitalism in the mid-19th Century, and have been exacerbated with the co-opting of the Democratic Party save for its progressive core...but the latter has been marginalized.

And yes, I did know about the coup to overthrow President Roosevelt. Smedley Butler was a singularly courageous man.

[Zoeisright]

2. I read 3-5 books a week.

Reading before bedtime is the trick for me. I couldn't exist without reading. Just finished Senator Kennedy's wonderful book.

[bvar22]

3. "Did America slip into a semiliterate, polarized, pre-fascist state ...

...over the past decade or so,"?

No.

It happened in the '80s under Reagan, and accelerated under the "Centrist" Democrats through the 90s, and is continuing to accelerate under the current "Centrist" Democratic Administration.


" The trick is to avoid not only Facebook and Twitter but also: celebrity news, cable news, Oprah, Jerry Springer, American Idol, The Swan, other reality-TV shows, professional wrestling, violent pornography, positive psychology and right-wing Christian fundamentalism."

Thats a good start.

[pundaint]

6. It's too late for Before

[Vidar]

7. That ship has already sailed.

[Doctor_J]

8. THe alternet author answers his own question

The reason neither Hedges, Hartmann, nor Sunstein can provide solutions is because there aren't any conventional ones. I love listening to Thom, almost never miss a show. But at least 5 times per week he says, "We have to get money out of politics". Well, we can't get money out of politics. So it is silly and useless to keep saying that.

The fascists have won this round. Things are going to get ugly for us to get our country back. When enough people realize that, we'll have our day.

[tom_paine]

9. No.

It's waaaaaaay too late for that. I hope I am wrong but doubt it. Things are too far gone along, 1/3rd of the nation has been driven clinically insane by the RW Cult of Disinformations and Absolutism, our system lies in a shambles, good only for a dog-and-pony dumbshow that only fools people because of the power of denial and TV-as-anesthesia.

There's so much more to this, literally hundreds of facets...this thing is BIG.

But the bottom line is, the answer to the posited question is "No."

[bemildred]

10. Too late. It's been too late for decades now. nt