"We" have become our own worse nightmare.

[dotymed]

While visionaries like George Orwell (1984) were writing about (in the 1930's) incomprehensibly intrusive government in a distant America, the wealthy were emboldened to attempt this coup. Their seizure of our Federal government was (and is) successful beyond belief.
We undeniably live in a police state. Government spies on all communications that American citizens engage in. Every public library book we read, they know. Warrant-less "sneak and peeks" are "legal."
While one of the primary jobs of our government is to protect it's citizens, that protection was (is) meant to be from foreign enemies.
Our Constitution insists that if our government becomes tyrannous, then it should (and must) be replaced.
The alliance of corporations with our government (Fascism by definition), the non-transparent legislative process, the pre-emptive aggression on sovereign nations, the loss of our inalienable rights..etc..has brought us to this point in history. America: a police state, governed by and for the corporations.

A Republican would think this an OP against having a strong federal government. It is not. We need a strong central government to protect us from the very policies that presently constitute our federal government.
Citizens need protections from corporations. We need protections from any entity that usurps our inalienable and hard fought for, civil rights.
"Our" Economy is not the same as "their" Economy.
Their economy is wall street, ours is main street and well paid jobs. Our economy is in a (not so) Great Depression.
Their economy is experiencing a "jobless recovery." To us, there can not be a recovery without jobs. It's like a breath without air. Not possible, a death sentence.
I sound like a republican, because I don't have the answers. I believe I am asking some of the correct questions though.
For instance, how can it be legal (beneficial to the citizenry, not the corporations) for a prospective employer to base employment on your credit score? How can your credit be good when you can't find a job? Minimum wage is not a job. Of course to republicans (and currently there is little difference between Democrats and republicans, they are both corporate owned "parties" of the wealthy) that proves that Americans are "spoiled and lazy", because an individual decides to take his/her unemployment check instead of losing money by working for $7.50 an hour with no benefits. Can you imagine those elitists "working" for minimum wage?

My only suggestions, go against DU policy and I regret that. I believe we must create a party immediately (it would be great if the Democratic party would agree)that forces corporations to put Americans (and their Unions, which by legislation should increase dramatically) before profit consideration. 30 years previously (before Reagan),corporations realized that they could still profit handsomely (not usually obscenely as is current)by treating their workers fairly (including pay) instead of paying their CEO's huge "bonuses" to destroy Americans and THEIR economy.

FDR is dead. His agenda was timeless and fair. Look at Germany, Greenland, Switzerland, etc... where people are still put before profits. their economies are in much better shape than ours. The distribution of wealth is, actually distributed.
We have some real "stand-out" leaders in the Democratic party, that we as Americans (fuck the DLC) should not allow the MSM to marginalize. Dennis Kucinich, Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders, to name a few.
These are politicians who "get it" and understand that if America will ever be the land of the free again, it will take structural and fundamental change.
Our only chance is to "vet" and elect legislators who actually are progressive enough to understand that (ironically), America will have to regress, at least back to the mindset of "The New Deal" and the "Second Bill of Rights", before we can move forward, in a non-corporate dominated America.

[RKP5637]

1. Agree - "we can move forward, in a non-corporate dominated America." n/t

[dotymed]

2. I dislike the whole "rec/unrec" feature

However,I hope that this OP will get at least 5 "rec's", so it will stay posted for a while and others will read it.

[RKP5637]

4. Same here. It would be better with just a rec feature and no unrec. That's what

some other sites have done. To me the concept of an unrec in today's world is obsolete.

[indepat]

3. Can anyone out in DU-land refute even a small part of this thoughtful analysis of where we are

today: I can't. :)

[dotymed]

5. It's the

"what are we going to do about it", part that is the hardest.
"They keep us so distracted just trying to survive, that it almost impossible to fix the even the basic, structural problems within our society. Of course, that is a big part of "the plan."
Somehow, we must overcome this "drowning feeling" and, in unison, physically change what has destroyed our country.
I write to my congresspeople and receive a form letter. If I enclosed $10,000.00, I'd get (at least) a personal phone call.
In other words; "you don't matter but your money does."
That is the epitome of a fucked up political system.

[indepat]

6. Surely few on this board have spoken more than I of a corrupt and mendacious corporatist Congress

beholden to the interests of corporate lobbyists rather than to we the people, or simply put, our government is a government of, by, and for the corporations eos, so point, game, set, match, and championship. :)

[dotymed]

7. I wonder when and if

WE will ever organize and change things? Are we just going to wait until there is the few wealthy and the poor, no in-between? It really is a class war and they keep us so polarized with trivial bullshit, most don't even recognize they are in a war. The only issue that they truly care about is the tax cuts for the wealthy. The other stuff is just a diversion.

[Tutankhamun]

8. I think our leaders and their corporate puppet masters have looked at countries such as Mexico,

and they've noticed that the Mexicans don't revolt. So why can't Americans live in abject poverty?

Net neutrality has come to the forefront for a reason. The wealthiest Americans -- the controllers and our politicians know that the internet will be instrumental in effecting any kind of political/socioeconomic change. Therefore the internet must be destroyed.

[dotymed]

9. Agreed.

I never noticed that the "root" word is "greed"...anyway. Yes, they want to "control it" which, in reality will be destroying it and all of freedoms and innovations, (now and in the future). Of course, how can the peasants be controlled unless their creativity and communications are destroyed..