Chris Hedges: Do No Pity the Democrats (Fear the underlying corporate power structure)

[marmar]

from truthdig:




Do Not Pity the Democrats
Posted on Sep 13, 2010

By Chris Hedges


There are no longer any major institutions in American society, including the press, the educational system, the financial sector, labor unions, the arts, religious institutions and our dysfunctional political parties, which can be considered democratic. The intent, design and function of these institutions, controlled by corporate money, are to bolster the hierarchical and anti-democratic power of the corporate state. These institutions, often mouthing liberal values, abet and perpetuate mounting inequality. They operate increasingly in secrecy. They ignore suffering or sacrifice human lives for profit. They control and manipulate all levers of power and mass communication. They have muzzled the voices and concerns of citizens. They use entertainment, celebrity gossip and emotionally laden public-relations lies to seduce us into believing in a Disneyworld fantasy of democracy.

The menace we face does not come from the insane wing of the Republican Party, which may make huge inroads in the coming elections, but the institutions tasked with protecting democratic participation. Do not fear Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin. Do not fear the tea party movement, the birthers, the legions of conspiracy theorists or the militias. Fear the underlying corporate power structure, which no one, from Barack Obama to the right-wing nut cases who pollute the airwaves, can alter. If the hegemony of the corporate state is not soon broken we will descend into a technologically enhanced age of barbarism.

Investing emotional and intellectual energy in electoral politics is a waste of time. Resistance means a radical break with the formal structures of American society. We must cut as many ties with consumer society and corporations as possible. We must build a new political and economic consciousness centered on the tangible issues of sustainable agriculture, self-sufficiency and radical environmental reform. The democratic system, and the liberal institutions that once made piecemeal reform possible, is dead. It exists only in name. It is no longer a viable mechanism for change. And the longer we play our scripted and absurd role in this charade the worse it will get. Do not pity Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They will get what they deserve. They sold the citizens out for cash and power. They lied. They manipulated and deceived the public, from the bailouts to the abandonment of universal health care, to serve corporate interests. They refused to halt the wanton corporate destruction of the ecosystem on which all life depends. They betrayed the most basic ideals of democracy. And they, as much as the Republicans, are the problem.

“It is like being in a pit,” Ralph Nader told me when we spoke on Saturday. “If you are four feet in the pit you have a chance to grab the top and hoist yourself up. If you are 30 feet in the pit you have to start on a different scale.” ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/do_not_pity_the_democrats_20100913/

[beforeyoureyes]

1. Excellent

[izquierdista]

2. This is a hard read for DU

It got me wondering if the 'D' in DU means the Democratic Party, or does it mean the Democratic ideals of the New Deal and civil rights and unions, and typical Democratic constituencies. If it means the former, then I suppose we should just shut up and go knock on doors because a tight race is coming up. If it means the latter, then people who undercut the ideals, from Max Baucus and his insurance giveaways to Arne Duncan with his union busting need to walk the plank.

The article doesn't end very well, for he blames all the woes on "corporations", as if the ills couldn't be replicated by some other form of business organization like the limited partnership or a sole proprietorship. No, a corporation is just a tool, and in the hand of a greedy member of the "have-more" class, it is wielded formidably against those less well off. But take the corporation away, and the greedy sociopath will find some other way to extract his pounds of flesh. There needs to be a mental health facility to cure these plutocrats of their greed. Bill Gates, the Koch brothers and the entire Walton family can be the first patients.

[truth2power]

4. Just as an aside, when I first came to DU, probably in the summer of 2001,

I just assumed that the "D" meant democratic ideals. That's been a source of great consternation to me because when they started beating the bushes around here about universal loyalty to the Democratic Party I suffered some major cognitive dissonance.

You see, I don't believe in unquestioning loyalty to any one group, especially when said group is stabbing you in the back. The Republicans do that...march in lock-step I mean. Just sayin'

[yurbud]

6. I would support any calls for Duncan and Baucus to walk the plank, however be careful

to make sure there are hungry sharks nearby. Simply drowning is too good for moral filth like that.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

3. It took me a long time to get --

here but I think Hedges is 100% right, and that the only real change is going to come from working outside the current two Party political system. Both parties have become assimilated by the Corporate Borg and are all but useless to help us and the planet.

I think it is time for the People to make them both irrelevant.

[Moostache]

5. Yeah....uh, good luck with that.

You can't get 100 people to agree to anything in this country without some kind of inane religious objection or some utter political disinformation - many times being sourced to the same dirt bags - being voiced by at least 10 of them (or MULTIPLE sets of 10 of them).

Its going to take disasters on a scale of a thousand 9/11's to once again get the "people" to unite for anything around here. Sadly, we are heading that way now. Full speed ahead boys, those reports of icebergs are nothing to worry about for we ride the HMS Titanic tonight!

[MichiganVote]

7. Yup. But people have to overcome the feast of consumerism they have been fed.

And that's a hard thing for most to overcome unwillingly, let alone willingly.