The American response to GW as part of the new reality

[GliderGuider]

Last night I read Will Pitt's latest oeuvre on this thread in GD. He talks about how the current administration appears to have created a "replacement reality" in America, one that is carefully crafted to support their goals of absolute power and to reduce the possibility of effective dissent to almost zero. It struck a major chord with me, and I started to think about how the miserable environmental track records of the recent American administrations fit into the picture he paints.

Why is it so much harder to get action on, or even recognition of, the self-evident environmental catastrophe we're living in? Why is it so hard to convince anyone to cut consumption? Why are people still driving SUVs? Why are they still buying McMansions with ARMs out in the suburbs? Is there any connection between our bland acceptance of those desires and actions as "normal" and our lack of outcry as they take away our nail clippers and water bottles in airports, or start insisting on government ID and watch list screening for domestic travel within the United States? Is it just a matter of corporate greed and control, or is it simply one facet of a much broader broader picture?

Hmmm?

[jpak]

1. And the Canadian response is?????

:evilgrin:

[GliderGuider]

2. Under Little Stevie Harper we're following along like obedient puppies.

The only problem for Harper is that it's much harder to establish a position of absolute power when you're leading a minority government in a parliamentary democracy.

Unfortunately I have noticed that even the social democrats of the NDP are exhibiting a worrying tendency to roll over for a tummy scratch every time Harper makes imperial noises.

[razzleberry]

9. were the previous gov'ts any better?

I seem to remember they...

took several years to do nothing

[The2ndWheel]

3. Corporations and governments only have as much power as we give them

But as corporations and governments own more of life, what choice do we have?

That's my simplified answer to the question. I know that to really answer your question would require at least A book. I'm not much of an author, so I've had to read a few. Even now, thinking about your question, I'm going from one variable to the next, and if I could write even that down, it wouldn't make any sense.

[GliderGuider]

5. "What choice do we have?"

You must never, ever ask that question. There is always a choice, even if it's only your choice not to believe in the reality you're being presented with, and say so. When you ask that question, they have won. Even if it's only in a small corner of your mind you must remember that they are your product, you are not theirs.

Hearing that question makes me really, really unhappy. It's far more fatalistic than my belief in a die-off, because the social world is malleable in ways that the physical world is not.

[The2ndWheel]

8. I'm not saying we don't have a choice

It was more along the lines of a vicious cycle. Corporations and governments only have the power we give them, and they each own more of life because we've given them that responsibility. I don't see us stopping that. We're too addicted to control. Without the large scale nature of corporations and governments, we would have less control.

[tom_paine]

4. One facet of a much broader picture

One does not mentally re-engineer a nation into a Nazi-like state of unreality unless one has BIG PLANS for what to do with these reprogrammed drone.

The Bushevik attack and victory over the Old American Republic was comprised of dozens of facets, perhaps hundreds.

One ast final thing, if you hevne't noticed, there is no such thing as self-evident in nations like Nazi Germany and Imperial Amerika, where so much time, effort, and money has been devoted to driving the people so insane that it is "self-evident" that it would just be best of all the Liberals were "gone".

No, it's not that "self-evident" to the Imperial Subjects of Amerika. That's what the Phony Bin Laden Tapes ae for in terms of reprogramming th drones to make that association.

Also, it what the next 9/11 will be for, which the Bushies will almost certainly know of before it's pulled off, is for in terms of cementing that "self-evidence" and bringing Bushie Final Solutions (which will very likely be both kinder and gentler than the Nazis Final Solutions) to a state of being.

[phantom power]

6. That reminds me of this:

One question that readers ask me often is why the mainstream media is doing such a poor job of reporting the nexus of the global energy emergency and the turmoil in global finance. I maintain my "allergy" to conspiracy theories. There isn't any clique of top-hatted Wall Street biggies with monocles joining with with gray-suited CIA-types to intimidate editors with tongs and electrodes. American culture has become self-dis-informing.

As my friend Peter Golden (blogger at Boardside) puts it so well: "When people lie, they know they are doing something wrong. But when they just make things up, there's no consciousness of right or wrong at work. It seems morally okay to live in a fantasy world -- and this is much more pernicious to the public discourse than lying."

http://kunstler.com/mags_diary22.html

It also reminds me of a comment from a friend of mine: "The most successful conspiracies are the ones that everybody is in on."

[ramapo]

7. Much broader

For the most part, the self-evident environmental catastrophe is out-of-sight, out-of-mind for the vast majority of Americans and for that matter much of the world. Sure everybody has heard about global warming but there's no effect on the day to day life of the average citizen.

Then you have the TV nonsense, the loud talking heads who discount the whole idea that global warming is a bad thing or even a reality.

It is hard to convince anyone to cut consumption because our whole society and economic system is based on it. Marketing and advertising make our heads spin and send most people out to buy things they don't need and/or can't afford. The thought is if people didn't do this, the economy would falter and perhaps even collapse.

Most people are focused only on their day-to-day life and all the little aggravations, stresses and challenges. Many of those who recognize the developing bigger problems feel powerless to do anything given the overall apathy, corporate power and governmental failure.

This has been an ongoing trend for a good 25 years. I don't see much hope of the next administration reversing (republican or democratic) it in any meaningful way. The corporations and lobbyists maintain the power. The media keeps most people entertained and reality seldom intrudes.