Our terminal cultural cancer

[AllentownJake]

During the campaign in Sicily George S. Patton, arguably one of the greatest American Generals to ever live, slapped a Soldier suffering from battle fatigue in an allied MASH area. He was relieved of his command by Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower and did not return to active command till after the Allied invasion of Normandy. The Germans thought we were insane to relieve a General of such important to what seemed to a Nazi as a minor incident. The Americans, largely and saw it as the necessary thing to do. Hitler shot himself in a bunker and Russians burned his body, Ike became President and built the largest road system in the history of mankind, his tomb is marked with honor by a populace that loved him.

That was America 1942-1943. A vastly different place than America 2010. In that time period it was the leaders and the people who had to exhibit "Personal Responsibility" for their actions. In 2010, the amount of personal responsibility you have is measured by your position in society. Now there are those Americans, a minority in the upper crust who actually do take some responsibility for their actions in leadership or wealth and they are generally eaten alive by those who don't.

See in America, in 2010, a business leader can greedily bribe public officials in a small town to do shitty things and the small town public officials will end up being punished when discovered either electorally or criminally while the business leader takes his loot and runs back to the center of all that is evil in the world, one small Island named Manhattan. The Federal Government of the US will act like their hands are tied as communities are destroyed. Most of us have read of these lovely stories in places like Harrisburg or Alabama. The practice is much more common however, most politicians are smart enough to make sure the deal falls apart long enough after they are gone so that a succesor can eat their shit.

Of course, you can be an executive at AIG and collect millions in bonuses on a Ponzi scheme and face no consequences when it blows up, because for some reason, once again the Federal Government seems to have their hands tied somehow. You could be an executive at Goldman and JPMorgan market shit to your client but still be allowed to do business, because again the Federal Government's hands are tied.

However, if you are a hard working normal American. Who possibly has some honesty and respect for others as your parents taught you long ago, you are personally responsible for everything. Company CEO screws up and runs away with millions and you are laid off...sorry bub free market. Get sick and can't work for 4 weeks. Free Market. You see, that guy. The person who is trying to be a good member of society is Personally Responsible for any of his actions and will be fully held up to it.

Which brings me to the point of the OP.



Right now, I am watching one of the largest disasters unfolding probably in our history in one of our most strategically important areas economically.

What I am seeing is a shit load of "I'm not to blame nonsense." Coming from all quarters. Millions of those hard working average joe honest types who just want to raise a family, take their significant other out for a date every so often, and maybe just maybe pass a tiny little bit of wealth to their children are fucked.

Not to mention a gulf of marine life in one of the most beautiful areas of our planet.

Spare me your 2010 American Cancer culture BP, Haliburton, Trans Ocean, and Mr. President (2 out of power, one in power) and the Executive branch.

The shrimp boat captain and crew, the tour guide, the Hotel worker, and the Sperm Whale didn't fucking do anything to deserve what you have wrought.

These people and eco-system will be ruined by the greed, incompetence, and overall sociopathic traits of the leaders I mentioned, and said leaders will thrive as they always have.

A society, that does business like this, will not last long. For once the members of such society, no longer believe that the leaders give a shit about anything other than enriching themselves, the leaders are fucked.

Which is why Ike punished Patton. If the US Soldier believed that he was a tool to be slapped around by generals, it was over for us. We fought for certain values, which we don't ever live up to, but we try our damnest to do. A stark contrast of the Nazis who had embraced the worst of human nature.

Ike sacrificed for a time his greatest General for one good reason. As a whole Ike was smart enough to realize the men fighting under Patton, were more important than Patton to winning the war. A uniquley American concept, that has died the past 30 years.

For economic and social reasons, the elite better wake up, because this Ayn Rand fantasy they have been reading is laughable. They have nothing, without the people below them working hard and continually destroying them, for no good reason other than a few % point on their net worth, will result in some very dark things.

[yellerpup]

1. Excellent essay.

Very moving. :kick: & R

[Scuba]

2. Excellent, excellent, excellent !! Thank you.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. "The power of the people on top depends upon the obedience of the people below. "

Howard Zinn.

[AllentownJake]

4. Yes

Once the illusion is taken away that the people at the top know what they are doing, or give a shit about anyone other than themselves, obedience can only be made a reality by fear.

Fear has some nasty blow-back.

[LiberalLoner]

5. But will we rise up against the elite or only againt our fellow brethren? Witness

the gays, immigrants, other poor people being beaten up and killed. I keep hoping we will wake up as a nation and see, collectively, what the problem is, but instead what I am seeing are teabaggers and people seething with racism.

[AllentownJake]

7. Eventually people realize

You can't get assets from an illegal immigrant who speaks no English or a Homeless person.

[a la izquierda]

6. you make phenomenal points and I want to broaden your essay.

I teach college kids. I'm not too muchy oldern than some of them (I'm only 32). I have many students who will own up when they get a crappy grade, but I have many who will whine and complain and swear they "deserve" something, when in fact they do nothing to earn a good grade. The culture of getting something for nothing, of having no responsibilty for not studying (or not coming to class, etc) is sort of astonishing.

[AllentownJake]

9. Shitty parenting

Is a plague.

I was going to talk about the not my Johnny culture I observe on a daily basis.

We have gotten to a point culturally where a large segment of our population baby the fuck out of people till they are 18 and than expect them to be adults suddenly when they hit that age.

We throw teachers under the bus constantly...a majority of the times the teachers are the fine, it is the parents that are the problem. They want someone else to raise their kids.

[LiberalLoner]

22. I'll take it even further than that - I think the culture babies kids until they are in their 30's

It's not at all unusual for kids to live with their parents - rent and responsibility free - until 30 or even later.

I am seeing far too many examples of kids just not becoming adults, these days. It's really an odd feeling to watch this. It's like watching teenagers all walk around in diapers because they are just too young to be toilet-trained just yet...maybe in a few more years...

[AllentownJake]

25. Well

When the jobs the kids are going into are worse and pay less than their parents...that is rather predictable as well as their parents doing a shitty job. I've seen people living at home with parents who weren't awful simply because of the employment situation that has existed since 2001.

You can't bitch about people living at home and subprime mortgage at the same time during a housing bubble. You take out a bad loan or pay more than you should and rent.

I lived on my own for 8 years well till my father died and I moved back in and contributed. Economy made me a non-contributor for 6 months.

BTW multi-generational family homes are the norm not the exception historically in human society.

Also the idea of a previous generation sacrificing for the next is the norm not the exception. The previous generation sacrificing, not so much right now...except the lowest portions of them.

[LiberalLoner]

32. Oh, gosh, I didn't mean all the kids who were back at home are bad - I meant

just the portion of them who aren't required to pay any rent at all or do any chores to help manage the household. What I meant to say was I was seeing kids who still had the same expectations of their parents they had at 12.

I think there is nothing wrong (and in fact a lot right) with multigenerational living. I think in fact we would be much better off if we went back to that. But I would hope the kids would still grow up in that situation - maybe help Mom cook dinner and clean up, maybe contribute what they can financially, maybe do the yard work so Dad doesn't have to.

What I'm seeing in some of these young adults is that they feel too privileged, too special, to do anything like that. The world revolves around them and they are too special to follow the rules that other people have to follow. To me, that's the part of it that seems juvenile to me - not the living at home part so much.

And then I see these same kids who feel they are too special to commit to any one relationship...if you look at the totality of it, it just looks like delayed development and I'm not sure it's a good thing.

[justabob]

11. I've seen that too

though I was a student. People in my Lit 101 class would balk at having to read 3-5 page short stories and would be SHOCKED when the prof handed out a simple quiz everyday to ensure the folks were reading. I worked as a tutor in the writing lab as well, and the kids that would come for help would get sooooo angry when I wouldn't rewrite their papers for them! "What are you here for?!" Another prof told us about teaching at another county community college and how those students would get up in his face about their grades and parents would call, deans involved... lawsuits. Utter madness.... just go to class and maybe flip through the book occasionally, geez!!!

[AllentownJake]

13. It was bad 8 years ago when I graduated

It is worse now.

Cheating is astounding. People really see no problem with cheating.

[skeptical cynic]

36. Plausible deniability has replaced innocence as the standard

Politicians lead by their example.

How many times have we heard, "I did nothing illegal," as a defense for doing something that was clearly morally and ethically wrong?

It's what happens when laws crafted by special interests replace time-honored principles as the standard; when political parties replace principles among the electorate; when lesser of two evils is acceptable, and voting for the best person is called "throwing away your vote."

If "leaders" are not accountable, then "followers" by nature will follow that lead.

[Odin2005]

15. Too many people thing they are paying for a piece of paper and a good grade.

Not an education.

[Greyhound]

34. Bi-polar culture? We have, or are rapidly moving toward, a binary society.

It is apparent that unemployment, inflation, literacy, health care, living standards, etc. are all moving in the wrong direction, and have been, for a very long time. But look at the numbers we rarely are shown;

Unemployment at the bottom is ~30%, at the top it's less than 3%.

If you are "middle class" and get sick, you have the "privilege" of being subjected to a cash extraction system that usually bankrupts you, while you are pushed through a regimine designed, not to help you heal, but to get you out of their facilities as quickly as possible. If you are rich and get sick, you get a concierge and the decor of your choice in your room.

And so on, and so forth, ad infinitum...

You are already witness to at least one part of the education system.

[justabob]

8. thanks for that great essay

This last week I have been thinking about this problem... the rule of law collapsing because the criminals in suits always go free and no one above a certain status ever seems to get into any trouble for anything ever... whether its not having the right pieces of paper at the county office or dmv all the way up to murder, securities fraud and criminal negligence on an oil rig. There is indeed darkness on the horizon.

[AllentownJake]

10. Why do you think they are testing all these new crowd control devices

The fuckers aren't dumb, in order to maintain what they have built and what they have wrought on society for themselves they are going to have to use a heavy dose of domestic terrorism on the population they are fucking.

There is a certain subset that won't be scared. I call them the William Wallace segment.

[justabob]

16. oh I know

crowd control, psy-ops, propaganda, ... all the rest of it. I have been paying attention for years. That there are still people that deny that the powers that be could do such a thing blows my mind. I see it outlined in neon everywhere I look. Sigh. (ps, I am terrified, but I am wearing a kilt :) )

[AllentownJake]

18. As I always say

God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're fucked.

I checked out of this world 4 years ago, I've pretty much given up hope on humanity.

That being said, I'll be perfectly happy to go into battle against the worst of it.

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. Well done!

Thanks for posting!

[Odin2005]

14. K&R!

[KharmaTrain]

17. The Populace Has Been Beaten Down & Divided

When you study American history you see an ebb and flow where corporate power grows and then collapses under its own largess...be it through an economic recession/depression or government intervention. During my parents generation, the New Deal was a reaction to the excesses of the 20s and lasted until the "Raygun revolution" in 1980...a byproduct of right wing and corporate chafing of regulation and a relentless campaign to reinvent the political landscape and dialogue. For many years, Democrats and liberals were too busy fighting among themselves to notice what was happening and we've experienced 30 years where the dynamic of personal responsibility is trumped by power and wealth. Our corporate culture has glorified being rich or those who are and framed those who want a more equitable society as "socialists".

We truly live in two different Americas...get someone on the left and right (the further the better) and you'll hear two spins on almost every topic. In many ways both sides are entrenched and refuse to listen to the other side...fully convinced in their ideology over all else and ready to castigate anyone who dares to question yet oppose their positions. Much of this has been created and manipulated by the corporate media that profits from the heat these divisions cause and help each side perpetuate their positions. In the wake of "being right", responsibility and civility go town the toilet.

Moving to the Gulf disaster, many are ready to jump on the blame game...be it blaming President Obama or BP and mixing up their own biases and agendas to make a bad situation worse. Just cause the CEO of BP isn't in yard arms doesn't mean a time will come when he and his company will be held accountable. Even if they're able to shirk paying billions in reparations to those ecomonically damaged by this disaster, it doesn't mean they won't be paying a price. They'll be in court racking up billable hours for years to come and I see the BP brand name taking a real trouncing. While they still may make their money, it's goodwill that will enable it to continue to make money has taken a major hit and their responses and actions are being closely watched...not just by prosecutors and the public but investors and business partners.

It's not the elite who need to wake up...it's those who accept what the elite says without questioning...the unhinged 30% or so who dance every time Rushbo coughs or the middle 30% that would rather watch the last episode of Lost.

Cheers...

[AllentownJake]

19. Lost is a great show

Somewhat of a morality tale.

Lost doesn't bother me, American Idol fucking bothers me.

That being said, it is all be design.

The strongest and most effective political message has always been those poor people over there have fucked things up for you go get get them.

[KharmaTrain]

21. People Hating Against Their Own Interests

I'm totally and blissfully unaware of Lost or American Idol or any prime time network teevee. And no knock whatsoever on those who watch. To each their own. You hit on a nerve when you unmask the corporate media and popular culture that has polarized or numbed and dumbed them down...so much so that we have many who vote against their true best interests and proudly do so. They're so blinded in their ignorance and arrogance they've been contorted into a Pavlovian response to things...reacting with no thinking only because they've been so conditioned into a specific mindset.

People are angry but also very misdirected. They hate corporations yet still stop at Walmart cause it's the "lowest price". They listen to hate radio or Faux noise that reninforces the distortions in a perversely comforting way that leads to greater division and misunderstanding. Overall it plays into the favor of the elites who know that a divided populace is in their best interests. Seems not to matter how fucked up things get...if anything the worse they get the more divided people are.

[AllentownJake]

24. Do you think our government

Left some Nazis off and imported them back to the US for no reason.

Good documentry about who was left go at the Gallows a while back. This is all by design.

The people who run things understand more about human psychology in groups and have engineered things, quite well.

[freddie mertz]

47. Lost is terrific, a well-written and beautifully made show,

There is always a place for art and human expression, even in the darkest days.

We need it, actually.

[proudohioan]

20. K&R! Excellent piece, AllentownJake! n/t

[lunatica]

23. Thanks for this.

Excellent. The time will come when things change. It always does.

[lutherj]

26. Predatory personalities seek to take advantage of others' trust and good will

and sense of fair play. The predatory personality will complain vociferously when someone calls him on it, and then he will try to turn the blame back on the other person. This is Basic Bullying 101, and is SOP for the republican party. For some reason our political/economic system likes to reward these people and put them in charge of large institutions and pay them ridiculous amounts of money. From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed. You're right, the predator class is cannibalizing the country, and they don't care about the consequences. They figure when it all goes down, they'll jump ship and move to Switzerland.

My feeling is that it is too late to do much about it politically, except wait for it to collapse of its own weight. Which won't take that long. I give it 2 or 3 years. Get yourself ready and sit back and watch the show.

[AllentownJake]

27. The show is happening

Watch Greece, and soon the rest of the EU.

[tabasco]

28. Your use of Patton to exemplify some golden days of old

is pretty fucking stupid.

[AllentownJake]

30. I think he killed Nazis

I'm not a utopian. My opinion of the human species mirrors Agent Smith's in the Matrix for a popular cultural reference.

That being said, the virus has gotte particularly ridiculous the past 30 years wouldn't you say?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Agreed.

Must have been impressed with the George C. Scott film.

[AllentownJake]

38. The man was an effective General

and a brilliant strategist and also egotistical, self centered, and pompous as hell.

We are going to war, I don't want George on the enemies team.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

39. Having Morpheus on our side would kick-ass too.

He could be like all slow motion kung fu and shit.

[AllentownJake]

40. Defeating Nazi Germany

Is the reason for our standard of living. Forgive me if I have some admiration for the men that accomplished that...at all levels.

As for the Matrix (the first one)...brilliant analogy into modern living don't you think?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. I liked George C. Scott better in the Changeling.

And the only thing good about The Matrix was the action sequence.

People who find some deep meaning in the plot, and even moreso the corny dialogue, are more obnoxious then the Fight Club and Avatar fanboys.

[AllentownJake]

42. Actually the Patton admiration

comes from my father who read his books as a child and also served with a son of one of his staff members when he was in the army.

Patton the movie has a nice sound track. The opening sequence is epic. Of actors of that generation George C. Scott was a noble creature, not taking many shitty roles.

As far as the Matrix, I like the analogy, the rest of it is ok. Movies from that time frame I prefer Dogma. I like Comedy better than drama and action films.

As far as World War II, everything that exists today is sprung from that.

Personally I like Bradley as a general more than Patton, but for the purpose of writing, you have to go a little pop culture to get people to understand what you are talking about and other analogies of a person in power being held to account just didn't seem to work.

I think you would scream bloody murder if I did Charles II.

;-)

[TheWatcher]

44. Delete.

There is no point giving this nonsense any attention.

[blindpig]

29. The elite will not 'wake up'

'Waking up' would demand that they give up command of society, they will not approach that slippery slope. They will not acquiesce to the demands of the people or the demands of survival. We must show them the door, the longer we wait the more thinks like this will happen.

[me b zola]

31. K&R

[pscot]

35. It's still a democracy, Jake

and we get what we deserve. We're crying now, but two months ago everyone but a few wacked out environmentalists were singing the same tune: drill, baby, drill. There was no public outcry for mass transit or green energy. We were and are still insisting on our god-given right to drive down to 7-11 for a slurpy and eat rock-hard tomatoes in January. Nobody wants to live in an apartment near the job, when we can commute 70 miles a day to our suburban chateaux. We still love our Walmarts and Costcos, fed by an endless conveyor of gas-guzzling big rigs, which are fed in turn, by container ships from all over the globe, all burning oil. But never mind that. We gotta have it. Gotta have our plastic conveniences. And god help the politician who suggests that there may be limits to our affluence, our wars, our happy motoring. We've all bought into the American model; American affluence, American exceptionalism, American global hegemony; even the poor slobs whose jobs have been shipped overseas so the rest of us can party on. Neither they nor the rest of us question the model. Of course they feel burned because they've lost their place at the table, but neither they nor the rest of us care that we're cooking the planet, demolishing the species who share it with us and melting the ice-caps and glaciers. The Louisiana Chamber of Commerce is going ahead as planned with ther annual celebration of the shrimp and oil industries; bigger than ever this year, because they been doing it for thirty years now and still don't see the irony.

[AllentownJake]

37. You are given the illusion of choice

between two very similar acting but different sounding choices.

[noiretextatique]

45. my first visit to WalMart was for prescription drugs

i'm on unemployment and i can't afford the $30.00 copay for the five precriptions i have. so, i broks my vow to never shop there to get some of my prescriptions for $10.00. i looked around at some items, and i noticed that walmart is not really cheaper than most stores in my neighborhood. however, walmart is the only store in east oakland, a predominantly black and latino area. all of the other big chains left the area, so walmart operates there without any competition. walmart sells is own brand, probably a more inferior product, for much cheaper than other brands, so people buy it. but overall, i didn't find walmart prices any cheaper than other grocery or drug stores. but i suppose people in the area fo save on gas by shopping there.
excellent post, btw.

[Senator]

43. Well-Described, Sir -- Our Lamest Generation

Refusing to abide by and enforce the laws and treaty obligations our greater generations fought and died to forge.

And no, we're not in a democracy anymore. Our Lamest Generation has instituted (via election theft, big-lie propaganda, and war crimes):

A Warthoritarian Avaristocracy.

We must fight it wherever we can -- in big and small ways. That's what it means today to be an American Patriot. The OP is a good example of how.

---

[AllentownJake]

46. Self sacrifice

Dirtiest word in America

[Senator]

48. I'd settle for a bit of self awareness

It really does seem like "they know not what they do."

---

[eridani]

49. And could anyone ever have conceived of mercenaries getting paid 30x as much as soldiers--

--and being subject to no laws at all? Certainly not the traditional military code.

[MannyGoldstein]

50. Well Done, Thanks. nt

[swilton]

51. Well said, Jake

[Arkansas Granny]

52. K & R

[KWMB]

53. Excellent statement.

That was a poignant essay. I believe the People are nearing the end of their patience - and it's about time.