The civilized America we have known may be about to end

[Cyrano]

One audience cheers at how many people Rick Perry has sent to death row.

Another audience cheers at the idea that an uninsured man should be left to die.

The entire Republican Party, and their offspring Tea Baggers, evidently hate the idea of community, common responsibilities and what most of us would define as morality.

Over the past three decades, we have moved step by step until we finally arrived at this really ugly point in our society. We have reached the point where so-called “Christians” such as Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and others of their ilk, can stand up, utter some of the most despicable, inhumane things imaginable, and reap applause and followers, all of whom vote.

Next year’s election should scare the hell out of all of us, regardless of which Republican runs against Obama. Whoever that person is will do their best to kill Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, federal oversight of anything and everything, and may even try to declare America “A Christian Country.”

Right now, it looks like Obama is going to have a hard time getting reelected. And if he’s beaten by some Republican/Tea Party barbarian, it will be time for us to fold up our tents and leave if we possibly can.

And before you call me a defeatist, tell me how we can defeat these Huns who are already rigging next year’s vote in many states, and using every media outlet they own to tear Obama down and cheer on their own lunatic candidates.

[Denninmi]

1. Many people are coming to the same conclusions.

Welcome to Berlin, 1932.

[Shandris]

44. Unfortunately, we know how that one turned out. :-(

[eridani]

2. Actually, their ancestors make them look good

What kind of amoral sociopathic whackjobs set up businesses selling postcards of lynchings?

http://lab.dhpp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51:without-sanctuary-postcard-collection-of-lynchings&catid=13:found-digital-history&Itemid=11

Professor James Loewen (of Lies My Teacher Told Me fame) called the period in American history from 1890 to 1910 "the nadir of race relations" in America. That white Americans could lynch hundreds of African Americans during this time without remorse is one of the most pathetic chapters in our nation's history. Searching through America's past for the last 25 years, collector James Allen uncovered an extraordinary visual legacy: photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America. With essays by Hilton Als, Leon Litwack, Congressman John Lewis and James Allen, these photographs were published as a book "Without Sanctuary" in 2005. The images can be viewed as a gallery of photos or as a Flash movie.

[Cyrano]

3. I think they could/would emulate their ancestors in a hearbeat if they

ever came to full power. People who don't believe that much of that mindset resides in the Republican Partry and their Tea Bagger wing, haven't been paying attention.

[saras]

40. They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown,

"What kind of amoral sociopathic whackjobs set up businesses selling postcards of lynchings?"

They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown,
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors, the circus is in town.
Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance.
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants,
And the riot squad they're restless, they need somewhere to go,
As lady and I look out tonight from Desolation Row

...

Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone that knows more than they do,
Then they bring them to the factory where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders, and then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles by insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping to Desolation Row

Praise be to Nero's Neptune, the Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody's shouting "Which Side Are You On?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot are fighting in the captain's tower
While calypso singers laugh at them and fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much about Desolation Row

Did Bob Dylan answer your question?

[bengalherder]

51. Wow.

"Researchers confirm the symbolic importance of lynching sites and the conscious selection of these sites by perpetrators of extra-legal violence. The dominance of Christian symbology is resurected in the lynchers' preference for bodies of water, bridges, and landmark trees. Bodies of water are the traditional locations for baptisms; bridges symbolize the most profound rite of passage, the great "crossing over" to death; and trees are the very symbol of life and of Christ's crucifixion. The lynchers sought, in the conscious selection of these sacrificial sites and in their participation in these ritualized murders, their own salvation and passage to a safer place without sin and evil - both of which, in their minds, were physically embodied in the "offending" victim."

[leveymg]

4. The "Civilized America we knew" was never all that civilized. The decent things about it have been

assassinated, banned, allowed to fall apart, and generally despised by the ignorant mass of lumpen, callous backwardness that today call themselves Tea Baggers.

In the early 1970s, they were Wallace Voters, who became Nixon and Agnew's "Silent Majority" (which was neither).

In the 1950s, they were McCarthyites and Birchers.

In the 1920s, Klansmen.

In the 1860s, Confederates.

In the 1820s, Indian Hunters.

The country has always been infested by them. Millions of them. As Fredrick Frick put it in the 1880s, "I can always pay half the working class to kill the other half." That's what's going on today, still.

[newspeak]

29. civilized america has had help by the corporate owned media

over twenty years of the limpballs, becks, hannities--given air time day in and day out. Over twenty years of indoctrination with the help of big media. "The fish rots from the head down." When the nation begins to lack empathy for their own, when they admire cheating and greed and cheer misery and torture, it spirals down. However, leadership, media and the lack of justice has helped in our demise.

When Kennedy was president, yeah, there were the "texas boys" and those who hated him; but there were many americans who admired his call to service, the vision of what we could be. We have replaced a hopeful vision with fear, corruption and greed. It takes one charismatic leader who actually gives a shite about the direction of the country and its' people. One leader to overcome the demands of wall street and overcome the corporate media sounding board. It would take a massive grass roots effort.

[arbusto_baboso]

30. And in the 1980s they were the "Moral Majorty"...

And in the 1990s they were the "Bill and/or Hillary had Vince Foster killed" crowd.

Yes. They never change their ignorant, hateful stripes.

[NNN0LHI]

5. The civilized America I knew of ended during the 1980's

The tip off for me was when Reagan administration officials began cracking jokes about people dying from AIDS.

>>>Larry Speakes, President Reagan's press secretary jokes about AIDS during press briefing on October 15, 1982.<<<

Nice, huh?

Don

[Skittles]

6. Reagan made greed and idiocy fashionable

America has never recovered

[mwb970]

8. The real downward spiral began with the horrific Reagan presidency.

That was when we began slavishly following lethal, destructive far-right-wing policies in every major area, as we continue to do today. The right-wing extremist traitors get everything they want; we Americans get nothing but the back of their hand. Even when they're in the minority in the government and in the nation at large, they still get everything they want! Americans still get nothing. This is democracy? The amazing thing is how docile we are about this. No rioting in the streets for us - Jersey Shore is on!

[Cyrano]

9. Rioting in the streets is no longer an option, mbw970.

Blackwater (now Xe), and many other corporations that are in the mercenary business, have reaped billions over the years they have practiced their trade in Iraq, Afghanistan, and who knows where else.

Even if our police and military are on our side, hired mercenaries won't hesitate to open fire on any rioters who turn up to protest our political climate (not to mention those who own our politicians).

[RagAss]

15. The Czar had an army protecting him too...how did that work out?

[NNN0LHI]

10. And the scariest thing is that not many of my fellow Americans even noticed as it was happening

We are our own worst enemy.

Don

[trotsky]

11. Noticed?

Hell, a lot of them cheered it! Damn unions, getting all those lavish benefits like breaks and vacation and healthcare! YEAH, stick it to 'em!

Without a freaking clue that union benefits, unlike tax cuts for the rich, really DO trickle down to the rest of us.

[NNN0LHI]

12. That is why everyones pay and benefits are patterned after non-union workers now

Yea, we really showed them overpaid union workers alright. Didn't we?

Don

[hifiguy]

45. Your identification of the time of the rot's onset

is spot on.

[Bragi]

14. The murders of JFK, RFK and MLK were the real start

The MIC wiped out a generation of liberal leaders when they killed an elected President, the leader of the civil rights movement, and then RFK when he ran for the White House.

This naturally scared the shit out of the Liberal establishment, Carter was but an electoral blip and an error that was soon corrected, and the right-wing has dominated ever since, regardless of who occupied the White House.

Since then, the fascists have assumed control over all industry, all politics, the electoral system, most public education, and most media information systems.

They have now successfully stolen the wealth of most non-rich people, and have built up the "security" infrastructure needed to operate a police state.

They are now able to guard their wealth and protect the enclaves of rich people, and ready for anything that might come at them, except for maybe one possibility: a popular, massive truly revolutionary, political movement capable of direct action.

And that's where I think the US is now at. And I'm saying that as an older person who used to be a political moderate!

[SammyWinstonJack]

21. +1000!

:thumbsup:

[hifiguy]

46. Back in the 1990s I was a liberal Ted Kennedy Democrat

The last decade-plus has turned me into a structural Marxist and a very left-wing Social Democrat.

Time to remember how the French dealt most effectively with their version of today's plutocrats:


We can not put it to use soon enough.

[AntiFascist]

50. As Oliver Stone's Willie O'Keefe character said...

"fascism's comin' back, Mr. Garrison!"

[Syrinx]

7. it does seem to be heading in the direction of idiocy

[GTurck]

13. Vote!..

We must overwhelm the so and so's with our votes. Yes they will try but if we can get enough people into the voting booth sheer numbers will be enough. The fact is that in most elections it is the truest believers who turn up and that is why the GOP rhetoric is to vile. Their true believers are scared, frightened sheep with a edge of sadism and little real education who need that shot of adrenalin they get from the candidates. Then they go to the polls certain that only they are true Americans. Even if you are not crazy about the Democrats until we have a functioning political/economic system again there is no other way to vote.

[Bragi]

16. Didn't that happen in 2008?

What 2008 showed is that it really doesn't matter any more who gets voted in, the wars won''t stop, the police state will continue to grow, government will continue to help the rich, the poor and middle class will get poorer.

So everyone should vote? I am reminded of the definition of madness as doing the same thing over and over while always expecting a different result.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Claudia Jones]

25. that is an important point

The battle is within the Democratic party, not between the two parties.

[Cyrano]

28. I partially agree with you, Claudia Jones

But as much as today's Democrats suck, they aren't trying to literally destroy us.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are our deadly enemies. They are in love with the idea of "Death to the Infidels" and if we aren't dying off fast enough for them, through sickness or poverty, I'm sure they'll do whatever is necessary to speed up the process.

This, of course, has nothing to do with their claims to "Christianity." I'd call it thinning the herd.

[Claudia Jones]

32. such drama

The cable TV people and media in general concoct such a silly show for the public, and as compelling and exciting as it may be for some it is all a distraction.

If, as you say, they are our deadly enemies and are trying to literally destroy us and doing whatever is necessary to speed up the process of us all dying off then how could we possibly believe that elections could stop them?

[Cyrano]

35. I don't believe elections can stop them.

Look at the stolen elections of 2000 in Florida and 2004 in Ohio.

The reason the 2008 election couldn't be stolen is because Obama won in so many places by overwhelming numbers. And those numbers couldn't be changed without the peasants noticing it which may have led to a real revolt.

But at this very moment, Republican governors are changing the rules in their states to make it virtually impossible for Obama to come out ahead unless he wins by hundreds of thousands of votes.

The real bottom line here is that the odds are being stacked more heavily against us no matter what we do. Especially in the election booth.

[Claudia Jones]

36. they don't care about Obama

The Republicans don't care about Obama.

[GTurck]

52. To see..

why the numbers count look at the reaction:TEA PARTY. We know that is a manufactured program of the Koch's and other billionaires that suckered in a lot of dopes and fools. Would there have been a reaction like that if the numbers didn't scare the #%$& out of them? When the grass roots came out they manufactured grass roots of their own so that it could be a he said/she said show of confusion that seemed from the people. It is working for the media too since now they have the visuals and nasty words and all the other show-stoppers that improve ratings. What they couldn't cover was the real story of how people said they wanted change. I wish President Obama was more of a change agent but in the atmosphere created by the oligarchs and media we aren't going to get better.
Another thought for those disinclined to vote out of sheer disgust; not voting is still a vote. There is no way to make it a referendum against Obama without leaving the field open for the other side. This is a zero sum game and either you play or you suffer more.:dem:

[hifiguy]

47. +1 nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

17. I still think no TV, internet or radio for a year would do wonders - would actual thinking

reemerge? would people start actually talking to each other?

[seabeyond]

23. i agree. when we talk about subjects like this, we totally ignore the influence of all our

social network today and how it effects us. thinking about the good is easy. but there is so much that effects us that does none of us any good.

[FiveGoodMen]

41. Keep the internet -- stop the Megachurches

[Courtesy Flush]

19. America will be the next evil empire

Comparisons with Nazi Germany are so over-used, but the parallels are too obvious. We have mobs cheering for evil, and they are labeled as the "values voters" by the media. We're so screwed.

[Cyrano]

24. Yep. We're well along that road.

The so-called "values voters" are in reality low-information voters who are being used. And they have no idea that they are voting against their own interests.

As one DU poster said earlier in this thread, "Welcome to 1932 Germany."

I don't know if our momentum in that direction can be stopped. But if it can't, I really don't want to be around in the next five or so years.

Although I am an agnostic, I find myself hoping that some kind of mathematical symmetry in the universe will set us down a saner path. Then again, that didn't happen in the Germany of 1932, so I guess I'm a fool for hoping it would happen here.

[LWolf]

20. We aren't civilized.

I don't know that we ever have been, although there have been times we seemed to be evolving in that direction. This isn't one of those times.

I hate to be the one to point it out to you, but while Republicans, all republicans, and the batshit tea-partiers republican or not, are certainly racing away from civil evolution, Democrats aren't exactly racing towards it. There is nothing civil about neoliberalism, and too many main street Dems these days are neoliberals.

Obama is one of them.

[seabeyond]

22. to pretend we are where we are today, due only to the right, is not seeing the whole picture

it is much bigger than that. though i agree with you, that we are where you say. and a large part because of what you post in your Op.

[whistler162]

26. Again... what is this the 10,000 or the 100,000 time this`

week it is about to come to a end!

[Cyrano]

27. Listen, wistler162. Millions put their heads in the sand as you are doing now.

And they ended up in gas chambers, or mass graves.

Hopefully, those of us who think we are in deep shit and on the edge of disaster are wrong.

And hopefully you are right. But do you really want to bet your life on being right??

[taught_me_patience]

31. America has always had a violent tradition.

This is nothing new.

[newspeak]

33. ever read the book "Toxic Sludge is Good for You?"

One thing that I remember from the book is how Hitler actually used american public relations techniques to sway the populace. And how Hitler used our history dealing with native americans, especially enclosing them on reservations. Yes, our history shows we've got a mentality of expansionism and greed; however, I thought just maybe we would "evolve" from that history. Maybe it's idealistic thinking--but if we don't learn from our own past, we will be consumed by it.

I also agree with the poster above, JFK, RFK and MLK were visionaries and greatly admired by most of the populace. They brought the plebes hope and spoke about equality, including labor equality. It kind of paints a different picture of who is running the american show--looks like a bunch of greedy, sick and power hungry bastards--probably the same ones who actually funded Hitler and Mussolini.

I believe it was Malcolm X who stated that he believed that revolution would come to america-it would not come based on race, but on class warfare. Also before MLK was assassinated, he was publicly speaking out about labor and economic disparity. I guess that's a touchy subject for those on the top.

[defendandprotect]

34. New Deal wasn't only economic stimulus ... it furthered a humane, compassionate society --!!

When RW wants to push a "dog eat dog" world, we are all impacted by that!!

And glad to see the increasing and very negative reactions to this RW "third

world America" -- !!

[Nancy Waterman]

37. we need to make sure every student in the country has a photo ID

from the state where they go to school. We need to make sure minorities and the poor also have photo ID's.
They all need to vote.

We need to constantly talk about how the GOP's nefarious plan in Pa is likely to backfire on them:
they might lose electoral votes if a candidate Romney won the state and possibly lose the election,
or they might lose GOP reps in the legislature. Their sneaky plan can cut both ways. It is more risky than they think.

And we need to aggressively frame the narrative about the economy. The administration has been much better of late on that score but we need to support him and keep it up. If we don't do all these things, we will be well and truly *#$@*$!!

[AverageJoe90]

38. While I'm no doom-and-gloomer...........

....I do think that we do have some more hard times ahead of us. But I don't think Obama's re-election is going to be that hard, bar some absolutely desperate B.S.-mongering and serious 2000-style vote rigging on the part of the GOP, given how badly exposed the GOP is on a number of fronts, unless enough informed people decide to make a monumental mistake by staying home on Election Day(which could happen), while all the morons, bigots, dumbasses, etc. are voting for the GOP........

[Cyrano]

39. Don't give "informed" people too much credit, AverageJoe90

"... morons, bigots, dumbasses, etc. ..." are more likely to show up on election day than "informed" voters.

[AverageJoe90]

53. Sadly, you may be right. Hopefully, only time will tell. n/t

[Bake]

42. This is the end result of 20 years of Limpbaugh and hate radio.

At least I HOPE it's the "end" result. If it gets any worse, it's going to involve firearms.

But I don't say this lightly. This really IS what you get after 20 years of hate radio spewing into the airwaves.

Bake

[hifiguy]

43. Ayn Rand + Milton Friedman=

Hobbes' war of all against all, and a life that is nasty, brutish and short.

Unless you are a Randian Plutocrat.

Rand and Friedman will eventually be placed with Hitler, Stalin, and Mao in the annals of the worst people of the 20th Century should humanity survive long enough.

[begin_within]

48. Civilization here ended the day the Europeans first set foot on this hemisphere.

[patrick t. cakes]

49. A great 'old school' DU thread......

kicked and recommended