Over at Facebook my screen registered a piece from Medium, only three weeks old, titled "The End of the American Experiment." Author's name: Umair Haque. Don't know him. Point of the piece: well here's a quote:
The distraction of electoral politics has been working very well for oligarchs for a long time. The short memories of the public makes each round of insult seem new. Pick any "issue" you like and you will be able to understand how this works. In fact the dissection of their control over us into isolated issues is one of the most effective parts of the ploy.
Not another sermon! I don't mind a lie if it's interesting.
The movie, "Rashomon" (1950) has generated some interesting quotes. Like 'Commoner's' line in the above blockquote. And I suppose we are meant to identify with the Commoner.
But that is so 1950's.
My attention has recently been drawn back to the handful of diaries I wrote at dPOS, much of which I had subsequently forgotten. In the aftermath of the Georgia debacle, this one seems relevant. It is reproduced verbatim, including the introductory parenthetical.
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Thursday Oct 30, 2008
(This is a repost of my diary from yesterday, which went largely unnoticed. Given the theme, reposting it today has metacharm.)
Why Trump’s America is like the real America
I grew up believing in a host of commonly taught myths about my country. I’m embarrassed by how long it takes to get over these myths, but I also see that many people never do.
A good way to shatter these illusions with good historical facts is to read An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz. Spanning more than four hundred years, this classic bottom-up peoples’ history radically reframes US history and explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative.
war·lord (wôr'lôrd'): A military commander exercising civil power in a region, whether in nominal allegiance to the national government or in defiance of it.
January 9 is the 9th day of the year. There are 356 days left.
Today's number is 9
9 is the largest single digit integer
9 is the square of a prime and is the second lowest such square
January 2 is the 2nd day of the year. There are 363 days left.
Today's number is 2
In short, my answer is no.
I base this answer on two things:
1.) A definition of democracy as a system where we all have a say in our affairs and may change conditions which are unsuitable to the majority.
2.) The absence of this principle in our judicial, economic, and political systems where instead Big Money rules.
The last performance of our election theater has begun to wind down and the reviews are very amusing. So many otherwise discerning people are still seeing significant differences between the outcome we have and others we might have had.
Never mind the clear history leading up to this point. It is all new now. Alas, even more time and energy is being wasted recapitulating and speculating as Mr. Trump tries to figure out what he is going to do with this thing he has done.
