Dazed and Numb
How much more can we endure?
That should perhaps be the ultimate question that is cemented into America's conscious, and yet it is nothing but a fleeting thought.
As Trump continues with his evisceration of the government, attacking Meals on Wheels to dump 50 extra billion into our corpulent defense budget, we would hope that there would be more concern, more outrage. And yet, the current reality also fixates on the numbing agent of outrage itself.
While Republicans gut everything considered a public good, Democrats are merely waiting in the corner. Hoping to capitalize on the outrage, they won't change and have no need to. Outrage after outrage, and the "leaders" shrug their shoulders and say, "Where else are you going to go?"
The least that someone could do would be to move away from the duopoly, the system that continues to oppress and slaughter those that get in the way of ultimate profit and conquest. The most basic means of asserting power would be to vote your own values first, and yet that is still too hard.
Outrage after outrage, damning event one after another, coupled with an anesthetized response from elected leaders and a public that continues to view the political world through the keyhole instead of breaking the door down to understand their options, you begin to numb yourself.
A constant diet of news, actual news mind you, and predictable herding of the populace towards their respective pens calcifies you to the condition that things won't change, no matter the situation. A boom/bust economic paradigm, a Democrat and Republican back and forth that forces us to the right decade after decade, a dying environment.
We are strapped to the gurney, while the leaders and people who believe in the system of their political paradigm wheel us to the cliff. There are those, cognizant, who thrash against the restraints, who believe and have a desire to change our system while there may be a chance left. Then, there are those who know the system, those that perhaps had a hope, a desire to create change. But, dazed and numb, they look over at the other gurneys, the people who think things can change. They see themselves, perhaps what they used to be. They, who have tried for decades, belittled, criticized, ostracized, come to realize that to change a system you must change the people. And to truly do that is beyond the means of a single, average citizen. So they rest their head back on the gurney, looking up at the blue sky as they are being carted off the cliff, trying to enjoy the little time they have left in a world that is slowly collapsing and dying.
Comments
I believe it's about sacrifice.
Collectively cutting up our credit cards and starving the big banks of interest revenue will take sacrifice.
Saving for a larger down payment will cut in to their profits, but it will take sacrifice.
Resisting the urge to buy that frivolous trinket takes sacrifice.
Buying local and from small businesses, even if you have to pay a little more, will take sacrifice.
Sacrificing your cable subscription and spending your Saturday learning to maintain a garden could save your life someday.
Learning to repair, repurpose, or recycle could become a valuable skill.
America NEEDS to learn to sacrifice. IMHO.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
It's not a sacrifice
if you make it a habit.
I turned away from capitalism at a young age and I can tell you with head held high that it has made my latter years so much better.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
***
Nice cut jct
but you can never get out of here. This regime encompasses the entire globe. There's no way outta here.
Anonymity is not just your friend, it's your survival.
IMHO.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
anonymity
No IMHO about it; I can testify to the same!
The words of my fellow c99p denizens are truth: we need to get back to living on the ground (whether we can work that ground or not); we need to stop borrowing money, and where we cannot do that, we need to borrow from local credit unions; we need to stop falling for every new gadget that comes along; and -- most importantly IMHO -- we need to STOP sharing buildings with those with whom we have no other involvements!
Whether Big Money approves or not!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Anonymity is always in style :-)
To:
I don't think too much sacrifice is required. Just simplicity. I believe the future will offer very modern and innovative lives inside a very simple setting. Plus, the culture is heading that way. Topics like DYI and reclaiming and repurposing resources are expanding across the internet. (Internet access will soon be free, as it is becoming a human right. India is working to establish that.)
The US is a nation of plenty. If the nation and people were not being asset-stripped by the capitalist overlords, and if the people owned the nation's natural resources, it would look like a utopia. Even so, we can feed and house anyone who needs it without breaking a financial sweat. We could even give give citizens an education and health care with progressive tax rates like those between 1946 and 1965. All we need to do is put some chains on capitalism; which always becomes a blind destructive soul-killing force when it is not heavily regulated. Capitalism is known to be incompatible with democracy for obvious reasons (the very wealthy buy the government). Happens every time.
Don't expect any cuts to the Defense Budget by Trump
The neocons at The Heritage Foundation have a firm grip on his nethers and are squeezing hard, real hard.
It appears that much of the money the US had previously spent did not actually go for what it was budgeted for. It should be obvious that more funds are required to offset these unfortunate and unavoidable losses.
Meanwhile, Putin is preparing to attack Europe as shown with his major changes to Russia's defense budget for 2017.
This should be taken as forewarning. I suggest we at least quadruple the Russian $16 billion offset to give a $64 billion increase to the Defense Budget effective immediately. Also, if we want to remain in our current position as top dog in the world (USA! USA! USA!) and be capable of fighting more than 2 wars at a time this will have to be doubled again to $128 billion.
The very safety and security of our women and children, our helpless grandparents and even the American way of life is at stake.
Thank you and God bless America!
Edit: For those that didn't understand this post, it was complete snark. The Russians who the neocons consider America's greatest enemy have just reduced their 2017 defense spending to around $45 billion from $60 billion. Trump has just increased the US defense budget by $54 billion which is more than the entire Russian budget! The link I gave about Putin invading Europe http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/putin-prepares-invasion-europe-mas... is also a snark. Enjoy.
Correct
I mean this hearkens back to the Cold War.
Time and time again the public was lead to believe that the military was so underfunded, that the Soviet Union was leaps and bounds ahead of us. The problem with that is that it is so utterly removed from the truth.
I mean, "dangerously weak and unprepared." For what?
ISIS? OK, they have a military the size of Somalia.
Russia? We have 4 times the aircraft they do. We have what 13 aircraft carriers compared to Russia's 1?
China? Also 4 times the aircraft, also 1 aircraft carrier to our 13.
All of this is to increase paranoia and fear to have the public willingly comply to divert more money to over-indulgent defense contractors.
Thank-you for this diary
...and there are those that create their own reality, one where the materialistic values of the society in general can't penetrate, at least not entirely, for stretches of time...
I'm rooting for Mother Earth. She is beautiful. She will win in the end. Exciting times?
I enjoyed the diary. Thanks.
Down with the Duopoly!
That's it right there. That is the battle cry. Who's going to take it up?
I don't know
I mean looking through the history of this country, it seems 3rd parties, to even have an initial chance, fall into one of two categories
1) A highly wealthy individual, potential billionaire to run as 3rd party candidate (Perot)
2) A highly regarded politician of a previous party starting their own (Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Wallace).
To my knowledge, a 3rd party hasn't really organically formed that has taken significant chunks out of the electorate (or simply replaced one of the two).
Third parties have no chance.
De-legitimize the duopoly. Illuminate the farce and force the debate.
If young people and the millennials were activated and mobilized
...they could Occupy the Democracy.
To:
They could pass any local, state, or national initiative. proposition, or referendum they wanted to. They have the numbers to do so. They can also recall or defeat anyone they please.
Add to their numbers the Left, worker classes, and independents and the people will win the good fight every time. Any demand that the Democratic Occupiers make will become the law. And it should be that way. It's their generation that will live it. The corrupt drag on the nation comes from people and leaders long past their freshness date, voting out of fear instead of hope.
Generation
I mean I am that generation, the young folks known as millenials.
I think it is multi-faceted. To begin there is the utterly confusing and labyrinthine bureaucracy of politics and procedure which requires a bit more dedication to the craft.
Which ties into the main problem: Time. People who have debt beyond belief, scrapping pennies together from their 2 or 3 jobs. I know a decent amount from my age range, some have gotten lucky* and are pursuing graduates/medical degrees or have a decent paying career, while many have a degree but no decent paying work so here comes the 2/3 jobs. Which includes renting houses/apartments and driving their car until it dies (unless they fall in the previous aforementioned category).
So we hear that millenials need to step up and run. I mean, how? Not only do campaigns cost money (though creative and smart means can reduce costs) there is the significant time aspect involved in campaigning, which may become a full time job to just campaign to hope to get it, more so if you are someone outside the duopoly, while you as the individual still have large amounts of debt needing to work 2-3 jobs.
Many, I imagine, also have no hope. They see, and perhaps this is a jaded perspective of my own, an older set of generations who squandered, plundered, and destroyed quite a lot and left the bill to the young. They cannibalize the young to keep them afloat. People try local voting, such as minimum wage increases and ban fracking, and the state comes in and reverses the motion.
That doesn't even get into the powers of the media, the duopoly, and even the millions of older individuals still shackled to the duopoly who view outside power as naive and dangerous.
You're overthinking it.
To:
All millennials have to do is vote with the Occupy coalition, which will present the choices candidates can agree to. If they don't agree, vote them out of office immediately. End their careers. Take no prisoners. Things like subsidized college education, basic income, single payer health care, defund the war, etc.
They don't have to run for office. They don't have to join a party. They don't have to lift a finger. They just have to vote with the coalition explained above.
It's hard to believe that people cannot see that they won all the power in this nation in 2016. People in the future will look back on this reality and go, "WTF?"
Read it again.
I guess
I guess I am overthinking things because I don't see how people won all the power in this nation in 2016.
And what Occupy coalition? I mean I've heard of Brand New Congress, Our Revolution, Justice Democrats, but not much regarding an Occupy coalition.
Read it a few times now...just not seeing it.
Right you are.
I was thinking coalition. It's not an American thing. My bad.
I mean
Perhaps I missed something and overlooked the point? I don't know, I guess I was just confused.
But regarding an entire generation, I mean it would be nice to mobilize an entire generation of folks. But while millenials trend more towards a direction ("left" leaning, less devotion to the duopoly, agnostic/atheist trends, etc.) there are still democratic millenials, republican millenials, tea party millenials, etc.
All good points.
Upon reviewing the thread, I see that a voter's coalition can occupy and skew the democracy without involving the millennials at all. Nearly all elections only need a few points to turn them upside down or sabotage them, as needed.
In addition, we discovered an entire voting public that was completely inert and invisible until Bernie entered the race. Reaching them without a charismatic leader is a challenge, but there are more than enough rebel voters as far as numbers and money goes. Coaching them to vote strategically may not even be necessary, considering the 2016 outcome.
But even that may not turn the tide. The people may have lost their country, if they ever had one. I've never lived in a democracy, so I cannot be sure.
Interesting
Regarding your last sentence, that got me thinking...
Besides cheating and searching on Google ha, I don't think there has been a single country that has been governed by pure democracy? Perhaps I'm wrong but nothing is jumping out at me.
I think people are outraged out....
Besides, no one will listen or care. I think Trump was a stick in the eye of the establishment, and I don't think they are done.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Democrats will create cynicism, not outrage
The Woman's March and protests against the Muslim refugee ban show the beginnings of an effective movement against Trump. But what I see slowly happening is movement against Trump devolving into cynicism. Look at the "strike" on International Woman's Day whose organizers somehow overlooked how working class women would be able to swing a payless day, and concern over child care as some schools closed down.
Now it looks pretty serious that the Woman's March organizers next big protest will be over "transparency" over Trump's tax returns and Putin. Which pretty much proves the Woman's March is basically a democratic party front group--both of those issues come straight from Hillary's campaign and democratic party strategy moving forward.
All of this in the face of Trump's disastrous budget? In a about a month the Woman's March movement will organize to bring people out to yell "tax returns!" and "Putin!. Yup, you betcha.