Are we too stupid to save ourselves?

democratic-party-stupid

* some ppl are saying that's not accurate, but I think it depends on what polls you credit. Nonetheless, I think it's a perfectly valid argument that Trump would beat Hillary.

With so-called progressives backing the establishment they once opposed and republicans on the verge of nominating Hitler Mussolini, one might be forgiven for reaching such a conclusion. Of course it ain't over.

Trump says he loves the poorly educated. Of course he does, they're his base.

[video:https://youtu.be/qdsf0FDt83I width:649 height:480]

50 years or more of intentional dumbing-down of the American people by choking out public education, killing journalism and corrupting the airways with propaganda and bullshit may have done the trick. We can't be sure yet.
When 'progressives' turn against healthcare as a human right, you have to wonder. Have the neoliberals made us believe it's impossible? Much of the rest of the world doesn’t seem to think so.

universal-healthcare

why-cant-we

Have they deprived enough people of a quality education? Have they confused the public mind sufficiently, muddied the waters thoroughly enough, deprived the cultural mainstream of enough important information, replaced it with enough nonsense, distractions and disinformation for the great pall of stupid to prevail?

6-corporations

Has the DLC/DNC succeeded in perverting the once noble ideals of 'the people's party,' sold off enough of its high-minded principles to trick us into embracing the suck that we have fought against for over a century? They've tried mightily to turn us into the republican party. Have they succeeded?

Have we just given up? Or are we seriously too stupid to see what's been done to us? What's being done to us?

join-the-revolution

We have environmentalists turning their backs on climate change, Quakers supporting the war machine, 'liberals' voting against healthcare as a human right and 'progressives' supporting Wall Street and the Henry Kissinger crowd. A thinking person might ask, WTF is wrong with us?
How can anyone in good conscience continue to support this horror show?

want-war

It doesn't have to be this way. We should stop putting up with it.

bucky-livingry

You tell ‘em, Bucky! We need to change from weaponry to livingry — and I would add, from healthcare as a business to healthcare as a human right. We desperately need to have this ‘contentious argument’ with the filthy rich fuckwads who have been screwing us all so blatantly for so long.

we-would-lose

These guys are the fucking problem.

douchebags-on-parade

Some of us are having a revolution. If you're a reasonably intelligent person who's not too twisted by propaganda and bullshit, you're probably going to want to look into that.

its-funny

danny-glover

not-for-the-lesser-evil

DEM 2016 Sanders

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Not something you will read on DKos

Clear majorities of Republican voters Tuesday said they felt betrayed by their party: In Ohio the number was 57%, and in North Carolina it was 56%. But that feeling did not necessarily translate into overwhelming numbers looking for outsider candidates, with 54% in North Carolina and 50% in Ohio saying they were looking for an outsider.
...
Worries about the economy were widespread among Democrats and Republicans.

But Republicans expressed deeper concerns with the state of the economy, with about 7 in 10 in Illinois and North Carolina saying they were very worried about the nation's economic future.

Among Democrats, 81% said they were somewhat or very worried about the economy in Missouri and 75% in Ohio. A slight majority of Democrats in Ohio, 53%, said that trade costs the U.S. jobs, rather than creating them.

Among Republicans in Florida, 55% said they would like to see undocumented immigrants granted a path to citizenship, but 35% said they should be deported.

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But the economy is Grrrrrreat! Obama is amazing, and it doesn't suck as bad as it could! I read it on GOS.

He got unemployment extended once for Pete's Sake. And he didn't even change the social security retirement age!

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mimi's picture

I stole my new sig line from one of your images. I liked that one very much.

I don't think we are dumb. I think we are scared, the final question might be of what?

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Raggedy Ann's picture

Very appropriate and relevant to what's happening. Let's all be the change we want to see!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

mjsmeme's picture

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mimi's picture

More like this:
Are you more scared about fascist and oligarchy with a racist-prone leader who will drive all the brownish and other non-pure people nuts, or are you more scared about a weak neo-liberal government who can't prevent the economy to collapse in ways that the average civilian gets hurt beyond imagination?

Are you more scared that the US won't be the world's police bully anymore and the Daesh folks come bombing your house, or more scared that all those brown people will call for revenge and take away your jobs?

Are you more scared about racial hatred going bananas and police oppressioneers putting your head on the guillotine
or that the oceans will rise and flood your land or the ground water will all be poisoned and the drought will cause water wars?

I mean there are a lot of things to be scared about and it's hard to decide what we should be more scared about and what not. Especially if people, who have something to lose, ie the 1%ers, want to scare you out of your mind and end up competing among each other like saying: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the scariest of us all?

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detroitmechworks's picture

Course, when you've had the worst things you can imagine actually HAPPEN to you during your life, they lose a lot of power over you.

Losing my creature comforts? Happened, didn't die.
Losing my kids? Happened, Didn't die, but I will before it happens AGAIN.
Getting shot? It hurt, I moved on.
PTSD? Yep, still sucks, and I have a hard time going outside my house because of hyper vigilance. Drugs help.

Essentially there's not much they can threaten me with that actually scares me anymore. Bout the only thing that does is the PIC, and even that is only because I will not lose my kids again.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

mimi's picture

... when they actually happened badly to you in real life?

I would have thought the opposite is true. I thought may be you can on the outside be cool and handle worst things better, if they happen to you again, because you went through them before, but I believed that inside of you they play havoc, are extremely painful and make you hyper vigilante so to speak or easily agitated. Please, I don't mean with you, you personally. Even if you speak of your own experiences.

What is the meaning of PIC? I appreciate you being so open to me about your feelings.

I don't know anymore who made that comment, but someone said he would like to write a series of essays about PTSD and may all sorts of traumatic fear inducing experiences and how to deal with them. Hopefully that person will know that such writing attempts would be highly appreciated, at least from me.

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detroitmechworks's picture

The actual situation happening again, scary as hell, but dealable.

PIC: Prison Industrial Complex. Essentially for me it would be a death sentence, because I know I chafe heavily under unfair authority.

I did do a few over at TOP, and I will repost them here on Saturdays. I've been convinced that I need to bring my GOOD old work over.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

mimi's picture

commented in your diary that "you should repeat yourself". Some kids like me, need to be told something over and over again til they "get" it. Smile

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Alison Wunderland's picture

And (Phew) so many pics worth so many thousands of words. I'm a compulsive reader but it's getting a bit overwhelming.

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Steven D's picture

Maybe you're TPTB (Too popular to ban). Wink

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

orlbucfan's picture

Greetings OPOL:
I'm going to get real matter-of-fact here. I am not a stupid nor brainwashed American. I'm getting real tired of being included with Raygun YUPPIES (example: B. Obama), and dimwitted baby boomer bozos who voted for Rayguns in 1980. I haven't been banned from Markos' site. I don't care iffen I am. I am speaking for a lot of Americans who are not and never have been political brainwashed idiots! Now, informed political junkies know better including you! BTW, I follow your writing.

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

that single-payer health care and free state college tuition are necessary for American businesses to remain competitive in a global economy. That might be the only way we get it -- to cater to the needs of business, not because it's the right thing to do.

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WindDancer13's picture

The increasing rate of kids with asthma. Increasing bad water problems. Etc. If people see things in a light of how it effects them they are more likely to agree to solutions. Just don't tell them those solutions are to combat something they don't understand.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Big Al's picture

"save" us, I have to strongly disagree. Sanders will not challenge the power structure, he's part of it. His so called revolution has shown no signs of what we really need which is to overturn the power structure, not seek improvements from it like a Wall St tax for college, a higher minimum wage or a single payer health care system. He has been a compromiser during his Senate tenure and would do the same as President.
So ya, we are too stupid collectively to save ourselves if we think we can do it within this ruling class political system.

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jiordan's picture

but I would see his candidacy (and election) as an indication that we as a nation were turning in the right direction. Is he going to deal a superhuman blow to the power structure? No. Is he pointing out the REAL enemies to all of us who want to live peacefully on a planet that can sustain us? Yes.

I was disappointed in his answer about the FBI vs Apple. And I have yet to hear him say anything about breaking up the six media conglomerates. He's not perfect by any means, he's just a better path. The best we could hope for this election cycle--and with any luck, an inspiration for others to follow.

Overturning any power structure is an ongoing struggle that never ends. The system is set up to constantly pound us into submission. ALEC is there to continually push bill after bill after bill in a kind of legislative strafing run where its assumed a percentage will get through and everything is tagged to allow them to pull more money up to the top and screw the people at the bottom. One man can't fix that..but if he can start the conversation, I consider that a good thing. He's just a beginning--at least, that's my take on it.

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WindDancer13's picture

one that will keep the conversation going. Not perfect, but a far sight better than the alternatives.

I think after he is elected that Sanders will set his sights on the media also. He has had plenty of things to say about them and their misleading the public.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

But I'm a pessimist at heart.

I'm #BernieOrBust because I refuse to be a tool of the people who see me as expendable.

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mileser's picture

You just can never underestimate stupid. Who would have ever thought that Lincoln's party would be so stupid and short-sighted to let itself to come to the point of destroying itself, yet, here we are. I guess the Democratic Party has every right to follow suit.

However, not only is Bernie doing very well, down ticket is making lots of progress too. Maybe we can build a "shadow cabinet."

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-9.75, -8.21

jiordan's picture

we're that stupid. Or maybe just that ignorant, uninformed and too busy trying to survive to pay attention to what's going on outside our immediate circle.

I know the people here are aware this is bigger than just one person, or us as a group, or us as a nation, but for most people...I'm not sure that's the case. They're trying to get the bills paid, not have the house foreclosed on, juggle three (or more) jobs--the fact that Bernie's candidacy and the progressive movement around would help with all of that isn't penetrating the fog of daily life.

I actually had someone tell me once that they didn't pay any attention to politics because they didn't think it had anything to do with their life. Seriously. I was flabberghasted, but while I once thought of that person as an anomaly, I no longer do. Thanks to the dismantling of our education system (among other things) we no longer have an informed electorate and now people see CSPAN as just another reality television show that doesn't affect them at all.

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smiley7's picture

Millions, if not billions of tax dollars have been diverted by vouchers and clever Charter School beneficiaries in order to support a curriculum that teaches Jesus rode dinosaurs, 6,000 years ago…

Books and articles about closing the American mind and the deliberate 'dumbing-down' of our children abound, beginning particularly in the Reagan administration.

Who cares most about this, exposes it in his stump speeches and has been screaming it out loud for a political life-time?

It's been deeply harming that Republicans led this charge and it's demoralizing and disingenuous to a great degree when Democrats join in and accept this; turning a blind eye to the needy, our children and the future of humankind, (climate change).

Did I write blind? For what? More of the same, political power in which the third way rules no matter the horrendous consequences.

This power has already wrought devastation to far too many. WAR.

To want more of this is not only dumb, it's insane, imho.

Many thanks OPOL!

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pswaterspirit's picture

Went over signed myself in just to tip and rec. Left a pissy reply to one comment from someone that had joined 3 days ago.

Should you need my uncouth snotty self to provide future cover just give a shout. I, for one, have your back.

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WindDancer13's picture

Okay, so that was not a way to thank you. = )

You have my most sincere thanks for posting here as you are of the the writers I respected at DK, but I will not go there again. I greatly appreciate that I can still read your work.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

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Thanks for posting it here.

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