I'm Not Afraid Anymore.
If this entire primary has shown me one thing, it's that those who hold the levers of power want us to be afraid. Very afraid. I saw this in 2004, 2008 and in 2012 as well, but back in those days it wasn't so blatant as it is today. In 2008 I voted for Ralph Nader. And I'd do it again because the moment Obama won the primary that year he ran hard to the right from everything he claimed to support from Single Payer to same-sex marriage.
People keep telling me that I have to vote Democratic because Republicans don't give a shit about people with disabilities. Yet we see no actions from the Democrats in recent years that actually reflects this. Especially here in Florida, where the Democratic Party has all but abandoned us for the sake of keeping 'liberal' strongholds safe.
This year, if Bernie Sanders won't run as an Independent after the party of Clinton steals the nomination from him as they are poised to do, I'll vote for Jill Stein instead. I refuse to participate in what can only be described as Hobson's Choice. Some might be pissed at me for the choice I've made here, but that's fine. After all, they still blame us for Gore's loss in 2000 despite the fact that many in his own party voted for Bush and his brother Jeb went out of his way to rig Florida in his favor while the supreme court went on to appoint him president anyway.
But why should I give my power to a group of people who tell me again and again my voice doesn't matter? Why should anyone? Especially when they're relying on fear and outright dread to keep us in line?
See ya around,
Aspie
Comments
Keeping Americans Scared
In order to retain power, those who control the political economy have long tried to keep American citizens in a state pf perpetual fear. It started with Truman and the Cold War and picked up steam under Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers and McCarthyism.
Pick a topic and there seem to be people in power telling us how alarming it is: diseases; refugees; creeping socialism - whatever. Of course we are not encouraged to be afraid of things that may cost the 1% and their groupies money like climate change and obscene concentration of wealth.
If Obama picked Orrin Hatch's preferred choice for the Supreme, how much worse is a Trump pick. Most of the pro-corporate decisions have been 7 -2 or 6 - 3 in the past 20 years. Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said that in his tenure each retiring Justice was replaced by someone more conservative.
Vote your morals and ethics(sorry Clinton) and sleep soundly.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
This. Pretty much says it all.
And I'm sure Hillary's picks won't be a hell of a lot better than Trump's.
And on obscene wealth inequality and climate change...funny thing is, besides perpetual war, those 2 things are the very cause of things like disease, poverty, displacement of people from their homes and land and so on. Yet for some reason, nobody wants to address this within the scope of the 2-party cabal.
"But she cares about social issues like gay marriage" they say. My ass. If she gave a damn about that or anything else for that matter, Hillary's record would reflect that. It doesn't. And we know it.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Much of poverty and disease comes from monopoly
capital's worldwide reach(backed by the US military) and the "grow and profit or die" imperative causes massive disruptions in traditional, sustaining, societies.
Many diseases spread when there is widespread deforestation as in Indonesia and Brazil and there's deforestation because international capital wants the raw material to profit from and to hell with the people and plant and animal species. It's been shown that some disease carrying mosquitoes see a huge increase in their population because deforestation causes more forest edges where they thrive. Big Ag throws people off their land and replaces small family farms with plantation-style for-export crops. This turns the former owners into seasonal ag workers and impoverishes them. In addition, the practices of monoculture agriculture causes pollution and depletes the soil. It also results in the affected country to go from being food secure to being food insecure meaning that staple now have to be imported at greater cost than locally grown crops.
We can't afford this end stage capitalism and we can't afford to be afraid to take it on.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Growth for the sake of growth. It's the ideology of cancer.
And it consumes the host until the host dies a slow, excruciatingly painful death. That's where we are right now. I hate the fact that I don't know what to do about it. Even if I try to inform people I'm called everything from Socialist to Communist to Enabler. I guess people are going to have to learn this the hard way, like so many times before in human history. It's sad.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
People are learning the hard way.
There's been an unexpected jump of 500,000 deaths in white high school educated men because, it's said, they've lost their ability to support a family with the planned deindustrialization of the USA. Unfortunately, these men are blaming themselves and overdosing on alcohol, opioids, and committing suicide. (An Ivy league study)
These men are experiencing what blacks, Hispanics and American Indians have long lived with. They have become superfluous to the capitalist machine.
I don't think it's necessary to back off from using accurate descriptors like imperialism and monopoly capital and corporatism. These are terms with specific meanings and there are cases where it's proper and accurate to use them. If the Fox news addicts don't like it, they probably won't be receptive to dumbing down the discourse.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I know all about that.
Disabled folks have also had to live with economic disenfranchisement. That's a demographic anyone can join anytime, anywhere. One accident, one injury, one illness is all it takes. It can even happen at birth, like with me. I humor people when it comes to looking for employment, but I feel like there's no point when I'll just get laid off in a year or two. Probably less.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
"Obama picked Orrin Hatch's preferred choice for the Supreme..."
And Hillary tried campaigning as the continuation of the Obama regime. The Democrats cannot point to the GOP as being worse anymore, for they now ARE the GOP.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
Me neither
Thoughtful essay. Thanks for posting it.
Fear is the mindkiller. They want us ignorant and afraid. Well, screw that.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Great diary! Thanks for this.
And yup, I completely agree with all you wrote. The Democratic Party has screwed us SO hard, at every turn, that I will no longer retain my membership. I've been saying this for at least six months now, but if the Democratic Party does not nominate Bernie Sanders, I will be changing my party affiliation from "Democratic" to "Independent". I have been a registered Democrat for 28 years.
And I will not be voting for Hillary Clinton. Fuck her, man.
I'm not scared anymore, either.
It's nice to feel free from that, isn't it?
I miss Colorado.
Same here, and ...
I miss Colorado too(Montezuma County).
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Hillary people seem to think they don't need us.
That will be a learning experience for them, I predict.
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams
They think they don't need us.
I think they're counting on Establishment Republicans to elect them.
Thank you for sharing your voice
My thoughts exactly, I came to this realization earlier this year, doesn't it feel good!!!! You are awake, now help others to understand the truth- stop being afraid.
"The only thing we have to Fear, is Fear itself. FDR- one of the greatest presidents (liberal by the way) of all time.
the political system
is loathesome. I cannot vote for any 'establishment insider' candidate any longer and won't. the media continues to hype issues that are irrelevant to me and my life associating such irrelevant things to one party or the other further alienating me for what passes for a 'political system' which, in other words, everything 'establishment'
Thanks Aspie, I am moving in the same direction as you.
I am so far down on the totem pole that I had so many other problems day in an day out that I am past fearing politicians. Their PR fearisms are not on my radar screen. That is why Sanders' platform was so refreshing to hear because it did acknowledge things that was important to me.