Beware: You’ll have to read…not too many Hyperlinks of instant gratification.
Whether you support Phineas T. Bluster, fillibuster, or filibuster, there are lessons from the Activism occurring as late.
You see, in this modern world, everything is geared to the hyperactive. We react to our surroundings, and emerging memes. We come from an everday sort of commenting, joking around, making friends of those faceless nicks, to an all out assault on the outrage of the day. “Full speed ahead”. Stop Alito! The corruption!, etc..
The Republican side of the aisle has spent close to Forty years building their Network… without the Internet.
They bought businesses, they financed Media, they developed think tanks. They were at the Elk’s Club, and the VFW. They nodded to each other as they met on Church Night. Of course, that was the less evil side of their larval development. There was also the meetings behind closed doors at those same businesses, and clubs, not to mention, those closed doors at the Board of Commissioners, and State Boards of Elections. It was almost a Chinese way of looking to the long term. And now, they are in complete control, possibly longer than we hope, or plan.
So, What’s your point?
We have to continue speak out against the corporate takeover of our Country, we must continue to Fax, and blog (Damn, I hate that word), to write those letters on lined papers ( as Sen. Byrd has suggested, these had more effect on him), but more than that, we need to get back to the old Democratic Party. Not this modern facade of Centrist hogwash, not this “progressive attack everyone, and everything that doesn’t agree, but the old fashioned Tip O’Neil kind. He never forgot the name or face of a person he met.
Every Democratic Office had a Constituent Services that “rocked”. I don’t care what you say about nepotism, and inside pull, it worked. When Uncle Harry needed a job, he got it. When Aunt Mary was worried about her landlord, and the heat, she got the call to him from “someone”, and it was taken care of. The working class were protected, and connected to the politics of life. They knew someone, who knew someone, who could help, and that person was always a Democrat!. But that was then…. We have lost them. We have lost the working class.
The elitist progressive movement, even with all of its good points of ecological preservation, and honest government,etc. has become an aggressive affront to the local communities. When some local official is inundated with hundreds of phone calls, thousands of emails, over the local outrage du Jour, I’m sorry, but that old man (and they are all old white men) from the countryside, is just NOT going to react in most cases, favorably.
You can be an unabashed Liberal Democrat, a Centrist, a Progressive, yes, even a DINO, all in one person. The very old, and tiring joke, from Will Rogers, no longer applies. We are no longer that disparate mosh, rather, we are splintered. We are splintered into Caucuses: The Black Caucus, the Democratic Women, The Teens, Seniors, and Latino. Who speaks for the mean old Republican…sheesh, just about every other Republican on the planet. They are a machine. They are Borg. How did they get that way?
Consider the Voting machine fiascos occuring around the Country. We have BOEs, and BOCs reacting to citizen input like they never have before. JHC, I’ll bet half of them are just right proud of the fact that they have email now. With the aggressive campaigns to “inform” them, dissuade, or persuade them…they will react as all humans do…this way..no, maybe this way…nevermind… EFF IT, I’m just saying No.
We need to build from the very localist of local. We knew in 2000 how bad the problem of voting machines was…Oh sure we beat the blogs everday, cajoled the media, sent emails…but guess what? It didn’t work.
It starts with having a beer with the dogcatcher…go to your local precinct meetings, attend that function at the library…BUT not as a progressive, or some such. Bring the paperwork, or news item to show Bob the Mayor, or Jane the Commissioner. Tell the Plumber to pull up his pants, or you’ll vote Republican, and he’ll lose his benefits ( trust me, he’ll laugh). Do it well in advance. Plan now for 2008, and beyond. Go as an American. Go as a Democrat for the People…not a cause. Be Proud, unbowed.
… but we have changed as a culture. Not only our core values have changed. We don’t make our own steel or medicine anymore. Skilled workers are decreasing and service workers are increasing.
No wonder the unions are in retreat. The demographic that used to be the backbone of the labor movement is greatly diminished.
The same type good folks that brought us Enron have succeeded in moving most of their labor problems offshore and now are accomplishing the movement to delegate their computer jobs and semi-skilled software jobs etc. to India.
In my opinion, this is not a problem that will be solved by a better more common man oriented political strategy. In other words, the Democratic party doesn’t seem to have a soul sometimes because we as a country have lost our soul. Until we as a people get our soul, our sense of right and wrong, our integrity and honor back neither will the Democrats as a party.
As I’ve said before on Kos and other places, the thing that is needed is a paradigm shift away from materialistic global values to more spiritual local values. The thing that Democrats can do is provide the leadership for this change, the paradigm shift. If they can do it properly Americans can make the planet our home, and without hurting others, make the global personal.
I don’t believe that America has lost it’s soul. AND i don’t believe in paradigms neither.
You have real people, who love their families, get up every day, if their lucky, and drag themselves off to work. Their conscious lives are filled with worry, and woe, joy and relief. Talk to them, maybe you’ll see, it’s less a loss of spirit, and more the rise of corporate greed.
I hesitate to get into a prolonged discussion because we are so far apart from the jump-side.
But, I am a common man who has worked all my life in jobs many people would never consider. I served in the Ameican military during the Vietman conflict.
Materialistic values versus spiritual values. We, the common folks, have lost our spiritual base. Just for starters, Americans should have a spiritual base that would never allow them, the common American folks, to invade the sovereign territory of another and torture and kill 100,000 people in a “war” against WMDs that didn’t exist. Our army is made up of common folks. Just like Hitler’s was.
We have no conscience, otherwise it would not permit us to do the thing we (Bush) do to support our materialistic lifestyle. A people without a conscience have no soul.
BTW, a paradigm is just a way of describing something, not something you believe in or not.
A paradigm shift is described by Encarta as radical change: a radical change in somebody’s basic assumptions about or approach to something.
especially if they seem to be missing the “irony gene”. I would spell and define the word paradigm, discuss it at length, into the wee hours, fifty years ago. Guess what…couldn’t care less now.
My few words above were meant to redirect the aggressiveness, and immediacy of action. It has occassionally brought fruition, but in the ways of the world, time,and hard grunt work will prevail every time. Cloture, has occurred, as you know. All the vehemence, and faxes, and life or death actions…to no avail.
This isn’t about Spirit, or Soul, it’s about people. If you believe they are the enemy, they will be.
I’m a crotchety old man, not quick of written word, but everyday, I work for the Democratic Party, to support those that support a true Liberal Agenda, and occassionally, I will feel the need to express a simple feeling. In most cases, I run up against an argument over simple thoughts. Why is everyone looking for a fight? I blame the Lithuanians…yeh, that’s the ticket.
….. make you rusty? Sorry for a bad joke. I’m a crusty old fart too so don’t feel alone. I don’t believe people are the enemy, just lame.
Good evening old man.