Demagogues

In ancient Greece, the demagogues were the vocal defenders of democracy. The word shares the same root (demos) as the word democracy. Nowadays the TV and radio extremists like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others are also referred to as demagogues. This seems ironic because it is my impression of these people is that they are anything but defenders of democracy. In fact, I would say they are opposed to democracy.

It seems to me that the overriding principle of democracy is compromise. The democratic system of government is constructed in such a way as to take into account differing views and opinions and create policy and law that reflects widespread agreement – often referred to as ‘consensus.’ The media extremists who plague our airwaves do not seem interested in compromise. They seem to advocate dictatorship, not democracy.

Limbaugh is responsible for the extreme polarization of politics in the US right now. He’s proud of this fact. But he’s a practitioner of a type of thinking that is recognized by psycho-therapists as not healthy. It’s called ‘black-and-white’ thinking and it isn’t a reference to old movies. It’s a description of a mind-set that is a constellation of pre-conceived notions (often referred to as 'ideology') that are imposed on reality and thru which events are interpreted and judged. It insists on dividing the real world into all bad (black) or all good (white) without any shades of grey. It praises and condemns without regard for facts or truths. The problem is that the basic assumptions that are at the foundation of black-and-white thinking are usually completely false.

You can see why black and white thinking and democracy are incompatible. Basically, democracy synthesizes positions which may be direct opposites (black or white) into workable agreements which represent grey areas in-between the black and white positions. This how we’re supposed to get things done in the US. It is government of the people, by the people and for the people rather than government by the King, Queen, Emperor, Pope or other hierarchical personage.

I think you see where my little essay is going – Limbaugh and his cohorts are NOT the voices of democracy but of top-down hierarchical government – what we commonly call dictatorship.

Dictatorships are built on propaganda. That’s really the only way you can have a dictatorship in this world. You have to lie to people and convince them you are telling them the truth, get them to believe you and then get them to believe in you as the source of all truth. Enter Limbaugh. The Source of All Truth.

I’ve been reading about Hitler and I was surprised to learn that one of his understandings, early on in his life before he even entered politics, was the value of propaganda. He held very extreme political views and he understood that he had to disseminate his views via well-crafted propaganda and thereby convince people to agree with and follow him.

Which is what Limbaugh has done. He’s lied to people for 2 decades and yet successfully convinced people to follow him. He’s not Hitler. I don’t think he seeks any kind of political office or power. Most observers think he just wants influence. And he has a lot. He and his venomous cohorts are responsible for the governmental gridlock and right-wing extremism that is infecting our country right now. From the inability to compromise and get anything done in Washington to the assaults on basic human rights taking place in state houses all across the country, Limbaugh and his cronies are the source, the cause.

Thus it is good news that the current Limbaugh crisis may signal the end of his ‘demagogue’ career. He has gone too far – as all dictators and dictator wannabees always do. But he’s also done us a favor. His excesses, extremism and mean, callous and vicious attacks on people have had so much influence and created so much extreme right-wing political activity that people seem to be finally waking up to what has been happening and how much damage has already been done.

I think a large correction is coming. Will it be a large-scale rejection of the Republican extremists and a shift to the Democrats? I don’t know. I also don’t think that would be what is best for our nation. Rather than just swing from right to left, I would prefer that we work to repair and restore our democracy. I think it would be better if we return to civil political discourse, and public debates and discussions where people could speak openly about their ideas and offer proposals that would be given fair consideration, without being attacked and vilified by extremist ideologues.

Wouldn’t it be better if we could return to a time when all ideas could be put ‘on the table’ and where the mainstream really includes the vast majority of American citizens?

Democracy is government from the bottom up, so to speak. People like Limbaugh and the right-wing extremists in power right now are really are trying to create government from the top down (with them and their followers at the top, of course!) They haven’t been totally successful yet and there is still time to reverse the damage that’s already been done. Will we all wake up in time? Will we take action?

Stay tuned……

The Promised Land

I recently ran across a complete discography of the great film composer Ennio Moricone. As I was browsing the cds I noticed a film-score for a film I had never heard of: Sacco and Vanzetti from the early 1970’s. Joan Baez was credited for the music as well as Morricone. I copied the tracks to my MP3 player so I could listen to the music while I was enjoying my work out.

Well, the soundtrack blew me away. There are several really excellent songs. One of them has been stuck in my head since I first played it. It’s contains lyrics which include the poem from the Statue of Liberty (“Give me your tired and your poor…’) and the Sermon on the Mount (‘Blessed are…’) and it refers to America as the promised land. (Joan Baez video.) As I was listening I almost began to cry when I realized that the America evoked in the song no longer exists. I realized America has gone from a place welcoming the tired, poor and downtrodden - and practicing the profound teachings of the Sermon on the Mount - to a place of fear, hate, meanness, ugliness, selfishness, disunity, divisiveness, recrimination, blame, deep-seated racism; where the needs of the many are eclipsed by the greed of the few; and much more. It seems only a matter of time before we alter the Statue of Liberty verses to read: “Go back where you came from; we don’t want you; you’re too needy; you’re just a burden. Go somewhere else and be someone else’s problem. We don’t care. Get lost.”

Everything positive that America once was (and we - you and I - once were) is gone. And what is left is barely recognizable as America at all. It’s more like some other failed nation from somewhere else in the world or sometime in the past.

It’s not the America of hope but a nation of despair.

Maybe this just upsets me because I’m a nostalgic old fart. But I have believed for my entire life that America is a completely unique nation – both in the global sense and in the historical sense. America is not unique because of its consumerism, militarism or imperialism. It’s unique because it once welcomed the “tired and poor” and was once seen as the embodiment of hope. That image of the Promised Land isn’t just historical nostalgia. That image was real - at least for my grandfathers and grandmothers who came from Italy about 100 years ago. And for many other people whose ancestors came here as recently as 4, 5 or 6 generations ago.

When did America go from being the land of hope to the land of despair? What happened? Why did it happen? Can we restore hope? I really believe we can. I think it requires that we all stop focusing on our differences and instead start re-focusing on our similarities, our commonalities. We have to go from obsessing about what separates us to joyfully affirming what unites us. We are all Americans. We all want this to be the best nation on Earth – not just for some of us but for all of us. We know how to make this happen. We know what to do and how to do it. We just lack the vision (by which I mean that we cannot see past our collective despair) and the political will. There’s a Bible quote that says: “Without vision the people perish,” (Proverbs 29:18.) Well, America is perishing; we’re perishing. And it doesn’t have to be this way. When will we wake up?

PentaGod

The First Commandment says “I am the Lord Thy God, thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” (Specifically: I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.)

That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? “You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them… visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation…” Indeed, it was our fathers who chose this path to endless war and we, their children, are now suffering.

We, the citizens of the Unite States, the nation which considers itself a Judaeo-Christian nation, do not follow this commandment. We worship another God – the Pentagon. Jesus said “Where your treasure is there shall your heart be also,” (Matthew 6:21) Our ‘treasure’ is our annual Federal tax revenue. One half goes to war. We collect enough money in tax revenue to pay for all the things we need, but we don’t spend it on what we actually need. We waste it on the Pentagon. And we wonder why we are poor, why we have no money for healthcare, schools, roads and infrastructure, scientific research, alternative energy technologies, and many other socially beneficial things.

What I propose is this: that we spend no more on the military than our next nearest rival which is China. They spent 114 billion dollars in 2010. We should spend no more than that. Such a drastic reduction in our military spending would free up vast amounts of money for other things.

People’s History

When I first started hearing about the Occupy movement I was immediately reminded of Robert Thurman’s book Inner Revolution in which he proposes a full-time, supported and even paid nonviolent peace army which would fight for justice, peace and changes in our society. It seemed to me the Occupy people were taking the first step toward being full-time activists and establishing ‘permanent’ protests instead of the ‘temporary’ protests and marches (however effective) used in the past. I just read the January issue of Shambhala Sun and there is an excerpt of a speech he gave in Zuccotti Park which references the ideas from his book.

I have also been thinking of Howard Zinn who argued that all true change in our society comes from the grassroots and travels ‘upward’. He didn’t live to see Occupy but it’s almost as if the Occupy people are all his students. People’s History, indeed!

And, ironically, there is a new documentary about Gene Sharp (the granddaddy of non-violent activism) which just came out and is being shown in theaters as well as Occupy sites all over the country.

Looking at the Republicans (?) who are 'running' for President I can't help but notice how loony they all are - maybe downright stupid. This made me realize there is an Obama effect happening. The Tea Party is rooted in racism, and I think this latest manifestation of Tea Party politics is also racist. I think that, in the back of their minds, these loony Tea Party Republicans are thinking: "Well, last time a Black guy won. So how hard could this be? Go for it!" None of them have any real credibility. (At least McCain was a Senator.) Most of these people hold elected offices but it's unclear how any of them could have gotten elected. Maybe their voters felt sorry for them....

“U.S. President Barack Obama suddenly takes hard-line stances against his Republican political adversaries after over two years of meek accommodation.” (recent headline)

I’m really tired of seeing all the negative stuff from the Left about Obama’s ‘meekness.’ It has been my belief all throughout his administration (so far) that he clearly understands what others do not understand: the Right-wing threat is much bigger and more menacing than others would admit. It’s not ‘democracy-as-usual’ to the Right-wing extremists. They are trying to take over the government and wreck it. They are about as anti-American as you could believe. I feel Obama has been taking a reasonable, flexible, conciliatory position with them so as to throw their extremism into sharp relief and make the American people see how dangerous these Right-Wingers really are. In my opinion, he’s trying to prevent a Right-Wing coup. I think his tactic is starting to work – the deficit debacle made some people see how reckless and dangerous these extremists are. I think voters might be waking up.