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Well... it's summer-time and the hydrants are in full-flush -- this time with gushing verbiage from the New York Times and other media outlets over a heated wrangle about an allegedly racist Tea Party billboard in Iowa.
The entire news-world furore driving this issue is a massive exercise in false consciousness that seeks to deflect attention from the political idiocy of the tea-bag movement with a mis-focus on America's handy-dandy, sticky, obsession for all seasons.
Looking at the Iowa billboard the last thing any reasonable, objective observer could think is that it was racist. What in the world is racist about it other than the fact that Obama is black? Is it necessary to "white-face" a black man in order to avoid accusations of "racism "? Nothing in the billboard harps on anything racial.
If anything stands out from the billboard it is "SOCIALISM SOCIALISM SOCIALISM" The message is not Black Black Black but S O C I A L I S M.
And here we come to the utter, beyond moronic idiocy of the tea party movement : carping about "the far left, socialist policies of Barack Obama and the current administration".
And here we come to the utter, beyond moronic idiocy of the tea party movement : carping about "the far left, socialist policies of Barack Obama and the current administration".
Far left socialist policies of a candidate for office who was bankrolled by Goldman Sachs? The far left policies of a graduate from neo-liberal Harvard Inc. ? What kind of drivelling nonsense is that? I have said it on my blog (Woodchip) and I'll say it again BISMARCK was more left than Barack Obama.
Yes ... the Great Otto Von Bismarck who (after a secret rendezvous with Germany's socialist leader) stole socialist thunder and instituted what is known as "state socialism" -- the socialism-within-capitalism that is the basis for modern European social democracy. When accused of dread and evil socialism by his own conservative party, Bismarck shrugged "Call it socialism or what you will, it's all the same to me."
The true meta-political fact is that (whatever else they might have called for) Soviet Socialism, National Socialism, Fascism, Falangism, and "Social Democracy" all espoused certain institutionalized social benefits deemed basic to the social compact and fabric. As President Sarkozy said in his recent trip to the U.S., his countrymen beheld our disastrous (lack of) health-care debate with astonishment and found it "incomprehensible" that anyone would be denied health care. So too would have Bismarck, Bonaparte, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, and ultimately Bevans who introduced "socialism" into England. "The collective principle asserts," he said, "that no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means."
This is not to say that the "collective principle" has been without a voice in America. On the contrary; a progressive idealism, often drawing strength from religious conceptions, has long been an engaging and redeeming feature in the American political landscape. In fact shortly before he died even FDR aimed to bring up America up to Bismarckian standards. (See his Economic Bill of Rights speech on Youtube or here ).
Since then, however, there has been a massive, coordinated and consistent effort funded and spearheaded by reactionary corporate and banking interests to de-educate the American public. As a result, there is a profoundly ignorant and intellectually diseased disconnect in American political discourse that prevents people from seeing that the political message of the billboard makes no more sense than the braying of an ass.
The capitalist-run press and the Pundits of Destraction that shape what passes for American political consciousness would rather NOT focus on the true meaning and evolution of "socialism" and on how politically retarded the American social compact has become. Rather than educate people on the imbecility that drives the Tea Party movement, the press would rather we all obsess over America's perennial bugbear ... racism.
Blech.
This is not to say that the "collective principle" has been without a voice in America. On the contrary; a progressive idealism, often drawing strength from religious conceptions, has long been an engaging and redeeming feature in the American political landscape. In fact shortly before he died even FDR aimed to bring up America up to Bismarckian standards. (See his Economic Bill of Rights speech on Youtube or here ).
Since then, however, there has been a massive, coordinated and consistent effort funded and spearheaded by reactionary corporate and banking interests to de-educate the American public. As a result, there is a profoundly ignorant and intellectually diseased disconnect in American political discourse that prevents people from seeing that the political message of the billboard makes no more sense than the braying of an ass.
The capitalist-run press and the Pundits of Destraction that shape what passes for American political consciousness would rather NOT focus on the true meaning and evolution of "socialism" and on how politically retarded the American social compact has become. Rather than educate people on the imbecility that drives the Tea Party movement, the press would rather we all obsess over America's perennial bugbear ... racism.
Blech.
"Call it socialism or what you will; it's all the same to me."
