Alright, I know we aren't going to make Romney king, even if he wins the election, which at this point, I believe is entirely likely. But that is not really the point of this cartoon.
The country is moving rapidly toward rule by the wealthy. They have, in many regards, purchased the government and the Republican Party (where they have always resided, anyway.) The "lumpen proletariat" (which used to mean those very numerous people at the low end of society who could not be organized or enlightened to the cause of resisting the wealthy) has now become the "lumpen middle class".
I see the middle class as now composed of a great number of people who cannot be expected to vote in their own interest, who cannot be expected to think about constructing the future. They are so busy trying to cling to whatever it is they now have - to preserve their shaky hold on simple prosperity - to be expected to look at the future as a better place. I suppose they hope that someone will magically fix things in the long run, someone else, of course.
There is no point in pretending that most of the people we are talking about are not the white people. These are the folks who let their industries move away, who saw their state and federal treasuries looted by the economic aristocracy, and who now sit back lackadaisically and watch their public schools being destroyed. In fact, many of these white people have gladly contributed to the demise of their institutions because they hate other races so much. They never wanted those minorities in their neighborhoods, their schools, their unions, or anywhere else near to them. Now their very democracy is sliding away.
So, welcome king Romney! not as an ordinary king, but as a representative of a class who are now seizing the United States.
21 comments:
I would amend the second to last paragraph to read "white men" rather than "white people."
Well put, and I agree with Sparty too. I will have to digest a bit before commenting further. It all makes me sad.
It is RIGHT on target. Good thing our grandchildren are white.
( note; white is no longer greater than 50% of the population in the U.S. )
The Doctor is in...No need to feel depressed by appearances as "O" will win in November and the New Great Society will continue to unfold.
In fact, I will take wagers on this outcome. However, as you are leaning toward Romney, I would like some odds. I should get some advantage as I am betting on the return of the Messiah.
I believe that people in my generation and the generation immediately following are blissfully unaware of the crisis this democracy faces, the threat of Corporate and Class rule, or the cost in the long run of not incorporating into our society everyone who lives here.
The alternative to this explanation for how threatening things are, would be that I am totally wrong. I often am. In the long run, my fears usually turn out to be overblown. (This probably won't stop me from making judgments and predictions.)
I'm quite certain that the Republican resurgence in the last election and the one coming in the next election are a result of the election of a "black man" to the presidency.
In my humble opinion, the emergence of Romney, or any of the other soon to appear wealthy candidates in politics, is simply the normal progression of the United States to a second or third world nation. We will eventually be a nation of haves and have nots.
The other beauty of politics, today, is that politics is the pathway to wealth. Look at the Clintons, now worth over $100,000,000.00 and growing. They were broke when they left the White House. Another example is that after a stint in congress, one has a future in lobbying which is another road to wealth. Politics is a great business and it is limited to the few...and soon to be rich if one can rise high enough. I will also wager that "O" will be a wealthy man within 10 years after his second term.
You are recognizing the level of corruption that we have come to accept. No one is doing public service any more. They are getting elected and getting rich.
Bribery is now standard behavior.
The disease has infected more than elected politicians. The revolving door in the federal regulatory agencies in which the regulators and the corporate execs switch jobs guarantees that regulations meant to protect the public are ignored or passively enforced.
There must be a resignation, in the top of the business community, that they will have to spend some time in government positions. This service will be the necessry action to allow them to move up the spiral ladder to the top of the corporate heap.
One works at Goldman-Sachs, then resigns to be an official, then after all of the correct decisions are made, they can retire to spend more time with their families and go back into the business community at some more lofty status. This action is similar to the requirements that used to be put on the local GM and banking officials to serve on United Way, etc.. Possibly this is just something that is required for upward mobility.
My greatest comfort from all of this is that minds much greater than mine are involved.
Ye Gads. So, what are we saying? That all of American society is now corrupted? Is there no beacon of dedication and honesty out there?
I recall an article by Lewis Lapham in Harper's over a decade ago in which he talked about the rise of a class of Americans, educated in Ivy League schools and elite public schools which he said had ceased to view themselves, in any real sense, as Americans. They operated huge investment pools and ran international corporations, and as a result had come to view the U.S. as just another country among many in which to dabble. Their imperative is to maximize their profits and interests, and they have therefore been obligated to push policies like free trade, lower taxation on corporations and the wealthy, and the transfer of risk (like health care and retirement costs) from companies to individuals.
Ten years on, I'd say he was spot on.
The racial aspects of this may explain some voting patterns, but I don't think they matter all that much to the folks at the top.
I think you (and Latham) are probably right about that, but my interest in this posting was the behavior of ordinary Americans who don't want minorities in their neighborhoods, their schools, their unions,their work places, or their public offices. They are willing to sacrifice any of these things just to stay away from blacks, and to a lesser extent, any other races.
I identified these people as whites, and Sparty would amend that to white men, in particular.
I think your essay raises an even more perplexing issue - why do so many white males vote against their own self interest? I understand why it's in the interest for many in the business community to rob the public, but why do so many white males in the working class support public policies that benefit the wealthy few to their own detriment?
Are you really sure that most people think or register what they hear until it immediately effects them? Two examples. 1.) An acquantaince of mine called me up screaming about what O'Bama was think of where he put the donut hole in Obamacare. Have you ever heard of a donut hole, Alice? She asked. It seems for the first time she has fallen into it and was informed of that fact by her pharmisist. Never heard of it until that point. 2) An eighty one year old woman was telling me that the people on welfare are lazy,Expletive) who have six or 8 or 8 or 10 kids. All they need to do is go out and find a job. I said there aren't enough jobs for all the people that need them. Oh, yes there are, she said. Then she proceeded to tell me how tight her money situation is becoming and how she has applied for 8 jobs in the last 2 months and has heard nothing. ??????????????
I read one of Joe Baigent's books a few years ago, I think it was Deer Hunting with Jesus. He said this of the poor and uneducated white people voting against their interests: what they have had going for them in the past was simply that they were not black (substitute whatever minority you want nowadays). Now that things have changed, society has tried to make things more equal, plus unskilled manufacturing jobs have gone overseas, what do they have left? They have been left behind,sacrificed in the name of global capitalism, and so look to blame someone. The minorities are an easy scapegoat.
I am uncomfortable making comments like the one above, I think it sounds snobbish, but I don't think the level of public discourse in the US helps people to comprehend the causes of changes in the economy and who benefits and who pays. Here's the really snobby comment, people are ignorant - I don't know who is to blame. TV? Newspapers? A low value placed on education?
What Alice and Irene talk about illustrates what I think is a main point. People are simply befuddled by the complexities of social and economic conditions. They fall back on their traditional assumptions and prejudices, which some politicians feed with lots of propaganda.
It doesn't seem to matter what cost they pay for these attitudes, they simply cannot get themselves beyond them. A decent liberal politician with some charisma could probably do a lot of good, but where is this person --- or is this just a "knight in shining armor" delusion that will never come to pass.
Is anybody really surprised by the concept that the populace is "befuddled" by present conditions. Does anybody really think that the candidates, whether Obama or Romney, either know or are telling the truth?
The reality can be best summated by Nicholson"s "You can't handle the truth". There are problems. Apparently there is nobody either capable or willing to deal with them.
Everybody says we want politicians to speak the truth. However, we all have our own definition of "truth" and for too many of us that truth includes the belief that we can fight wars without paying for them and we can have public services without paying for them - as long as we eliminate services for less deserving people. 'I need my services but he doesn't need his.'
No, you can't believe politicians. But you can read the label, and no one is going to get anything from the conservative parties unless you are already rich and powerful.
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