American Disappointment
Posted: Friday, January 01, 2010
by Joel Hirschhorn
http://www.delusionaldemocracy.com
My anger has morphed into sadness, heartbreak actually. As the decade of zeros ends I see nothing but a tragic, historic and deadening American Disappointment, a terrible replacement for a once noble American Dream. The Great Recession was merely one symptom of the nation's slide into slime, a quicksand created by the two-party plutocracy.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was right about the past decade: "It was a decade in which nothing good happened, and none of the optimistic things we were supposed to believe turned out to be true. the decade in which we achieved nothing and learned nothing." Do you think children noticed?
The decade of numerical zeros was also the decade of nothing. Nothing, as in not having a home anymore, not having enough money for food, not having health insurance, not having a decent job anymore, not having the friend or relative that lost their life in Iraq or Afghanistan, not having money and financial security for retirement and old age, not having any more illusions about politicians like President Obama who sell themselves as agents of change and reform but end up like all the other lying plutocracy-serving political hacks, only this time hiding behind blackness. But learning nothing is even worse than having and achieving nothing. Worse, because nothing is likely to stop the slide into slime. Nothing promised by Democrats or Republicans is likely to revive the American Dream, now replaced by the American Disappointment.
Tyranny can prosper along with elections and even freedom. That should have been a lesson learned by the many millions of Americans victimized by corporations and dysfunctional government agencies that did nothing to protect them from the greed, incompetence and criminality that savaged them. What is even more inscrutable is that we do not see Americans rising up in righteous, populist anger and discontent to tear down the system killing them. Why is there such stability in a system so corrupt, disgraceful and unjust?
This is the great mystery that defines the American Disappointment. A country founded on revolution is so sick it cannot see the need to use it again against domestic, elected tyranny.
Our Constitution provides the path to a peaceful Second American Revolution, yet Americans do not even get excited when they hear that Congress has refused to obey the Constitution and the option in Article V for a convention of state delegates that could propose constitutional amendments. An option put there by the Founders because they anticipated the day when citizens would lose trust in the government. Nor do they become enraged when it is pointed out that Congress flagrantly disobeys the Constitution and their oath of office because they fear constitutional amendments that could truly reform the political system, ones that they would never propose. The nation is filled with constitutional hypocrites more than willing to ignore a piece of their beloved Constitution that Congress refuses to honor. As if it does not matter. Just the supreme law of the land and the rule of law smashed with the invisible fist of ignorance. By itself, enough for a revolution, once upon a time.
Wait, perhaps all this grief over my country does not really matter. After all, in about a hundred years there will be a whole new set of Americans. Maybe they will be in an even more devastated condition than today. Then, finally, the revolution may appear. Wish I could be there. Wish you could be there.
Here's a resolution for the New Year: As a US citizen I will act responsibly and do everything I can to get strong reforms of our political and government system. Start with becoming a member of Friends of the Article V Convention at foavc.org.
This Article has been viewed 169 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Spot on Joel! Your comment; "we do not see Americans rising up in righteous, populist anger and discontent to tear down the system killing them."
It just hasn't gotten bad enough yet, but it's getting there. We're still better off than third world countries, but barely for the poor. When the middle class is priced out of the health care market and begin showing up in emergency rooms, or trying to treat themselves and end up dying while expensive cars move hurriedly through their neighborhoods with doors locked and windows rolled up, that might be the tipping point. .
Typically the surge begins when a strong leader voices the discontent of the people. That can never happen in our political system because by the time someone amasses the wealth required to run for office, they have effectively been neutralized, which means that a movement must come from some other power base, portending something quite revolutionary. It can happen suddenly. Even though the signs of discontent may simmer for a long time many don't notice unless they are affected personally.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.