Time flies. We'll never know who said that first but it's true. I'm 57 and sometimes it seems like it all happened in the blink of an eye. “Seems just like yesterday. . . . “
Segments of your life happen quickly also. Before you know it you're telling people you've owned your home for twenty years, or you've worked for a company for fifteen years, or that your kids are in college, or that you've been blogging for five years. Before you know it the war in Afghanistan is the longest war in U.S. history. Before you know it Obama is up for reelection. Seems like yesterday that Pete Seeger was singing "This Land is My Land, This Land is Your Land" at Obama's inauguration, unfortunately making the same mistake as many of us.
Before you know it, what you wrote three years ago can be cut and pasted and published again because you keep saying the same shit over and over again. Before you know it you've reached a stage in your life where you can't take the bullshit anymore, and you realize those that still do simply haven't been paying attention.
I should give myself a break, as should all those growing increasingly concerned about the state of the country as well as impatient for any prospects to do anything about it. It’s not been all that long that it became clear the republic had been driven to the edge of a cliff. Democracy in this country was never peachy but since 9/11, in the space of eleven years, we’ve seen an astounding level of audacity from those that rule us.
We had the Obama Hope and Change interlude in 2008 which actually did have much of the country hoping Obama could change things. At that point, there weren’t massive numbers of citizens completely disaffected, Obama did provide some hope through his words combined with the symbolism of being the first black President. I’ve read comments from Howard Zinn, Noah Chomsky, Chris Hedges and other progressive/liberal notables where even they were hopeful that Obama would attempt to carry through on his rhetoric. But nearly four years of Obama have deflated the hopes of all but the most faithful political partisans and convinced great numbers that our representative system of government is hopelessly corrupted and only serves the interest of the plutocracy. America’s slogan should be, “Money talks, bullshit walks”. The citizens in this case are the bullshit.
So before you know it you’re contemplating about the Revolution again. What revolution? I don’t know, the one in your imagination. When you get to the point where you believe that the political system and the resulting governance is so irredeemably corrupt, you think about Revolution, taking it to the streets, the people fighting back against the machine. That’s not weird, it’s fucking normal. Humans have been doing it forever and are doing it as we speak. It’s just when we talk about it in the good ole U.S. A. it’s derided and derailed as crazy hippie or violent anarchist talk. The sixties are over dude, get over it. The people have been brainwashed to believe revolution means violence and it can’t be accomplished with Peace, Love, and Dope. Bullshit, a revolution means solidarity and purpose.
I wrote this three years ago:
We know our government systems are corrupt. We know Wall Street, big banks and the Federal Reserve have effectively stolen the wealth from the majority and given it to the few. We know the illegal attacks and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan were mounted for corporate and imperialist interests, not because of terrorists. We know the reason we can't get single payer health care reform is because of the corporate plutocracy that has completely taken over the Congress and Senate. We know the reason the term "jobless recovery" was floated in the first place was to get the populace accustomed to the fact that it will indeed be, a jobless recovery, i.e, the rich get richer and the rest of us take a step back, or two.
That was October 2009, eight months after Obama had been President. My opinion remains the same and considering what has happened in the three years since, it’s much stronger relative to how this country is governed.
Time flies man. Before you know it 150 million people or so will cast their votes for President of the United States. I’m not sure why, there isn’t any hope and change this time around. What is it this time? It’s not clear, it’s almost like the country is in a trance at this point.
Election
Me Vote
Before you know it everything seems like some of the science fiction you read forty years ago. How the hell did they know?
Forty one years ago:
"I'd Love to Change the World"
Still Do
Time flies.
"Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity
Tax the rich, feed the poor
Till there are no rich no more?I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to youPopulation keeps on breeding
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy
Life is funny, skies are sunny
Bees make honey, who needs money, MonopolyI'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to youWorld pollution, there's no solution
Institution, electrocution
Just black and white, rich or poor
Them and us, stop the warI'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you"
Comments
Just contemplating.
I like that word.
Have you contemplated today? It's good for the soul.
Really like this somber essay
You pretty much summed up the arc of the last era. Sad. Waddya gonna do?
Enjoyed the essay, Al.
It brought to mind Al Sandine's "Taming of the American Crowd", which is a great collection of stories about how crowds have worked in different contexts. Touches on a lot of why we don't do revolution in this country, despite how commonplace it has been as long as man has ruled man.
Run D.M.C. eventually ended up sampling themselves, man. You're in good company.
Great essay, Al
Here's a great mashup with that song.
Thanks priceman,
Couldn't seem to embed a video. That's the one.
Is that hope or tactics?
If a neoliberal Hedge Fund Democrat talks some nice rhetoric, with all of his actual policy proposals falling far short of the rhetoric, as perforce they must ...
... what do you do? Do you call on the new administration to live up to their rhetoric ... or do you conclude that its no hope?
And if you don't call on the new administration to live up to their rhetoric, and they don't, couldn't someone later argue that if only the administration had been challenged to live up to their rhetoric, perhaps they might have done so?
What was so disappointing in 2009 was that so few were willing to work on a progressive Plan A, in case the Plan B of asking the Obama administration to abandon the bulk of the policy positions they had run on and instead live up to their rhetoric didn't work out.