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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mannie who wrote (18954)	5/9/2003 12:47:03 AM
From: portage	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Once again, Greider proves himself one of the more adept and perceptive commentators. This is pretty much what we were telling the Nader voters would happen if they played spoiler in 2000, and sure enough, they gave 'em a leg up anyway. These things tend to go in cycles, but I'm in no mood to get stuck on the wrong end of this one. A cycle represents too much of the rest of my life, heh heh. My guess is the economy will give the tee-vee nation stooges enough kick in the ass to wake up from their Fox induced stupor - but it seems to take one too many bashes upside the head to make them realize what it means to vote in their own interests. Then again Greider nails it without quite closing the deal - the coherent alternative needs to be articulated better, but who will be the messenger, and how will the message be simplified, which seems to be a requirement these days ? He wraps it up with what seems obvious, but ungrasped by so many : the right's version of government is not a "smaller" government, just one that is reorganized to suit their agenda and constituents. That one's been lost in the headfake that is their brainless repetition of bashing anything remotely attached to government (which has become their hallmark), as if their current ownership and usage of government power didn't benefit their own cronies to the extreme : "Maybe what the right is really seeking is not so much to be left alone by government but to use government to reorganize society in its own right-wing image. All in all, the right's agenda promises a reordering that will drive the country toward greater separation and segmentation of its many social elements--higher walls and more distance for those who wish to protect themselves from messy diversity. The trend of social disintegration, including the slow breakup of the broad middle class, has been under way for several decades--fissures generated by growing inequalities of status and well-being. The right proposes to legitimize and encourage these deep social changes in the name of greater autonomy. Dismantle the common assets of society, give people back their tax money and let everyone fend for himself. Is this the country Americans want for their grandchildren or great-grandchildren? If one puts aside Republican nostalgia for McKinley's gaslight era, it was actually a dark and troubled time for many Americans and society as a whole, riven as it was by harsh economic conflict and social neglect of everyday brutalities. Autonomy can be lonely and chilly, as millions of Americans have learned in recent years when the company canceled their pensions or the stock market swallowed their savings or industrial interests destroyed their surroundings. For most Americans, there is no redress without common action, collective efforts based on mutual trust and shared responsibilities. In other words, I do not believe that most Americans want what the right wants. But I also think many cannot see the choices clearly or grasp the long-term implications for the country."