Thanks Dave, I read the piece.
You might be surprised to hear, however, that I look to the US for my inspiration and not to Europe. Not political inspiration, anything but, I might add, but emotional --- for as long as I can remember I have been a lover of American music --- jazz. And when I say lover, I mean it, seriously. Through jazz I learned to feel the aspiration and inspiration of those who created the music and who endowed it on the rest of the world --- the American people. Thus you will immediately detect a contradiction in me --- as much as I hate the present US administration, and what it represents, I love, admire and respect the American people for their gift to the world, and to me.
So, in the circumstances, I have to believe the answer to the present polemic will come from the Americans, themselves --- but not the politicians, not those who manipulate the politicians, not the government, not the bankers, not those who print the money, not the CEOs of the major corporations, not those who wear military uniforms, not the media, not the lawyers, not the academics, not the religionists --- but the people. Unfortunately, the voice of the American people has been suppressed by the various institutions which have developed in their name and which now are destroying them, like Frankenstein destroyed its maker. As you are an American, I am quite sure you appreciate this far better than I do. In fact, I have no doubt that if America is to survive, certainly in the way it was, the massive institutions which now dominate it have to be brought under control of the "people". I do not know how this will be done or even if it can be but, if it is not done, then the Americans, initially, and the rest of the world, later, can anticipate being enslaved by a collection of faceless monsters --- irrespective of whether they are socialists, capitalists, free-marketeers, libertarians, liberals, democrats, right-wingers, conservatives, whatever.
For your amusement, here are some quizzes which give insights into one's political leanings (which hardly matter in the scheme of things).
theadvocates.org
csmonitor.com
For what it's worth, I do the first one quite often and never get the same result. In fact, I find I can be a liberal one day and a conservative the next. But, on the basis of the second quiz, I am never a neocon. Fortunately! |
