I keep hearing the term 'demand destruction' thrown around a lot like it's nothing. Maybe demand destruction should really be called 'economy destruction' or 'lifestyle destruction'. Demand destruction and capitalist economies don't mix well. Wink
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:16 pm Post subject: Exercise Your Right to Vote
I joined this site not long ago in the hopes of learning more and contributing a lot. I think from my number of posts, I have done both. And since I don’t seem to have yet had the privilege to grace the Halls of Flame, perhaps I have garnered some degree of credibility in the process. I have expounded on Perfect Storms, put in my two cents worth on economics, and even proposed a few conspiracy theories. But I would now like to address an issue that I think will have a profound influence on at least the next four years, if not longer.
Americans are now beginning to pay the price for sleeping through history classes, ignoring important information in the alternative media and neglecting to participate in their own political process. Apathy is no longer an adequate term of description for the steady erosion of the public’s involvement in the political life of the United States. I find it quite remarkable that we live in the largest non-participatory democracy in the world. Less than 1 in 4 of the America people even bother to vote. Traditional forms of party politics, political values and identities have little purchase on an evidently disenchanted public. Popular mistrust of authority is confirmed by the growing alienation of people from the system of elections where a significant proportion of the electorate believes that voting is a waste of time. This apathy towards our voting process plays right into the hands of the ruling elite. Increasingly, every election threatens to become an embarrassing reminder of the political wasteland that we inhabit. And how more graphically could that have been driven home than by the election in 2000? And in light of this, I find it quite disturbing that it remains so—for it is not in people's nature to be long content with their condition.
The reality that many fail to realize is that the reason why people don’t vote is not because they are extremely busy, politically illiterate, or because they can’t find the polling booth, but because there is a widespread conviction that politics simply do not matter and that most institutions have little bearing on their lives. It is widely feared that the world is out of control and there is little that human beings can do to master these developments or influence their destiny.
The imperialistic foreign policy and the assault on our civil liberties being proffered by our current administration is rooted in the beliefs of religious zealots and hegemonistic warmongers. “So what”, you may say, believing there are more reasonable people than there are religious zealots and hawks of war. There are. There is only one problem; we don't vote. The result is a form of oligarchic politics that is precisely the goal of the ruling elite—who always votes. They have mastered their influence on their destiny. We have ignored ours; and do so at our own peril.
I ask you to put aside your self-serving ideals about guns, abortion, health care, and all other manner of personal gripes and bitches about the government and the current state of affairs. What we need to focus on is the direction in which we wish our most influential country to take the rest of the world. The Bush Administration has ignored global warming, cancelled numerous treaties, and has abandoned environmental concerns like no one else in history. If you want your sons and daughters to go to war to fight and die over the last barrels of oil, then vote for Bush. Now, I know there are many that frown when they think of Kerry, but forget the man, and concentrate on the fact that the Democratic Party has been more environmentally friendly and not so supportive of big business. Bush has alienated the world with his policies; Kerry at least says he wishes to work with our allies. Forget terrorism for the moment, whose policies would be best for a post-peak world?
This public acceptance of the war is even more curious given the sordid history of presidential lying to the American people about wars in the past. In all those cases, however, Americans trusted their government and later found such trust to be misplaced. The alarming thing about Iraq War II is that the American people had plenty of evidence before the war—from the president’s own intelligence chief—that the Bush administration was exaggerating the threat. In a republic, aren’t the people ultimately responsible for the policies their government adopts in their name?
Perhaps we can learn from those lessons of history, and somehow find a foreign policy for the new century that might unite most of us, and ensure that America endures as the greatest republic in history, rather than just another fallen empire. I cannot think of a more critical time in history when exercising our right to vote and protecting our republic was more important. Register to vote. Take control of your destiny while you can. And take your time with voting for state and local officials as well. If you are not sure who to vote for, the Sierra Club has a Voter Guide that can help you.
Americans who will vote are narrowly divided, something along the lines of 46% or 47%. Neither party has to woo these voters. Liberals will have no problem voting for John F. Kerry, but a lot of conservatives will have to hold their nose when they pull the lever for George W. Bush. They are outraged with the horrendous federal deficit and Bush's imperialistic, hegemonistic foreign policy. That, and many people know what we know. Just remember, democracy is not a spectator sport.
Quote:
“Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it compromises and develops the germ of every other. As the parent of armies, war encourages debts and taxes, the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the executive is extended . . . and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people . . .” —James Madison
_________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
nice post... _________________ "We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time." - TS Eliot*
Thanks , Aaron. People realy need to feel they have some options, you know. The ship isn't dead in the water as yet.
This famous quote was part of a conversation Gustave Gilbert recorded with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of April 18, 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess.
Quote:
“Why, of course, the people don't want war,” Goering shrugged. “Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.”
“There is one difference,” I [Gilbert] pointed out. “In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.”
“Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
It is one thing to be forewarned. Will we ever be forearmed? FDR himself who once said:
Quote:
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
_________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
Joined: Aug 14, 2004 Posts: 2033 Location: San Diego, Ca.
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:35 pm Post subject:
How will Kerry be any different than Bush? Both are boobs. _________________ "Peak oil isn't more than an interesting industry factoid and doesn't have anything to do with the hysterics speculated on ad nauseum around here!" ReserveGrowthRulz
How will Kerry be any different than Bush? Both are boobs.
So, you are voting for Bush, I take it? _________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
Joined: Apr 04, 2004 Posts: 563 Location: Western US
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:05 am Post subject:
MonteQuest wrote:
jato wrote:
How will Kerry be any different than Bush? Both are boobs.
So, you are voting for Bush, I take it?
I'm fairly disgusted with the hell-spawn we are expected to vote for and I wouldn't expect much progress from either party. They are separated only by the items you mentioned in the beginning post so far as I can see, (guns, abortion, healthcare, etc.) all of which seem to be engineered. The bets are already hedged http://www.followyourmoney.com/ and the favors already bought. I'm not saying that I won't vote this year but this two party BS really needs to go.
With those two cents I can only guess at the psychology of a person who would want to be in charge of the mess created by decades of corrupt governance. What do these people really need? What drives a person to aspire for that position and what could they possibly do to reign in the grievous state of the nation? Is it a need for acceptance, a desire to dictate, or simply greed.
A while back I tried to look up some psychoanalysis on the leaders of the past. It would seem the topic is taboo, maybe The Virginian can help me out.
"An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."
Thomas Jefferson, _________________ You observed it from the start
Now you’re a million miles apart
As we bleed another nation
So you can watch you favorite station
Now you eyes pop out your sockets
Dirty hands and empty pockets
Who? You!
c.o.c.
Not sure what that is all about, makes one wonder who Theresa pissed off. _________________ You observed it from the start
Now you’re a million miles apart
As we bleed another nation
So you can watch you favorite station
Now you eyes pop out your sockets
Dirty hands and empty pockets
Who? You!
c.o.c.
With those two cents I can only guess at the psychology of a person who would want to be in charge of the mess created by decades of corrupt governance.
The choices presented to the people for the elected executives are limited to candidates selected by the political establishment, and not by the people themselves. I ask you, out of what creatures' hairy ass was Bush pulled? Out of the blue of the western sky came George W. Bush, buffoon and idiot extraordinaire. Kerry is so scripted that he cannot connect with anyone. You know, when it comes to a candidate who has actually done something for this country, Nader shines..yet he can't get a leg up. I agree with you about this hell spawn of fishy fishes. One thing I have found different is that the cabal that surrounds Bush is an old band of neo-cons dating back many years...kind of an "administration in waiting" gleefully awaiting the arrival or placement of a President willing to gobble up the meals placed before them.
The implementation of such a far-reaching policy of military aggression and imperialist conquest, long advocated by the most right-wing sections of the U.S. ruling elite—and instinctively opposed by the vast majority of the American people—was conceivable only under extraordinary conditions of mass trauma, fear and patriotic fervor. September 11, 2001 provided these conditions. The events of that day were seized upon by the Bush administration as the pretext for setting its neocolonial plans into motion. To the contrary, in his foreign policy debate with Al Gore, we know Bush pointedly advocated a more humble foreign policy, a position calculated to appeal to voters leery of military intervention and imperialism. He criticized Clinton’s use of our military and the whole idea of “nation building.” So, we know Bush has eaten hungrily at the imperial table. I wonder what's on the menu for after the election? Yum Yum! _________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
A while back I tried to look up some psychoanalysis on the leaders of the past. It would seem the topic is taboo, maybe The Virginian can help me out.
There is a new book out called, Bush on the Couch. The author says Bush is Dyslexic and has symptoms of alcohol abuse and a need to be smug. No kidding!
Quote:
“Before 9/11, this group could not win over the president to this extravagant image of what foreign policy required,” said Ian Lustick, a Middle East expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “After 9/11, it was able to benefit from the gigantic eruption of political capital, combined with the supply of military preponderance in the hands of the president. And this small group, therefore, was able to gain direct contact and even control, now, of the White House.” “This group, what I call the tom-tom beaters, have set an agenda and have made the president feel that he has to live up to their definitions of manliness, their definitions of success and fear, their definitions of failure.”
_________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
Joined: Aug 14, 2004 Posts: 2033 Location: San Diego, Ca.
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 11:36 am Post subject:
Quote:
So, you are voting for Bush, I take it?
No. LP party. As a registered Republican, I voted for Bush in 2000. He was the lesser of the two evils for me then.
Prior to learning about Peak Oil, Bush has pissed me off by pushing the Iraq War. Congress voted for it too and that doesn't make me feel any better. Bush also pissed me off when he said he would sign the extension of the "Assault Weapons Ban".
I see Kerry as a socialist. The ONLY way I could vote for him is if he were to end the War & do something constructive about the Peak Oil problem.
The Libertarian Party best represents my interests. Smaller government and more personal freedoms. The LP would end the War and put an end to the United States Empire.
I understand I am "wasting" my vote. _________________ "Peak oil isn't more than an interesting industry factoid and doesn't have anything to do with the hysterics speculated on ad nauseum around here!" ReserveGrowthRulz
The Libertarian Party best represents my interests. Smaller government and more personal freedoms. The LP would end the War and put an end to the United States Empire.
I applaud your resolve. Too bad not enough people are willing to take a stand on principle. While a registered Democrat, I find myself pissed off at both parties. I am well aware of the Libertarian party and agree with many of its tenets. What our founding fathers tried to leave us was a kind of government that was built on individualism; an ideology that pushes always toward that part of the spectrum that involves the least government necessary to make things work instead of collectivism, which always pushes toward the other end of the spectrum for the most amount of government to make things work. That government is best which governs least.
I just recently posted a piece on the "What would you do forum poll" you might find interesting. _________________ A Saudi saying, "My father rode a camel. I drive a car. My son flies a jet-plane. His son will ride a camel."
Live in Arizona? Check out: http://sustainablearizona.org and read my blog.
I applaud your resolve. Too bad not enough people are willing to take a stand on principle. While a registered Democrat, I find myself pissed off at both parties. I am well aware of the Libertarian party and agree with many of its tenets. What our founding fathers tried to leave us was a kind of government that was built on individualism; an ideology that pushes always toward that part of the spectrum that involves the least government necessary to make things work instead of collectivism, which always pushes toward the other end of the spectrum for the most amount of government to make things work. That government is best which governs least.
"Individualism" is the problem. It's the reason everyone has their own big house which they never go out of except to shop and two SUVs instead of a decent public transportation system and more social interaction.
I highly recommend reading Peaknik Jamed Howard Kunstler's "The Geography Of Nowhere" for an instructive and humorous look at how we got into the trouble that we're in. His weekly blog and opinion pieces at www.kunstler.com are quite entertaining as well.
Call me a socialist I guess. I think I've been leaning that way for at least a decade. "American Individualism" is not going to help with the problems caused by peak oil. It can only hurt.
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