Progressive Ponderings: The Greatest Hoax
By Joe Mayer
Possibly the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on a free and democratic people is the false propaganda that government “of the people” is the source of a nation’s problems, that government can’t do anything right, that government is the enemy of the people, and that government using its power for the common good is a perversion of democracy. Once distrust of the government was fixated in the pubic mind, the forces of corporatism moved into the vacuum taking control of the peoples’ business. Peoples’ needs were calculated by a profit incentive; cost-benefits determined the delivery of service or product (think health care, mountain top removal, pollution rights); government itself was up for sale to the wealthiest and highest bidders through campaign contributions, lobbyist arm-twisting and bribery, and the revolving door among politicians and market practitioners.
Corporate propagandists draw from history which reveals that fear and hatred are the two emotions that will bend a citizenry to the will of the dictatorial few. Terrorism is the apex, the ultimate for fear-mongers. It’s invisible, it crosses all borders, it’s also domestic, it’s easily sellable, it’s applicable to multiple situations, it’s possibly perpetual as a fear-raising illusion. The combination of fear and hatred is lethal. While today’s corporate masters rape our economic system, capturing for themselves historic levels of wealth, they simultaneously unleash hatred for anyone different. Targets of hatred today include race, immigrants, homosexuals, religions, the poor, the homeless, those with a differing opinion, and truth.
Fundamentalism is defined as “a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles. It is rampant in the U. S. It is blinding. It is denial. It is intolerant.
Fundamentalism is thought of as religious, but today its definition fits numerous “movements and attitudes” in America – militarism, politics, the free-market system, and nationalism. For our free-market masters the beauty in these fundamentalist movements is that they overlap and support each other.
A republic, a democracy, a governing people can only survive and advance together! A government of people assumes a society, a social togetherness, a goal of commonweal. Free market capitalism, exceptional wealth gained through exceptional poverty, undermines democracy.
We’ve lost the spirit of democracy and religion, of achieving together. Returning government to the people is our only salvation. Are we up to the task?
Possibly the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on a free and democratic people is the false propaganda that government “of the people” is the source of a nation’s problems, that government can’t do anything right, that government is the enemy of the people, and that government using its power for the common good is a perversion of democracy. Once distrust of the government was fixated in the pubic mind, the forces of corporatism moved into the vacuum taking control of the peoples’ business. Peoples’ needs were calculated by a profit incentive; cost-benefits determined the delivery of service or product (think health care, mountain top removal, pollution rights); government itself was up for sale to the wealthiest and highest bidders through campaign contributions, lobbyist arm-twisting and bribery, and the revolving door among politicians and market practitioners.
Corporate propagandists draw from history which reveals that fear and hatred are the two emotions that will bend a citizenry to the will of the dictatorial few. Terrorism is the apex, the ultimate for fear-mongers. It’s invisible, it crosses all borders, it’s also domestic, it’s easily sellable, it’s applicable to multiple situations, it’s possibly perpetual as a fear-raising illusion. The combination of fear and hatred is lethal. While today’s corporate masters rape our economic system, capturing for themselves historic levels of wealth, they simultaneously unleash hatred for anyone different. Targets of hatred today include race, immigrants, homosexuals, religions, the poor, the homeless, those with a differing opinion, and truth.
Fundamentalism is defined as “a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles. It is rampant in the U. S. It is blinding. It is denial. It is intolerant.
Fundamentalism is thought of as religious, but today its definition fits numerous “movements and attitudes” in America – militarism, politics, the free-market system, and nationalism. For our free-market masters the beauty in these fundamentalist movements is that they overlap and support each other.
- Religion has entered the political arena on the side of wealth and capitalism
- Politics has sold out to the free-market on both sides of the political aisle
- The military, with the world’s largest budget, advocates greedily for more free-market weapons
- Nationalism in the form of American exceptionalism may be the worst fundamental attitude of all because it implies that America has nothing to learn from outside, that we are exceptional in all our endeavors, that God favors us and our wealth, and that the free market, not democracy, is our export of purpose.
A republic, a democracy, a governing people can only survive and advance together! A government of people assumes a society, a social togetherness, a goal of commonweal. Free market capitalism, exceptional wealth gained through exceptional poverty, undermines democracy.
We’ve lost the spirit of democracy and religion, of achieving together. Returning government to the people is our only salvation. Are we up to the task?
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1 Comments:
Good commentary except I disagree with the assessment that "The military, with the world’s largest budget, advocates greedily for more free-market weapons."
YES, they advocate for more military spending on systems that are unnecessary and blowout budgets, but aren't most of these expenditures done without competition ... and too many are "Cost-Plus".
Thus I don't know if this is truly a "free-maket" system.
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