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In reply to the discussion: Broken Government [View all]

H2O Man

(73,320 posts)
33. In the years
Thu Dec 10, 2015, 09:02 PM
Dec 2015

since I joined this forum in 2003, I have never enjoyed a response to an OP more than I do this one. I'm not sure if you were thinking, "That old H2O Man sounds like he's thinking accurate thoughts about the USA, so I'll invest the time required to pick his spirits up," or what. But thank you so much.

Rather than writing a longer, single response that attempts to address most of the important points I will respond to later, I want to start with what may well be the most important one. It's found in paragraph six, where you note authoritarian power demands that people yield willingly.Now, that is something that people really need to think about.

It's not enough to have a population that lives in fear, and obeys for self-preservation, despite hating the oppressor. For that type of tyrant (be it an individual or a system) is common place in comparison to what you speak of. That type of authoritarian rule is terrible, but it is not of the type that almost precludes understanding.

Our culture has produced enough soft citizens -- those who are not unlike the grade school tattle-tale .....that kid who was motivated to tell on his classmates, watch them get in trouble, and have a smug, self-satisfied shit-eating grin on his mug, while basking in his glory. Yet, this is far worse: these fools would gladly drop dime on themselves. Their sense of identity is tied up closely with that of their oppressor, in the most de-humanizing manner.

Broken Government [View all] H2O Man Dec 2015 OP
Okay, okay .... H2O Man Dec 2015 #1
(Thank you) H2O Man Dec 2015 #39
K&R. Insightful, well written, MannyGoldstein Dec 2015 #2
Thank you. H2O Man Dec 2015 #6
Another brilliant essay from H2O Man. Our nation is a powderkeg. Scuba Dec 2015 #3
Thanks, Scuba! H2O Man Dec 2015 #13
The most terrifying prospect of a Trump presidency is that he would not KingCharlemagne Dec 2015 #44
DKAS Octafish Dec 2015 #4
Very good! H2O Man Dec 2015 #15
To me, information is what this universe is all about. Octafish Dec 2015 #45
Beautiful music! H2O Man Dec 2015 #46
Great post. I believe a lot of us (not just at DU) know that the monsters are gaining ground. BlueJazz Dec 2015 #5
Very good! H2O Man Dec 2015 #23
Great post, even though I don't agree with the overarching premises. merrily Dec 2015 #7
Thank you. H2O Man Dec 2015 #12
I don't think we disagree on implications of the things you cited. I think we may disagree on merrily Dec 2015 #14
Great points! H2O Man Dec 2015 #17
Thank you. merrily Dec 2015 #21
Right. H2O Man Dec 2015 #24
I see a scary situation malaise Dec 2015 #8
We are sure going to have to invest heavily in annabanana Dec 2015 #18
Agreed malaise Dec 2015 #19
In my opinion, H2O Man Dec 2015 #26
I agree with all points malaise Dec 2015 #27
Recommended. I do see the toxins. mmonk Dec 2015 #9
Thank you. H2O Man Dec 2015 #28
The change that happened under Cheney mmonk Dec 2015 #43
We live in the most reality shareholders cannot block. raouldukelives Dec 2015 #10
Very well said. H2O Man Dec 2015 #29
A superb post. hifiguy Dec 2015 #31
Two Articles: KoKo Dec 2015 #11
Great! H2O Man Dec 2015 #30
Thank you! KoKo Dec 2015 #34
"How Donald Trump United America"--Politico KoKo Dec 2015 #16
Very good! H2O Man Dec 2015 #40
Wonderful thread, H20 Man Samantha Dec 2015 #20
Thank you, Samantha! H2O Man Dec 2015 #32
K&R Solly Mack Dec 2015 #22
In the years H2O Man Dec 2015 #33
I'll borrow a phrase from Chomsky & Herman Solly Mack Dec 2015 #37
.... AuntPatsy Dec 2015 #25
Right. H2O Man Dec 2015 #41
What do I see? Martin Eden Dec 2015 #35
"Yet Hope Remains." KoKo Dec 2015 #36
Extremely important points! H2O Man Dec 2015 #42
Junk food is a good analogy Martin Eden Dec 2015 #47
K & R for the excellent OP and the well reasoned responses :-))) mrdmk Dec 2015 #38
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