We are at war. You can pretend we can be one country again, but we can't.

[RevStPatrick]

105. I thought this was an interesting article...

...which showed up here yesterday, and touched upon the root of the problem:

http://www.alternet.org/visions/156071/conservative_southern_values_revived%3A_how_a_brutal_strain_of_american_aristocrats_have_come_to_rule_america_/

In a nutshell - Southern Planter Aristocratic mentality has replaced Northern Puritan communitarian Aristocratic mentality as the soul of the nation. The Southern planters were brutal and the brutality we are seeing in corporate and political culture now is a reflection of this. It had been kept largely in check as far as national politics were concerned, but Reagan opened the door and Dubya led the takeover.

I think this is what needs to be defeated.

I think that most of the individuals who are the "troops" on the "other side" are simply kinda dumb people who have caught a brain virus and are reacting to propaganda. I think you do yourself a disservice when talking about individuals who may be your neighbors and family members in language that describes them in terms of "terrorists," "inbred rednecks," "war" and "cross-hairs." You are playing the game that those brutal aristocrats at the top want you to play!

Certainly, absolutely and without hesitation talk about the propaganda spreaders and those who benefit from that propaganda in those terms. Absolutely do whatever you can do, and it will take more than rants on the internet, to defeat the Planter Corporate Slave-holder mentality that has become prevalent. But remember that their divide and conquer tactics have worked like a charm, and those tactics have worked ON YOU! They have divided communities and families from each other for their own benefit. We cannot "win this war" by further dividing people who really should be on the same side, but by bringing people together to fight the common enemy.

I'm not saying that you should go and give Bubba the Racist Redneck a hug and tell him you love him. But I do think you should ratchet down the rhetoric used towards him. Don't engage him, or somehow let him know that despite your differences, you SHOULD be on the same side against people who are exploiting BOTH of you. He may not be smart enough to get it, and then it stops being your problem. After that, stop fighting him and get back to the fight of against those who are dividing us all.

Or something like that...


(on edit - it looks like as I was writing this, a couple of other people here expressed similar sentiments! we must stop divide and conquer. that's how we win!)