The United States: A nation of con men, conformists and cowards.

[KlatooBNikto]

I came to this conclusion after looking at the way Bush and his junta have managed to cow any opposition to their blatant agenda of economic devastation,turning a blind eye to scams by big banks, corporations and big wheels and going on a predatory war against a country like Iraq, devastated by twelve years of nonstop bombing but
backing away when China shot down an American plane after doing some furious chest thumping.In all this the gentle tiptoing of the media whose uniformity of opinions can only be valid if they were following some totalitarian dictum, is the saddest part.

This country has become a shadow of its former self and resembles nothing so much as the late unlamented Soviet Union with which it waged a Cold War lasting nearly half a century.

Reminds me of the saying: Pick your enemies carefully, because they are the ones you are going to resemble the most.

[skooooo]

1. So ya think it's all downhill from here, comrad?

[KlatooBNikto]

2. No.But I think the thinking people like the ones here at DU have their

work cut out for them in trying to overcome the propaganda that has washed over all of us and making us all sink.

[skooooo]

6. I'd like to think...

..that over the past 200+ America has had to remake itself many times -- such as during the civil rights era, the civil war, the depression, etc. Maybe it's just going through one of those slumps again. We've had stormy times before and gotten through to the other side. Maybe we're just going through another period like that?

[KlatooBNikto]

13. I want to be optimistic like you but it saddens me that people that

I considered as independent minded are beginning to sound more and more like scared sheep unable to articulate their fears that this country has taken the wrong path.We need to bring back those people who have been mesmerized by this phony War on Terror which has devastated our institutions and made rubber stamps of our representatives.The twin fears of economic ruin and "terrorism" now hang over country like two horsemen of the apocalypse.I hope people like you continue the good fight and we are able to weather this crisis which I consider to be greater than even the Civil War.

[skooooo]

14. Does this come down to...

..whether you believe that justice ultimately prevails? Your question, or dilemma you pose is ultimately an existential one.

[KlatooBNikto]

15. I do believe in truth and justice and love winning over falsehoods,

injustice and hatred in the end.The raod to this victory is going to be very long indeed because we can no longer assume the basic goodness of nearly half of our population any more. That we would reach this position so quickly and have to educate our fellow citizens that we are under the spell of evil men who bear our country no goodwill and are actually intent on destroying our heritage of openness, trust and optimism is what gets me down.

[AIJ Alom]

3. Well I wouldn't term it the United States, I'd use the Bush Administration

Don't believe the RNC hype. Bush does not equal America !

[KlatooBNikto]

7. What bothers me is the unusually high level of support he still

enjoys (if we are to believe the polls).The timidity and conformity one associates with people under totalitarian regimes has come home and the independence of mind required of citizens in a democracy has not shown up lately.It is especially missing in action among the mainstream media.

[porphyrian]

9. Don't believe the hype.

Even if you were to believe the polls, and you shouldn't, merely tying Kerry for support by this point in an election year, when Bush is an incumbent, is nothing but good news. Barring some serious cheating, there's no way Bush can win.

[AIJ Alom]

10. the media particularly the cable media is now driven by sensationalism.

The days of researching things is over for the money hungry media. The media suffers from short term memory loss. Any American can go into their own archives and point out articles and programs that the cable media released months or years ago that contradict Bush. I do it often.

[porphyrian]

4. Which one are you?

Hey, we aren't all stupid and criminal. In fact, those you name aren't even the majority. Most of us are just distracted, apathetic, and self-absorbed. However, watch the voter turnout in November if you want to see how a polarizing, fascist bunch of traitorous assholes can rally and mobilize us, however late.

[KlatooBNikto]

8. Going by the polls which show support for Bush, I sometimes wonder if we

are in a minority because with the vast resources of the propaganda machine at his disposal, he has managed to convince the 45-50% of the population that he is the man who can deal with our problems. No matter what our job is to fight this and continue fighting even if we lose one election.Our main job is to expand the boundaries of decency and civility in this country and that is going to be no mean task.

[porphyrian]

12. Polls only say what the person paying for them wants them to say.

It's really hard to maintain hope if you remain exposed to the propaganda. It's helped me enormously to just remove myself from it. Don't watch their "news." They've proven again and again that they are willing to lie and cheat as much as necessary to promote their agenda, and they use the media that they own to help them do it. These polls are nothing more than another part of their propaganda campaign. Don't put much trust into their loose interpretations of garbage data.

[catbert836]

5. Yep. There's almost no turning bact from here. n/t

[knowbody0]

11. sad to say

but we only know what we are told. our version of history itself so disputable. they call this the new age of enlightenment. the collective spirit talking to all of us. mayhaps these days are pivotal and will spawn truth speak.
the truth makes people uncomfortable.denial is a comfort zone