America is being destroyed from within. And we’re just watching it happen.

[Cyrano]

The super wealthy and their Republican puppets are dismantling our lifestyles, our country, and our very existence. Yet there’s no revolution, and only an occasional demonstration here and there.

What other society ever caved in so easily? How incredibly stupid is the population of America? We’re being raped, pillaged and plundered every day. But rather than fighting back, we sit around watching “reality” TV shows, or baseball games, or old movies, and do everything possible to ignore our impending servitude and eventual doom.

Our labor is no longer needed. It can be performed almost anyplace else in the world. Our spending is no longer needed. The Robber Barons can gather their loot in Euros, Yens, Pesos, or just plain old gold. Our only remaining use is to sit still and keep quiet while the vultures take what little we have left.

Anyhow, this is one of those depressing days that I’m seeing America the way in which I just described it. I’m sure many of you have different, more positive views and I’d really like to hear them.

[HopeHoops]

1. No, you pretty much summed it up.

[LiberalLoner]

10. Ditto. But I could give you a cup of the chicken soup I'm cooking if that would help. n/t

[HopeHoops]

11. Well, 20+ years ago when I ate meat it might have. Thanks anyway.

[LiberalLoner]

13. Oops, sorry! How about a cup of tea then? :) n/t

[HopeHoops]

16. Thanks - can you send it over "the Internets"?

[LiberalLoner]

20. I would but I can't find the cables :) n/t

[madokie]

60. you mean tubes, right

[Cyrano]

35. No soup for me? ... I think I'll whine.

[LiberalLoner]

36. Oh, yeah, soup for anyone who would like it! :) n/t

[Stuttgart77]

73. Baloney.....and a rant

You aren't seeing a realistic picture, and frankly, nothing is EVER our own fault. It's always someone else's fault. That's just wrong.

The Western world (of which I live in) got lazy and starving people worked to pull themselves towards prosperity, be it India, China, Africa or Southeast Asia.

Americans got immensely fat, dumb and happy. Mr. and Mrs. America were going to football practice with the kiddies a few nights a week and concentrating on music and art lessons because they're fun unlike academic homework. Meanwhile, the kids weren't getting a good grounding in reading, science and math; and no, it wasn't an education funding issue - American schools get more $$$ now they they ever have before.

Workers got comfortably used to yearly raises without merit. The things we count as "productivity" in this country, like shuffling paper and filling out excel spreadsheets and creating endless powerpoint charts really aren't productive. When it comes to manufacturing, parents pushed the kids into careers like business, hospitality, paralegal studies, and theater. There were fewer and fewer college level engineers being turned out and high school students without the practical skills to go into manufacturing. But thank God we had more ambulance chasers to sue everyone, because going into Law was a great career! There were more fast food jobs and fewer apprenticeship jobs in trades because everyone DESERVED a college degree come hell or high water. Because kids were busy playing with their iPods and playstations instead of studying in high school, when they entered the workforce they were ill prepared, but they continued to demand wages far too high for what they did, which is shuffle paper or serve burgers and fries. Plus, there were 40 year mortgages being pushed with no money down, not like 20 years ago when you were required to put 20% down and have, as one of Obama's sayings "Skin in the game". To demand anyone actually have to put 20% down for home ownership? No, no, to harsh and unfair and besides, "wages can only go up forever, right?" Mom and Dad were so busy leasing a new car every three years and hanging a plasma on every wall in the new $750,000 house, that they didn't even bother to read the mortgage paperwork at closing. Everyone had to have everything NOW. No reason to work and save for things. I want them NOW (or yesterday).

And how crazy to actually demand that most people actually pay a little something on their income as a tax! No, we have to have 51% of earners not paying anything and demand "other people pay...but just not me". I said income tax, not FICA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/51-of-americans-pay-no-federal-income-taxes/238329/

Meanwhile, people on the other side of the world were churning out products in factories, strengthening their currency, sending their kids to western schools for degrees in engineering, manufacturing, IT and physics and SAVING instead of spending every dime they had. What did we expect would happen? It's what happens when you get comfortable and have everything. It's not a corporatist's fault. It's what happens when people feel entitled to everything without working for it. No politician can save us. Stop relying on them. It's just the laws of economics and it's now a global economy, like it or not. A little self introspection is a healthy exercise now and then.

[my2sense]

80. +1

[Mimosa]

87. ^ Right wing baloney above ^

Stuttgart, when big business own the politicians and policy has been to ship overseas almost all jobs making stuff we use, regular people don't make all that much. Our era is not comparable to the 1950s through 1960s when one wage earner with a high school education and on the job training could support a small family and put aside some savings.

College educations have become unaffordable for many.

You are blaming the victims of bad policies, the people who are scraping by on $21,000 to $40,000 a year for circumstances beyond their control.

Your post sounds like those I have read on right wing boards.

[Enthusiast]

97. Where do ya think he comes from? nt

[Stuttgart77]

111. My mother.

[Stuttgart77]

115. College educations?

Why does EVERYONE need to go to college? No one makes anything anymore. They all shuffle paper.

Country A makes stuff through a manufacturing economy.

Country B fills out forms, makes policy and bureaucracy all day and creates paper in a service sector.


What do you think the end result will be? Take a look.

[DaveJ]

122. Thanks Stuttgart for your refreshing perspective!

You are so right, people can be lazy, greedy, and self entitled. It really bothers me how some actually support bureaucracy without really realizing it. I've posted a couple anti-bureaucratic posts and got flamed big time! I think we have a lot of them here. :eyes: I support Obama, have always and will always vote Democratic, but sometimes I think this is more like the Green-underground.

I would say though that taking an anti-american tone is sort of like walking into a Sox game and bad mouthing the Sox. It's one thing to lament over how bad your team is doing, but it's another to bash them.

Also, some college education is necessary to create things. Simple things can be created without college. Sophisticated things need sophisticated training.

But I don't think you are bashing, just trying to be honest. Welcome to the DU!

[raccoon]

137. +100. nt

[bjobotts]

90. You are completely full of shit.The laws were manipulated allowing the offshoring of union jobs

[bjobotts]

Republican politicians got rid of corporate taxes and regulations on financial institutions

[bjobotts]

92. Insane trade policies and Reagan tax cuts on the wealthy reduced the revenue to the treasury creatin

creating bubbles which have been bursting since Reagan reducing the middle class to the working poor with supply side economics and virtual slave labor.
Demand creates jobs and having money to spend creates demand etc.. Capitalism is based on having capital and making money from capital so only the wealthy were thriving while the rest of us were reduced to being unable to support our previous lifestyles because wages kept going down. Now these same republicans are attacking the social safety net which WE created for just such a predicament. Only a change in the laws can get us out of this mess...make it just as expensive to make a product or supply a service offshore as it would be if it were made or provided here in America through tax cuts/incentives/penalties...close corporate tax cuts and roll back the Reagan tax cuts and watch by God...American middle class will return and prosper.

You blame the victims in your comment and this op-ed is just another example of an American waking up...He just doesn't believe a majority of people are seeing the same thing he sees but they do. Exposing these republicans daily as the enemy to our democracy they have proven themselves to be is, out of necessity getting the majority awake and involved. NO TAX CUTS EVER CREATED JOBS...JOBS ARE CREATED BY DEMAND NOT CHARITY.

[Stuttgart77]

114. Somehow I remember Clinton signing NAFTA & giving China MFN status?

Moves towards global economics were done by many politicians on both sides. Your convenient rememberance of history doesn't change that.


If Republicans "got rid of corporate taxes and regulations", didn't that make us MORE competitive with countries around the world that didn't have those taxes and regs in the first place, not less? You're barking up the wrong tree. Try again. This is just economics.

[Pharaoh]

133. Well Stuttgart

If you want to make 77 cents an hour and work in a slave labor camp. Please feel free to move to china.

[Stuttgart77]

157. If you're so proud as to turn your nose up at everyone else

don't be surprised where you end up. There are plenty of go getters who earn more than 77 cents an hour, but earn less than your expectations.

If you think all of China is a slave labor camp, you'd best inform yourself.

[Stuttgart77]

113. Yes, however the GLOBAL ECONOMY was coming one way or another

People around the world aren't going to live in poverty forever, so the U.S. can keep having stratospheric wages.

[Wait Wut]

126. Pretty harsh reply to the OP...

...but, I (unfortunately) agree with most of it. Yes, Americans are lazy. They're also greedy, selfish and uncompassionate...for the most part. Even those of us here tend to fight hardest for the things that will benefit ourselves the most. To blame our government on our own faults is pointing a dirty finger at a mirror.

I don't agree with your opinion of higher education, however. Yes, we have too many (greedy, self-serving) lawyers. But, we also have attorneys that fight for "us" and the good of humanity. We need good teachers. We need doctors that want to heal the sick and not just rape their patients for a yacht. We need scientists and techies to continue to bring us new and more efficient ways of running our country and our lives. The list goes on... I never had the chance to attend college. I wish I had. I wanted to be one of those "evil" attorneys. I imagined myself fighting for the rights of children, the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged.

But, with all this negativity in our country and throughout the world, there is always hope. There are good people in every nook and cranny. Some of them may not agree with us, they may have different core values, but they're good people. Find them and work with them to improve society.

Here's a challenge to anyone who reads this. Since the world will be ending tomorrow (heh), I challenge each of you to be kind. Not to any particular group or type of person, but in general. Especially those you don't agree with. Leave the political rants aside for a day. Take a deep breath and look at each person as a human. Someone with their own demons, problems and faults...just like yourself. Instead of striking up a conversation about the public option, talk about their kids, their pets, their hopes and dreams.

This doesn't apply to me, obviously. I'm sure that at some point today someone will annoy the hell outta me and I'll go on a rant. But...I'll give it a shot.

[chervilant]

139. Durn!!!!

The world's ending tomorrow?!?! I have friends coming over for art and a potluck!!!

Sigh... what's a good hostess to do?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

129. I think

you won't be here long.............. :fistbump:

[Atypical Liberal]

134. Tax bullshit.

And how crazy to actually demand that most people actually pay a little something on their income as a tax! No, we have to have 51% of earners not paying anything and demand "other people pay...but just not me". I said income tax, not FICA.

The fact of the matter is right now the Forbes 400 control as much wealth as 1/2 of the country combined. The richest Americans have seen their wealth skyrocket over the last decade while simultaneously their effective tax rate has cut in half.

Why is it any surprise when 51% of the earners make so little that it's not fair to tax them? they don't have the fucking money - the top 10% of earners do!.

I love it how the right-wing folks get all pearl-clutchy when they say that 51% of earners don't pay any taxes. Well that's because even though they are "earners" these people COMBINED make about the same amount of money as the top 400 earners do!

And excuse me for wanting a better life than my parents had, and a better one still for my children.

[sulphurdunn]

135. The US economy

has gone to hell because of conscious political and economic decisions to liquidate the nations manufacturing base in the pursuit of cheap labor, higher profits, weak environmental regulations, low taxes and the extermination of organized labor. The same financial interests that bankrolled this business model created "globalization" to serve those ends. Your arguments are pure bullshit, mere rationalizations that blame the victims rather than the perpetrators.

Furthermore, all globalization has done for countries like India and China is to create a huge class of industrial slave labor, a tiny professional middle class, a few billionaires and hundreds of millions of people who are worse off than they were before the blessings of global exploitation descended upon them.

[Stuttgart77]

159. Two identical products sitting on two different store's shelves

The one at Acme Store is $4.99

The other identical product at ACE Value Store is $3.29


Which do YOU buy??? I rest my case.

[sulphurdunn]

162. I buy from the store that has a union.

That's most likely ACME. ACME employees live well enough to own property and pay taxes in my community. That provides public services and private wealth. Of course, if I'm nothing more than a petty consumer I buy products for no ulterior reason other than price. That of course will suck wealth out of my community and lower my own standard of living. In which case, I buy from ACE. I rest my case.

[Armstead]

142. Your rant is half baloney

I will go along with your saying that we Americans got fat and lazy to an extent.

But you are missing some important parts of the equation. The options for people have been narrowing, largely due to a combination of excessive corporate power, the decimation of public moral values by the oligarchy and their media mouthpieces and the resulting stream of propaganda and lack of real information.

You sound too much like you are blaming the victims, rather than rationally looking at WHY this is happening and, more importantly, what can be done about it.

[JDPriestly]

153. America is not a country of 2-hour lunches and 5 weeks of

vacation a year. You have to go to Europe for those things. (The 2-hour lunches are not found everywhere, but the generous vacations, paid maternity and single-payer health care as well as great pensions are.)

Americans are extremely hardworking -- not lazy at all, at least not compared to the other four countries in which I have lived. On what experience or evidence do you base your statement that Americans are lazy?

[Armstead]

155. Mentally and spiritually lazy

Of course it's always dangerous to overgeneralize. There are many variations and exceptions..But as a society in general we have gotten lazy intellectually and spiritually.

[Stuttgart77]

156. Well, let me see now

I didn't say we are a country of 2-hour lunches and 5 weeks of vacation a year. And why did you pick that as an example to equate that with laziness? That may be earned. You may be jealous that you don't get that, but I don't equate those with laziness. Why would I? BTW, I've traveled extensively and have lived in the USA, Germany and Egypt.

I'll ask you to do something. Get away from DU for a couple of hours and go to your local college or university and sit in level 400, 500, 600 mathematics, physics, electrical engineering and take a look at the makeup of the audience.

Then go to the same level business, sociology, psychology, finance, legal classes and report back what you see differently about the audience. I'm not talking about the racial makeup, I'm talking about the citizenship and expectations of one group versus the other.

Then, while you're there, go to the university library and compare two similar titled courses of study and see how the curriculum has changed from “technical” to “organizational”. Take a Field of Study of say Systems Engineering or Information Technology from today and from 20 years ago and look at the differences in the makeup of the curriculum in the courses of study documentation you find. You'll find the classes have become very soft, emphasizing management, organizational management, and non-rigorous subjects. You'll see it just from the titles of the classes. Do you believe standards haven't been lowered significantly to suit laziness and making everything easy?

It'll become very clear to you what's going on. And it's not a money thing either because the cost per credit hour is the same. Our family culture is emphasizing less rigorous standards and “easier” (less productive) careers. Less manual labor and more service jobs. Again, what did you think would happen long term when such standards are constantly pushed by corporate America...which is made up of...you guessed it...your neighbors rich, middle class and poor?

You stated great pensions and generous vacations are found everywhere? Have you seen what has been happening in Greece lately? Portugal, Ireland and Spain to follow. Not a good thing. Their whole social safety network is overstretched and breaking down. You can't fund it when it gets too big and asks too much of itself.

Something else to think about. Look at the way OUR government measures productivity. It's the same way it measures employment and inflation. The numbers are BS and we're fooling ourselves. Touting “core” inflation while ignoring food and energy costs? Playing games like hiring and firing people 2, 3, or 4 times for a census job to count them as newly employed? Using the “birth/death” model to play with employment numbers and constantly blaming “bad weather” for high unemployment numbers, only to revise the numbers a month or two later when no one is looking? PLEASE! There's a whole lot of BS going on! You want to talk about America being destroyed from the inside, look at that BS. We can't even trust the numbers anymore.

Don't just blame Bush or Republicans for that. Don't blame the evil rich or companies for it either, cuz the government is doing just as much of it. Blame EVERYONE. To do otherwise is disingenuous.

Oh, and some Americans are hard working, but not like they used to be. We're spending more time making pretty power point presentations, learning new features of Microsoft Office, learning “ethics training/legal requirements/HR training”, generating policy and bureaucracy all day, gunning to do less and become management earlier or doing other administrative tasks. That doesn't build a heck of a lot of appliances, lawn equipment or invent a lot of new stuff, but it sure adds a lot of overhead while ditching manual labor. Meanwhile, Asian and South American factories are churning out stuff instead of paper. We don't even do our own gardening and house cleaning anymore... we sub that out to Merry-maid & Company. Our expectations for daily work are much different than they used to be.

Why am I saying all of this? Because people are in a routine of blaming the rich, corporatists, Republicans, Bush, Rush, Hannity and everything else of convenience instead of thinking a little bit. Yes, they are to blame, but so is everyone. There's a whole lot more going on with our decline and there's plenty of blame to go around. I know DU is here to vent, but some thoughtful honest posting is necessary too... and that's not always what you want to hear.

[JDPriestly]

163. When I lived in European countries, only those students who

excelled in grade school get a university education.

I agree that the culture in most American homes does not encourage learning.

But a great deal of it is due to the fact that manufacturing jobs have been outsourced.

I remember in 1985, the first time that I saw C-Span. On the program was a session of a committee of Congress discussing trade policy. That was the first time I heard about free trade.

One of the Democratic senators, a prescient man I must say, said, something to the effect that if we started free trade, in time, Americans would just be handing hamburgers to each other. That's all that would be left of our economy.

That's where we are. Don't blame it on ordinary Americans. They are trying to deal with the reality that the politicians have created.

What do you think that ordinary Americans should do? I don't think that ordinary Americans have very many alternatives to what is going on. American free trade policies combined with the overvaluation of our currency make it impossible for Americans, no matter how creative or hardworking to compete with people in underdeveloped countries.

[Name removed]

167. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sulphurdunn]

166. I don't see any softening

at American universities. I have no idea where you come up with this stuff. Even high school curricula are more demanding than they have ever been. The problem with this country is that the majority of the nations wealth and its political power are controlled by financial speculators. These are absolutely the least productive members of society. Most of them are mere financial parasites. By contrast, the American workforce (what's left of it)is the most productive on the planet. Sadly, nearly all the benefit of that productivity goes to feed financial parasites that you continue to claim don't deserve the blame. Where have you been for the last 30 years?

[TBF]

143. Bullshit. Blaming folks for participating in capitalism when it's the only

system we have is crap. "Oh, you're not good enough, smart enough, and you don't make the right choices". Such a right wing argument.

It couldn't possibly be that we are propping up a system that not only encourages but thrives on over production and consumerism.

:sarcasm:


Change the system, and how folks are rewarded, and you might see better behavior.

[Stuttgart77]

158. When have we last had pure capitalism?

Look up the definition, look around, and give it some thought.

[TBF]

160. I think we're doing pretty close right now -

the regulations are loose to non-existent, and the safety nets are being shredded daily. Look up your own definitions by the way - I don't need your condescending bs.

[Stuttgart77]

161. Yea, really? The FEDERAL REGISTER is over 80,000 pages.

We're going blind by the amount of rules and regulations we have. That's just federal law. Friggin' nanny state busy bodies.


Banning Light bulbs

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110516/ap_on_hi_te/us_led_lighting


Banning Potatoes

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704810504576305250845743700.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lawmakers-defend-french-fries-as-government-limits-potatoes-in-school-lunches/2011/05/18/AFuBmK6G_story.html



Banning Chocolate milk

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13559159


Banning Circumcisions

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/19/male.circumcision.sf/index.html



Ban this, ban that, ban the other thing. Mandate this, mandate that, mandate the other thing. It's getting ridiculous.

[TBF]

165. Like they enforce any of that. And enjoy your stay by the way expat,

your "nanny state" references show your true colors. Hope you're getting paid good for this.

[JDPriestly]

152. Baloney, Stuttgart77.

I know a guy who became a master carpenter at an extremely young age. He learned his trade from his German father who was one of a long line of wagon makers. Father and son worked together in the same high-class furniture factory -- until the factory owner sold out to hire less qualified, but cheaper labor and moved the whole manufacturing operation.

Now, some far less qualified employee is making furniture and my friend, the master carpenter, is making do with a sales job. What a waste of talent and skill. But the boss was greedy. That is what has happened to America. That is what has happened to American jobs.

Americans love to work and work harder than people in other countries. But the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and the effect that disparity has on the distribution and enjoyment of power and decision-making authority is just too great. It is because the working people and the poor are so utterly and hopelessly lacking power -- either political or economic -- that people want their children to become paper-pushers at all cost.

I have a number of friends with academic degrees who prefer working with their hands and have handyman businesses rather than 9-5 office or tiring teaching jobs.

A lot of the outsourcing and joblessness in the US have more to do with currency manipulation than anything else.

[Aerows]

2. I wish you weren't right

but you are, and you summed it up perfectly.

[PassingFair]

3. Not just the Republicans...

the Democrats are in thrall to the corporate controlled
DLC wing of the party, and putting up little to no defense
of the common people.

Support your Progressive Candidates and Representatives where you can!

[Avalux]

4. I don't have a positive view.....and I've been wondering which is worse....

those of us who see clearly what's going on, yet continue to live our daily lives bowing to our corporate overlords while doing nothing about it. Or...those of us who are totally oblivious to what's going on and....you get the picture.

Either way, inaction from the populace is allowing the destruction.

[russspeakeasy]

78. When people have been beaten on, lied to and abused

for 15 + years, the majority give up.. They just don't give a shit anymore. It's one more lie. one more promise that won't be kept, one more decision made by the politicians that will do damage to your family . Who are they suppose to trust..? Their decision is NOBODY. And when you can't trust anybody, it makes you bitter.

[BOG PERSON]

5. in fairness to the superwealthy

i would probably be vegging out on the computer or in front of the TV anyway. i am also grateful to the superwealthy for making TVs and computers available to consumers at reasonable prices.

[LiberalLoner]

12. Trust me, the computers and TVs won't be part of the lifestyle of the masses forever.

Those things represent a level of wealth that our children and grandchildren will never have. If they are lucky, they will get to play with a rock in-between their 30-hour shifts at the factory or farm.

[readmoreoften]

67. So enslaving people to give you a "cheap" computer is good even though it keeps your wages down.

US wages are determined by a commodity basket. If the commodities in that basket are created by slaves in China and Bangladesh, it is further justification to keep our wages low.

In other words: if you're a working person, you're not just cheering on the exploitation of children, you're slitting your own throat. Smart.

[bjobotts]

93. Cheap is less important when you have adequate wages.Trade policies need to change now.

[yella_dawg]

6. Yes, but Arnold has a love child.

And some French guy did something awful to an immigrant woman in New York.

Priorities, Dude.

[Avant Guardian]

7. It has been death by 1000 cuts for the last 30 years

[atreides1]

8. Cicero was right even now!!!

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.”

[RKP5637]

19. +1, n/t

[canoeist52]

24. Wow, I never read that before. Great post.

[colorado_ufo]

74. True greatness is never diminished.

[tonybgood]

118. Here's a Quote for you!!!

"This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country." Teddy Roosevelt (by the way, why won't Republicans claim Mr. Roosevelt!!!)

[Le Taz Hot]

123. Ah, Cicero.

Thanks for the reminder. I haven't read this quote in years.

[Poll_Blind]

9. I can't disagree. The revolution isn't coming, the promised Change™ never materialized.

Change™ sputtered to a halt not long after it got out the gate. The last two years are indicative of the next two, and possibly 4 after that. There is no chance of any change for the better for at least 6 more years and the country simply doesn't have that much time. It really doesn't.

All my plans are based around these realities, now. After 8 years of Bush I got burned out. In 2008, I didn't think it was possible to become hopeful again. But I did. And over the last two years, slowly came to the realization that the promised changes simply weren't going to happen. Our ship ain't coming in.

PB

[RKP5637]

21. The promise of change was a mirage and we all got fooled IMO by the illusion. n/t

[krabigirl]

51. It was an extremely successful marketing campaign. nt

[Cyrano]

22. I too became hopeful after those eight horrible Bush years.

And I don't know which is worse: To never, ever believe any promise of "change" that comes out of the mouth of any politician; Or believing that "change" will come about, only to see your hopes dashed on the rocks of reality.

[canoeist52]

27. About that American blind faith

About that American blind faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOFk3qVlElk&feature=related

REASON TO BELIEVE
Album's version

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
Got his car door flung open he's standin' out on Highway 31
Like if he stood there long enough that dog'd get up and run
It struck me kinda funny, seemed kinda funny sir to me
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Now Mary Lou loved Johnny with a love mean and true
She said "Baby I'll work for you every day, bring my money home to you"
One day he up and left her and ever since that
She waits down at the end of that dirt road for young Johnny to come back
Struck me kinda funny, funny yeah to me*
How at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Take a baby to the river, Kyle William they called him
Wash the baby in the water, take away little Kyle's sin
In a whitewash shotgun shack an old man passes away
Take his body to the graveyard, over him they pray
Lord won't you tell us, tell us what does it mean
At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

[RKP5637]

14. I feel like I'm riding along on a train, all the doors/windows have been welded shut and

we're heading off a cliff, but most of the passengers have taken tranquilizers and sit there dazed with this deer in the headlight look.

[LiberalLoner]

15. No, most of the passengers are pointing at your side of the train and

saying "it's YOUR fault this train is going off the cliff! If we just accelerated more we could leap the cliff, but you keep trying to press on the brake! When we die it will be YOUR fault!"

[RKP5637]

17. Yep, true, well said! n/t

[guruoo]

88. Reminds me of this...

'A public union employee, a tea party activist, and a CEO are sitting at a table with a plate of a dozen cookies in the middle of it.
The CEO takes 11 of the cookies, turns to the tea partier and says, 'Watch out for that union guy. He wants a piece of your cookie.'

[Hubert Flottz]

18. That "change" is your nest egg.

[Bandit]

23. Blow up the TV, Move to the country, Eat a lot of peaches.

:shrug: Time to just enjoy what's left....

[LiberalLoner]

26. I think that's about it.. +1 n/t

[bvar22]

48. We did....in 2006.

So far, so good.

bvar22 & Starkraven
Two old Hippies living well on stuff we learned in the 60s.
Grow your own,
Less IS more,
To have Peace, give Peace.
:hippie:

[krabigirl]

54. beautiful photo.

[tabasco]

117. I'm glad there are still some real hippies.

So many were faking, just to have fun and get laid.

[The Doctor.]

25. They control minds, that's why.

They have a noise machine that deliberately feeds the anger they create with their policies. It strips away reason and fortifies ignorance.

They have turned nearly half a nation against itself so that they can reap the spoils.

[Cyrano]

31. Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Our country has seemingly been divided for the past 30 years, since Reagan became president.

But in truth, our divisions date back to the Civil War. And today's Robber Barons know very well how to play upon those divisions to make our country a very ugly place, while making themselves incredibly wealthy.

[LiberalLoner]

37. This is so true. My husband is reading a book about Lincoln and he

keeps saying, "it's amazing how similar the rhetoric is between then and now."

[krabigirl]

52. People can choose to think for themselves.

[The Doctor.]

164. You don't understand.

They are being controlled by virtue of anatomy itself. Millions of years of evolution wrought a fear-wired brain in many, many humans. The noise machine takes direct advantage of that.

They are incapable of breaking the spell just as a fish is incapable of breathing air.

[mmonk]

116. Yep

[patrice]

28. Stop the Killing!

Solidarity with US Labor!

[patrice]

29. Refugees should get their homes back! Who is taking care of the Orphans? nt

[Township75]

30. Im going to ask you about this in 2012 when Obama-Hope&Change is in full swing

and see how you feel then. I don't think I will sound like this then.

[dionysus]

32. with all due respect, how many goddamned doomsday threads are you gonna post every day? smoke a j or

something, damn...

[Cyrano]

33. If my posts depress you, don't read them. Or take some Prozac first.

[damntexdem]

34. And we've got to stop just watching it happen: close your eyes and look the other way!

Alternatively, the population may finally be catching on, and they may show it in 2012 -- at least those who are not blocked from voting by GOP skullduggery.

[Cyrano]

39. Do you have any suggestions of some "savior" we can vote for?

This is not a put down of your post, damntexdem. It's just that there is no FDR, JFK, or LBJ anywhere in sight.

The one I'd really like to see in the White House is Bernie Sanders, but he ain't gonna run.

As far as congresspeople and senators, I live in Florida where we are pretty well screwed no matter what button we punch on the voting machine.

I really believe we are beyond political redemption in America. I hope I'm wrong.

[RKP5637]

40. I'd like to see Bernie Sanders in the WH too. Someone has to stand up and

call an end to the raping of this country.

I had thought 2008 was the turning point, but it's soooo clear the gov. is fully owned by corp. interests and the cornered wealth of this country. I'm really feeling we've gone over the tipping point. And with the inane Citizens United SCOTUS decision, it's a very very long uphill battle to ever get the money and bribery out of gov.

Frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone can turn it around. I've never seen/felt such hatred and polarization in this country. And the corruption/money runs very very deep.

I think people hope/believe some magical messiah/savior is going to come along and radical change will occur ... I really have my doubts about that anymore.

[999998th word]

91. The voter suppression laws passing all over-they will succeed in

eliminating 1/2 of those who reliably vote Democratic away from the polls.

I live in Wi. & that piece of crap voter suppression bill passed today-knew it would-

but they FLICKING delight in rubbing our nose in it.

They really don't give a shit about what we know, or whether or not we've caught on.

I'll continue to fight this,but the methods the new and duly ALECted representatives employ to 'break our spirit'

are beyond despicable.Every day brings forth a new low from a state that used to take pride in how public

officials comport themselves and treat their constituents.Pathetic Puerile Power Porn Placating Plutocrat Pimps





Done
:puke: :rant:

[verges]

151. And what are they going to do in 2012?

The WH alone can't do squat. And that's the problem why "change" hasn't happened. Without OVERWHELMING majorities in both houses, only superficial stuff CAN get done. The Dems need a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate; and the house would need enough to ignore the Blue Dogs. We didn't have it in 2008, and we certainly aren't going to have it in 2012!

[Fire1]

38. Too busy basking in technology. Not enough are starving. n/t

[DirkGently]

41. Well put. They do still need us though. Much more than we need them.

[mountainlion55]

42. Know how you feel.

Do not know the op's age but if your like me 55+. It gets really depressing.I keep hoping that the kids will take it to the streets because they are the future. Lately I just --Tune in--Turn-on and drop-out. Overgrow the government.:smoke:

[Spike89]

43. Sometimes (OK, most times) I agree, but not today

I can't fart butterflies and fairy dust, but it isn't all black either. We're rapidly approaching a new era in humanity. Silly things like iron, stone, and bronze didn't really define human ages, even industry and knowledge are not the true determining factors of the ages. The age of economics is almost as old as the first city-states and has been the major feature of human civilization for thousands of years.
We're still very much in that era, but we're staring at the very end of it. Some form of economics will always be around of course, it just won't be the central aspect of human behavior. We're sitting on an edge of the singularity where Star Trek-like abundance makes the concept of selling your sweat and effort absurd. When there is too much of everything, economics don't work.
Alternately, but maintaining the "happy" thoughts, if we don't reach that singularity in time, we're likely to have a huge and devastating population crash that will leave a relatively small group of us living on earth, but again, that equals an environment of plenty and a different end of economics.

[LiberalLoner]

44. What makes you think you will be part of the small group of survivors, LOL? n/t

[Spike89]

149. Because I was straining to be uber-positive nt

[XanaDUer]

45. Nope

Sorry, but it seems you're spot on. Every year it seems to get worse.

[many a good man]

46. Jobs will be coming back soon

Don't take my word for it. Check out the study released this month by the Boston Consulting Group, which concludes that when you compare China's soaring wages and still-low levels of productivity with our stagnating wages and rising levels of productivity, the price advantage of manufacturing in China instead of the U.S. will shrink to insignificance by 2015. Investment in the U.S., says the group, "will accelerate as it becomes one of the cheapest locations for manufacturing in the developed world."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-meyerson-europeans-20110515,0,3990894.story

[bvar22]

49. That will happen,

as soon as Americans are hungry enough to work for Salve Wages.
...already happening,
and ALL according to plan.

[Little Star]

66. Bingo!

[pampango]

106. Or when we are willing to work for German wages.

If Germans (not to mention the rest of Europe, Canada and Australia) can compete internationally (with its high-wage, progressive economy), so can we - once we figure out how to make our society as progressive as theirs.

[PATRICK]

120. On the other hand

This has been going on for years, the disadvantages of off-shoring jobs have multiplied with no end to the trend, even if there are shoddy products and results- even harm to consumers. Selling to out of work Americans is making less sense. Wages abroad have to decrease to balance this out and pressures overseas are to increase wages and better conditions.

But maybe the math is on a collision course with greed. Americans will not be slavish enough to entice back jobs before the consumer class gets ruined first. China as a nation has a top-down planned and regulated economy plus incredible financial strings attached to our debt. Ours is afflicted by "multi-national" self interested plutocrats. The relationship we had with Japan and even the Arabs is not the same at all when the Cartel and then the Japanese pushed us hard during the seventies and eighties. Back then we had movies dealing with the foreign ownership effect on unions. Now we might have a movie or two about unionizing back at the bottom. Yet that story had been better set overseas as well.

The flight of capital and jobs is like our blood oil resource depleting well past its "peak" and leaving a human desert behind. A lot of that capital, that product consumerism is unsustainable and vitally misdirected, anti-green destruction. If this were a dramatic ebb and flow of a sustainable economic picture seen through the centuries it would be one thing, but it is coupled to several other disasters, fatally interlinked and related.

One small thread of insanity from this cloth only illustrates the whole, like shipping apple juice concentrate all the way from China and mixing that slurry into "American" containers. Other nations are destroying themselves with a difference such as Africa destroying subsistence farming to export cash crops top enrich the few or the Chinese polluting an already stressed land to the point of uninhabitable ruin. That hardly seems sane on its face yet it is fundamental to fair trade globalism. That is to release the monstrous fantasy growth of corporate fortune from local responsibility to anyone, anything, anywhere. Unquestionable, unstoppable insanity and waste to the point where any change would be nothing short of miraculous much less correctable. There are more threads and patterns connected to the arterial loss of American jobs. They are pumping us dry- and a lot of it is irretrievable even if there was an effective will somewhere, anywhere.

[RagAss]

47. 60% of this population is stoned on something every day...you figure out why there's no fight !

[krabigirl]

53. good point.

[Enthusiast]

98. How is that war on drugs

working out for us? Seems to me that it is an utter failure.

[Bluenorthwest]

121. Link please.

60% stoned? Link, please, because if that figure is accurate, and it really can not be, then the bulk of those people will be on Alcohol and pharma. Most Americans do not call that 'stoned'. Being intoxicated on alcohol was called 'stoned' many decades ago, but that changed.

[JDPriestly]

154. That can't be true. I'm not stoned. Are you?

[krabigirl]

50. Yep. And what is scary is the pride some Americans have in that ignorance.

It's one thing to be ignorant, but to be proud to be ignorant? That's pretty damn sad.

[airplaneman]

55. Do more than watch

We need another NEW DEAL. FDR was brilliant and did so many correct things. Always vote and communicate with our senators and president and network with friends who share our views. One day I believe you and I will wake up and see our own grass roots movement to really get things back on track. I believe our current recession is as much about 20 million jobs sent overseas and only precipitated by the wall street greed mess. Some days I am optimistic and some days my tail is between my legs and I see little hope. Never give up.

[cali]

56. lol. the same op again. but hey, you get a lot of recs for it just about every week.

[Nye Bevan]

57. There are some things to be positive about.

Like the ability to get multiple recs on "doom and gloom" DU threads.

[Kablooie]

58. Didn't Germany cave easily?

Actually ... no.
The Nazis had to assassinate many of the politicians in order to take over.
Same with Japan.

So you're right.

We may be the easiest nation to take over than any in history.

[abelenkpe]

59. You say:

"But rather than fighting back, we sit around watching “reality” TV shows, or baseball games, or old movies, and do everything possible to ignore our impending servitude and eventual doom."

I think it's more like: Rather than fighting back we work, sometimes two jobs, sometimes just tons of overtime at our one remaining job hoping we aren't picked to be laid off for under-performing, and doing everything possible to just stay on top of a world that grows more difficult to survive in everyday.

I don't think people are stupid....well except maybe teabaggers. ;)

[aggiesal]

61. Most societal changes have occurred ...

on college campuses.
Yet we here nothing coming from campuses.
Is this generation of current college students too self-involved in
their iPods, xboxes, gameboys or any other hand-held entertainment device
to notice the changes affecting them all around?

Maybe with tuition's hiked to the point of unaffordable will get
them off their couch and start something.

[jwirr]

62. Most do not even know there is a crisis. I suggest a required reading

list: #1 The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Anyone who has not read that book should. I am at the 3rd part. I lived through most of what she is talking about but did not connect the dots. I just was telling my sil about what I am reading and was surprised he knew so much about what is going on. However, it is hard to explain to most people what the book is saying. A long and complicated history that is now repeating itself in our nation. Or at least it is trying to repeat itself.

[chillspike]

63. I don't think big business would ever fully abandon a 330 million consumers market

[fivepennies]

141. "I don't think big business would ever fully abandon a 330 million consumers market"

Of course not, at least not until big business has wrung every last dollar from the hands of the current crop of consumers. Then they'll simply shift their interests to "new" consumers in emerging markets.

But what if a healthy percentage of those 330 million consumers fully abandoned big business?

(edit: grammar)

[themadstork]

64. You just gotta keep banging the drum.

Get the message out there, keep the message fresh, let the ruling class know we mean business. We can defeat the corporate noise machine. And there are limited signs of progress, internationally if not nationally. Not everyone can articulate the exact way in which they've been screwed, but they know they have been, and neoliberalism is showing the chinks in its armor.

We must simply continue exposing the despicable behavior of the uber-rich. Change may take a long time, but it also took a long time to get to where we are now. The capitalists have been drooling at the idea of repealing the new deal for decades, and they have been extraordinarily vigilant in laying the groundwork for laissez faire hegemony. Systematic long-term activism can tip the ideological tide in our favor.

[readmoreoften]

65. Yes. But its their Republican AND Democratic Party puppets doing the dirty work.

There is only one solution: struggle from below outside of both parties.

[liberalgunwilltravel]

68. Destroyed from within

New here, but a long time reader. Anyway, until we actually stop the oligarchs from raping us they will continue to do so. Time to stand up.

[Rhiannon12866]

79. Welcome to DU, liberalgunwilltravel!

It's great to have you with us! :toast:

[nobodyspecial]

86. You gonna start shooting people?

That will help. :eyes:

[Doctor_J]

136. You gonna keep signing petitions & posting rants?

Not gonna help either.

We're at war, but only one side is fighting.

[fivepennies]

145. That one side that's doing the fighting

is fighting with nothing but paper. And they're winning. Now that's scary.

[Initech]

69. Vulture capitalism is the worst thing to happen to our society.

These fucking thugs, these leeches latch themselves onto a healthy host (Borders, Chrysler, GM, you name it), take every single cent they can for themselves, and then destroy the fucking place. And they get away with it scot-free!! And then they use this money to get the politicians and the judges in their back pockets. This shouldn't happen!

[defendandprotect]

70. The secret to wealth -- or successful theft -- requires control of government ....

which they now have --

It is the nation's wealth and natural resources they want -- plus the right to pollute and

destroy nature as they wish --

We're fighting for more than our government and democracy -- we're fighting for the planet --

animal life -- and humanity!!


Great post!!

Sad -- but great!!

[OwnedByFerrets]

71. You are correct. What would you have "US" do?

Because I damned sure don't know. Concrete, real answers...not pie in the sky, call your congressman type stuff. I do that. Its done NOTHING to change things here or in Washington.
Get out in the streets? Me and what army? Do you not realize that if Americans did what was done in Egypt, we would be put in prisons also...if not worse.
I dont have any answers. Im asking if you do.

[Bryn]

72. One of Abe Lincoln's quotes:

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

So true!

[certainot]

75. it starts at your local right wing radio station, where the groundwork repetition has been done for

20 years while the left plugs in their CDs and ipods.

everything the right has done the last 20 years they've been able to do largely because they have 1000 coordinated radio stations reading think tank coordinated pro corporate propaganda and the left has ignored it. it is by far their most important weapon. it is as if they set up soapboxes on every corner and stump in hte country and scream that our fathers are thieves and liars and our mothers are whores 24/7 and we walk by, giving a free speech free ride to a buzz machine mad ave can only dream of.

there is NO organized response to teh right's best weapon. totally fucked up and stupid.

the rest of the corp media is significant only in what it leaves out. only the radio monopoly can repeat a distortion or lie enough to enough people to create it's own reality.

the left could change the whole game merely by recognizing teabagger HQ are our local RW radio stations and picket there instead of state capitols when the blowhards attack out teachers and unions and candidates, and boycott their local sponsors, and end the practice by our universities of broadcasting their sports on those stations, thereby giving them credibility and community standing.

listen to the national and local shows once in a while and you'll hear that fox is just a tick on limbaugh's ass.

[MovingForward]

81. I agree

There is no alternative to right wing radio at this time. The cons screen the calls so you can't even call in to take up their time. I do however enjoy the town hall meetings that force a candidate or politician to answer to the public. We have to word the question in such a way that they have to squirm out of it. Giving them a choice of bad choices is always a good one.

Will you vote to end medicare or raise taxes to fix the deficit? Force them into the corner and keep repeating it. Beat them at their own game.

[Mimosa]

76. K&R!!! n/t

[WillyT]

77. K & R !!!

:kick:

[pmorlan1]

82. Sorry

Sorry but I'm feeling just as negative as you.

[dorksied]

83. This is the result of Randism.

Ayn Rand is the worst thing to ever happen to America, and it All started when she got so much public attention for her philosophy back in the 1950s. Since then, it has spread like cancer, becoming one of the main building blocks of Republican and Libertarian philosophy.

Any Republican who claims he is a christian, and yet follows the Republican ideology of self-interest > all is a hypocrite.

[MrMickeysMom]

84. I protested until I was able to run for local office, so I did...

It is now my way to help open other persons eyes and get more people involved.

It's the only way I can make strides, because meanwhile, I have not one way to go to a town hall meeting.... the don't exist as far as my US Congressman is concerned anymore. Normally, I'd make news and be credible in my protesting of US policy or lack thereof if we had more open government... seeing none at the District level of the United States, what more can I do but get involved in local govt.

I refused to be depressed that way. We can't be distracted by depression, or if we are depressed, we have to pull ourselves OUT of that depression and DO something@

[nobodyspecial]

85. What do you suggest we do?

Armed revolution in the streets?

[Jim_Shorts]

89. It is now, always has been, and always will be class warfare

They change the model they use once in a while but its always the same ~ reduce it to just two classes, the working poor and the rich.

How long has there actually been a middle class in the U.S.? F.D.R. was afraid what would happen if he didn't help raise living standards and we were able to make some progress for short time (by historical measures).

Truth is, the oligarchs know how to divide and conquer. They win 90% of the battles and always have.

[bjobotts]

94. REmember they plotted to assassinate FDR.Oligarchs lost the battle under FDR.

[bjobotts]

95. WHERE ARE THE JOBS.WHERE ARE THE JOBS.They have no plan or policy so focus on spending to

distract your attention from the fact they have no idea what to do to create jobs or better the economy.

[Enthusiast]

96. K&R

I'm with you.

[taught_me_patience]

99. I disagree (nearly completely)

I know so many people who are making nice, middle-class lives, including myself. I have a hard time believing that we are facing "doom".

Why worry about what other people do with their time? Seriously, is there a worse waste of time?

[Name removed]

101. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hissyspit]

105. So those people whose lives have been destroyed?

Just ignore them?

Massive foreclosures. Huge income disparity betwene rich and poor.

Whistling past the graveyard.

[taught_me_patience]

146. Well, I was responding to OP that stated that America

was being destroyed. My response is that, for the vast majority of Americans, life is ok. Some lives have been destroyed by a variety of factors, it's sad and I hope they can get back on their feet.

[littleblanket]

100. GOP Bozos

What's worse is that they can hypnotize millions. Witness the last election when they promised jobs because the economy was in a dire situation. Well, folks, the economy is still in a dire situation but women now have the government interested in their uteri, college age students have lost their voting rights, senior citizens have been shafted and the only winners are the corporations.

WTF GOP? and WTF Democrats for laying down and showing their soft bellies! Why is the only Democratic leader with balls the only one born without them? Nancy Pelosi is a voice in the wilderness, with crickets for company.

[gtar100]

102. We ought not give up so easily. Just because it hasn't happened yet (the revolution)

doesn't mean it won't. We have a lot of dead-weight to carry with us for now. Namely people who don't vote and those who continue to float through life with their only concern being their entertainment.

We are also a nation that is *very* spread out and action in one part of the country doesn't always resonate in another, yet this great spread of a country is lumped together as if it were equal to any European or Asian country. The wealthy have one thing on us that we never question - we are divided into 50 separate states and therefore more easily manipulated. They just need to focus media attention where it benefits them the most. They'll ignore the mass demonstrations in New York or Wisconsin by going so far away it's not even a peep. But they'll broadcast it out to "America" as if what they say is important to us all. Wall Street is bleeding us dry, yet that's a 3,000 mile trek from the west coast, not a partial day's drive to the capital as it is in almost every other country in the world. If things get too tough for the execs who leech off their workers, they can fly their private jets out to Idaho where they are isolated from the shit storms they cause so far, far away. They take advantage of these things which is why it is so hard for any one demonstration to make its mark anymore.

If they bankrupt this nation into a severe, long-term depression, the outcome of that is already written in history and their downfall is inevitable. But we have a choice ourselves to not wait for things to get so terribly bad. We have *got* to get people to vote, even if the miracle-maker isn't quite for real. Because if you pay any attention to politics, you know there is still a big difference between Democrats and Republicans. There are no sainthood medals forthcoming for either party but if you look at the votes coming out of congress, Democratic representatives and senators are still voting in large numbers for the things we care about, i.e., New Deal programs, environmental protection, education, affordable health care, etc. On the other side the aisle, god-all-mighty they vote like a bunch of lemmings for policies that are destroying our country and our communities...and blaming it on us!!

Liberals have not done a good job of promoting just how good and just liberal policies really are. Nothing is perfect, but if it's not clear to you that all that we fought for through the 1800's and 1900's is worth continuing to fight for, then you're just leaving it up to somebody else, maybe even another generation. The United States isn't going to change for the better through demonstrations alone. We need a fundamental change in our collective consciousness. But that shouldn't be so esoteric - it's you and me talking about this stuff, letting others know that it's important they vote and that the current state of the Republican party is as anti-American as it comes. What we can't afford is to stay silent in our own communities about our concerns and our values. Otherwise, we're letting fundamentalists and narrow-minded bigots just run the show. They are more than happy to, but if we don't put up a fight with them (and they can be brutally unpleasant to talk to), then we have only ourselves to blame. Our strength is in our numbers and by speaking out, we help resonate that strength with others who are of like mind.

[DesertDiamond]

103. Cyrano, the good news is that this is a necessary process - when things get bad enough....

people will wake up and understand that we create our own environment and that they have the power to change this situation by changing their own hearts and minds. "When the minds of the people are pure, the land will be pure also." This seems to be too simple a principle, and yet understanding it gives us the ultimate power, a power to change the poison that is destroying this planet into medicine. When enough of us begin to change our hearts and minds in this way, we will be undefeatable, and the evil people will either go away or join us. I hope my words encourage you, because they are true.

[barbtries]

104. all i can say is i don't watch tv

except on my computer...and i work all the time. i do protest occasionally but i'm tired. however i am awake and i see the USA going downhill and it is painful.

[whathehell]

107. Sorry you're feeling down today...Maybe it's messing with your perspective.

"What other society ever caved in so easily? How incredibly stupid is the population of America? We’re being raped, pillaged and plundered every day. But rather than

fighting back, we sit around watching “reality” TV shows, or baseball games, or old movies, and do everything possible to ignore our impending servitude and eventual doom"

Are you living in the same country I am?

We haven't "caved in so easily"...Our president is ahead, the Republicans are imploding and there's fighting, recalls and push backs all over the country, especially in the Midwest.

You're pessimistic view is unwarranted right now, in my opinion.

[kentuck]

108. Vote and keep the hounds at bay.

What more can you expect?

[Dj13Francis]

109. Yeah.

So viva revolucion! Where do I sign up?

[HillbillyBob]

110. Some of us have been 'Alarmist' since raygun

and the kreestian coalition/extreme right-nazi-confederate white supremacists(who could believe they are anything more supreme than a cheap pizza), trigger happy authoritarians.

[deutsey]

112. It occurred to me the other day that the elites are trying to reshape America

into a system like the one in China: cowed, compliant workers slaving to enrich powerful, authoritarian elites. Sucks for us but those at the top are making out like bandits.

Dawning of a new age...

[ThomWV]

119. As a nation we became fat, stupid, and lazy

And the predators are feasting.

[Bluenorthwest]

124. Is it America you think you know, or is your State in a fucked up

place? I get sick of the people who live in political cesspools demanding one day that no one point out the regional differences, then the next trying to impose the state of things in Florida as the State of things everywhere.
A person who is sitting on a pile of fetid garbage thinks the whole world stinks, no? And at a certain point, if they will not get up and find a better seat, you have to assume they enjoy the smell, and the complaining about the smell.

[txlibdem]

125. I'm waiting for the populace to revolt: then I'll stand by them

If, on the other hand, they go quietly to the showers then I'll find a way to sneak out of this wreck of a country and take care of myself.

[TatonkaJames]

127. This guy seems to understand, however crude he is

http://www.youtube.com/user/Peace4meandU?blend=5&ob=5#p/a/u/1/D_9ESpYhFk0

http://www.youtube.com/user/Peace4meandU?blend=5&ob=5#p/a/u/0/phBx3e1kT0g

[MasonJar]

128. Unfortunately I agree. I am very worried for my grandson and the world he will

inherit and inhabit.

[BREMPRO]

130. Huxley's nightmare has come true.. it's a "Brave New World"

the spark of revolution doused by endless distractions, new gadgets, video games, entertainment, celebrity gossip, and superficial pleasure seeking...

[Hotler]

131. kicking because this is true. n/t

[caseymoz]

132. Not exceptionalism, mind you, but Americans are different.

We never experienced, in our domestic history, the kind of oppression the European peasantry did. Where we did experience it, it was divided by race, and was perceived as being due to race and not class. We never then stepped into the Industrial Revolution from that culture of religious/genealogical oppression. One of the results was that Marxism never took in the US the way it did in Europe. Within that, people have absorbed (from propaganda and urban legend) an aversion to identifying with class. Americans believe instead they are individuals who aren't tethered to any class.

So, things have to get so bad that this attitude, so at the root of our social thinking, has to crumble. That will take a lot to happen. It won't happen over night, and it probably won't happen until masses of people can no longer afford their cable/sat subscriptions to watch Fox.

So, what I have to say is not necessary positive. But with cities and states destroying their essential services, and with the feds cutting the budget, people are seeing just what "smaller government" means outside an Ayn Rand fantasy. As in Greece, people have to really feel a great degree of anger, fear and despair before they are willing to stop everything and protest and riot.

[femrap]

138. It's even worse if

you happen to be female...look at the woman who had the unfortunate job of cleaning the head of the IMF's hotel room.

I see little in the way of hope. It's so bad that I wouldn't mind if the alignment of the planets tomorrow does smack Earth upside the head. Then we could start all over....all equal.

Greed and fear has destroyed our 'culture.'

I just want to :hide:

[TfG]

140. I find myself agreeing with most everything you said..

and sometimes I wonder if things are really as bad as I think they are, or am I just being paranoid? But you're right. America is being dismantled, one liberty at a time. But yet, all our entertainment and the noise from the media serve to distract and drown out what is happening before our eyes. And yes, there is no revolution. If one talks about revolution, they are considered "radical" or a "fringe element," yet where is the outrage over the extension of the Patriot Act, airport screening, countless limits being put on the American People through various laws, etc, that make it hard for the average person to be self-sufficient. By this, I'm talking about such things as not being able to sell unpasturized milk or plant your own food, such things that have been in the media recently. In a neighboring county here, people aren't allowed to dig a well on their property. I don't know about ya'll, but it is alarming to me, when our officials try to prevent us from being able to fend for ourselves.

And sure, I have enjoyed luxuries such as cable, internet and cell phones as much as the next person, but I am also concerned that these very things, as well as media distractions are keeping us from defending liberties. Is it just me or does anyone else crave simpler times? Family time around the table, spending more time outdoors, etc, rather than the couch potato lifestyle?

And I admire our forefathers for standing up for what they believed in. They fought for the rights we have today but are gradually having taken away.

Is there any way to stop what is happening?

[Name removed]

144. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[a simple pattern]

148. Yes, let's pretend that.

Let's pretend they're not planning to gas & slaughter us all anyway.
Let's pretend they're not gassing & slaughtering us right now.

Do you really think the 2% even want the rest of us here anymore?

[libodem]

147. Prozac Nation

Put down the bong and head for the streets.

[robertpaulsen]

150. We're not just watching. There are no innocent bystanders.

As some crazy coot from the wilderness said, "We are all collectively responsible for what may be the greatest preventable holocaust in the history of planet Earth - our own suicide".

Want a more positive view? Just go back to "watching “reality” TV shows, or baseball games, or old movies". Just understand that doing so is participation in that collective suicide. Hell, even typing this post makes me guilty! :)