A lot of great points and insights here, and this is a big one:
We flushed that down the toilet in order that our oligarchs could compete with the oligarchs of the most corrupt countries in the world
As a society we've allowed this to happen. We the people need to pull our heads out the sand, out of our phones, out of our screens, and stop viewing the world through a Left/Right lens, instead seeing it for what it is: a Powerful Elite/Everyone Else spectrum. There is no genuine Left/Right. There's a vast, complex array of shades and colors that are falsely grouped, often doing so ourselves. Sure, those oligarchs, in both business and government (which are largely the same thing anymore) are charlatans virtual signaling and paying lip service to their various constituents solely in the pursuit of more and more power and wealth, and that's on them. But it's our own fault as well. We let it happen, content with entertainment and self-gratification instead of striving to actively maintain a civil, cohesive society (which itself needed work, but we've greatly backslid).
There are signs that some people are starting to wake up, but it may be too little too late. As the public we need to stop giving power over how we think and feel to others, especially those with nefarious motivations of self-interest, and start taking that power back through self-organization, not against each other, but against those in power. One thing I don't agree with is that it stems solely from historical slavery/genocide (although a factor, for sure). I'm old enough to know an era where we'd completely gotten past all that and healed from it. But something happened somewhat recently to tear that down, I suspect largely due to idle hands, so to speak, i.e. things were so good that "we" started inventing problems that had already largely been resolved.
While I agree with many of your points, I suspect you've fallen into the ideological, belief-based trappings of false narratives, which skews your perception of reality. The blame isn't just on right-leaning elites. It's on all of them, regardless of claimed political membership. Those on the Left are better at disguising it for their constituents, but in many ways they're worse.
Of course, then Trump came along and greatly exacerbated the situation (along with those who gave him power over how they think and feel, both the die-hard acolytes and the blind-rage haters). That's my two cents, anyway.
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Never believe. Always question. Rebuke belief, a.k.a. bias, a.k.a. groupthink, a.k.a. ideology, the bane of skeptical, logical reason.
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brux (14729)
2 years ago
> ... stop viewing the world through a Left/Right lens, instead seeing it for what it is: a Powerful Elite/Everyone Else spectrum.
The digital breakdown of this, is class warfare. That is, Republicans have always stood for the rich and powerful elite, and they still do. They have spend tens, maybe hundreds of millions of think tanks and media networks to make people think otherwise - that is just another mind-FK.
So, as far as the people being able to perceive this, I don't think it is going to happen because it's like the fish trying to see water ... they cannot see it The analytical tool is mostly Marxism, and there is a powerful taboo in our society against anything Marxist, saying or reading or doing anything other than a violent reaction - programmed in by the elites.
> One thing I don't agree with is that it stems solely from historical slavery/genocide (although a factor, for sure).
A core elite in the US has always been military and exploitative. Businesses today seek to find profits as close as possible to slavery, and they are genciding the poor still .... it's just a slightly different model.
Where do you think Hitler got his ideas on eugenics. Check out Edwin Blacks book the War Against The Weak.
Another thing we do is to condone bullying in the name of righteousness, which is the stem that our police shootings come from. We have this unquestioned meme that they only time you can really beat on other people is when you have authority, that comes from money, authority, power, or celebrity.
If you are a big shot you can do anything you want to the little people. that is pure historic evolutionary outgrowth of slavery and genocide.
The US was the last major historical superpower to renounce slavery, and then after the Civil War we just changed the model and disguised it. Making people homeless is the social analogy to genocide.
No other major Western country treats people like this.
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