Pipe Dream
Listening to Joe Biden deliver a common sense assessment of what's needed to help the world's foremost democracy overcome remaining pandemic obstacles, repair the nation's infrastructure and overhaul the economy so it can be an engine of real growth and a mechanism for addressing myriad historical inequities, reminded me quite a bit of listening to his inaugural address.
Although it's true that the US has made incredible strides on the vaccine front (he correctly described the vaccination push
this is spot-on yet breaks my cultural / social heart “Sure, people want jobs. But I’d argue that liberalism (in the traditional sense of the term) has morphed into an almost pathological selfishness in America which, when commingled with despair, the loss of community and the antiquation of civic responsibility, means plans like Biden’s are viewed as far-fetched.” – well put, but the begs question, “what do WE do about it?”
We need a few good men/women with excellent leadership skills – setting vision, charisma, great communication skills with a plan to get people to follow along.
Ideally- left of center, not a self-serving individual and not a boomer. Also, one who can win a clear majority.
How hard can this be?
Can you say “Obama”?
But he ended up reviled regardless…
I think you hit the nail on the head with empowering labor. If people can’t find jobs that pay meaningful wages and benefits with 4 year degrees, what exactly are 2 year degrees going to accomplish? Capitalism is kind of to blame, but really it’s toxic Capitalism in the sense that free markets don’t really exist anymore. Labor was crushed under Reagan, monopolies enabled through lobbying, and tax cuts for the rich to keep them in power. Why in the world do we have laws that limit the number of broadband providers that can entrant into any region in the country? Is that a free market? Not -at – all.
Boeing has been building death traps for half a decade, have they paid any sort of real price for this? NOPE. Why? They are the only game in town thanks to the FAA giving them priority status. Is that really Capitalism?
You want to eliminate the apathy? Restore power to the labor force. People shouldn’t have to be grateful to be able to get a job, employers should be grateful to be able to hire from the most talented labor pool in the world. They should reward those employees appropriately.
IDK. Maybe people were/are always apathetic when they’re not whipped into tribal frenzy.
Maybe the role of a democracy is to get just enough buy in to let the smartest amongst us lead and bulldoze the apathetic ones, delivering them public goods they did not even bother to fight for.
I mean it’s not so much apathy as psychological defeat. There’s whole CIA playbooks on how to destroy collective will of a society by destroying their means of survival and making basic necessities a constant struggle. We used it a lot overseas… then they turned it loose domestically. If the government and elites of a nation turn weapons of war loose on the civilian population you no longer have democracy no matter how many times a year you get to vote.
I think apathy is partly a function of the media and the disparent views people have. We can scarcely discuss anything without it seeming like an intractable argument.
I think the wealthy would prefer us be apathetic therefore they’re willing to posture the media and the politicians in such a way that not in battle with each other is the best we can hope for.
The other thing is that even for large movements in the past it was not the general populace that engaged in the debates, it was the intellectuals who then informed the populace of the debate results. It seems today these debates are being held by the parties in closed door format and then rolled out in hit pieces. Trying different things to soften up or see what sticks. To expect a grass movement to have the funding in tenacity of these larger organizations is unrealistic.
“Boeing has been building death traps for half a decade, have they paid any sort of real price for this? NOPE.” I agree.
Why do people, companies, the federal government, etc. use Microsoft software which doesn’t perform and is insecure when Linux is more secure and free? Why can’t the Navy produce good ships and systems when China rolls out new destroyers in rapidity? What good is a littoral combat ship (LCS) or a Zumwalt-class destroyer? What roles do these ships serve? Do we need navy ships to do drug interdiction rather than contribute to national defense? Why is the airforce buying outdated F-15EX fighters from Boeing? Why does Boeing “own” the FAA? Why does Musk get slaps on the wrist from the SEC?
We all know the answer. Corruption. Lobbyists, politicians, the military-industrial complex, etc.
Popular Mechanics says “After nearly twenty years, the U.S. Air Force is buying brand new Eagles to fly alongside the F-22 and F-35 fighters stealth fighters. Despite a lack of stealth there’s one thing the F-15 can do that the new fighters can’t: carry lots and lots of missiles. The new F-15EX will likely serve as a flying magazine for stealthy fighters, teaming up against adversaries to shoot them down in large numbers.” Left on their own and trying to establish air superiority, F-15s will recreate the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” (The Battle of the Philippine Sea) but with the roles reversed. Who is making bank from all this? Boeing.
Biden is doing a good job so far. His speech last night was at a minimum a welcome change from the autocrat. So far after 100 days things are looking better. He has done a lot more with a lot less than most of his Democratic predessors and knows all the players and how to move the bureacracy to implement policy. He has a heavy lift with Congress but has another year to get more done before Congresspeople start the midterm campaign. Compare how the US is doing vs. most other developed countries right now. Progressives and the young press corps for the most part has vastly discounted and underestimated him. If we continue on this arc, he will be seen as a successful president. And if he can develop Kamala Harris as a leader for either 4 or 8 years from now, he will have accomplished quite a lot. Give him a chance!
I agree completely
I’m sure he’ll be a successful president but then the bar for that is now intolerably low. I’m not upset with Biden being Biden or with him over Trump but it feels a bit like being given warm soup and flat 7UP for a gunshot to the chest.
Thoughts on Apathy –
Apathy is born of frustration, a sense of helplessness, and a loss of trust in the systems that are supposed to support you. How does an entire nation become apathetic? Obviously this doesn’t happen overnight, it takes years of disappointment and disgust to lead hundreds of millions of people to lose interest in their own country. I doubt there is a single event, politician, or party that can be credited with the apathetic view Americans now have. It’s born from being lied to, from a lack of accountability, and many many broken promises. The dotcom bubble, 9/11, the Iraq war, the financial collapse, layoffs, outsourcing, offshoring, police executions, and on and on. No one was held accountable for the losses that occurred during the dotcom bubble, no one was held accountable for allowing 9/11 to occur, no one was held accountable for lying to the public about the nature of WMD’s in Iraq and subsequent American deaths, no one was held accountable for the massive oil price spike that completely broke the lower and middle classes after we took control of Iraq, no one was held accountable for the massive housing bubble that shed half of American’s wealth, no company is held accountable for laying off Americans and offshoring their workforce while sheltering earnings in offshore tax havens, police are rarely held accountable for murdering American’s in cold blood on a weekly basis.
What is there to be hopeful about? What meaningful change can Americans actually expect to occur based on the past few decades? Elections don’t change anything, different parties don’t change things, nothing can be done because the 2 party system is designed in such a way that the mega rich can manipulate and control election outcomes to benefit themselves no matter which party is in power. You need proof? Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren never had a shot in hell of winning election.
You want to fix the apathy? Fix the systems that created the dissolution driving the apathy.
America isn’t just apathetic. It is fiercely bound to find that sweet spot it imagines from the 1950s when everyone was blissfully happy. Americans are supposed to have a strong work ethic; one in ten of us probably still have it. The rest, not so much. Why? Because we pay too much for participation. I forget who it was (maybe Woody Allen) who said 90% of life/success is just showing up. Apathy makes life easy. Work creates anxiety and if you can get paid for just showing up, what the hell. As a friend of mine used to say when a stupid boss gave him some sort of stupid order, “Hey, who cares, it all pays the same.” There are no more real leaders, only a bunch of people bent on getting themselves the job of telling you what to do, and us putting up with it because it all pays the same and we don’t have to assume any responsibility for the outcome (including the so-called leaders we foolishly pick). A few people with brains and goals get rich and then we bitch about it when they are too successful because it makes the rest of us look lazy. Most of us are (there’s got to be at least one mirror in your house – check it out). That’s the same reason Americans don’t respect education. Truly educated people, like truly rich people, are just to scary. For the last thirty years or so we have all turned into posers calling each other names. Oh, he’s an elite (read risch or educated), or a progressive or a liberal socialist or a fascist or blah blah….. An old boss of mine hated labels. His response was always the same when the labeling crept into a conversation: “Shut up, we’ll just call it Fred and move on to the real work.” Getting real stuff done takes work from all of us. And doing the right thing just makes you a responsible contributor to the commonweal, not a hero. There are few, if any, real heros and almost no GOATs. Too many labels, not enough work. The 50s are gone forever, thank God, people got polio, measles and mumps in the 1950s. While we’re sitting around as a nation wishing we could go back to the “good old days” we are going to get our butts handed to us by China and our own Gen Zers. Check it out folks, our own 12-year olds actually “get it.” Have any of you ever told your kid, “Oh I can’t help you with that math homework, I never really got all that.” Why not?
Biden and the Democrats cannot correct all that ails this struggling democracy. You can trace the general public apathy from the campus at Kent State, the disaster that was Viet Nam, to Afghanistan, two Iraq wars……all accomplishing very little…..9/11 being the only moment since WW2 where you could feel patriotic resurgence…a uniting fear of terrorism.
Americans go thru the motions of democracy…..which gave rise to a bone spurred TV host…..because political leadership became suspect, non-productive.
At Kent State ‘status quo’ shot ‘dynamic change’ to death……and until fear of meaningful change can be implemented…..it is nothing but a ‘pipe dream’ in a nation of drunks, drug addicts, both prescribed and illegal, ed self absorbed gamblers, lost in self created virtual reality’s and illusions……unless that changes in the upcoming generation….that old thing called responsibility….Russia already knows our inherent weaknesses…..but China will win……
Well stated, I only went back 20 years but this does really go back to the 1970’s. China believes it can be the most powerful country in the world, we think that we already are. That’s why we will lose. If you think you’ve already achieved all of your objectives then what are you working towards?
Execution is another matter, but Biden’s plan is spot on, remarkably: The US needs to forestall its decline and China’s ascension and prepare for the next digital revolutions (Internets) governing energy and transportation, while addressing climate change, and while upgrading the level of education and dealing with inequality.
I just hope Biden was and is able to sway Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Synema, etc as this time is precious for saving our democracy and catalyzing some form of positive change for our masses as we move towards 2022 where everything becomes election related…
reading the article and comments reminded me of a couple trips to Cuba several years ago when I had a multitude of impressive and memorable conversations with everyday folk about the US, world, democracy, freedom, justice, etc … it is possible for the masses to be educated and critical thinking, … but does it require an authoritarian / totalitarian regime to affect that…?
“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone…”
This thread is rather epic.