Going

The Speaker of the House has resigned under pressure from the wingers of the Republican Party. There is not a single rational person running for the Republican presidential nomination so, on the surface, it appears that one of the two ruling parties in the US has gone completely off the rails. It is what one would expect as a country slides into oblivion. It is what the American people keep voting to support. For, no matter how one looks at the numbers, the Republican party controls most of the government on both state and national levels.

There is a small chance that this will work out well. There is just enough time between now and the next election for the country to feel the impact of Republican madness. Should it come to pass that they are crushed by the voters, there is some small hope that the country can turn away from disaster. Small. There is still the fairness doctrine, the SCOTUS, the tax laws, Citizens United, and out of control military spending. Americans despise educated people and experts telling them anything they don't want to hear. We are a “faith based” society that hates truth, completely impoverished when it comes to wisdom, compassion, understanding, empathy, justice, and peace. We worship power, wealth, violence, and war.

It would be better for the world and the future if such a country were to fade from history. Indeed, history suggests there is no other alternative. The long arc of human evolution bends toward liberty and discovery. As a species we have slowly shed the Kings and Popes, Gods and Prophets. The oppressed eventually revolt, the Kings get led to the gallows, the churches are closed; society convulses and something slightly less oppressive, slightly more just, grows in its place. Americans may be about to feel the full brunt of living under religious tyranny, working only for the benefit of the powerful few, shedding personal liberty so the elite can take their shot at ruling the world. It will follow the path that all such societies follow.  

All may not be lost ...

It is hard to imagine any scenario more ludicrous than the one unfolding in America's nascent presidential campaign. Even more surreal is that the election itself is still sixteen months away, making it hard to imagine that anything happening now is relevant. But it must be since one of these clowns will be on the ballot for the next POTUS. It appears, at least on the Republican side, a competition between the worst excuses for human beings that one could possibly assemble. At the moment the very worst of the bunch is actually polling as the favorite. There could be no better proof that the American political system is broken almost beyond repair.

Which is an improvement over my normal view that the system was broken a long time ago and is now way past the point of being salvaged. An improvement due to a single fact, a Democratic Socialist is running for the Democratic nomination, and is making some real waves in the process. Unfortunately he is a 72 year old white guy trying to derail the Clinton political machine. He is also, already, facing down the entire military / industrial / fundamentalist / neo-liberal junta who know a threat to their domination when they see one. His chances of making to the White House likely bounce between zero and none.

And yet, could it be that the American people are not quite as brain dead as the ruling elite believe? They did spend nearly a billion dollars to get Obama defeated the last time, and all that money bought them was a landslide loss. Certainly they did a lot better in the mid-terms, now controlling the House and Senate, and mostly controlling the SC. (The Chief Justice goes rogue on them once in a while for reasons no one quite understands, but only on social issues. When it comes to the demands of the the rich and powerful he is bought and paid for, 100% prime cut, and ready to serve without question.) Truth be known – and someday it will be – Obama is as much a war loving, Wall Street serving, neo-liberal as any Republican. Most state and local governments have fallen in line as well, so it certainly seems that the conservative / neo-liberal train is still on track to ruin the world.

And yet, could it be that the American People are not quite as brain dead as the ruling elite believe? Maybe, but my skepticism will not be that easy to abandon. The Republican party is utterly hopeless and basically evil, but has a secure following among the religious fanatics and wealthy. There are some small indications that it may finally collapse into dithering, drooling, collection of irrelevancy; the current Front Runner being a good example. Still, unless the Front Runner flames out in such a spectacular manner as to set fire to the entire Republican brand, the indications will remain small and inconsequential.

And yet, could it be?

The openly oppressive and hateful are in some small retreat. Their favorite rallying symbol of the Stars and Bars is being lowered. The LGBT community has forced the religious fanatics out of their closet of phobia, fear, and ignorance. Civil rights have returned to the forefront of public debate, dragging income inequality into the spotlight as well. Police brutality, an unjust justice system, and America's hidden slavery / prisoner abuse pipeline are also cringing under the scrutiny. All of which is provoking the expected backlash. The abusive and the hateful are rarely converted.  They are, eventually,  rendered impotent and inconsequential, fall silent, and then quietly die off mostly forgotten. The world moves forward without them.

Still, there is very little talk of the massive corruption that has crippled our democracy. If there is any real anti-war sentiment brewing, it has yet to show itself. Denying simple facts and worshiping mythology are perfectly acceptable positions to hold. And no one is talking openly about the very foundation of our society, rampant consumerism driven by the continued, flagrant, wasting of finite resources, as being unsustainable.

And yet, there sparks the faintest hope that all is not lost.