I am not very optimistic about America's future, being of the opinion that a country this far gone in illusion, propaganda, war profiteering, violence, lies, religious fundamentalism, and corruption, is not likely to find its way into a bright and promising future. Most of the focus of my disillusion is the SCOTUS, followed closely by the Senate. Both are controlled by conservative / religious fundamentalists and beholding only to their corporate masters. The remainder of my disillusion rests with the people of the US, enough of whom vote conservative / religious to keep that abusive minority in power. Democracy is hard, and the people of the US are simply not up to the task.
Or so it seems.
There is, however, a small ray of hope. At the moment the media is full of stories of how the Republican / conservative / religious fortunes are on the rise. Media talking heads fully expect the Senate to go to the conservatives in the fall, along with an increased majority in the House. The Republicans are portrayed as confident while the Democrats are supposedly paralyzed with dread at their coming irrelevance.
All of this portrayed by the same media that said Obama was in trouble in the last election and that fully supported the Bush administration claims of WMDs. It is a media that I routinely describe as completely lost to propaganda wars. So why would I think that they are getting this rise of conservatism right? If every “close race” goes to the Democrats this fall, it is the Republican party that is done. Isn't it likely that, deep in some conservative dungeon somewhere, they worry about their future and know their time is nearly up? After all, even King Rush admitted (after the election of course) that he knew Romney was going to get skunked. (It should be amazing that none of his followers reacted to such blatant lying by their No. 1 Talking Whore. But it isn't.)
According to this same media religion is certainly having its way. Religious fanatics keep the headlines filled with cognitive disconnect as the country slides into theocracy. Yet in spite of all that religion can do gay marriage is a done deal, the drug war is on the wane, and prison abuse and reform is at least on the horizon. While it is true that fundamentalists have, in several conservative controlled states, gutted science education and replaced it with religious mythology. But really, who cares? For the most part all that happens is that the rest of the country makes fun of them. Are the kids from these states going to make much of an impact in the world, do much good, raise any one's standard of living? Probably not. But some kid from a state whose school system reflects what humankind has learned in the last 500 years, will be there to fill the gap. So far as society as a whole is concerned, no problem. And while religion is reported to be on the rise, most Catholics use birth control, most Christians know the world is old and revolves around the sun, and the churches are empty on Sunday morning with less then 25% of Americans in attendance.
Every state government, blue or red, has bowed to the mighty NRA and passed concealed carry laws. But are most Americans now walking around secretly packing heat? Some are, now that its legal. But most, even many? Slightly more than a third (37%) of Americans say they or a family member owns a gun. If even half of the owners carry, (and I think that unlikely) it would mean less than one in 20 of those around are potential gun threats. Pick a crowd at random and it is likely there are more gay people in it than people toting guns. (Some of the gay people may well be packing, which should give the homophobes among us pause.)
Some loon of a welfare rancher gets the media foaming at the mouth. Armed revolution! The Police State! Tyranny and anarchy! Yeah well, the Feds go home figuring this asshole is not with the price of a bullet. Yet one can be pretty sure his list of legal woes is just beginning. Bank accounts? Frozen. Access to loans? None. He may find it very hard to market his beef when the Health Inspectors finish. And really, should he become a real threat, how long would it take a handful of trained military snipers or one drone to eliminate that threat? This guy is nothing but a conservative fuck in full stupid mode. (Surprise, he turns out to be a racist stupid fuck as well.)
Yet no one that I know doubts this guy is a true Republican, one of the party's base. Big time conservative names jumped right into bed with the guy as soon as he hit the media, then got caught with their pants around their knees. Rather then conservatism on the rise these dicks were going limp in a hurry.
Propaganda is a powerful tool and the people of the US are at least as susceptible to it as any other nation. Maybe more so since mine was the first generation raised on TV and taught to believe whatever came out of it as news. Remember Uncle Walter's, “And that's the way it is...?” A 30 minute reading of carefully crafted headlines, we were told, is how the world really was. Pure bullshit, but that's what we were raised with.
On the other hand, maybe the propagandists are starting to believe their own shtick and missing the fact that the rest of us are on to them?
One can only hope.
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