COASTAL POST (415)868 1600 FAX (415) 868 0502 P.O. Box 31 Bolinas CA 94924 http://www.coastalpost.com email: editor at coastalpost.com January, 2004
2004: Resolve to Evolve
by Frank Scott
We have evolved to a much higher life form than our hunter-gatherer ancestors . They hunted for meat and gathered vegetation; we hunt for money and gather merchandise . Progress.
But a new year arrives, and we may be poised for a more highly evolved focus. Like, maybe, hunting for democracy, and not just money, and gathering as citizens, and not just consumers. Are we ready? Not if our mind managers have their way.
The staged production of Saddam Hussein’s capture was propagandized for all it was worth , but the illegal, immoral situation is no different than before. If Saddam “confesses” to having flushed anthrax down the toilet, stashed nukes in Tel Aviv, and WMDs in his BVDs, nothing will change. Even if his show trial produces evidence of his previously smoochy relationship with the same neo-con serial killers who now depict him as satan, we will still have to confront our own problems and our own demons. They are not in Iraq, but here in USrael .
The 2004 election will arrive sooner than many of us would like, but the issue should have already been decided. That is, if we were a legitimate democracy. Instead, a regime which ought to be impeached and jailed for its murderous lies is still in power , thanks to its spinally challenged opposition. Despite their terminal wimpinesss, our immediate hopes rest on the nine Democrats running for the opportunity to defeat the minority president. Why? Because if we don’t get rid of this regime, fast, it may get rid of us, faster.
Three of the nine are progressive , which is the best percentage ever offered in a Democratic primary. But almost any of them, however bad, is an improvement over the language abusing war criminal in the white house.
Sharpton and Mosely-Braun offer a first; two black candidates in one primary . He is the quickest and most articulate wit of the bunch, and she the most decent and least given to ego posturing. But Kucinich is the foremost representative of those who want change that is more than rhetorical or cosmetic. His progressive positions, especially against the war, make the other white boys look like what they are; gas bags, empty until filled by speech writers, poll interpreters and other political marketeers .
Of course, Kucinich, like the others, wants peace in the middle east without citing Israel as its worst enemy , deserving an embargo, a cut off in aid, and other sanctions usually placed on renegade regimes . Don’t hang by your lip waiting for the ruling corporate party to take that position, given that so few on what is called the left are willing to do it. In fact, Dean made a rather mild statement that the US should be evenhanded, and he was politically circumcised for this wimpy transgression of the party line that says; Israeli racial supremacy is always right, and Palestinians fighting for their homeland are always wrong. Unfortunately, the zionization of American politics won’t end with this election.
But those who are desperate to defeat Bush are ready to accept almost anything. In fact, some with stars in their eyes and sawdust in their heads went into a swoon when the Democrats introduced a professional warrior into the race. But Wesley Clark - Colin Powell in white face - has been unequal to the task so far, though he could still wind up as a candidate for vice president. In fact, those Democrats who insist the party needs a serial killer on the ticket in order to win , may launch a movement to draft Tony Soprano if Clark fails.
At present, Howard Dean leads the pack. This centrist governor of a tiny state has become popular, mostly for stating the obvious about Bush, but doing it in a loud and angry voice. He’s depicted as a leftist fiend by those “new” Democrats who wish to keep the party only slightly less Republican than the other wing of the ruling corporate cartel. But far more impressive than the candidate are his supporters, their organization, and its performance. Some of them may be desperate, but given the reality, they can’t be faulted for that.
Nevertheless, progressives - those who haven’t already succumbed to a pre-November form of crackpot realism - owe it to their convictions to vote for Dennis Kucinich in the primaries, and then hope for the best . And if they get the worst, they can practice the usual lesser evilism in November, for once, with good reason.
We are ruled by an intellectual and moral featherweight who lost the popular vote and since 911 has moved from that awful beginning to head the worst regime in American history. This cabal of murderous fanatics, liars and dimwits has alienated us from the rest of the world, to a greater extent than ever before. Our economy is in debt to a wealthy minority of people and institutions, and it is those forces which control it, and our politics. That was true long before Bush , but he has made the situation worse, making the world a more dangerous place, and bringing it closer to social, environmental and political breakdowns.
This is an occasion when many of us make personal resolutions about what we will do in order to improve our lives . It‘s time we think about social , as well as personal changes. If we have truly evolved, as humans , we should resolve to dump this government, as citizens. By any means necessary, with whatever tools are available. In November, if not sooner. And after putting a temporary new one in, work to create a long term, permanent democratic expression that deals with issues of peace and social justice , in deeds, and not just words. We should resolve to at least start . Happy New Year.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Frank Scott. All rights reserved.
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frank scott email: frank at marin.cc.ca.us 225 laurel place, san rafael ca. 94901 (415)457 2415 fax(415)457 4791