--- cgrimes at rawbw.com wrote:
> essential back bone of western civilization. The
> only logic that makes
> sense is that money is green, and will stay green,
> and it really
> doesn't matter where it comes from or how, as long
> as power is held
> within the circles of a carefully managed
> few---rainbow or monotone,
> who cares?
---snip
> these works had their greatest influence. It's a
> great exercise---they all
> blurr into an astonistingly pessimistic view...
[WS:] Yes, ideed. I was sitting on a DC metro today morning, spacing out & gazing at a poster of some law school beaming an upbeat message about public interest lawyers. It suddenly struck me that there is no public interest in the US - the closest to it that this country ever had was the post World War 2 militarism that you mention in your posting.
Unlike most European countries where governments are institutional guardians of public interest, the sole raison d'etre of the USG is the protection of property and financial interests of the business class and providing contracting opportunities for the well-connected members of that class. Public interest is served only accidentally, inasmuch as it coincides with the interests of the business class. An indedd it is in the interest of the business class to keep its chattel in a relatively good shape to maintain its productive and consuming potential.
I also realized that the problem of reformers, idealists, activists, "bleeding hearsts," radicals, etc. is the delusion that there is such as a thing as public interest in Amerika and that interest will be served if only "we" (whoever that is) do the "right thing" - i.e. vote for the right candidate, "organize" the right event, "mobilize" the right people, think the right thoughts, say the right things, etc.
This is at the roots of moral indignation at "treacherous" Democrats, venal power elites, inadequate public services, injustice of the criminal justice system, stupidity of the media, etc. Such indignation is a preamble to the call for action to restore Amerika to its "true" self and free it from the corruptiong inmfluences of power elites, governments, corporations, etc.
However, if one drops the delusion that there is such as thing as public interest in Amerika, all that critique, moral indignation and activism becomes pointless. Just like it does not make sense to reform wolves or lions so they stop killing Bambis - it does not make sense trying to reform Amerikan institutions to act in public interest. In both cases, this would be against the nature of the beast.
This realization has a kathartic effect, at least on me. I stopped reacting emotionally to the constant barrage of bad news reporting thoughts and behavior of Bush, USG officials, corporate bosses, social problems, opinions of pundits etc. - and I started viewing it the way I view nature shows depicting things that normally would make me cringe, such as lions eating Bambis, seals devouring penguins, sharks attacking seals, or for that matter, my cats killing mice and birdies, etc. These creatures merely do what is in their nature, and ther is nothing I or anyone else can do short of exterminating all lions, seals, sharks and kitties - which would be even more horrific.
This is an act of alienating onself - or detachment from the entrapments and delusions of life in Amerika.
Amerika is what it has always been, a land of opportunity, getting rich quickly at public expense, and sanctimonious self-righteousness in the service of private profits. Nothing less, nothing more. One can either be a part of it, or stay out and view it as we view wild beasts devouring their prey - as alien observers watching it from a distance and abstaing from any intervention into this process on the pain of utmost futility and frustration of such intervention, if not becoming the prey (or predator).
Wojtek
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