[lbo-talk] Main St. USA's mood: 'We need a revolution in thiscountry'

[Chuck]

Carl Remick wrote:
> [Just returned from an usually interesting visit to the dentist -- 
> interesting because it gave me an opportunity to peruse Business Week's 
> cover story, Sept. 3, on the subprime crisis, which openly ridiculed 
> Wall Street's financial engineering innovations of the last 25 years.  
> The magazine cover art depicts an expensively attired Wall St. exec 
> wearing a red clown's nose.  Most interesting of all was a cover story 
> sidebar article (see below) discussing Middle America's mood these days 
> -- i.e., DEEP alienation.  It's pretty eye-popping to see a Kansan 
> (other than Chuck, of course) saying:  "I think we need a revolution in 
> this country."  If the left doesn't seize the moment, it really deserves 
> to be in history's dustbin.]

Thanks for sharing this, Carl, and thanks for mentioning me.

The mood in the Midwest has turned ugly. You can read it in the letters 
to the editor. You can hear it on the radio when people talk about the 
housing situation. I suspect that many people are worried about how bad 
the housing market is even around here.

I've only seen one bumper sticker promoting a Republican while driving 
around town. That was one promoting "Mitt '08". Given that this is 
Kansas City, it could have been a car belonging to a Mormon.

Meanwhile, 3-4 miles up the street from me is a rather striking anti-war 
memorial along the side of the road. Somebody has planted a small U.S. 
flag for every military person killed in the current war. They've posted 
signs on each end of the memorial which notes the current tally of war 
dead. It's remarkable to see something like this in the burbs of Kansas 
City.

Several weeks ago there was an anti-war protest in Johnson County, 
featuring around 75 people, mostly local high school students and their 
parents. This little rally took place at the intersection of 95th and 
Quivira, directly outside of Oak Park Mall. This protest took place 
smack dab in the center of Johnson County, one of the richest counties 
in the U.S.

I'll relay any other tidbits from Middle America that provide an insight 
into the mood around here.

Chuck