--- On Thu, 7/23/09, Dwayne Monroe <dwayne.monroe at gmail.com> wrote:
> To be cynical however, you have to be a disappointed
> romantic. Within
> each cynic's skull throbs a mind longing to believe with
> the fervency
> of a "Twilight" fan. My objections weren't
> cynical. I simply took
> Mr. Obama at his word and factored in the history of the
> office he
> sought.
>
[WS:] So if you really factored in the history of the office, why are you so angry at Mr. Obama? Anyone in that office would do the same thing, no? So why blaming the person? The very fact that a black guy got into the white office and the right wing trolls' being pissed at that is priceless - it was well worth it, even if nothing more will likely come out of it.
I have no illusions about the American institutional system - it is impossible to change it in any meaningful way. Most industrialized countries underwent profound institutional changes during the past 100 to 150 years, but not the US. In fact, the US institutional system remains almost unchanged since it was set up some 200 years ago, save for the emergence of the standing army after the Civil War and some minor tweaking on the margins. There were institutional sea changes in Europe and Asia, proportional representation, welfare state, social democracy, you name it, but the US resisted all these changes and remained the same plutocratic institutional structure it established at the beginning.
And it is not coincidence - its very institutional structure is designed to prevent change - the separation of power, the power of the judiciary (always a conservative force), the setup of the senate, the archaic electoral system with roots in land ownership and thus tied to the land rather than community of interests, the collusion between business and government, the well established tradition of political patronage permeating every level of government. All that to prevent any change of the status quo and upset the monied interests that milk the system.
The US is a country where democracy arrived too soon. Unlike the European "pressure cooker" which led to the protracted class struggle, the formation of strong class interests and institutions representing them, which, in turn, pushed for social and democratic reforms - the US democracy was established virtually by a decree of oligarchs, businessmen and slave owners - benevolent and enlightened oligarchs, to be sure, but oligarchs nonetheless. Hence the design to keep the business- and oligarchy-friendly institutional framework being altered by popular pressure, and at the same time maintain the appearance of a democracy.
It is not possible to change that design in any meaningful way without totally smashing the core of that system and the symbiotic relation between government and business. And I have no illusions about that.
That s why I did nor expect anything from Mr. Obama, except perhaps seeing right wing trolls being pissed at a black man entering the white house. which in itself is priceless. But no meaningful change is ever possible in this country without dismantling its institutional system and decapitating the business class that controls it, so I did not expect any, Mr. Obama's "hope" spiel notwithstanding.
So why getting upset with him now. He is a and articulate, intelligent, thoughtful and outspoken person - very likable, indeed. And that he could not produce the "change" that he promised? It is not possible to do that as long as the institutional power structure remains intact. It is like blaming a doctor that he could produce a miracle cure, when all he could do is to administer anesthesia.
Wojtek