New Year's Eve Note
December 31, 2002-January 1, 2003Hey it's been a weird year, no denying it. It's been politically a very weird time in America for a long time, especially since the Bush coup in 2000. But we should be thankful to be alive. We should give thanks to have survived, to have as much still intact as we do, to have as much hope as we do. We should not complain smugly because it will probably get a whole lot worse before it ever gets better.
That's political realism. Sorry. I wish I could show more enthusiasm for what a great year 2002 was. And I wish I could be more optimistic about what's coming up for 2003. On the political front, it's likely to be grim. And in this age, politics is not just something that happens somewhere else. If the US is making life hell for some third world peasants, Americans can no longer be entirely isolated from it.
And yet most Americans that I have encountered feel that they are isolated from what their own government does, that they have no power. I believe the people who are deeply opposed to the Bush administration have a great deal of power because of their numbers. But what is required to tap that power is for Americans to wake from their deep hypnotic slumber. This needs to happen soon. The danger in the current situation is extreme.
I can't help but think that it will get worse before it gets better because it's not going to get any better until people get very pissed off. They aren't pissed off enough to do anything yet. But things are getting worse rapidly for the majority of Americans. We are headed for some very rocky times. The situation is that essentially there is no one driving. Those who are in power are not really piloting anything. They are only looking out for their donors' special interests. The rest of us are on our own.
But the situation is deteriorating rapidly. The disintegration is clearly visible, no need to enumerate it now. We all see it every way.
It appears to me that capitalism, the world capitalist system has collapsed. The guys in charge are just putting on a good face right now. No one is taking any steps to deal with it, and essentially the system is broke, no longer functioning. It needs to be re-thought in fundamental ways. It needs a reform movement on par with the New Deal, or more. And at the moment there is no leadership on the horizon capable of even naming such a vision, let alone mobilizing to achieve it.
Granny D recently pointed out that in the 1980s under Reagan the restraints were taken away from the pirates known as corporate raiders and they began to suck the blood of the corporate world. Their greed and their predatory ways poisoned the business world. In order for companies to protect themselves from hostile takeovers, they had to downsize and strip themselves. Standards of corporate growth were enthroned that were not sustainable, certainly not feasible on a macroeconomic scale. The 20% annual growth rates could only be maintained by structural cuts, essentially the deconstruction of businesses. After 20 years of it, everything has been cut to the bone. There is nothing left to cut.
In recent years these business marvels have maintained their status by misreporting their profits. Now that little trick has run its course and no one seems to have any ideas, no one in power anyway.
No one in power because the people in power do not represent the people, they represent the donors who own them. It is not because they are stupid. It is not like these economic principles are brand new and mysterious. The economic wisdom of the age is not being applied because the political will is not there to enact wise policies. The politicians are whores who are busy stuffing the pockets of their donors with taxpayer booty. The problems of the population at large do not enter their heads.
Right now we are by all indications headed into both severe economic recession and fairly widespread war, if not World War III. There is no reason to assume we will avert these eventualities unless there is some countervailing force. This force is not presently evident. But the power is latent in the population and only needs arousal of consciousness to make it kinetic.
So at present trends, I presume things will continue to coast into disaster. The ship of state is coasting because virtually no politicians will divert from their knee-jerk agendas of enriching their donors to do anything about the real problems. At a certain point things will get so bad for so many people, so much pressure will be generated, that it may hit a threshold. People will get angry. They will wake up. They will focus on the problems that have beset them. They will focus on the barren horizon for leadership. And that will be the opportunity for some one to emerge to answer the call, to be the leader that is essentially created by the times and the needs of the times.
This is the Tolstoyan view that heroes emerge when a historical situation demands them. But unfortunately, there is a great deal of pain to go through before that threshold is reached in America, if it ever is.
So that is my hope for the New Year. I have hope for better times ahead. But realism suggests that current trends will continue for awhile before the collisions that are required to bring about change. So brace yourself and be strong.
Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year.