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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Whither America? |
| 2006-06-23 |
| This was posted earlier as a comment by Glomogum Shogum2997. I thought it deserved a posting of its own. Many of our institutions, the press and the education system being prime examples of probably equal importance, are based as much in honor and trust as in law. The relationship has been kept in balance mainly because the exceptions where the privilege has been grossly abused were bashed or cajoled back into line by their own. A self-regulating code which we rely upon in many of our institutions. A code that is in obvious jeopardy or dead in some cases. We are in the midst of a sea change, IMO, regards the honor and trustworthiness of these privileged quasi-governmental institutions. A tipping point in their unelected leadership has apparently been passed and there is consistent proof that many have grown too large and powerful for the self-correction of peer judgment and the number of such arrogant pretenders to power now seems sufficient to shelter, if not favor, the untrustworthy, the dishonorable. Appeals to honor have been met with further similar actions - and they have little to do with the press mantra ("the public's right to know") or the educators mantra ("we expose the students to the whole range of thought") - they are about power and influence. They are about control. They are about undermining our system of fair-play and equal opportunity in the public square to make sure one side, one message is heard. This amounts to sedition, I believe. Except for the divide during the Civil War, AFAIK, the situation is unprecedented, at least in terms of endangering Americans and the very vitality of our Republic. There is no obvious immediate solution other than to prosecute case by case. Has the time for lining people up against the wall come? Are we that far down this road? I'm seriously beginning to wonder. I'm afraid that, sure as the sun will appear in the East tomorrow morning, we approach that moment. Everybody - even the loonies - seem to "feel" it. I think President Bush is honorable and worthy of America's trust. I'll speculate a bit and guess that this puts me in a minority of, say, 40%. Another minority of, say, 20% consider Sulzberger and his lot to be the trustworthy and honorable party in the impasse. The remaining 40% aren't so sure about either - and probably split, issue by issue. We don't need lockstep, but we certainly do need to restore honor and trust to our system. We need (at least) two political parties participating - rationally. I believe Bush has proceeded with caution and restraint. He has called upon their honor and been not just rebuffed, but ridiculed and reviled. Box checked. The key seems to be that the publisher lot has a powerful grip on The Message - and they're wielding it with abandon in service of interests that do not want the same America that most Americans want - applying the numbers I've suggested above. Due to their actions, the situation has devolved into a bizarre vendetta to destroy the Bush Presidency. I have come to believe that they would do the same to any Presidency which didn't dance to their tune. They have poisoned the entirety of public discourse. The Democrat Party has, since they lack any rational ideas of their own, jumped on-board, jettisoning any hope of beating back this insanity. It's akin to institutional suicide - for both. All to do... what? Get Bush? Destroy America as we know it and want it to remain? Whose America will this country become? As with Islam, it seems obvious that we have been engaged in an all-out war. That undeclared cowardly war began with the Oil Embargo of 1973 and became so obvious anyone could see it in Tehran in 1979. Now we have a socialist / Tranzi war on the American democracy from within which has come out into the open - and this instance probably became obvious, at least to some of us, with Nixon and Vietnam. They were victorious in bringing down a government and setting the stage for today. Those who "felt the power" as teens now have weaseled their way into positions of authority and power. They have swallowed their own immaculate teenage fantasy bullshit and revel in the numbers of Senators and Congressmen and Judges and Deans and Party Leaders and Elites they have nurtured and harbored until they believe they can repeat the stunt. The Second Wave cometh. Since President Bush was duly elected, twice (a shot for the fevered brow crowd to get excited about), then he is the leader of the American democracy. His decisions and efforts have been a mixture of bold action and attempts to build consensus. Some have been profoundly bold. Some have been amazingly tame. Has he failed us? Not yet, we're still here bitching and complaining where we can find a suitable venue. Has he moved too slow or taken positions which we find far too mild on some issues? Yes, indeed. There is no apparent consensus possible on some issues, such as endangering America by putting private power games above the Constitution or allowing a massive influx of illegals who, simply put, cannot be trusted. I'll take my concerns to the ballot box, regards Bush and Congress. Regards these usurpers... I'm now beginning to realize that in my heart of hearts I favor stronger measures. I've heard it repeated that he is fair game for any and all criticism. I personally do not agree with that except in principle - the principle of public discourse and redress where society decides, where laws are made under the Constitution, and judicial fiat is unthinkable - but that well has been thoroughly poisoned and is tightly controlled by the publishers and editors. Regards the judicial activists, those ideals are proven lost every day - from Kelo to the release of sex offenders, from almost anything the Ninth Circuit decides to the inability to get effective voter fraud measures in place. Write a Letter To The Editor which takes the press to task for such leaks... which demands of them accountability and honesty in their overwhelming repetition of lies and idiot memes, proven false repeatedly... which demands to know why the emergence of obvious agendas is not allowed to be discussed and condemned in their pages... which demands that they acknowledge its existence and one-sided view... Pick any topic in which they have obviously thrown aside the very reason our Constitution granted them favor and demand they account for their actions, just as they disingenuously demand of others. What will happen? Nothing. I've tried it with both mild and strong versions. What I see is merely occasional lip-service to dissenting opinion on the Op-Ed page and the continued diatribe of one-sided, specious, illogical, fear-mongering, factually false, lick-spittle tirade that serves their agenda. Ad nauseum. Honestly, were it not for Rantburg and its like, which have taken the place of the Letters To The Editor page and provided an outlet for discourse, I believe we would already be in the throes, maybe sporadic - maybe in earnest, of a Second Civil War. I would certainly be considering more dire actions than voting the bums out and trying to expose the institutional abuse wherever possible. So, how do we proceed? Is clear license for sedition, which is surely the question when public officials in positions of trust and sensitivity are intentionally suborned, now to be accepted as the "new" reality? No. By God, No. Let every elected official - and the unelected, too - in this country be put on notice that we do not accept this, that we have the power as voters, and we will exercise it. Use every means available - email, letters, contributions, button-holing your representatives at their "events", organizations - everything. Make it clear. Make them feel what you feel. Exercise your power. It is about power. We need a solid two-party system to remain healthy. We do not have it. So, we suffer accordingly. who will wield the power in America? Americans, via the ballot box, or media powers and the other institutional parasites, sycophants, racist triangulators, and Tranzi whores, dragging the clueless and cowardly Democrats along behind? It is out in the open. Sunshine has begun the disinfection process. They have shot their bolt and we are wounded. But not mortally. Not yet. My thanks to the many, many thoughtful posters here who have helped me clarify my thoughts by posting theirs. If any fault or criticism is levied against this post, I sense the sinktrap may be close at hand, please let it be clear: my conclusions are my own. Thank you. Again, I apologize for the length, but thinking out loud is the only way for me. :-} |
| Posted by:DanNY |
| #3 Thanks Steve but it wasn't me.... See the first line... |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-06-23 22:19 |
| #2 Well written, Dan, and I'm marking it as a 'classic.' |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-06-23 18:59 |
| #1 Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny black car in the night? |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-06-23 16:49 |