Growing Up Insane

Written on August 22nd, 2016 in politics Comments Off

Published on Dissident Voice, by William Hawes, August 20, 2016.

The current state of American politics must make us question whether any of our leaders in the Beltway can be described as “grown-ups”; i.e., fully mature and sane individuals. Between the endless war crimes, corporate corruption, lobbyists who bribe congressmen and write legislation, and the ineptitude of federal entities who are supposed to protect our health such as the FDA, EPA, and CDC, it would appear that leaders in all three branches of government, as well as the leaders of the corporate world, are either insane, suffer from various psychological disorders, as well as suffering from a type of collective hallucination, the common denominator being an utter lack of empathy for other humans, or respect for the Earth.

Further, we must at least question whether collectively, we the citizenry, are as susceptible to mass delusions as our psychopathic leaders are. Our society can be effectively generalized as forming what Paulo Freire calls a culture of silence, many of whom see no problems with exploiting and despoiling other countries, looting wealth, and killing millions; and many more that are simply afraid to speak out against the indignity of the US empire, in fear of socio-cultural reprisals. This culture of silence, which we are taught at a young age, indoctrinates and effectively eliminates the ability of people to form critiques of our rotten political and economic systems. This is who Richard Nixon was really referring to, when he spoke of the “Silent Majority”: citizens too naïve, dumb, childlike, and afraid to confront the injustices inherent to our system were exactly who Tricky Dick was appealing to … //

… First, we must accept the fact that each of us is an agent of democracy, and we must reclaim the public spaces, and smack down the harmful myth regarding “The Tragedy of the Commons”. The answers to Giroux’s plea lie in our ability to raise healthy, strong children who are not seduced by the siren calls of capitalism and patriotic-approved state violence. This should be supplemented by alternative education programs for children and adults, and basic life and practical lessons passed down from parents, grandparents, etc. This doesn’t mean each parent has to teach their kid trigonometry. It means each town has to model itself to promote a viable village atmosphere, and foster a sense of community, with renewable energy, grassroots arts and music, and small to medium scale organic agriculture. It will mean embracing the truth that industrial civilization is destroying the world, and rather than wallowing in self-pity at having our illusions destroyed, rising up and embracing a culture based on ecology, enlightenment, and virtuous edification of our youth.

(full text).

Related Book: Growing up absurd, problems of Youth in the Organized System, by PAUL GOODMAN, Random House N.Y.329 pages, 1956-1960, second printing

(William Hawes is a writer specializing in politics and the environment. You can find his e-book of collected essays here. His articles have appeared online at Global Research, Countercurrents, Dissident Voice, and Counterpunch. You can email him here. Read other articles by William).

Links:

China’s Pivot to World Markets, Washington’s Pivot to World Wars, and the Debacle of the Latin American Left, on Dissident Voice, by James Petras, August 20, 2016;

Western Propaganda, So Simple But So Effective, on Dissident Voice, by Andre Vltchek, August 20, 2016;
Book: On Western Terrorism, From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare, by Noam Chomsky and Andre Vltchek, on amazon;

Videos:

uploaded by Redacted Tonight:

  • Capitalism IS IN CRISIS, 26.05 min, Aug 18, 2016 … Economist Richard Wolff Talks with Lee Camp … about his new book and the pitfalls of current capitalism. Camp also covers the paradoxes of libertarianism. This and more on tonight’s episode of Redacted Tonight VIP;

uploaded by Economics Professor RD Wolff 2016:

von FSchusterTV am 26. März 2016 hochgeladen:

… mit Links zu zwei Filmen auf BUESO.de:

von FSchusterTV am 19. März 2016 hochgeladen … auch auf MMnews:

… und noch dies:

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