This is inspired by the writing of Tom Engelhardt at Engelhardt, The Future Foreseen (and Not)
Tom Engelhardt correctly describes the catastrophe we are facing worldwide documented in the article and elsewhere on this website. (1) It is disturbing that many see only the democratic and republican parties and only take the view that one party is good and the other party is bad. The unfortunate unpopular truth is both parties are responsible for pushing a very similar agenda. As Glenn Greenwald said, "One of the worst myths Democratic partisans love to tell themselves - and everyone else - is that the GOP refuses to support President Obama no matter what he does. Like its close cousin - the massively deceitful inside-DC grievance that the two parties refuse to cooperate on anything - it's hard to overstate how false this Democratic myth is. When it comes to foreign policy, war, assassinations, drones, surveillance, secrecy, and civil liberties, President Obama's most stalwart, enthusiastic defenders are often found among the most radical precincts of the Republican Party."
Even more disturbing, Tom Engelhardt describes our response to it as an “Age of Acquiescence.” Wars and civil rights violations which must be fought against at all costs under a republican get a pass for democrats. Of course, republicans do the same thing. The bigger point is that for many there are no beliefs or philosophy that rises above supporting their favorite party.
What to do? “…I had no sense of what to do until TomDispatch more or less smacked me in the face.” I had a similar experience with the New Progressive Alliance. I also did not see any constructive way I could contribute and came upon the NPA on FireDogLake. Of course, there are many ways to meaningful contribute for change, but it will take real effort. Blindly supporting the Uniparty or blogging while refusing to volunteer or telling all that is wrong with the efforts of others will change nothing. For me that action is volunteering for the NPA. This year we were given Special Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and designated a 501c4 educational organization by the IRS. We just submitted our first Public Comment to the UN. You may have an entirely different organization or plan to help, but more of us need to get involved and do something.
References
1. I have over 6,000 references in these 16 areas and am still adding. The reason I have so many is to show these are trends and not isolated aberrations.
Disturbing Trends:
Civil Rights – http://www.newprogs.org/civil_rights_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Corporate Overreach - http://www.newprogs.org/corporate_overreach
The Economy – http://www.newprogs.org/economics_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Economic Graphs and Videos – http://www.newprogs.org/economic_graphs
Education – http://www.newprogs.org/education_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Election Reform Is Needed - http://www.newprogs.org/election_reform_is_needed
The Environment - http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Healthcare – http://www.newprogs.org/healthcare_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Our Crumbling Infrastructure - http://www.newprogs.org/our_crumbling_infrastructure
Labor - http://www.newprogs.org/labor_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Poverty is Getting Worse – http://www.newprogs.org/poverty_is_getting_worse
The Powerless Press – http://www.newprogs.org/the_powerless_press
Diminishing Transparency - http://www.newprogs.org/transparency_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Continuous Wars – http://www.newprogs.org/wars_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
The War on Whistleblowers – http://www.newprogs.org/whistleblowers_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Widespread Police Misconduct and an Expanding Prison Population - http://www.newprogs.org/massive_police_misconduct
