jeremy > Books: politics‎ (26)

one of the foremost achievements of the so-called knowledge economy is the mass production of ignorance, stupidity, and hatefulness.

one of the foremost achievements of the so-called knowledge economy is the mass production of ignorance, stupidity, and hatefulness.

in our present moment, all the new forms of digital uprootedness support the illusion of autonomy, while any vague longings for enduring emotional connections are thwarted by the transience and homogeneity of online interactions. inevitably, this reinforces our uncomprehending indifference to the unraveling of the lifeworld around us. we become blind to the mounting uprootings of a different kind, merciless and terrifying, which are on course to shatter our techno-complacency. famine, drought, and warfare continue to force millions from their homes and once-functioning communities, leaving behind lands and whole regions that can no longer support life. by casting our lot in with the "becoming digital" of everything, we drift in the hallucination that it will all somehow persist.

trump is always playing trump—fighting to win, but win what or why? he has no clue and knows he has no clue. and we know he has no clue. and he kno

trump is always playing trump—fighting to win, but win what or why? he has no clue and knows he has no clue. and we know he has no clue. and he knows we know he has no clue. and his lostness, his irreducible sadness, is what i find so compelling, almost moving, about him.

"beneath his bluff exterior, i've always sensed a hurt, incredibly vunerable little boy who just wanted to be loved. what trump craves most deeply is the adulation he has found so fleeting." (tony schwartz, co-author of the art of the deal, as quoted herein)

the most interesting thing about him to me, by far, is his commitment to self-immolation, which is unmissable and unending.

the american empire is coming to an end. the nation has lost the power and respect needed to induce allies in europe, latin america, asia, and afri

the american empire is coming to an end. the nation has lost the power and respect needed to induce allies in europe, latin america, asia, and africa to do its bidding. add the mounting destruction caused by climate change and you have a recipe for an emerging dystopia. overseeing this descent at the highest levels of the federal and state governments is a motley collection of imbeciles, con artists, thieves, opportunists, and warmongering generals. and to be clear, i include democrats.

the u.s. government, subservient to corporate power, has become a burlesque. the last vestiges of the rule of law are evaporating. the kleptocrats openly pillage and loot. programs instituted to protect the common good—public education, welfare and environmental regulations—are being dismantled. the bloated military, sucking the marrow out of the nation, is unassailable. poverty is a nightmare for half the population. poor people of color are gunned down with impunity in the streets. our prison system, the world's largest, is filled with the destitute. there is no shortage of artists, intellectuals and writers, from martin buber and george orwell to james baldwin, who warned us that this dystopian era was fast approaching. but in our disneyfied world of intoxicating and endless images, cult of the self and willful illiteracy, we did not listen. we will pay for our negligence.

this moment in history marks the end of a long, sad tale of geed and murder by the white races. it is inevitable that for the final show we vomited up a figure like trump. europeans and americans have spent five centuries conquering, plundering, exploiting, and polluting the earth in the name of human progress. they used their technological superiority to create the most efficient killing machines on the planet, directed against anyone or anything, especially indigenous cultures, which stood in their way. they stole and hoarded the planet's wealth and resources. they believed that this orgy of blood and gold would never end, and they still believe it. they do not understand that the dark ethic of ceaseless capitalist and imperialist expansion is dooming the exploiters as well as the exploited. but even as we stand on the cusp of extinction we lack the intelligence and imagination to break free from our evolutionary past. as the warning signs become more palpable—rising temperatures, global financial meltdowns, mass human migrations, endless wars, poisoned ecosystems, rampant corruption among the ruling class—we turn to those who chant, either through idiocy or cynicism, the mantra that what worked in the past will work in the future. factual evidence, since it is an impediment to what we desire, is banished.

the conflict will not end until followers of the alt-right and the anti-capitalist left are given a living wage and a voice in how we are governed. take away a person's dignity, agency, and self-esteem and this is what you get. as political power devolved into a more naked form of corporate totalitarianism, as unemployment and underemployment expand, so will extremist groups. they will attract more sympathy and support as the wide population realizes, correctly, that americans have been stripped of all ability to influence the decisions that affect their lives—lives that are getting steadily worse.

but it's so much easier to talk shit than to do shit, because once you are out there representing what you believe, people see the real you. most e

but it's so much easier to talk shit than to do shit, because once you are out there representing what you believe, people see the real you. most everybody in the world wears a mask, and very rarely do people unveil who they really are. and i've done that. i'm naked here. so i'm going to be judged by strangers on the core of who i am, and, yes, that makes me vulnerable and it can even feel terrifying.

my parents raised me to challenge the system and to question facts when they are presented to me. you have to question the way things are, because curiosity is what drives the future. questions are the starting point for making any kind of change. this is how i approach the world, and this is how we are raising our daughters so their future can be whatever they want it to be.

man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. ~reinhold niebuhr (as quoted in the

man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. ~reinhold niebuhr (as quoted in the introduction)

ethical leaders do not run from criticism, especially self-criticism, and they don't hide from uncomfortable questions. they welcome them. all people have flaws and i have many. some of mine, as you'll discover in this book, are that i can be stubborn, prideful, overconfident, and driven by ego. i've struggled with those my whole life. there are plenty of moments i look back on and wish i had done things differently, and a few that i am downright embarrassed by. most of us have those moments. the important thing is that we learn from them and hopefully do better.

i don't love criticism, but i know i can be wrong, even when i am certain i am right. listening to others who disagree with me and are willing to criticize me is essential to piercing the seduction of certainty. doubt, i've learned, is wisdom. and the older i get, the less i know for certain. those leaders who never think they are wrong, who never question their judgments or perspectives, are a danger to the organizations and people they lead. in some cases, they are a danger to the nation and the world.

the next president, no matter the party, will surely emphasize values—truth, integrity, respect, and tolerance—in ways an american leader hasn't needed to for more than forty years. the fire will make something good grow.

i wrote this book because i hope it will be useful to people living among the flames who are thinking about what comes next. i also hope it will be useful to readers long after the flames are doused, by inspiring them to choose a higher loyalty, to find truth among lies, and to pursue ethical leadership.

post-truth is pre-fascism.

post-truth is pre-fascism.

some killed from murderous conviction. but many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. other forces were at work besides conformism. but without the conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.

i worry about how important norms of american life are being shattered, along with a unity of purpose. i see the chasms of entrenched partisanship,

i worry about how important norms of american life are being shattered, along with a unity of purpose. i see the chasms of entrenched partisanship, growing inequality on income and opportunity, and the lingering injustices around race, gender, and sexual orientation. i think of my children and my grandchildren. how will they and their generations answer the call?

this scorn of knowledge (especially when the conclusions are painful) in exchange for fact-free rhetoric is not entirely new in our history, but it has always been the language of demagoguery and it is a betrayal of our traditions.

as we seek common ground with our fellow citizens, we cannot forsake our core values. compromise cannot be confused with capitulation.

today we are a divided country. too many decent and law-abiding men and especially women are being told that this nation is not for them, that their values make us weaker, that their voice is better left unspoken. we see elected officials pounding their chests, saying their vision of america represents the only real patriotism. to them i say that patriotism is not a cudgel. it is not an arms race. it also means confronting honestly what is wrong or sinful with our nation and government. i see my love of country imbued with a responsibility to bear witness to its faults.

by far the greatest source of anxiety for those watching the edifice of reality collapse is the ceaseless cascade of lies. but it is not the lies that pose the existential danger to democracy. it's the lying, the kind of thoroughgoing lying that gives rise to a whole new reality or, better still, to no reality at all.

if someone were to draw a map of the hemisphere and chart a child's story and his or her individual route of immigration, then do the same with another child, and another, and then dozens of others, and then the hundreds and thousands that came before and that will come after, the map would collapse into a single line—a fissure, a rift, one long continental scar.

when a natural disaster tears apart a village, the human tendency is for one neighbor to help another, regardless of whatever feelings they may hav

when a natural disaster tears apart a village, the human tendency is for one neighbor to help another, regardless of whatever feelings they may have had for one another before the catastrophe. but we live in a time when merchants of division draw us away from mutuality and toward the undoing of democracy itself.

each of us is left with the question: can we, given all the pain that we have had inflicted upon us and that we have inflicted upon others, ever learn to see each other as lovers do, to find our way toward freedom for all?

profound connections exist between all; interdependency so manifest that perceived separation is a delusion. like a great pool containing millions of drops of water, introduce a stone and all are elevated, poison a part and all are ill affected. you can't connect more or less; the connection exists no matter what our perception. but ignore the connection, deny it, and consequences come. yet still we too often obscure the truth of our interconnection; we insult our bonds with indifference; and through self-inflicted blindness to connection we curse the whole and damn ourselves.

the law always is: you reap what you sow; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; cause and effect. humble people teach us this and more. they are great masters, the best of whom i have found are not on television, not at a university, and not elected to any office. they do not preach sermons, give lectures, or dispense orders. they do. without fanfare, they do the best they can, with what they have, where they are. they themselves are often the ignored and marginalized, and often they are the redeemed or the prodigal child come home repentant. whatever their journey, they humbly manifest the truth preached by dr. king: "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a common garment of destiny."

let me also say there is no doubt in my mind what many—not all but many—of my republican colleagues want to do; that is, they want to move this cou

let me also say there is no doubt in my mind what many—not all but many—of my republican colleagues want to do; that is, they want to move this country back into the 1920s when essentially we had an economic and political system which was controlled by big money interests; where working people and the middle class had no programs to sustain them when things got bad, when they got old, and when they got sick; when labor unions were very hard to come by because of antiworker legislation. that is what they want. they do not believe in things like the environmental protection agency. they do not believe in things like social security, medicare, medicaid, federal aid to education. that is the fight we will be waging.

the very strong response to my speech in 2010 and our campaign tells me that the hunger for a discussion about economic truths, for a counterattack on the ferocious assaults that are taking place against working families, and for a practical plan on how we can reverse the obscene politics that favor the rich over the middle class and disadvantaged in our nation is growing all over america.

nowadays, when a journalist asks a muslim to comment on "the rise of islamophobia," what he's really asking for is commentary on something the media themselves have created. in other words, the reporter helps amplify the problem and then claims to be surprised that the problem exists and endures. the muslim leader whom the prime-time anchor has called on to express his opinion of this notorious "rise of islamophobia" should spit in his eye. he is face-to-face with the guy whose very job is to peddle fear of islam.

by 2001 (before the 2008 financial meltdown)...

*more children would live through their parents' bankruptcy than their parents' divorce.

*more women would file for bankruptcy than would graduate from college.

*more people would file for bankruptcy than would be diagnosed with cancer.

*some fifteen million families filed for bankruptcy in a single decade.

some say the rich and powerful now control washington and always will. i say this battle isn't over yet. true, the playing field isn't level and the system is rigged. but we're putting up a heck of a fight, and we intend to keep on fighting.

this victory wasn't mine. that's not some kind of fake modesty talk - no, that statement is deep-down truth. this victory belonged to all the families who have been chipped away at, squeezed, and hammered. this time, they fought together and won. and now they were sending me to washington to fight for them and for every hardworking family who just wants a fighting chance to live the american dream.

equality. opportunity. the pursuit of happiness. an america that builds something better for the next kid and the kid after that and the kid after that.

no one is asking for a handout. all we want is a country where everyone pays a fair share, a country where we build opportunities for all of us; a country where everyone plays by the same rules and everyone is held accountable. and we have begun to fight for it.

yet althoug

yet although economic disparity is a great and growing problem, i have become convinced that the most serious and unaddressed worldwide challenge is the deprivation and abuse of women and girls, largely caused by a false interpretation of carefully selected religious texts and a growing tolerance of violence and warfare, unfortunately following the example set during my lifetime by the united states.

what prevents us from... taking action to secure basic human rights for women? some of us are paralyzed by the extent and complexity of the problems. some of us have become desensitized by societal violence and no longer recognize it when it occurs. some have misinterpreted holy scripture and believe god has ordained a lower status for women. some men are afraid of losing their advantages in a paternalistic society. but these two simple success stories illustrate how the suffering of women and girls can be alleviated by an individual's forceful action and how the benefits of such actions stretch out into the larger society. political and religious leaders share a special responsibility, but the fact is that all of us can act within our own spheres of influence to meet the challenges.

the drug war is, along with alcohol prohibition, one of america's worst waste of resources. it is one of our nation's most awful policies, lumped in with dark episodes of our history like jim crow. it is one big constitutional violation, and it isn't necessary. it needlessly and with hardly any real effect - other than causing the founding fathers to roll over in the graves - misspends billions that could be otherwise much better directed. ending the war on drugs - or at least fundamentally changing it and removing cannabis from the equation - should be a national imperative.

the decline of america is a story of gross injustices, declining standards of living, stagnant or falling wages, long-term unemployment and underemployment, and the curtailment of basic liberties, especially as we militarize our police. it is a story of the weakest forever being crushed by the strong. it is the story of unchecked and unfettered corporate power, which has taken our government hostage, overseen the dismantling of our manufacturing base, bankrupted the nation, and plundered and contaminated our natural resources.

as societies become more complex they inevitable become more precarious and vulnerable. as they begin to break down, the terrified and confused population withdraws from reality, unable to acknowledge their fragility and impending collapse. the elites retreat into isolated compounds, whether at versailles, the forbidden city, or modern palatial estates. they indulge in unchecked hedonism, the accumulation of wealth, and extravagant consumption. the suffering masses are repressed with greater and greater ferocity. resources are depleted until they are exhausted. and then the hollowed-out edifice collapses. the roman and sumerian empires fell this way. the mayan elite became, at the end, as the anthropologist ronald wright notes in a short history of progress, "...extremists, or ultraconservatives, squeezing the last drops of profit from nature and humanity." this is how all civilizations, including our own, ossify and collapse.

the devastation of pine ridge, in camden, in southern west virginia, and in the florida produce fields has worked its way upward. the corporate leviathan has migrated with the steady and ominous thud of destruction from the outer sacrifice zones to devour what remains. the vaunted american dream, the idea that life will get better, that progress is inevitable if we obey the rules and work hard, that material prosperity is assured, has been replaced by a hard and bitter truth. the american dream, we now know, is a lie. we will all be sacrificed. the virus of corporate abuse- the perverted belief that only corporate profit matters- has spread to outsource out jobs, cut the budgets of our schools, close our libraries, and plague our communities with foreclosures and unemployment. this virus has brought with it a security and surveillance state that seeks to keep us all on a reservation. no one is immune. the suffering of the other, of the native american, the african american in the inner city, the unemployed coal miner, or the hispanic produce picker is universal. they went first. we are next. the indifference we showed to the plight of the underclass, in biblical terms our 'neighbor,' haunts us. we failed them, and in doing so we failed ourselves. we were accomplices in our own demise. revolt is all we have left. it is the only hope.

we are essentially struggling to relearn the lessons of the 1930s. we are also reliving a version of its political and economic battles, as well as fighting new ones.

what i want to tell all of them is this: we don't have to be a tarp nation. we overcame that kind of desperation and lack of caring for our fellow citizens in the 1930s. we can do it again. no little girl in this country should have to grow up with the memory of huddling homeless and terrified in a tent as a tornado blows in. we will at long last relearn what is truly too big to fail- the lives and hopes of working men and women.