We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, January 10, 2011

Arizona's Long Dark Night Continues

by Randall Amster from Huffington Post
The open persecution of people of color at the level of both bodies and minds; the outright hijacking of the state's politics by far-right figures with white supremacist ties; the bankrupting of the economy while private interests gain tax breaks and write favorable laws for themselves; the decimation of the public infrastructure including the education and health care systems -- all of this and more has been front and center for beleaguered Arizonans in recent years.
I've often had my suspicions about all the violent metaphors and imagery used by the rabid right wing in the US. I can't believe that they use such language without being aware of how it inflames unstable people to commit literal violent acts as we witnessed this past weekend in Arizona. My suspicion is that they aim to encourage such incidents to justify an ever increasing and oppressive police state in the US. The Empire's fascists evidently feel that they need to secure their American center as they increasingly feel their domination of the world slipping away.