by Bill Quigley and Vince Warren from Dissident Voice.
I see the importance of this liberal perspective only for what it illustrates: many American progressives are much too naive to bring about any significant change. They keep harping on the same themes of civil rights while ignoring the system that is the root of civil rights issues and all other significant issues like social-economic justice, peace, living on a planet that can sustain human and other life forms, etc. As Francis Moore Lappé wrote, "[it is] time for progressives to grow up!"
The facade of the rule of law is part of the theatrical production erected by a class of people who want to protect their system because it serves them so well. The US Constitution was mainly about the protection of private property regardless of who actually created the wealth associated with that property. At the time of the passing of the Constitution, much of the wealth was created by slave labor and the near slave labor of indentured servants. The founders of the Constitution only threw in some civil rights to sweeten the deal with the vast majority of the population. As it is clear today, even the civil rights articles have been twisted into the support of mostly corporate rights by making corporations into persons.
Laws are for us working people, they don't apply to the capitalist ruling class unless one of them screws their fellow capitalists as Bernie Madoff did. That was the big mistake he made. If like all others of his ilk, he had confined his nefarious schemes to bilking working people, he would be a celebrated capitalist hero.
The huge question in my mind is: can the human race throw off the scourge of ruling classes and create truly egalitarian societies whose people can live in harmony with each other and nature?
