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, December 17, 2012

Nike Blackmails Oregon: Just Do It, Or Else…

Click here to access article by Ben Schreiner from Dissident Voice. (Please excuse my descent into cynicism. I occasionally lapse into such moods.)

This is only the latest example of corporation power trumping the power of governments. It is a crude, blatant, no-bullshit example of how our masters in the One Percent now rule over our their country, and much of the world. This surrender by the state of Oregon to Nike over tax policies is happening all across our country, and the result is that state and local governments are forced to cut back on all public services. Public political institutions are becoming little more that an empty shell behind which rule our masters in the financial and industrial corporations. Meanwhile, their agents in all institutions of indoctrination--media, education, Hollywood, etc--keep trying to maintain the delusions of "democracy". 

Why keep up this pretense? Why not just dispense with all the expensive election campaigns and have our government representatives directly appointed by the Chamber of Commerce, Goldman Sachs, and other major corporations. (Anyway, I hate all those inane campaign ads on TV!) That would be refreshingly honest. The American sheeple will bleat for a while, but they will get over it.
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