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

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Deranging America

Click here to access article by Linh Dinh from Dissident Voice.

This is not pleasant reading, but the author accurately observes that there has been a change in the behavior of Americans. Nowadays we too often see Americans acting out with violence against others, regarding their fellow citizens with suspicion, behaving toward others with callousness, and uncritically accepting views from media authorities. I noticed this also after returning in 2006 from living four years mostly outside the US.
Violence, always violence. From infancy, Americans are conditioned to enjoy violence, then lured or pressured to support it at every stage of life.
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