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

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Buncombe

Click here to access article by David Graeber from The Baffler.

 In this brief, rather too comforting piece, Graeber questions how effective the Empire's propaganda is on our fellow Americans. While I agree that much of the indoctrination is viewed with cynicism by many people (to express cynicism seems to give one the appearance of sophistication in the US), still it largely succeeds. How else can one explain the proliferation of misinformation, slanted news coverage, and infotainment? One would have to believe that the directors of the Empire's media and educational system are also stupid.
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