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, March 29, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Sunday, March 29, 2020

The political spectrum in the USA has shifted significantly to the right since WWII . This is largely because our ruling capitalist class decided to build an empire in 1941 when the well-connected (to the ruling class) Henry Luce, owner and editor of Time Magazine, announced the "American Century". During the 1930s many in the ruling class throughout advanced capitalist countries expressed sympathies and actual deeds in support of fascist Germany and Italy. I have read many books (read, for example, Big Business and Hitler by Jacques R. Pauwels) that also support this fact. 

Since Luce's announcement, US intellectuals and propagandists have revised American history of the 20th century to reflect benign and humanitarian influences that the US has had on the world. This revised history has permeated all institutions of the USA including especially Hollywood films and education. The CIA has taken control over media and filled it, and the minds of Americans, with fake news such as Russia-gate themes and other fantasies. (See my commentary here.)

The effect that this has had on American society has been a marked shift in the political spectrum toward the right-wing. Another related effect is that during the current crisis of the pandemic, Americans are thoroughly confused and frustrated about how our masters are dealing with this crisis, and a wave of growing frustration and anger exists as is evident in today's post by Jimmy Dore.
  • Debunking clickbaits – expert: “not just a flu” and “not a bioweapon”. Joe Rogan interviews Michael Osterholm who "is an internationally recognized expert in infectious disease epidemiology" and based in Minneapolis. This is posted on A bird's eye view of the Vineyard. (I don't doubt his qualifications, but I'm not yet convinced that coronavirus is not a bioweapon. I wasn't convinced that the virus was a bioweapon. I just waited for further evidence.)
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