It sounds so foolish for people in the United States to be trying to frame this upcoming presidential election around old concepts which were relevant during the time of the Cold War but not today. When used, the concepts being thrown around in preparation for this upcoming 2020 campaign are confusing and the cause of much emotional upset and fighting because of what hangs onto the concepts from a difficult time in the life of this worlds’ political and economic institutions.
Instead of defining our economy in Cold War terms, the Republicans need to be more accurately descriptive of our institutions. We need to make the massive effort to increase our vocabulary with newer more accurate terms or we need to pull out a new vocabulary which fits where we are today – terms that fit what we are actually about. None of the terms the Republicans are using are accurate, fitting, nor descriptive.
The Democrats are going to run their 2020 campaign bringing forth corruption, lying, stealing and all of us will be very well acquainted with terms like “emoluments”. Terms we had probably either never heard of or heard in passing without giving a thought to going deeply into their meaning.
We talk in terms of Capitalism, Socialism, Communism. None of these terms come close to where we are today. Using those terms only exacerbates the ugliness and vileness we are experiencing as a country – brought on by our own.
Capitalism is totally irrelevant and has been for some time because basic to that concept is the assumption that everyone is free and equal in the society and are only limited by their vision, etc. We live in a society which is fraught with sexism, racism, homophobia, ethnocentrism, ageism and so much more of that which separates us and makes us feel better than or less than. A society in which my identify is better than your identity is not able to even begin to describe its economic and political system as based on Capitalism.
Our so called “capitalist” system has venture capitalists who only fund white male northern european types – and will fund minorities and women into the (maybe) $50,000 area to fund their start-ups and actively encourage others to tour the country looking for great start-up ideas being worked on by minorities so they can steal and bring those ideas and that work to the venture capitalists, who are more than ready to see those new and radical business ideas happening and being developed by minorities in this world being carried forward into their substantial billion dollar areas by white male types to maintain the societal structure with those at the top most like our current venture capitalist and other investor groups with serious money that they obtained in the same way. That “serious money” is not available for investment to minority groups. (and from here on “minorities” include women because that is who they are and how they are treated from a power and control perspective in this society.)
Socialism is fraught with many misinterpretations when used today. Most link it to state owned everything and gradually being the economic and political part of the structure of a state which becomes evil and destroys the quality of everybody’s life. In this “Socialism” we all become zombies beholden to a very ugly, vicious and violent state. And – the examples we come up with as to “Socialist States” are indeed horrifying if one thinks that is the direction in which these United States are headed, if we choose the model being proffered by these anti-socialism fighters.
Communism is the most misinterpreted because we hook that term to the Soviet Union at its worse. We hook it to the rampaging McCarthy who destroyed many lives and even more careers fighting phantoms, using a political and economic concept as a means to oppress those he wanted to expel from “his” country and the country which he felt belonged to him and his kind. All others were usurpers trying to turn this great democracy into something vile. Turned out the vileness came from McCarthy and his kind – and who was one of his protege’s – none other than Donald Trump. Trump learned his lessons well at the feet of McCarthy and Cohn and he has brought all of that upheaval and evil back into 2016, 17, 18, 19 America.
And, Communism carries with it the claim by many Christians, that the social and economic system of Jesus was a communist system. That complicates the picture even more as that kind of claim, while not accepted by most mainline Christians was accepted enough to increase the religious bigotry which has existed in these United States from its beginnings with its genoocidal war against Native Americans.
This election cycle is shaping up to be one in which the worst interpretation of the above terms is going to be used to win or lose. At the very least the fight for the presidency and other offices will be embroidered around hurling Socialism, Capitalism, Communism at the opposition as though they were evil and we should not elect anyone who espouses such.
As we look at the above, what becomes clear is that our current system was created, grown and sustained by white male mostly Northern European types who patterned their need for power and control after what they saw in the Middle – Near East – Far Eastern parts of the world which were also male dominated cultures interested in expanding and maintaining power and control in their own ways. Vestiges of those historical groups still exist and today are beginning to rise up to attempt to re-establish their historical societies which are counter to the ways they were beginning to move.
The strong roots such groups have in this society becomes clear as under Donald Trump we are making strong moves to bring those cultures together because it is the only way male domination in its meaness – viciousness – and need for total power and control can continue to thrive and grow.
A more diverse and integrated world is beginning to show-up. Hopefully, as that moves and grows the goodness, beauty and grace of the human spirit will flourish and what has gone before will be permanently in the rear view mirror and will maintain only in history.
Watching that diversity develop is a cautionary tale, however, because even in its extreme infancy we see in the United States powers beginning to move into male groups which were anathema when white males were at the height of their power and control and adopt and adapt these others into their society and culture because that is what is necessary for them to continue developing the mean spiritedness, viciousness, control, tyranny and ugliness of what we have and are continuing to experience.
Looking at the 2018 elections, we celebrated the break through of a new America. We praised our voting citizens for the diversity of people we elected and it looked as though we were reaching through to a new day.
As time goes on, however, we are seeing the sprouts of those weeds which caused and cause so much trouble and evil in the world as talk becomes prevalent of which “white males” can best be elected who will look out for and bring about a more equitable, diverse and “new” America. Which white male will best take care of the rest of the world in a patronizing and paternalistic fashion so that male domination can continue and in a short time raise its ugly head again to attempt to subjugate and push the world into finding its meanest spots to develop. And saddest of all of that talk are the women joining the chorus who are so enmeshed in paternalism they cannot see the worth and ability of other women who can do much better.
The fact that the talk happening is simply a new prelude to another chapter of the “old” slaveowning, segregationist, vile and vicious America has been covered up to be revealed upon the victory and ascendancy of this new talk.
Looking at the way “Bernie” helped to bring in Trump to maintain that old way of life without getting “dirty” in the process should tell us and let us see what is happening with this presidential campaign today. It should also show us that this new, kinder, gentler paternalism will not work.
Think on these things before you reject them out of hand. Look carefully at your government and its history America before you laud yourselves as being “better than” and pray hard that you do not continue in the ways from which you declared you wanted to depart to bring out more of the goodness of America.
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