"Alice in Wonderland"'s best as a novel. I hate that lost/fuzzy feeling I get when I am being confused, schookered or lied-to. And so, I call it "Alice'dom". And I know, the political is as personal as the personal is political.
To make a family-counseling analogy, we all know parents who spoil their child. No matter what the kid does, they don't want to betray him; so they go easy, when he messes up, ride to his rescue at school, make excuses for his rebelliousness, endlessly do things for him, and in short, make a little monster of him __ and all, while generally losing face with more rational parents who look on. How do the onlookers say, "You are making a Brat!"? Politically, it's the same game. There looms (i.e. during the Bush-Jr.-era) the big protecting presence of the Supreme Court, as it stopped the vote count for its Presidential hopeful. More recently, the 'snug-at-home-in-Wisconsin' members of the that legislature, as they proceeded with ending Collective Bargaining for their Governor. Both bodies acted in ways that were protective __ and deluded. Alice'dom was with me a lot during Bush, Jr.; and it's with me again, as I've watched more recent events unfold: bank bailouts (after they looted US home-buyers); obstructing health proposals (during Obama's attempts to design options); and now, the Collective-Bargaining grab, threatening the beloved minimum wage, holidays, safety standards, anti-child-labor laws, etc. Liveable life styles can't be guaranteed with this NEW ANSWER to the New Deal. Where are the courts? DIvided. And the Supreme Court? Ready to act like the spoiling parent. By contrast, the 14 absentee members of that same Wisconsin legislature beam rays of 'sane' in the midst of "Alice'dom", as they refuse to take any part in the repeal of Collective Bargaining for their constituents (including the Corporations, who are 'people') or to make the whole governing process a political sham. ... relief & pride are mine, in the midst of both political confusion and challenges to courage. Is it too much of a stretch to say the sub-prime-loaning Banks, off-shoring Corporations, unimaginative-positivity Corporateers / Corporateer-Wannabes and legislators that serve them are spoiled by courts that protect them? and are aided by collusion of those of us who give up? Where is the accountability of our nation's Supreme Court, anyway? (They surely are the greatest source of my Alice'dom!) I have been eager to see solidarity demonstrations in my own home city (Seattle); now I see they are happening in Shoreline, WA this coming Tuesday; and I have rescheduled my day to attend. I know we won't get Michael Moore, another of my answers to Alice'dom, but his speech in Madison will be firm in my memory. If you haven't heard his comments about the bribing of us in the middle class who still have a little money, watch or listen to this YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgNuSEZ8CDw&feature=player_embedded#at=12 If all we do speak up, we have integrity. And chances of our finding a lot of neighbors doing the exact same thing are great! (50, 000 at an unplanned showing in Wisconsin last weekend; double that, this one). Maybe we'll also find people in political or legal positions inspired by our speaking up enough to do the right thing. Anyway, this is the answer to despair, defeat, and low energy. From a family counseling & mental health view, finding our voices and using them beats silence. Deciding to decide; showing up __ that's anything but lost. It makes me feel hopeful __ and very far from Alice'dom. The personal IS political and vice versa! I just got an E mail about the legislative progress made recently by Congress. Hmm. True. And I am so glad for what they have done. Finally. But I thought they were supposed to be passing things all year. (Apologies ... that was sarcasm.)
It's easy, getting jaded; so let me try and attempt to be more earnest. I want to see accountability. Not just personal accountability, either, but public accountability. Either of them precede trust, of course; and for the 8 years we survived under Mr. Cheney with Rove and Bush, Jr., there wasn't much of it to be found. Maybe that's why so many people, now, are supportive of (even enthusiastic about) Wikileaks. Here is an individual, in Mr. Assange, who says, if you don't want to do the right or admirable thing, then at least be transparent; and I will be making sure your actions are transparent." Public accountability. More sentimentally, I fondly remember my grade school teachers and realize any number of them could advocate more ferociously for public accountability than can our current Justice Department & CIA officials, or Supreme Court judges. No disrespect to my teachers, who were awesome, but that should be an embarrassing comparison for the administration. The personal quality of their interventions is unfortunately not a characteristic of politics, as much as might be healthy. If it were, then moral arguments and appeals to one's higher nature (like compromise) would be effective. I personally am not seeing two Congressional sides who want to respect the governing process enough to be moved by appeals to higher nature .... Had that been the case, we wouldn't have seen months of obstructionism. So, I understand the old sentiment: there's business, and there's pleasure; and never the twain shall meet. Given that difference between governmental politics and 'playground' personal policies, I want someone with much more determination to 'hold feet to the fire', and do the tough questioning, as I am seeing from journalists and movie makers. Olbermann, Maddow, Moore and Assange. The ability to ask tough questions has and will always be necessary to a functioning society. (Remember Dan Ellsberg?) I am so grateful for these probing questioners. More power to them. |
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