" it has become publicly evident that Silicon Valley is a vital node of the Deep State as well. [...] a strange relationship has emerged. " "Has" emerged? What of a bunch of b.s. S.V. was a military industrial project from day 1.
What an awesome passage this is. It's a mystery to me why more people aren't aware of the Washington Consensus. It's been around for decades, but I think that if you polled average Americans, most people would answer with blank stares. As the author points out, it is the ideology of recent times. I suppose it's a credit to its architects that they've been able to keep is more or less obscure. That must be by design.The first strategy, reflecting the ossification of its ruling elites, consists of repeating that nothing is wrong, that the status quo reflects the nation’s unique good fortune in being favored by God and that those calling for change are merely subversive troublemakers. As the French ancien régime, the Romanov dynasty and the Habsburg emperors discovered, the strategy works splendidly for a while, particularly if one has a talent for dismissing unpleasant facts. The final results, however, are likely to be thoroughly disappointing.
Maybe, but people are pretty stupid. Where I reside, there almost seems to be a stigma associated with conversing in public about things that actually matter. I'm not going to pretend there is a rabid, completely pervasive culture of anti-intellectualism in America, but I'm not going to deny its existence either. It's rare to hear a civil debate in person, or see a civil discourse take place on most forums. Even then, people seem to settle into their ground state of regurgitating special interest talking points and partisan ideologies. Researching and talking about the faults of the entire political system? Well, that's one of the reasons I'm on Hubski. My thanks to minimum_wage and yourself, b_b, for the postings. Edit: Also, yes, I think a lot of people realize that something stinks in Washington, but everybody blames the other guy for farting, meanwhile an invisible storm surge of sewage has been seeping over every landscape. Obviously, this is a shitty analogy for the "deep state". Also obviously, that was a shitty pun. Sorry, internet.I suppose it's a credit to its architects that they've been able to keep is more or less obscure.
In context to your points, which I agree with whole heartedly when looking at social discourse on most forums, all I have to say is: humans are incredible creatures of habit. First off, my bias is: I believe the biggest factor in whether or not something (or someone) is functioning well, is if it (or they) are in balance. “I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.” This quote struck home to me. The problems we are faced with have happened before in history. But rather than cross reference my bias with examples (which I can leave you to find and formulate yourself), I'll just say that the problems are far deeper than political imbalance. This quote eludes to what I feel is corrupting the very foundation of our constitution. Our perception of the pursuit of happiness has devolved into the lust for external luxuries. I'm on the verge of going into a philosophical rant along the lines of the Dalai Lama, but that is where my bias is coming from, so I'll just stop there. Wall Street is running our country into the ground. I'm fortunate to have been raised in close proximity to congressional delegates to the White House. When one Senator visited our home one evening this past summer. I basically told them that finger pointing will not eliminate the fact that our country is headed off a cliff. The imbalance is impossible not to spot, and the only true evidence I could point to back up my fears was in looking at previous instances in history where similar discord within the central governing body occurred, and the subsequent events in history that followed. I shared with the senator my biggest fear, "We are paving the way for a benevolent dictator." The conditions are ripening for a serious player to take advantage of the opportunity when the public eye begs for a strong leader at the helm of our nation. I don't care whether you're conservative or liberal, President Obama has as much backbone in handling the government as a temp. gym teacher does a class of screaming 2nd graders (congress). This article rants too much, so I will try not to do the same. Bill Moyer has great things to share, but the way he shares them is doing nothing more than stoking the fire of egocentric self defense finger pointing from the other highly educated, passionate, and honest political analysts from the other side of the spectrum. If this guy had only made a concise op-ed about the observations of how wall street has D.C. by the balls, and gotten it published outside of his own website, he may have actually done more than just make noise. Selfishness and greed extend far beyond a single political spectrum, despite how Moyer words the problems. Regardless of who done it, if this chaos continues much longer, history will repeat itself.
Some thoughts: I will certainly agree that our cultural pursuits have fallen very far to the wayside. Instant gratification, consumerism, self-indulgence, and so forth, but how do you steer a culture back towards a healthy heading? It's almost impossible, and the people seeing any success with their attempts do not have the greater good in mind... hence contributing further to the woeful state of the culture. What is this optimized "balance"? When pursuant of a definition of any depth, at any scale, no one's suggestions are realized as the objective, perfect truth. We all have our own ideas. I would imagine yours as in line with Buddhism's tenants, an idealist view. Mine certainly isn't too far off, but idealism has been historically difficult to implement successfully, especially on a large, political scale. Human nature sucks. :( At this point, I don't think anyone will argue that Wall Street isn't to blame captaining this country straight into the ground. It's exactly how they're doing it, and the approaches to curbing their influence that no one can seem to concur on. I share your fear of America's thirst for a powerful figurehead, but things have gotten so polarized between our only two political parties that there doesn't seem to be room for one man to head America without half of the nation despising him "on principle". It will be an interesting next couple of decades. Obama was one of the biggest letdowns of my young political consciousness, and has contributed to my voter registration cards' (yes, all of them) re-appropriation as toilet paper. Moyer's perspective is at least one degree of complexity above the typical drivel that we're usually bombarded with, but as you mention, it is just that - a perspective. Digging to get to the good stuff isn't exactly google-able. If you have any content that you think provides a rebuttal, or even just a contrasting stance to Moyer's, I would gladly read through it and post some thoughts. Thank you for your input. :)
I guess my feelings are that with the current bipartisan gridlock persisting, eventually the greater population will get so fed up to the point where they are through with bipartisan politics, and someone will be in the position to capitalize on that.
Hopefully any push for a new structure can be channeled into a new system, and not just one person, because yes, I see cause for concern there as well. Like I mentioned, the cultural trend of craving instant gratification isn't going to help us here. It would behoove the U.S. to take its time to step back and really evaluate what's happened, and where we should go from here. Dream on, right? Though our current hierarchy favors the presidency & executive branch, especially with the legislation passed in the post-9/11 era, I have my fingers crossed that some powers will be repealed soon. Perhaps most importantly, the decision whether or not to wage war should not be subject to the whims of any one man. Anyway, cheers, Sir Dude, at least we've got each other, heh!