Comments on: Pain and Conscience

By: blowin in the wind

blowin in the wind — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:55:52 +0000

Its really quite odd. Where I live, everyboddy knows that:

1. Corporate capitalism is completely irrational. Even small business people, the much maligned petit bourgeoisie don’t regard the free enterprise system as free or about enterprise, but about state regulated monopoly and monopoly regulated states, and go in and out of business accordingly in a kind of hand to mouth way. This is the epoch of the working class-mass movements of the petit bourgeoisie are unlikely, but sadly, as we have seen recently, fascism is not.

2, That the politics of bureaucratic capitalism produces disastrous outcomes as a matter of routine.

3. That it is getting worse but is still better than it was.

However, almost everybody also agrees that the same politics would obtain in a socialist system with the same large scale destruction of human lives and the environment.

Or: That the risks entailed in world revolution-genocide, nuclear war, concentration camps etc are to great.

In any event the ruling class makes the same calculations we do: how much is too much? how far can we push them before they say “give me liberty or give me death” but in this case perhaps the death of whole regions, whole cities, perhaps whole continents. So, the class war is alreay engaged, it is already here, just as it was in 1917 and 1942-Welcome to hell.

In view of this most people try to distract themselves and look afer their families. Tonight, for example I am worried about my stepson. My wife has managed to go to sleep but I decided to google “hope for the peaceful demise of capitalism” and here I am. On a brighter note; Slavery was once thought to be so essential to the world economic system that men and women of good will everywhere, slave and free thought it could never be abolished. But in 1830 it was abolished throughout the British empire, the hegemony of its day, by members of a parliament with a franchise restricted to property owners. I am probably dreaming-imagine a multi-billionaire who acted like a human being instead of a perfect facsimilie of one. But one can dream.

By: debbie S.

debbie S. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:34:57 +0000

Mabye it has to do with the fearful competitive society that is so promoted.I don’t believe most people in this country want to live this way and mabye a lot of them don’t in thier personal lives but I have been told “I don’t fit in”, in a medical office because I said I didn’t think what the military{this was 5 years ago}, was doing was right.That the war was illegal and immoral.In another medical office I was told I had to apologize for not wanting another employees bible quote on my computer.There have been other instances also, but what does this have to do with competition and fear? Mabye the war economy, mabye people are terriorzed by thier own culture .The other day{I have to use public transportation} while riding the bus I had conversation with a women about employment.One man overheard me and suggested I check out a hotel where they paid a little more.This hotel is specifically for military veterans.I told the man I could not work at such a place and not express my views about how wrong the war is and the miltarism that is so promoted in this country.Another man sitting in another seat said he had had lost a relative and looked at me with complete hate.I told him sincerely that I was sorry for his loss but his anger towards me was misdirected.The politicians and corporate interests {greed},and military, including war profiteers is where his anger should be directed. I repeated again that I was sorry for his loss.Another man said that the military complex is needed and neccesary for the world we live in.All three of the men were hostile and contemptous .The women who I was speaking with said that people have a right to express how they feel about the politics and foreign policy in this country.I agreed while looking at the camera they have installed on all the buses here. When it was time to get off the bus ,the man who had lost a relative in this obscene war looked right at me and said it was too bad he didn’t have his concealed weopan on him.He then looked at the other two men and they all laughed.It wasn’t a pleasant laugh.All I wanted to do was get off the bus and away from them.It seems that people say they believe in democracy but when you speak about the totalitarian military that works for corporate america and the crimes that are commited you are told you are either unpatriotic or naive.

By: Deadbeat

Deadbeat — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:52:12 +0000

There was a great opportunity in 2003 when people were engaged during the anti-war rallies. Had the “left” not demobilized that energy that could have been the underpinnings for a real popular movement. I say start with the “left” and their reasons for falling behind war-monger John Kerry in 2004 to better understand the current state of affairs.

By: DominicMichael

DominicMichael — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:34:04 +0000

I agree with all you have written. Now how do we organize? We need to organize a general labor strike. We need to be clear in our demands in our strike protest, and we need leadership. We can not afford to wait until November to remove Bush & Cheney from office. We must demand an end to the Iraq war, the removal of Bush & Cheney from office, and the creation of an International Peace Commission to aid in the transition of government, and the rebuilding of Iraq. This is only the beginning. How can we begin?

By: bozhidar balkas

bozhidar balkas — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:35:46 +0000

we all yearn to trust. trust throughout history had been our greatest wealth. we probably as a specie wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t trusted one another 200, 000 yrs ago.
when a hunter would say, I know wh ere the deer are.We’l kill one or two. and we will all eat. those were god’s words; they had full symbolic value. and deer was caught; all ate.
there was no verbal brilliancies. no word or words needed decoding. every word or sentence had its full symbolic value.
but then, possibly 50,000 yrs ago, some cunning people realizing how eagerly people trust one another, begun to exploit this trust for personal power, influence, gathering of wealth, etc.
we do not know when the priestly class evolved. perhaps at the begining priests were friends to people. however, since ab. 10, 000 yrs ago these people also begun to abuse us.
they abuse us with thousands of ‘promises’, commands, falsehoods, half truths, wishful thinking, condemnation, blame, etc.
modern politicos have learnt the craft from priests
clerico-political discourse to us, the unwashed, hasn’t changed for millennia.
it consist of ‘promises’, blame, evocation of perils, demonization of foes, condemnation, verbal brilliancies, half truths, lies, generalizations, etc.
they talk down to us. they are up on podium; we are down in boondocks; we do not sit in a cyrcle. u pose questions, he/she ‘answers’. they never question but have ‘ answer’ to every imaginable question.
no poltico says, I came to make mistakes . yet we know we all make mistakes. i made at least ten today. an d i didn’t do much more than tied my shoelaces; ate a dish with too much pepper; forgot to kiss my wife; ruined one of my bushes; cursed a driver, etc.
thank u.

By: corylus

corylus — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:31:05 +0000

Eloquently stated, and so true. Now back to Oprah and my Cheetos.