Political Notes #35

California Expert Software

Truth is Everything

Considering Tomorrow

Even though this site has few participants, I hope it will encourage some thinking, some changing of attitudes and some action.

The people who are all fired up about getting rid of Bush, or electing someone or other, or this or that issue, usually forget about the "Big Picture" in the heat of the struggle. Sometimes, the immediate goal is felt to be so urgent, that people undermine, or even foreclose, the ultimate purpose of their efforts.

I want to focus on that Big Picture, which is there every day of every year. I want to avoid Pyrrhic victories. It's nice to win a battle or two; it's much better to win the war.

Retrospective

About 35 years ago, I was very active in founding an employee Union. I represented a lot of people. I did a lot of writing, negotiating, yelling and screaming. From that, I learned a few things.

The social contract did not arrive carved in stone on Mt Sinai.

It isn't printed anywhere. It only exists in the "minds and hearts" of those belonging to the society. Even "minds and hearts" is a generalization, an hypothesis, true only to the extent that the contract is demonstrated in behavior. For materialists such as myself, what exists is the behavior; everything else is notional, just talk.

The social contract is demonstrated in where you sleep, what you eat for breakfast, what you do after breakfast, how you earn your living, where you take a siesta, who inhabits your household, how you interact with co-habitants and co-workers, what you do in the evening, and all the other things that constitute the everyday rituals of your life.
There are no Messiahs. There should be no Messiahs.

Messiahs mess up things, because, in the first place, they do it for you instead of you doing it for yourself. The reason there are so many Christians who love Jesus, is that "Jesus saves." They believe "Christians are forgiven." In other words, if you screw up you'll be exonerated. You don't even have to lift a little finger to save yourself; Jesus will do it for you. Believing in Jesus excuses laziness. Believing in Messiahs may even encourage bad behavior or crime, because of the belief that, in the end, everything will be fixed, everything will come out alright.

The only way change takes effect and stays put is by you changing your behavior. It doesn't matter whether some do-gooder discovers carbs are no good and stops eating them. What matters is whether you eat them.
Laws, regulations and agreements are the end of struggle, not the beginning.

The government doesn't make laws and regulations just because that's what it does, or to make your life better. It's the same thing as most people not working unless they get paid and ordered to get busy. Very little gets done by Saints and Fairy Godmothers. It might be comforting to know that Satan and Devils get very little done, too.

The sorry truth is that things get done by people (lobbyists, for example), who put in a lot of time, effort and money for the purpose. A law favoring consumers only gets passed after a long struggle by consumers and their representatives. Some laws are more easily made than others; for example, the rich and powerful have more influence with lawmakers than you or me. (That's because they make lawmakers rich.)

The way to think about it is this: laws and regulations are the peace agreement, the settlement, after a war. They don't happen without the war. They always recognize winners and losers. If you weren't a participant in the war, at best you get nothing; at worst, you will be penalized to pay for the winners.
We all have our little fantasies.

The reality is DO NOTHING, GET NOTHING.

Prospective

The struggle to stop American Imperialism will go on, and on, and on.

Short of someone like Ralph Nader and a Socialist Congress getting elected, the "military-industrial complex" will grind on. In one way or another, support for that complex probably includes almost everyone. Whenever you pay a Federal Tax (as in buying gas), you are paying to support the military-industrial complex. If you work for any of the Fortune 1000, you are supporting the military-industrial complex a little more than by working for anyone else.

It's hard not to contribute to the American Empire. Everything has been rigged to support it. As a result, the military-industrial complex has grown to a monstrous size compared to what it was when Pres Eisenhower issued his 1960 warning, "Beware the military-industrial complex." So, those opposed are not going to stop it overnight. What can be done is to remove the whips and thorns a little faster than they're made.

Please note: Those who do not actively oppose and work against this monster are feeding and encouraging it. This is a black and white issue: there is no easy, neutral ground.

The struggle to secure Civil Rights will go on, and on, and on.

Bigotry and inequality are built into American society, as well as the other societies of this world. This is not new. It is not startling. We all contribute to it, unless we fight it everyday.

The struggle for Civil Rights is a fight for equality: for equal treatment, equal justice. It is a struggle against Imperialism, because Imperialism depends upon, and nurtures, inequality and injustice.

Imperialism depends upon your being a bigot, and your approval of injustice. Whenever you think this country is better than others, or that you are better than other people, you are being a bigot. If you think the American way is the only way, or the best way, you are being unjust.

The domestic arrangements of Imperialism are reflected in its foreign relations. The subjugation of other peoples as colonials reinforces the inequities at the center of Imperial power.

The struggle for Social Justice will go on, and on, and on.

American society is divided by class, race, sex, and cultural factors, as are other societies. The simple fact is millions of people are treated badly every day because they are considered inferior in some way. Here are just a few of the existing injustices and inequities:

In America, CEOs and business managers are paid hundreds of times more than ordinary workers. In other First World countries, managers earning 5-25 times the average worker are considered well paid.

In America, fewer and fewer workers are covered by health insurance. The cost of medical care continues to rise by 10-15% annually. Over 44 million Americans cannot afford health insurance. For many Americans, medical care is simply inaccessible and unaffordable. Meanwhile, State sponsored universal medical care is a fact in most other First World countries, and many Third World countries as well.

In America, most workers are unprotected by Unions or Employee Organizations. They have no voice in the management or policies of the company. They are unable to negotiate wages and benefits: for most people, it's take it or leave it. America's treatment of workers is among the worst of the First World countries, and more like what is the norm in the Third World.

In America, women still get paid far less than men and don't get promoted beyond a certain point. Moreover, women are still treated as whores for holding a job in some parts of the country. Many men believe women should stay at home and take care of children: that's "keep'em bare foot and pregnant" in case you hadn't heard.

The government and its agents press religion on the people in many ways, despite the First Amendment prohibition of "establishment of religion." Those who do not believe in religion, or refuse to attend a Christian church, are subjected to discrimination. Muslims, especially, are under intense scrutiny.

The conservative government and its helpers have found ways to mess up public schools so that no one gets taught. The purpose is to make sure only elite children get ahead.

Yes, in America, a camel will sooner pass through the eye of a needle than the poor enter Heaven. The rich are already living there (having fleeced the camel and the poor).

Rededication

For most people in America not much will have changed after November, 2004. Life will go on as it did before. The struggle against injustice, inequality and oppression will go on. Only the faces of their rulers, but not their taskmasters, will have changed.

Martin Luther King was a bit premature, when he intoned those famous words: "Free at Last!"

June 23, 2004

Last update: 11/02/2007