Monday, February 08, 2010

Who's to Blame?

Jacob Weisberg, Slate editor-in-chief, has an incisive critique of the political climate in America today. Rather than blame the politicians, or lobbyists or Obama, he blames the American people (www.slate.com/id/2243797/). And he has a point. Americans want the government to solve all of our problems quickly and cleanly, without any additional money, any tax increase, any change in our own behavior and any notion that there might be long term costs to society. In fact, Americans seem to think that the government has some sort of magic bullet not to kill a Kennedy, but to solve the financial crisis, healthcare debacle, environmental devastation and falling position of the United States without the public at large doing anything to help. Government is bad, but we still want it to fix everything that's wrong. But not at any cost to us. So what is the solution? It's hard to see how things can change for the better without some collective sacrifice, without some call for real change, without some faith that government can take on the interests of the power elites and actually improve society. But the underlying cynicism so endemic in America today, together with the general blithe ignorance to what needs to be done, leaves us immobilized and willing to support little. So Republicans can undermine the hope that seemed to bolster the nation a year ago. Now absurd charges of socialism, fear mongering about governmental death squads for the elderly, absurdist discussions of deficits and even more wild conspiracy theories dominate the debate while right wing loons like Palin and Beck dominate the airwaves with discourse that sounds resonable only to those who understand nothing. Postman is right, we really are amusing ourselves toward death, as individuals and a nation. And in this, we may well succeed.

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