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THE ABSURD TIMES
Illustration: Donald's Devoted exercising "Freedom of Speech" What's at Stake by Czar Donic Well, here we are – in the midst of the madness that covers the consciousness and drives out the clear thinking. It is an opportunity for laughter, or is it a sign of impending doom? The font of fascism haunts the masses, but most do not pay attention and are busy with baseball and other diversions, not quite like seeing the lions eat the Christians, but serving the same purpose. One of the candidates against Trump Is a Christian minister, Ryan Binkly, who quoted a passage from Christ's Sermon on the Mount and was told by a Maga supporter, and I quote the minister as closely as I can, "That don't work no more. It's too weak". One could draw many conclusions from this, but I'll simply leave it at that. I mean, even Elmer Gantry said that Jesus could play quarterback. It is very difficult to take Mike Pence seriously, but Trump makes him seem sane. It is clear that he had no leeway in counting those electoral votes, and ever Dan Quale told him so. Quale was a Vice President for popa Bush and toured Lating America. Many applauded him and he said that the people were so nice that he wished he had studied Latin "better" in High School. The last remark made by Pence that showed any imagination was during law school when he thought of a magazine called Torts Illustrated. The kind words he received were "I'm glad they didn't hang you" and the general opinion was that he "lacked balls". Most of the other contenders have no idea as to what this primary is about. They really think it has to do with policy and specific issues and that the more cruel and vindictive they are the more they will appeal for the electorate. The frigid one from Florida, for example, has no idea of how the present himself to a mass. He will try to keep on script, but he does not connect at all. For a while, his main chant or slogan was "Florida – where woke comes to die"! What the hell does that mean? The only figure with a chance and the ability to go up against this performer is Chris Christie. He never caught on in the Donald administration, probably because when he was Attorney General of New Jersey he prosecuted Jerrod's father and sent him off to be locked up. Lots of Oedipal forces at work in that party. These days, only Republicans of the Trump tribe use the term and they have mainly abandoned it. For a while, many even blamed banks' failures on the grounds that the bank was "woke". They are really hard to take seriously. The only problem is that what we see as crazy has a chance to seize our government and install an authoritarian regime instead. Trump feels quite at home with many of these types of leaders and quite uncomfortable around them from a Parliamentary or "democratic" system. So, what, according to Reich, are the attributes of Fascism? I use his categories as I've notice these phenomena, but am not sure as to whether they constitute Fascism. Still, the characteristics are worth considering. LEADER. This is by far the most significant aspect of what is going on. All fascist leaders were populists, including Mussolini. Hitler, Hirohito, and so on. They appealed to a justifiably aggrieved mass of the people who were mainly cast off from significance, put themselves in the same category, and posed as their liberator. Was Hitler ever in a similar situation? Yes, copies of a crawing he did for admission to a School of Architecture look fairly impressive, but he was rejected. No other details are available. I imagine other figures will exhibit similar situations. In Trump's case, the positions are not overriding, although the huge tax cuts given to the corporate world (totaling over three Trillion dollars) is among the ones he thinks are worthwhile. On abortion he could not care less: he avoided the position, eventually, by saying he would appoint the Supreme Court Judges and that would take care of the issue. Right to life? You are kidding, right? His is the only life that matters. The preparation is what is important here. Almost all of our Politicians were trained and also practiced as Attorneys. The Donald's main qualification and training for the position is so-called "Reality TV". His style and approach is similar to that of Mr. Pillow. He is at home in front of cameras and talking extemporaneously and usually contradicts himself but still maintains the facade of sincerity. People wonder why he pardoned Rod Blagoyovitch, the Illinois Governor that set an Illinois record for corruption and is thus worthy of attention. Well, yes, and he was a valuable ratings asset for his television show. Those are values he prizes. None of the other Republican candidates have a clue about this and the only one capable of running well against him is Chris Christie. An early response to the Donald's ranting about The Apprentice in the early days of his Misrule came from Arnold Schwartzenegger who the Donald chose as his successor on the show. Arnold offered to change jobs with him as Arnold did have experience in governing as the "Governator" of California and Donald had more of a talent from TV ratings. ATTACK ELITES. Here it is important to pick your elites, people who are successful, but different from you. The different part is the main component, defining them as elites is fairly easy once that is established. Someone points out in a book that our own "Civil War" is not typical as there is a confederation, uniforms, a centralized government, etc. No, most civil wars come across when a once dominant or ruling population becomes replaced by a once minority population or aggregate population. Demographically, whites, once about 80% of the population have been, or are being, replaced in size by others, including Blacks, Hispanics, and other non-whites. Since we must consider them inferior, they cannot organize a "takeover," but those Jews have always been smart and can organize the takeover. This, essentially is the "Replacement Theory". Now this works, believe it or not, in the Donald's best interest as the judge in the TRUMP UNIVERSITY case had a Spanish-sounding name, and the current judge causing him problems is not only black but also a woman! Obviously, he is standing in the way of a gigantic conspiracy against good, white, Christians. It is obvious, right? Since he rules an idiocracy, the Donald can easily claim that he is the only thing standing between THEM and YOU and be believed. He is also their "retribution" Though it isn't clear what they need retribution for – being white and stupid? That seems more of a religious issue than a political one. NATIONALISM AND SUPERIORITY. Everyone knows that a Christian America is superior to any other country, ever, and Christian Nationalists the bulwark of our freedom. It was not physical weaklings that attacked the capital buildings and, on one of the tapes the call for reinforcements was shouted: "We need more Patriots here!" The call was answered. EXTOL STRENGTH. I'm not sure what Reich was getting at here, but these obviously were not University types. They are physically strong (I had to deal with their type as an athlete) but incredibly stupid. It took me awhile to realize that such stupidity was even possible, but then I was able to compensate. But I am not writing an autobiography, so enough of that. DISTAIN FOR WOMEN. I think just about everyone can see this in action. It certainly has a great deal to do with anti-abortion laws. I have difficulty with this one as well. I did like a protest sign that read DEREGULATE MY UTERUS, especially as Republicans have always been against regulations on corporations. I had a great deal of trouble understanding a bunch of pro-Trump women marching along with a t-shirt with a large arrow pointing down to between their legs and the sign said GRAB HERE. I give up. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS. Biden is no great force for good as his main advantage here is that he is not the Donald. Still, we can look at the effects of some of his legislation and see that all of the infrastructure bill and anti-inflation measures provides jobs, contributes to the economy, and so on. Yet when those programs come to Republican districts and states, Republican politicians are there to claim credit. Since most of the people have no idea as to how these changes and improvements came about, they need to be told. We need a return to practices of the past. Again, I am not trying to write an autobiography here, but I did live through the most successful Democratic administration(s) and know how things work or worked. One could not cross many intersections without seeing a sign that read THIS IS ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT FOR CHICAGO. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. RICHARD J. DALEY, MAYOR. They were everywhere. At times I wanted to exchange the two "I" words, but I knew better. In many of the current districts, Republican ones, the Congressmen and Representatives are taking credit, but the populace does not realize that these guys voted AGAINST the very project they are taking credit for. They were too chicken and mealy-mouthed to stand up for their own districts. You should know that one Republican who was able to stand up against this crap came from Illinois and will eventually rise again. He was thrown out of the party and has reason to be proud of that. A public relations and propaganda offensive is needed, and fast! Make sure these people know that these infrastructure benefits were done exclusively by Democrats, not MAGATS or cowards. DANGERS OF DONALD. Many come to mind, but I will only talk about one minor one. He started out with a cabinet of wealthy and greedy corporate functionaries. One of the earliest came with his appointed Secretary of State. As they were leaving some conference involving as a side issue nuclear weapons, the Secretary, well-known in the fossil fuel industry, was heard shouting at him "You're a fucking moron!" He was replaced. Sane people, no matter how greedy, sometimes place other interests above the projects of the Donald and they must go – and they are glad to escape. So far as possible to remember, only one of his original cabinet members remained and that was Betsy, the wealthy sister of the wealthy Eric Prince, the owner of what was called BLACKWATER, an infamous private army that committed numerous atrocious war crimes in service of the second Bush administration. Most people have forgotten about that, but the army was granted permanent immunity from any and all crimes by one Paul Bremer who was on his way out. [The only reference I make here is a book titled BLACKWATER, BY Jeremy Scahill which is so documented that it is overwhelming.] It was also shown by Julian Assange which explains why our government still pursues him. It still functions under different names and contracts with different governments. A similar thing happened with the "School of the Americas" where such notables as Noriega were "trained". It is still there, doing the same thing, but under what name? If anyone finds out and makes it public, it will change. Ok, Betsy. She was named Secretary of Education although she knew very little about the field. One Senator who unmasked her for her ignorance was Al Franken who later became a victim of the #METOO movement, pursued by a blond Democrat woman who was perhaps led to that by corporate pressure. She will never admit anything. Betsy's main goal was far greater than any of the would-be Trumps such as Ron DeSantis. She wanted to eliminate public education altogether and replace it with private schooling, good ol' American schools. It is worth noting that public education became manditory, at least until the age of about 16. Early on, perhaps a coal miner wanted his son to go to school. The mine foreman would come around and say "You've got a good 9-year-old son there, we want him to work in the mine." If the father refused, he was told that he would lose his job as well if he didn't send his son down into the mine. Now, at least, he was able to say "I'm sorry, but the police would get after me if I kept him out of the mine and didn't send him to the school." That is really how mandatory education started, but naturally corporate interests are still anti-education. Later on, Ronald Reagan would say "We have to get control over who is allowed to go to college." Betsy agreed. During the Donald's rule, or misrule, a very good television series was started, called Lone Survivor. The premise was that one cabinet member stayed away for the State of the Union speech so that some functionary would be set to become President if some disaster did kill every government official at once. It is a far-fetched possibility, but I always found it disturbing to think that the worst could happen and she became President. The show is now on a streaming service. One of the last holdovers from the semi-sane was the ex-General who was given the nickname "MAD-DOG" by his soldiers because of his insane bombing and torching of Fallujah during the Iraq occupation. Eventually, things became too insane for MAD-DOG to tolerate. STOCHASTIC TERRORISM. Tossing out a word such as "Stochastic" is designed to make the speaker sound brilliant, I suppose. It confused me at first as I was used to the term in the field of mathematics. It is simply voicing anger with a target and then leaving it to some fool to go out and commit violence against him. It is NOTHING NEW!!!! Got it? Nothing new. Have you ever heard the phrase used in reference to Thomas Becket, introduced by Shakespeare, and then in A Man for All Seasons? "Will no one rid me of the meddlesome priest?" He did not order the assassination of Beckett directly, but Beckett died. In other words, 21st Century words, Stochastic Terrorism. Enough. SUMMARY. Now these are probably the least of the past idiocies of the first Donald administration. His behavior, if he is to be treated like a normal citizen, should already have him in jail for contempt of court. He is not and will not be, but "the land of the brave; the home of the free/Don't wanna be treated like no Bourgeoisie" has some work to do. JACK SMITH. I am not a fan, but I know he does not back down and does his job. He was enlisted to go after John Edwards in a primary where Obama and Hillary were also contenders. He was the most likely to be elected if nominated, had an excellent pro-consumer record, and so on. Unfortunately, his wife had a debilitating form of cancer, he was slipping off to have affairs, and he was being blackmailed. He bought his way out of it and was charged with some sorts of election violations. Smith lost the case, but it did put Edwards out of the race which seemed to be the goal. Still, he does what his job is and is not intimidated. I've had enough. Bye. AbsurdTimes's Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
© 2023 Honest Charlie
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Friday, August 18, 2023
Donald on Bail -- TRUMPS TROOPS
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Woke
THE ABSURD TIMES
A Florida Cartoon on Ron Illustration: We Just Get Tired BlBlame it on Woke by HHonest Charlie Thanks for reading AbsurdTimes's Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. By the time I finish my introduction here, there begins a longish text by Adorno, a formidable member of the so-called Frankfort School, or the practice of Critical Theory. More about it later, but it will be issued in parts in subsequent postings without comment. Right now, we need to start off with the stupid overuse of the word "woke," an indispensable part of any aspiring leader of the MAGA Mob. I honestly have not heard the term used by anyone else with any seriousness, nor does it deserve any. These days, anything that approaches something that these rabble-rousers dislike (and they spend a great deal of money making sure of what it is that the rabble dislikes) becomes "woke" and they plan to destroy it. However, we can review some history of similar events and realize that "woke" has always been with us – it simply has not been identified as such. Even Social Security was deemed "woke" until the State of the Union. The process had rece3ived some attention and the backlash amongst the rabble was so intense that these cringing Magats all of a sudden cringed at any thought that they ever even considered axing Social Security. They could have remembered an old "Tea Party" movement, a precursor to the 'Birthers' and now the Magats, was militant about Social Security. At one time, a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania (yes, he of the magic bullet ruse) was attacked during a town hall with cries of "keep your government hands off my Social Security". This leaves little to say. Previously, Socil Security had been called 'socialism' as FDR constructed several changes under his "new deal". Ronald Ray Gun was acting the role of President as corporate Amerika cast him as their attacker in chief. We lack the word 'woke' at the time, so we had only "socialism" to attack and were a bit handicapped by that as some people actually knew what it was. "Woke" had no such problems. After all, our system had so badly allowed greed to blossom so wildly causing it to crash so totally, here and around the world, that FDR could do anything he wanted to save it. If he was a Socialist, he could have nationalized all the banks, things would probably still be better today, but he did not. When he ran, he gave his reason: "I need to save my friends from themselves." In other words, we need some rules. So what happened at the state of the Union? Well, such events were usually quite sedate affairs. One moronic scum shouted "you lie" at Obama and that was about all that ever happened. But this last time, Joe Biden (hardly a flaming liberal) was able to lash out at the Maga plans against Social Security and the entire place was in an uproar with denials! Elected Maga types screamed and shouted denials, attacking Biden's status as a human beling! That marked the end of a string of attempts to undo another bit of progress made by FDR back in the 1930s. Social Security lost its role as woke. The previous time Social Security was being attacked was by the Bush/Cheney mob and a scheme to put all the money from the Social Security fund into the stock market. At that time, after the repeal of another FDR program, the Stock market crashed and the scheme was abandoned. The Dodd/Frank bill was passed and that kept things safe until Trump and the repeal of Dodd/Frank (and Frank, now with a salary of 2 or 3 million a year, was very much behind the repeal) by a well-bribed Congress and a batty Trump. Just recently, a couple more large banks collapsed as a result, and perhaps some new regulations will be put into place. At the very least, the stupidity and greed of big money has screwed things up so foolishly that the public has forgotten the drilling in the new lands and other broken promises of the Biden administration. Or, to make things more comprehensible to the MAGA minions, Dodd/Frank was not involved – all that happened was that a few "Woke" banks failed. These woke people have to learn what's right. Ron De Fascist and Dopey Donald seem to make lovely alternatives. Ron's crusade against Walt Disney and Donald's claims of "witch-hunt" and aspirations to be the "retribution" for the scum simply need to do some more work. One of the great misfortunes of the civil war is that anyone with any capacity for abstract thought moved north and the south was left basically with the white trash. Nixon recognized this as it was a key part of his "southern strategy". He also predicted that Donald would someday become an effective politician. (Yes, there are still some sane and thoughtful people in the south and they at least benefit politically from the population increase of former slaves as they will usually be more liberal than the white trash. This is also a good time to point to a bit of wisdom often quoted and originating with the Texan Lyndon Johnson, who other then his unjustifiable war, was fairly insightful: "If you tell a poor, stupid, low white man that he is better than the richest and most educated black person, he will let you pick his pocket." That was a strategy he often employed. Finally, to sum up the Trump business we can only ask 'How can there be a witch hunt when we know who the witch is?' Why hunt when he identified himself? It all smacks of Woke to me. Now, what has all of this got to do with "woke"? Actually, it is working up to a more important question: What has Florida got to do with CRT? What is this CRT? Well, it is kind of like "woke". All they really know is that it points out racist behavior and the rest they make up. They haven't the slightest idea of what it is – all they need to know is that somehow it points out that white people have not always been very nice to black people. Well, they haven't! Who can argue with that? Well, every bit of white trash who thinks that somehow all the black people are going to take things away from white people and they, the white people, are better than the black people. Are you befuddled enough? Well, don't be. Put directly, CRT is just one more example of being woke, just like Disney. Florida, according to its governor, is "where 'woke' goes to die". Well, now, here is a bit of real Critical Theory, prefaced by a few serious remarks. The excerpt will be continued in another posting in a few days or so, without much commentary: This is the second book of Adordo's aphorisms, an example of Critical Theory written in honor of Max Horkheimer, leader of Critical Theory.An aphorism is not, as commonly believed, a single sentence wittily phrased, laced with paradox or anger. It is rather a condensed discussion of a single subject under a single heading, lasting as long a several paragraphs and often as short as the single, biting, sentence. There is no explanation for the confusion of the two concepts, but it is best to make it clear from the onset.Adorno is patently wrong and in error on every single subject he discusses, misunderstanding every author or subject in turn and, in general, confounding ideas and concepts in a simple-minded way. Eventually, during the course of the discussion as he explains why he made the interpretation he did, he eventually reveals a clear, incisive and correct opinion on every single subject and there is not a single point on which one can contradict him.Now, the paragraph above seems to be pure nonsense, but it is my own parody on how Adorno actually works. Early on in the discussion one is tempted to disagree with him, but as he progresses to explain his views he seems irrefutable and, curiously enough, in accordance with one's own view of the subject, if one actually had one in the first place. It is a strange experience at first, but eventually becomes more comfortable as one's respect for his acumen and honesty is established. One would expect that since the reader had already read the previous posting of book one of this series there was no need for further introduction, but subsequent questions and observations prompted this introduction.For example, Adorno presents an analysis of WWII that few would today be allowed to present, yet he does it skillfully and accurately, although leaving out a few items that will be supplied here. His concern is not with Hitler's, the leader's (Fuürer in German] cruelty, but with his stupidity that is a hallmark of fascism, the linkage of commercialism with warfare that inevitably leads to al lack of creativity. One example he gives is Hitler's decision not to attack England at the time, an attack that would have been successful and led to Germany's victory (supposing it stopped there), but rather to move eastward, violating his treaty with Stalin. Adorno could not have known this at the time, but Hitler often cursed Neville Chamberlain for having "ticked him" and never forgave himself for this blunder. Additionally, he was furious with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor as the last think he wanted was America's entry into the was, although Roosevelt devoutly hoped for this and perhaps precipitated it. All of this was controversial at the time, but today it is very dangerous to even suggest such a thing and popular wisdom has so deeply ingrained the opposite view.However, if all of this is uncomfortable today, his remarks starting about midway in this essay, in the 70s in number below, are more easily digested by today's mind, although the commercial interests would be very upset indeed with these insights. He talks about the decline of the Union at a time when it was very powerful and correctly predicts its decline. He talks of the artificial nature of quality in mass-production. For example, the Cadillac at that time was considered the epitome of automotive quality, but he points out that in almost every instance the design of the Cadillac is the same as the Chevrolet. Only materials and production of a much cheaper nature are substituted to produce a wider-selling car. Then he moves to his more valuable critique of cognition itself, or modern science, that systematically devalues everything that gives human meaning to life and, more to the point, the very scientists themselves. Today, it is only the "popularizer" of Science that gives it any meaning.He comments on a great many other issues, and this brief introduction to book two should be considered as one person's observations thereon:Minima Moralia by Theodor AdornoPart II |
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Fwd: Why Would Anybody Embrace Fascism?
Why Would Anybody Embrace Fascism?Is it useful to examine why so many white people, with their built-in white privilege, would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with wannabe dictators like Trump, Abbott, and DeSantis?
Male white supremacy is real and white suppression of minorities, particularly Black and Brown people along with gender minorities and women, absolutely permeates every aspect of our society, from business to culture to governance. Without setting aside that reality, it's useful to examine why so many white people, with their built-in white privilege, would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with wannabe dictators like Trump, Abbott, and DeSantis. All over social media people are asking, "Why would anybody embrace fascism? Why would they be willing to overthrow a functioning democratic republic?" And why now, instead of forty or more years ago? The answer is simple: their perception of their own safety. Safety is at the foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs. If a person doesn't feel safe, they're not able to even think about other dimensions of life. If you're crossing a busy street and stuck in the middle as cars are whizzing by on both sides, you're not thinking of your job opportunities or the next car you want to buy or even what's for dinner or your love life. You just want to get safe! And, increasingly, working class white men in America are feeling unsafe as America is conspicuously becoming browner. They're told daily by an entire movement based in the GOP — which includes over 1500 right wing talk radio stations, rightwing television networks, and hundreds of publications — that straight white men have targets on their backs. Adult Hispanics in Texas, for example, outnumbered whites for the first time this decade. It's a new and shocking feeling for a group that's been in power for over 400 years, and — as we're seeing with DeSantis and Abbott's cruel fraud against asylum seekers and all the love it's getting on Fox "News" — producing a predictable backlash. Racism, homophobia, and misogyny have gone from the margins, kept to oneself, and blown into the mainstream, being amplified and celebrated daily by Republican politicians busing and flying brown-skinned asylum seekers around the country, to open attacks on teaching Black history in schools, to rants on radio and podcasts. In 1981 Ronald Reagan and the GOP began a 40-year project to disempower and gut the American middle class wage earners, which was then mostly made up of white men. He wanted to take away their wealth and their safety. There was an actual rationale for this, laid out by Russell Kirk in his 1951 book The Conservative Mind that I detail in The Hidden History of American Oligarchy. Kirk argued that without clearly defined classes and power structures — essentially without the morbidly rich in complete control — society would devolve into chaos. He and his followers essentially predicted in 1953 that if college students, women, working people, and people of color ever got even close to social and political power at the same level as wealthy white men, all hell would break loose. (Keep in mind, this was at a time when racial segregation was legal and brutally enforced, the voting age was 21, campuses were almost entirely all-male, and women couldn't open checking accounts or get credit cards without a husband or father's signature.) Throughout the 1950s, Kirk developed a small following; the most prominent of his proponents were William F. Buckley Jr. and Barry Goldwater. Most Republicans, though, considered him a crackpot. But when the birth-control pill was legalized in 1961 and the Vietnam War heated up a few years later, those marginalized groups Kirk had warned his wealthy white male followers about began to rise up in protest. Kids were burning draft cards, women were burning bras, and Martin Luther King Jr. was leading a movement for racial justice that the white power structure blamed for American cities burning. Meanwhile, the Arab Oil Embargos of the 1970s had lit the flame of inflation, and unionized workers were striking all over America for wage increases to keep up with the rising cost of living. The white male power structure freaked out. They became convinced that they were seeing Kirk's prophecy play out in real time on their television screens every night. Nixon demanded "law and order," a euphemism for preventing students, women, striking union workers, or people of color from acquiring political and social power and the wealth that usually accompanies it. He put into place his War on Drugs to, as his right-hand man John Ehrlichman famously noted, overtly criminalize being Black or an anti-war or pro-civil rights hippy.
This took us straight to 1971, when Lewis Powell wrote his infamous Memo noting that Ralph Nader and Rachel Carson had kicked off consumer and environmental movements that threatened to cost industry lots of money, and that the student, women's, union, and civil rights movements were disruptive to society and had to be stopped. The next year Nixon put Powell on the Supreme Court and, particularly with the Buckley and Belotti decisions of 1976 and 1978 respectively, the Court put Powell's doctrine into practice by legalizing political bribery by billionaires and corporations alike. (The Belotti decision legalizing corporate campaign contributions and dark-pool third-party bribery of politicians by industry was written by Powell himself!) In the election of 1980 the Democrats were awash in union money, so didn't much take advantage of Powell's twin SCOTUS decisions, but the GOP leaped at the opportunity. Millions flowed from rich individuals and huge corporate behemoths — particularly the fossil fuel industry — into Republican coffers, sweeping Reagan into office that year. Thus, Reagan set out to make sure the dystopia he and other wealthy white men had glimpsed during the "unrest" of the 1965–1979 era was never repeated:
In 1980 about two-thirds of white workers had either a union job or its equivalent (unions set local wage floors, generally, even in non-union shops) and most of what was consumed in America was manufactured here. Housing, college and healthcare were all affordable. With just one single wage-earner, about two-thirds of Americans — most of them white— were living the American Dream, buying a home and car, taking an annual vacation, and building up pensions and savings for retirement. In many parts of the country Black Americans were also grabbing a share of the American dream, mostly through government jobs which, since the 60s, had forbidden racial discrimination in hiring. It was so ubiquitous a lifestyle it was a background story line for shows from The Flintstones (1960–1966) to All In The Family (1971–1979) and The Simpsons (1989-today). The 1960s show The Jetsons assumed that by the year 2020 a single wage earner just pushing a button a few times a day could support a family including fashion-obsessed teenagers and a charge-card-addicted wife. Fast forward to the consequence of the first 30 years of Reaganomics: 2010 was the first year in three generations when fewer than 50 percent of Americans could call themselves middle class. By 2020 almost two-thirds of all Americans would be wiped out by a single $400 unexpected expense, and between foreign imports and the gig economy most people entering the job market were looking at a poverty-grounded lifestyle. Reaganomics succeeded in accomplishing Russell Kirk's goal. The white middle class has largely become the white working poor, and the sense of safety their parents and grandparents enjoyed had evaporated. As Alan Greenspan, in 1989, told the Wall Street Journal and I documented in my book Screwed: the Undeclared War Against the Middle Class, he believed his main job as Reagan's Chairman of the Federal Reserve was to maintain a "necessary" minimum level of "worker insecurity." (Republican former private equity executive and now Fed chair Jerome Powell has revived this ideology. Meanwhile, for forty years Republicans from Schlafly to Reagan to Trump told white workers that the enemies who'd "stolen" their good union jobs were not the morbidly rich who'd shipped them overseas: the "bad guys" were liberals, women, Blacks, and Hispanics. There is a debate about whether fascists are primarily motivated by economics, authoritarianism, or just pure racism. The answer is: "all of the above." But the Germans didn't start looking for Jewish "others" until the Treaty of Versailles wrecked that country with its worst depression in its known history. Out of that grew Hitler, as John Kenneth Galbraith had correctly predicted would happen if the Treaty contained extreme economic punishments for Germany. And out of Reaganism gutting the middle class grew a Trump wannabe dictatorship that lives on in demagogues like Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, and Rick Scott — all backed up by a massive network, often funded by the morbidly rich, of rightwing talk stations, podcasts, and online publications. This isn't experienced just at the level of the individual, of course, but far more deeply and powerfully as a corrosive poison that hollows out an entire society from within. At the same time the white middle class was being gutted, the Black middle class that grew particularly fast after the Great Society reforms of the mid-1960s took a hit, too. Republicans then reached out to African Americans, arguing that their problems were all caused by Mexicans or Asians, while also telling Hispanics (now on hundreds of Spanish-language rightwing radio stations) that Black people are coming for their jobs. "Divide and conquer" is as old as Julius Caesar. Today they are funding new networks of Spanish-language "conservative" radio and television programming nationwide, telling mostly-Catholic Hispanics that Democrats are using abortion to produce a Latino genocide and that Democrats want to turn their children into drag queens. Kirk's original vision was to produce a more secure and stable America. Like so many conservatives before him, from Edmund Burke (who opens Kirk's book) to today's columnists for major mainstream publications and talking heads on rightwing "News" stations and networks, he argued that when "those people" were simply held down, suppressed, and marginalized — when people knew their place and were kept in it — society would function smoothly. Oligarchy is a good thing, they said, with white rich people (in constant need of trillions in government subsidies and tax cuts) running the show. They are promoting, essentially, an American version of fascism. That it would build a middle class here in America instead of an authoritarian police state, as it has throughout history, was a fantasy then and its a fantasy now. And it's brought us the dystopian reality of a weakened economy (except for the rich), racial hatred, and now a full-blown fascist anti-democratic anti-republican movement grounded in a bizarre conspiracy cult led by demagogues like Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Ron DeSantis. While Black history is under attack in schools across the nation by these same people, white Americans also need to learn their their own history and Reaganism's role in it.
© 2023 AbsurdTimes
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