You are articulating so clearly what is so obvious to us little people. I pay-subscribe to many substack independent journalists who left their corporate media jobs, and the Bulwark, which doesn’t always align with my policy positions, precisely because they are sticking their necks out and telling truth to power. Let’s hope more are willing to do so but I’m afraid it’s the average citizen such as myself who needs to carry the load of making signs and getting in the streets en masse (along with calling reps etc.) Maybe that will give them some backbone but I’m not holding my breath. I think you hit the selfish nail on the head.
I know in the U.S. in the 30s there was antisemitism, the KKK, Father Coughlin, German support so maybe we weren’t as great as I’d like to believe, but when the time came we did the right thing.
It’s hard for me to judge exactly how self protective&cowardly elected pols&corporate media are, but we are here. It’s time to step up.
Outstanding analysis Charlotte. That was the attitude of many professionals in civil service, the military, and many professionals, who were not Nazis but wanted to play it safe. As Sophie Scholl wrote:
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”
Absolutely, and I hope these politicians are subject to primaries by passionate, truthful, younger politicians. I live in MO and all I could think about while reading your essay was Josh Hawley, doing a macho fist-pumping to the insurrectionists, and then running away. He voted for the hideous BBB and then came out and said he'd like to scale back some of the damage to Medicaid. He is not a politician, he's a performance artist and an opportunist.
And, the thing that isn’t stated enough, is that many of these people (journos, politicians, think tankers, et al) are just not that smart. They have learned how to play a game, they have succeeded (to a degree) in that game, but in terms of realizing the bigger picture and what eventually is at stake, they are blind.
In my definition, smart is being able to see beyond your own f’ing selfish desires to accomplish a greater goal. Most of the people rambling around DC are not that.
What the Brand Protectors don't seem to realize is that we recognize them for who they are...and are *not*...right now. We see and recognize their self-serving, sniveling cowardice. We see and recognize the power they possess and *hoard*, stashing it away in their private bunkers for a doomsday they might actually be able to influence if they used their powers for good instead of hedging and bargaining and calculating and wagering their way into collaboration with the devil. Well, we know who always wins that bet. And it will all be for naught because they may think their immorally low profiles will protect them when, in fact, it will be their legacy. We see them for who they are now and we will remember.
There's a saying I've seen that goes something like "If you wonder what you would have done during the Holocaust, you're doing it now." So many cowards in politics and in the media right now.
Thanks, Charlotte, for saying this out loud. Whatever happened to JFK‘s challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”??
Self interest, personal power, and survival seems rampant in the politicians of both parties.
We can reward selfless members of Congress by making sure they stay in power. And electing new people who want to do for their country.
So much (maybe all?) of what ails this country (and maybe the world?) has its roots in capitalism and patriarchy, which are basically the same thing, when you boil it down. The desperate quest for profit, which is also a quest for power, which all too often (always?) seems to be defined solely in terms of domination. The idea that power doesn't have to be like pie--or that maybe we could put the community ahead of the Self--seems increasingly to be seen as some kind of wild-eyed radical notion. How to avoid despair becomes a very real question.
You are articulating so clearly what is so obvious to us little people. I pay-subscribe to many substack independent journalists who left their corporate media jobs, and the Bulwark, which doesn’t always align with my policy positions, precisely because they are sticking their necks out and telling truth to power. Let’s hope more are willing to do so but I’m afraid it’s the average citizen such as myself who needs to carry the load of making signs and getting in the streets en masse (along with calling reps etc.) Maybe that will give them some backbone but I’m not holding my breath. I think you hit the selfish nail on the head.
One more time for the pundits in the back, sister
Spot on.
I know in the U.S. in the 30s there was antisemitism, the KKK, Father Coughlin, German support so maybe we weren’t as great as I’d like to believe, but when the time came we did the right thing.
It’s hard for me to judge exactly how self protective&cowardly elected pols&corporate media are, but we are here. It’s time to step up.
Outstanding analysis Charlotte. That was the attitude of many professionals in civil service, the military, and many professionals, who were not Nazis but wanted to play it safe. As Sophie Scholl wrote:
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”
All the best and thank you for what you do.
Steve Dundas
Absolutely, and I hope these politicians are subject to primaries by passionate, truthful, younger politicians. I live in MO and all I could think about while reading your essay was Josh Hawley, doing a macho fist-pumping to the insurrectionists, and then running away. He voted for the hideous BBB and then came out and said he'd like to scale back some of the damage to Medicaid. He is not a politician, he's a performance artist and an opportunist.
Time for naming and shaming.
💯. Could name a couple of Democratic senators who just voted their skins.
💯
And, the thing that isn’t stated enough, is that many of these people (journos, politicians, think tankers, et al) are just not that smart. They have learned how to play a game, they have succeeded (to a degree) in that game, but in terms of realizing the bigger picture and what eventually is at stake, they are blind.
In my definition, smart is being able to see beyond your own f’ing selfish desires to accomplish a greater goal. Most of the people rambling around DC are not that.
You Charlotte, are the exception, not the rule.
What the Brand Protectors don't seem to realize is that we recognize them for who they are...and are *not*...right now. We see and recognize their self-serving, sniveling cowardice. We see and recognize the power they possess and *hoard*, stashing it away in their private bunkers for a doomsday they might actually be able to influence if they used their powers for good instead of hedging and bargaining and calculating and wagering their way into collaboration with the devil. Well, we know who always wins that bet. And it will all be for naught because they may think their immorally low profiles will protect them when, in fact, it will be their legacy. We see them for who they are now and we will remember.
There's a saying I've seen that goes something like "If you wonder what you would have done during the Holocaust, you're doing it now." So many cowards in politics and in the media right now.
Thank you for being You. All I can do is send you some coffee, so here goes. Gratitude.
Thanks, Charlotte, for saying this out loud. Whatever happened to JFK‘s challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”??
Self interest, personal power, and survival seems rampant in the politicians of both parties.
We can reward selfless members of Congress by making sure they stay in power. And electing new people who want to do for their country.
So much (maybe all?) of what ails this country (and maybe the world?) has its roots in capitalism and patriarchy, which are basically the same thing, when you boil it down. The desperate quest for profit, which is also a quest for power, which all too often (always?) seems to be defined solely in terms of domination. The idea that power doesn't have to be like pie--or that maybe we could put the community ahead of the Self--seems increasingly to be seen as some kind of wild-eyed radical notion. How to avoid despair becomes a very real question.
Spot on