Tag: The Vision Thing

Nov 04 2008

The Vision Thing …Part 4a

As we sit and wait to find out what kind of world we will be living in after tonight, and make no mistake, nothing less than that is at stake considering the differences between the world Obama will lead and the world McCain would have created through his ‘leadership,’ I will attempt to conquer the restlessness that comes with sitting on pins and needles and write about the future.

This essay is labeled part 4a though, because it will be a bit of a ramble, thoughts about vision, rather than presenting a vision. I spent the whole day (a rare and precious event) with my 21 year old son yesterday. I spent the day trying to see the future through his eyes. Since it is his future, more than mine. He started off by relating how excited he was to be voting in his first presidential election today, but that was immediately followed by a cynicism, in part a protective cynicism, as to the newly elected Dems doing much better at solving the very real problems his world faces.

It seems that somehow he grew up with a few ‘radical’ and certainly what Palin and Bachmann would describe as ‘anti-American,’ views about the way the world and politics works. He thinks apparently, that our government has been hijacked to serve the interests of the rich and the corporations that are actively attacking his future through war, greed, and most of all their refusal to address Climate Crisis if it costs them anything to do so. I have no idea where the kid learned that sorta stuff!

He was 13 when George Bush was elected. Through his formative years, Bush is all he has known. That makes hope for the future pretty tough, when the past eight years make up a big chunk of your life. Obama not withstanding. And listening to various people (ahem) rant and rail about what a shitty job the Dems have done in opposing Bush probably hasn’t helped much either! I mentioned self-protective cynicism earlier, which is basically a way to keep yourself from being hurt by not believing in anything, by not letting yourself hope. He has that in spades. But it is a veneer.

Oct 31 2008

The Vision Thing…Part Three

Foreign Policy

Perhaps no other area of policy illustrates and encapsulates the sheer stupidity, brutality, arrogance, wrongness and…well…stupidity of the Bush Administration than it’s horrific foreign policy. Embracing and enacting the blatant “Might Makes Right” philosophy of the Neo-cons and their childish desire to Rule The World! as an American Empire has harmed both our country and the world in ways we will not fully appreciate for decades. Perhaps even, as the newly manufactured anti-American terrorists it has spawned grow up and pass this awful legacy down, generations.

At approximately 500 Billion dollars a year in Pentagon budgets adding up to nearly 4 TRILLION dollars over the last eight years (admittedly not the sole fault of Bushco) plus the 700 Billion in war supplementals…..we could have BOUGHT Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of invading them and killing and torturing their citizens and making the entire Muslim world hostile, if not outright belligerent, towards America. It was an out and out Christian Crusade, masquerading as foreign policy. As many have said a Global War On Terror is a ridiculous concept, as you cannot wage war against a tactic. Such sheer lunacy as this is nearly incomprehensible, when looking back at it.

So let us look forward.

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Oct 30 2008

The Vision Thing…Part Two

Part One

All visions have to start somewhere, and since this is a vision of how to get from where we are to where we want to be, I will start this one with where we are. We are starting a new century, for one thing. Though we have certainly not started it well. Unless of course we realize that in order for a new world to be created, the old one must be ‘destroyed’ to make way for it. In which case, George Bush and the Republicans (past and present) have done a simply bang up job of starting the century right by ‘destroying’ nearly every aspect of the old, American dominated world, by destroying nearly every aspect of the structure of America . They have destroyed our economy, which once led the world. They have overstretched and destroyed our military might, which once ruled the world. They have destroyed America’s moral reputation, which once the world looked up to. They and their cohorts at Fox News have destroyed American journalism and any notion of a truthful and “free” press. They have destroyed our educational system and decimated the notion that we are technological world leaders. They have destroyed infrastructure through neglect, using the moneys for it in their destructive war. In addition to attempting to destroy the very concept of  science, they have destroyed, or tried to destroy, the concept of environmental protection. They have destroyed eight of the precious years we had to fight Climate Crisis. In fact about the only thing they have not destroyed are the industries and services geared towards serving the very wealthy, Ferrari dealerships, for instance, are doing very well!

In the construction industry, when a structure has suffered major damage, as the structures of America have under the “stewardship” of the Republicans, you are faced with a choice. You can rebuild the structure as it was….or you can build a new structure in its place, on the remains of whatever parts of the foundation are still solid.

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When it is obvious, as it is now, that the structure collapsed of its own weight, because of bad design or ill-thought out additions, the answer becomes obvious. Build a new, more sound structure.

Oct 29 2008

The Vision Thing…Part One

You can’t get where you want to go ….unless you know where you want to go. Everyone knows now that there must be change, and again we can thank the Conservative Movement and its monumental failure under Bush for driving that point home in unequivocal, unmistakable, undeniable real world terms.

So where do we want to go?

It takes a vision, to paraphrase Hillary. And to achieve effective and implementable change, it takes a vision that is broad enough to become a shared vision. But among the many things the Republicans have destroyed is the ability to even describe a vision, without some FoxNews type smearing of any and all Progressive visions. Thus Obama has not been able to fully articulate where HE wants us to go, what his vision is….and still be electable. Thus until after the inauguration we will not know where he wants to take us. We will not know where we agree and disagree. Until then, our task is to attempt to articulate our vision, and to try to be as clear as we can in this muddied and still fearful political environment. As Obama then articulates his, we will know where to support, where we need to try to bend it to ours, and where we need to oppose.

Over the last decade of renewed Culture War, one of the successes of the Conservatives has been (as I mention above) the smearing of the very word Liberal, let alone a true Liberal/Progressive vision of the world. Our attempts at vision have been labeled “soft on…’ and ‘unrealistic.’ Now however, their ‘hard’ vision of using force to solve every problem has led us here, to their version/vision of ‘reality.’ Which as even they (the non-delusional parts of they, at least) must admit, just plain does not work, AND has some truly morally reprehensible and downright vicious (torture) aspects. They have set the narrative, and their one true achievement has been to discredit our narrative. Heck, they don’t even really believe in having a vision, in their world, Real Men (Real Americans) Don’t Think. They have smeared even the concept of vision and imposed their ersatz philosophies instead, all centering around on central premise…I’ve Got Mine. That is what passes for their vision, what they have attempted to destroy our vision for. Even though ours….works.