Congress' obscene deregulation of the financial institutions with no oversight provided. The war-of-choice and occupation in Iraq. The authorization and sanctioning of torture as official United States policy by the highest officials at the White House and Pentagon. The turning of our beloved Constitution into little more than a "quaint" scrap of paper. The saddling of the middle-class and poor (and their children and grandchildren) with massive debt by financially bailing-out Wall Street but giving ordinary citizens, including auto workers and other blue-collar working stiffs, little more than crumbs of social services and tax relief in return.
It appears to be the same ol' same 'ol: rescue the rich and powerful -- those "too big to fail," those "too important to fail." One would think that the Democrats, the party of the middle-class, would use their rare opportunity to alter the priorities, to enact major reform, to break from the corrupt politics of the past, to bring criminal charges against the malefactors to keep future officeholders and CEOs from feeling they can get away with anything.
But there is no real movement for impeachment, for war-crimes prosecutions, for CEO demotions or firings, etc. Instead, those who created the messes are left in place or are given enormous "golden parachutes," pardons are granted, laws are changed to cover the asses of the miscreants in charge. The lesson to the unscrupulous movers-and-shakers seems to be: Just keep doing what's always been done; you won't suffer any major consequences, and the taxpayers will meekly bear the burden of the massive bailouts of your companies.
WAITING FOR OBAMA
It's possible that I'm being much too hasty here. Obama isn't even sworn in yet. In spite of his political career as a centrist pragmatist with generally liberal leanings, maybe circumstances will force him in another, more progressive direction. (Good sign: Obama is forcefully supporting the workers occupying their Chicago factory because their pensions and benefits disappeared when the owners suddenly closed the plant. Obama wants to find a way to make them whole.)
Maybe, like FDR, Obama will seize the day in this crisis-filled time to lead the Democrats, and the country as a whole, in truly significant, sweeping social/political/economic change. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to happen.
We need a social/political revolution in this country -- and we progressives must work ceaselessly to make this happen -- but we may have to get used to incremental change, at least in the first few years of the new administration. At the very least, after eight years of regressive, disastrous rule, Obama's America will be moving in the correct direction.#
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked as a writer/editor with the San Francisco Chronicle for two decades, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment:
crisispapers@comcast.net .First published by The Crisis Papers and Democratic Underground 12/9/08.
www.crisispapers.org/essays8w/system.htm
Copyright 2008 by Bernard Weiner.
