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symbioidljThe left has a problem. And I think the problem is it's own insular world-view.
We have focused so hard on fighting the right in this country that we have lost all sense of reality when it comes to the fact that there is a fundamental threat to our civilization. And yes, Fundamentalist Christianity is one of them. And George W. Bush is another. But the fact remains that ultimately, there is a horrific battle happening now, and it's only just beginning. We haven't seen the worst of it, and to walk around ignoring it is only going to make it even worse than it could be.
Our first job is to get Bush out of office. We all agree, but then what?
The problem is having a concrete plan, because people sense a certain fear. The "Barbarians" are at the gate, so to speak.
As much as we need to fight against fundy xianity, we also have to realize that it as a force is still very much grounded in the same western tradition that secular humanism is. It has in direct lineage grown from other factors which secular humanism has brought to it, and in which it has been molded, in opposition to it, in service to it, and to make it in it's service.
As much as xianity doesn't like Secular Humanism, it is a response that has evolved within the niche of it. Fundy Islam is also a reaction in response to the growth of secular humanism, but it has seen it as an invading force, as a disguise for the Christian/Jewish conquerors.
As much as we have problems with consumer culture, as much as we hate corporations, as much as we hate all this shit in modern capitalism, we have to realize that there is a common cultural bond in the west between these forces because we have grown together through evolutionary strategies in an environment, an memesphere, if you will, of competition, strategies and counterstrategies. Western Civilization isn't monolithic, but certain attributes tend toward universality within it.
These liberties are inhereted in this grand tradition going back to the Magna Carta and earlier, I believe that there are even traits that run in common with Norse Law.
The Fundamentalist Islam that is attacking us wants to see this culture destroyed and have an extreme version of barbaric law, a monolithic religious police state that enforces laws of religion. The west has not had that degree of unification of church/state power for hundreds of years.
And while it's important to always struggle(struggle, as in jihad, as in kampf... scary word) against these barbaric entities in our culture, we can do it through democratic means, but the force invading us from outside, how do we defeat it?
We need to have a strong, consistent alternative to the Bush Doctrine, and we need to present it to the American people. We need to have a policy, which is multilateral in approach.
Not just multilateral in regards to our relationships with other nations, but also in regards to tactics. We have a very weak effort. The war on Iraq has not made America safer. This we have been saying for ages. Our predictions were right, this isn't an easy fight, Rumsfeld has admitted it. Every turn, they have to make a new excuse, no-one in this administration dares to take any sort of accountability, it refuses to admit that it has made any single mistake. And people know that this sort of blindness refuses to allow us to learn.
One thing we need to do is to present the fact that we stand against terrorism, and this attack on our freedom, because it is. Not in the direct way, but in the end, if they could, they would destroy us. Read some of the teachings of these Fundies.
Read Qutb, read Maududi, read al-Wahab. Some things are couched in noble goals and values, but then look further at what their goals are. Their critique is often the same as ours, but their solution is VASTLY different, and we need to realize that.
We need to posit a policy that will work to isolate the Saudis, we need to stop helping the Saudis fund the Madrassahs. We need to stop funding various criminal syndicates with weapons. All industrial nations have a vested interest in this. International weapons security... We have ignored the manpower and funding necessary to secure weapons around the world from trade to such dangerous nations and groups. I hesitate to use the word "Rogue State" because that's just propaganda terminology.
I believe that there are certain groups "Islamic Charities" that have contributed to the growth of Islamic terror, through funding madrassahs("schools"), and terror groups... There needs to be a system set up whereby an investigation is invoked of a charity, through constitutional means, and a grand jury is held to investigate the case. If the charity is found guilty of conspiring with terror groups, the organizers will be arrested and charged with treason. International law will have to be invoked in cases of international trade of this sort, and we will need the support of our allies around the globe.
Afghanistan is also a big problem that needs to be dealt with, and we are not giving proper funding to deal with it.
In order to isolate Saudi Arabia, we need to end our dependence on foreign oil. Not only that, we need to provide better solutions. Organic biodegradable solutions. And we need to utilize market mechanisms to encourage this. Tax Breaks, Investment of Research Dollars to groups/organizations which will advance this cause. The sooner we can get to a plant based fuel, a hydrogen based fuel, which can be grown/produced domestically, the faster we clean our environment and the less money we're giving to Saudi Arabia and other fundamentalist regimes. We need to shift our policy to deal with other countries in the meantime. Countries that share our common goals of western secular democracy. We need to research strongly on bioplastics.
We need strong engineering skills, and we need to build uip our schools. But it's going to take much more than funding public schools with more money, though that's part of it.
We need to work towards enhancing the teacher/student ratio: Smaller classrooms, more focus on the individual student. We need to decentralize the education system. We need to allow multiple methods and techniques where individuals who can adapt and learn from them do their best in that environment.
We need to present a "Newer Deal" with America. One that combines the best that we've learned through our hundreds of years of history, to look beyond mere left or right, and to draw together our sense of community. We need a plan. We can't continue to just attack Bush without proposing an alternative. We need to get people ready to understand that these tax cuts will not provide the kind of security we need. We need to invest in America's security. And that includes new approaches to the environment.
When we do this, we will begin to hire more people. More Americans will be put back to work creating and building new products that reduce our dependence on foreign oil, promote a sustainable economy, and still encouraging capitalism at the same time.
I'm not a third rail democrat, I'm something else altogether. I think these basic concepts for a solution are a good start to something that can really change the way we do things. But we need to speak up. We need to start thinking. We need to encourage our leaders on the left to give this alternative.
But of course, we must not ever give up the fight against our own civil liberties in the process. We need to scale back the patriot act. There may be some provisions in there that are useful and that aren't harmful to our liberties, we should keep those, and recraft new solutions for the parts we've revoked. Some of this may be possible, some not... But we need to present an alternative. If we don't, we're going to have the same shit, and it's not gonna end.
We have focused so hard on fighting the right in this country that we have lost all sense of reality when it comes to the fact that there is a fundamental threat to our civilization. And yes, Fundamentalist Christianity is one of them. And George W. Bush is another. But the fact remains that ultimately, there is a horrific battle happening now, and it's only just beginning. We haven't seen the worst of it, and to walk around ignoring it is only going to make it even worse than it could be.
Our first job is to get Bush out of office. We all agree, but then what?
The problem is having a concrete plan, because people sense a certain fear. The "Barbarians" are at the gate, so to speak.
As much as we need to fight against fundy xianity, we also have to realize that it as a force is still very much grounded in the same western tradition that secular humanism is. It has in direct lineage grown from other factors which secular humanism has brought to it, and in which it has been molded, in opposition to it, in service to it, and to make it in it's service.
As much as xianity doesn't like Secular Humanism, it is a response that has evolved within the niche of it. Fundy Islam is also a reaction in response to the growth of secular humanism, but it has seen it as an invading force, as a disguise for the Christian/Jewish conquerors.
As much as we have problems with consumer culture, as much as we hate corporations, as much as we hate all this shit in modern capitalism, we have to realize that there is a common cultural bond in the west between these forces because we have grown together through evolutionary strategies in an environment, an memesphere, if you will, of competition, strategies and counterstrategies. Western Civilization isn't monolithic, but certain attributes tend toward universality within it.
These liberties are inhereted in this grand tradition going back to the Magna Carta and earlier, I believe that there are even traits that run in common with Norse Law.
The Fundamentalist Islam that is attacking us wants to see this culture destroyed and have an extreme version of barbaric law, a monolithic religious police state that enforces laws of religion. The west has not had that degree of unification of church/state power for hundreds of years.
And while it's important to always struggle(struggle, as in jihad, as in kampf... scary word) against these barbaric entities in our culture, we can do it through democratic means, but the force invading us from outside, how do we defeat it?
We need to have a strong, consistent alternative to the Bush Doctrine, and we need to present it to the American people. We need to have a policy, which is multilateral in approach.
Not just multilateral in regards to our relationships with other nations, but also in regards to tactics. We have a very weak effort. The war on Iraq has not made America safer. This we have been saying for ages. Our predictions were right, this isn't an easy fight, Rumsfeld has admitted it. Every turn, they have to make a new excuse, no-one in this administration dares to take any sort of accountability, it refuses to admit that it has made any single mistake. And people know that this sort of blindness refuses to allow us to learn.
One thing we need to do is to present the fact that we stand against terrorism, and this attack on our freedom, because it is. Not in the direct way, but in the end, if they could, they would destroy us. Read some of the teachings of these Fundies.
Read Qutb, read Maududi, read al-Wahab. Some things are couched in noble goals and values, but then look further at what their goals are. Their critique is often the same as ours, but their solution is VASTLY different, and we need to realize that.
We need to posit a policy that will work to isolate the Saudis, we need to stop helping the Saudis fund the Madrassahs. We need to stop funding various criminal syndicates with weapons. All industrial nations have a vested interest in this. International weapons security... We have ignored the manpower and funding necessary to secure weapons around the world from trade to such dangerous nations and groups. I hesitate to use the word "Rogue State" because that's just propaganda terminology.
I believe that there are certain groups "Islamic Charities" that have contributed to the growth of Islamic terror, through funding madrassahs("schools"), and terror groups... There needs to be a system set up whereby an investigation is invoked of a charity, through constitutional means, and a grand jury is held to investigate the case. If the charity is found guilty of conspiring with terror groups, the organizers will be arrested and charged with treason. International law will have to be invoked in cases of international trade of this sort, and we will need the support of our allies around the globe.
Afghanistan is also a big problem that needs to be dealt with, and we are not giving proper funding to deal with it.
In order to isolate Saudi Arabia, we need to end our dependence on foreign oil. Not only that, we need to provide better solutions. Organic biodegradable solutions. And we need to utilize market mechanisms to encourage this. Tax Breaks, Investment of Research Dollars to groups/organizations which will advance this cause. The sooner we can get to a plant based fuel, a hydrogen based fuel, which can be grown/produced domestically, the faster we clean our environment and the less money we're giving to Saudi Arabia and other fundamentalist regimes. We need to shift our policy to deal with other countries in the meantime. Countries that share our common goals of western secular democracy. We need to research strongly on bioplastics.
We need strong engineering skills, and we need to build uip our schools. But it's going to take much more than funding public schools with more money, though that's part of it.
We need to work towards enhancing the teacher/student ratio: Smaller classrooms, more focus on the individual student. We need to decentralize the education system. We need to allow multiple methods and techniques where individuals who can adapt and learn from them do their best in that environment.
We need to present a "Newer Deal" with America. One that combines the best that we've learned through our hundreds of years of history, to look beyond mere left or right, and to draw together our sense of community. We need a plan. We can't continue to just attack Bush without proposing an alternative. We need to get people ready to understand that these tax cuts will not provide the kind of security we need. We need to invest in America's security. And that includes new approaches to the environment.
When we do this, we will begin to hire more people. More Americans will be put back to work creating and building new products that reduce our dependence on foreign oil, promote a sustainable economy, and still encouraging capitalism at the same time.
I'm not a third rail democrat, I'm something else altogether. I think these basic concepts for a solution are a good start to something that can really change the way we do things. But we need to speak up. We need to start thinking. We need to encourage our leaders on the left to give this alternative.
But of course, we must not ever give up the fight against our own civil liberties in the process. We need to scale back the patriot act. There may be some provisions in there that are useful and that aren't harmful to our liberties, we should keep those, and recraft new solutions for the parts we've revoked. Some of this may be possible, some not... But we need to present an alternative. If we don't, we're going to have the same shit, and it's not gonna end.
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-17 06:56 am (UTC)The globalization (the 'good' kind) of our planet will not occur without something huge happening to make the majority of the people realize that we are all the same - regardless of race, orientation, religion - we are all humans and we must struggle to survive together as one people. It will also take those in power to no longer be in power - for as long as we have the current leaders who constantly show and force down our throats that we're very different people, and so many others are crazy and we need to kill and fight the crazies - then we will never be one.
If it comes to terms in our lifetimes, and I'm one who's to the point that I would rather have that then what we face now - 'Here comes the new Boss, same as the old Boss' - then I am willing to follow in the footsteps of many greats of our short countries history, and fight for freedoms that have been raped from us over generations once again. Being from a generation of people who are too unsure of their self-worths to have a solid focus and want in life, I think that this will probably be our generation's calling. At least I hope.
-m.