I want to be happy for all my happy friends but I simply can't.
They all say the same thing; "Give Obama a chance! Don;t be negative/cynical/pessimistic!"
Well, how about realistic?
Obama has already told us quite plainly what he will do about the issues of the day. We don't have to wait for his first challenge to know what he will do.
We are in a health care crisis and over 100 million Americans are without meaningful (or any) access to health care. Single-Payer would fix the problem and save about $700 Billion dollars annually. Obama has announced a plan which, like Clinton's, costs more than we currently spend and allows the HMO's to continue raping and pillaging.
We have killed somewhere between 100,000 and 1,000,000 Iraqis. Barack has said we need to keep killing but shift our focus to Afghani civilians and he has also admitted that we will continue staffing those 14 military bases in Iraq indefinitely.
Israel has destroyed 55,000 Palestinian homes and killed more than 1,000 civilians (as compared to 4 Israelis). In keeping with the desires of the military-industrial complex, Obama has said that he is fine with Israel "protecting itself".
We are on the verge of environmental disaster. Hydro power, wind power or "clean coal" and "safe nuclear". You are now fully aware of his "clean energy" policy.
Our economy is totally failing. Obama supported and worked for a bailout to aid rich speculators at the expense of the poor.
Why should we be optimistic when Obama has so clearly tipped his hand already! Ruling class politician. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I'd like to "hope" that I'm wrong but you know that I'm not.
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4 comments:
I saw your comment at Contrarian's blog. I agree with the direction.
Obama is unable to solve the economic crisis. Keynesian reforms didn't help in the big depression either. It was WWII and rebuilding Europe that helped. Now our military is too big for a WWIII. There will only be small wars.
He is also hostile to UHC.
Renegade, there's a great article in the latest Harper's Magazine on why we won't ever have single payer. It gives us the standard "too much HMO money in politics" answer that we are all aware of but it delves much deeper. It uncovers big pharma's push to automate much of our current diagnostic and drug-delivery mechanisms which may well be at the root of single-payer's inability to break through its corporate media blackout.
I don't believe that Obama is against Universal Health Care, per se. In fact, he is (much like Hillary and other prominent Dem politicians) a proponent of the kind of UHC that is basically mandatory health care for all (like in Massachusetts). This type of system puts the HMO's (the proverbial "foxes") in charge of our nation's health care (the proverbial "henhouse") and allows them to continue reaping profits in the 28-35% arena.
On this one issue alone, where we could all have health care and the nation could save 100's of billions of dollars, Obama is a traitor and thief. I wish more people would stop watching TV and read something. Anything!
I agree with you about the psot WWII M.I.C. Complex (Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex, as Eisenhower originally wrote in his speech). We will not stop fighting these "little" wars against mostly unarmed civilians until we start electing human beings to local office who might actually serve the interests of humanity first and foremost when elected higher up the chain.
My very cautious optimism is not invested in Obama himself. My very cautious optimism is invested in the energy that came from the people who supported him.
It's easy to sit there and say Obama's another ruling class politician. And you're not wrong. But how does that advance any progressive goal? How does that change the dynamic?
It automatically alienates millions of potential allies who share some of our goals. Obama may be part of the ruling elite, but a lot of people who voted for him are not.
Instead of saying "Obama doesn't support single payer, therefore he's worthless," why not challenge the Obama supporters who do support single payer to mobilize on that issue? It may not work but frankly single payer will never occur without that kind of mobilization. Some kind of popular uprising is the only thing that can possibly trump money. People who support single payer in theory need to be energized to take that next step and become more vocal about it.
For whatever reason, and you and I can scoff at it all we want, Obama was able to make his supporters feel empowered. It may be an illusion but I say we call his bluff and take advantage of that energy. Challenge his supporters to act on their beliefs. If change (the real kind) is going to come, it's going to come from the bottom up. Ordinary people feel energized. Instead of mocking the illusion, why not try to make the illusion into reality? Why not strike while the iron is hot?
In short, I don't see anything as a guarantee. But I do see a chance. The opportunity for real change occurs when people feel desperate, not when they feel comfortable. There's an energy out there that we can take advantage of. It may not work, but I can't see any other way that has a chance.
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