Tuesday, October 05, 2010

 

Losing hope for change


by Larry Geller

I’m amazed at how quickly the mood of the country has changed over the past two years—from the breathless heights of hope and change fueled by the Obama election campaign to the depths of frustration (and for many, despair) over the reality that set in almost immediately after the election.

With the economy in depression, with Congress about to be deadlocked for at least the next few years, it’s impossible to resurrect that wonderful feeling.


Much of America is in a nasty mood and the language of compassion has more or less been abandoned. Both political parties serve their rich campaign contributors, while proclaiming they defend the middle class. Neither party even mentions the poor – who now officially make up 15% of the population, but in fact are even more numerous when we count all those households struggling with healthcare, housing, jobs and other needs.

The Republican party recently issued a "Pledge to America" to explain its beliefs and campaign promises. The document is filled with nonsense, such as the fatuous claim high taxes and over-regulation explain America's high unemployment. It is also filled with propaganda.

American society has become increasingly harsh, where the richest Americans buy their way to political power and the poor are abandoned to their fate.   [Guardian (UK), America's deepening moral crisis, 10/4/2010]

Check out the complete article. Although appearing in a British newspaper, it’s by Columbia University professor Jeffry Sachs.

(thanks to Viviane Lerner for pointer to this article)

 




Comments:

President Obama lost his momentum by not listening to his base and trusting the Republicans. Many of us in the amateur left could see this disaster coming. Reaching out to Republicans instead of leading this country out of the abyss he inherited could be his downfall in 2014. I hope not.
 


The problem lay in the two parties are presently constructed, both are inept.

We in the middle are about the change the 'stuck-in-the-mud' paradigm.
 

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