By Chris Hedges, Truthdig. Posted February 4, 2009.
The economic crisis could plunge the U.S. into a long period of social instability. Our democracy is in peril; the threat of totalitarianism is real.
The daily bleeding of thousands of jobs will soon turn our economic crisis into a political crisis. The street protests, strikes and riots that have rattled France, Turkey, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Iceland will descend on us. It is only a matter of time. And not much time. When things start to go sour, when Barack Obama is exposed as a mortal waving a sword at a tidal wave, the United States could plunge into a long period of precarious social instability.
At no period in American history has our democracy been in such peril or has the possibility of totalitarianism been as real. Our way of life is over. Our profligate consumption is finished. Our children will never have the standard of living we had. And poverty and despair will sweep across the landscape like a plague. This is the bleak future. There is nothing President Obama can do to stop it. It has been decades in the making. It cannot be undone with a trillion or two trillion dollars in bailout money. Our empire is dying. Our economy has collapsed.
Read on...
In an earlier post Peacenik wondered why there was no rioting in the U.S. as the economy swirls down the toilet. This post, by Chris Hedges, offers up some interesting theories as to why the populace is so passive. And it doesn't bode well. The corporate media and a willingness to be distracted by entertainment all contribute. But Peacenik thinks the collapse will be so profound that violence and riots will occur. The corporate media is losing its influence to the horrible bloggers. Major newspapers are going out of business. The public is finally getting angry about executive compensation. There is a tipping point. It is close.
The economic crisis could plunge the U.S. into a long period of social instability. Our democracy is in peril; the threat of totalitarianism is real.
The daily bleeding of thousands of jobs will soon turn our economic crisis into a political crisis. The street protests, strikes and riots that have rattled France, Turkey, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Iceland will descend on us. It is only a matter of time. And not much time. When things start to go sour, when Barack Obama is exposed as a mortal waving a sword at a tidal wave, the United States could plunge into a long period of precarious social instability.
At no period in American history has our democracy been in such peril or has the possibility of totalitarianism been as real. Our way of life is over. Our profligate consumption is finished. Our children will never have the standard of living we had. And poverty and despair will sweep across the landscape like a plague. This is the bleak future. There is nothing President Obama can do to stop it. It has been decades in the making. It cannot be undone with a trillion or two trillion dollars in bailout money. Our empire is dying. Our economy has collapsed.
Read on...
In an earlier post Peacenik wondered why there was no rioting in the U.S. as the economy swirls down the toilet. This post, by Chris Hedges, offers up some interesting theories as to why the populace is so passive. And it doesn't bode well. The corporate media and a willingness to be distracted by entertainment all contribute. But Peacenik thinks the collapse will be so profound that violence and riots will occur. The corporate media is losing its influence to the horrible bloggers. Major newspapers are going out of business. The public is finally getting angry about executive compensation. There is a tipping point. It is close.
