I’m constantly ranting about how bad things have become here in the US, even though they were already pretty bad when I lived there in the 80’s under Reagan & Bush Sr.
Yet I’ve been reluctant to blog about it.
Why? Because the most disheartening aspect of the situation here is the obvious, observable fact that no matter how many civil liberties are quashed by the Bush administration, no matter how many times the constitution is trampled, regardless of how bad the fuck-ups are abroad, no matter how Orwellian things get, there is just no sense of outrage.
So why bother to rant online, since nobody cares?
There are outspoken critics of the Bush administration in the blogosphere. SuperFrenchie for instance, written by a Frenchman living in the US, often makes the points I would want to make. And the mainstream press (New York Times, Public radio & Television) are fairly critical. This seems to give comfort and a good conscience to Bush critics, and they can go on about their business.
You have to understand that where I come from, the sense of outrage, even about trifles, is constant and pervasive. Frogs are always complaining, are never happy, always want more and/or something else. It is very annoying. And it doesn’t take much to get them mobilized, even in defense of general principles that have little or no practical bearing on their everyday lives. They have caused the fall of countless prime ministers. When France was on strike for a whole month in 95 (I think it was), it was a logistical nightmare, what with no garbage pickups, no public transportation, endless traffic jams. Yet a very large percentage of the population supported the movement, and there was even general giddiness and good humour and good will, as people rode their bicycles in the cold and rainy December weather, as pedestrians hitched car rides, etc. Prime minister Alain Juppé, Chirac’s hand-picked successor, finally had to give-in, to quit and his political aspirations were wiped-out.
Bush critcs will tell you that people just don’t know, that they don’t have the info. I don’t think that’s true. The basic facts (deaths in Iraq, warrentless wiretappings, etc.) are known. Even if the info is spinned by Fox News, it is still eminently possible to form one’s own opinion on these issues.
Bush criticts will also tell you that 50% of the population is against the administration. By my count, 25% voted against Bush, 25% voted for him (twice) and 50% didn’t care enough one way or another to vote and are therefore de facto supporters or passive supporters of Bush. That’s 25% against (that complain amongst themselves but don’t do anything) and 75% who are happy with or indifferent to the status quo.
So what’s going on? Are 75% of Americans fundamentalist, crypto-fascist fanatics? Well, probably not all of them.
I have a simple theory, based on no real evidence, but that just fits with the underlying ruthlessness and social and physical violence of this dog-eat-dog society.
Imagine you and your buddies have to go someplace dangerous, say to a concert in a bad neighborhood, it’s reassuring if you can bring along a big, strong, intimidating, primitive-looking « friend ». Muggers would think twice about mugging you if they caught sight of your hulking buddy-bodyguard. You’d feel safer. Who cares if your friend is dumb as a doorknob or likes to kill puppies for fun. For the purpose of this outing, these details can be conveniently overlooked.
I think that a majority of Americans probably know that they are governed by boneheaded and/or pea-brained and/or greedy and cynical ruthless thugs. They even know these dimwitted thugs are beholden to or in bed with big business and don’t have the welfare of the general public at heart. Americans know that they live in a dangerous world that they don’t understand, but more importantly, that they don’t want to bother to understand. So they feel unconsciously or secretely relieved and safer because they have a big, scary, intimidating « friend, » « on their side » looking over their shoulder, so that they don’t have to, and so that they can go on with their selfish, willfully, if not blissfully ignorant lives.
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