Glimpses of sour viciousness — the United States in action — December 2020

29 December 2020

Reality's debased American ethics?

To wit, read on.

Glimpses of America's happily indulged malfeasances

From Glenn Greenwald:

With the Democrats, under Joe Biden, just weeks away from assuming control of the White House . . . the discourse from them and their media allies about Russia is becoming even more unhinged and dangerous.

Moscow’s alleged responsibility for the recently revealed, multi-pronged hack of U.S. Government agencies and various corporate servers is asserted — despite not a shred of evidence, literally, having yet been presented — as not merely proven fact, but as so obviously true that it is off-limits from doubt or questioning.

Any questioning of this claim will be instantly vilified by the Democrats’ extremely militaristic media spokespeople as virtual treason.

What we have here, yet again, is the classic operation of the intelligence community feeding serious accusations about a nuclear-armed power to an eagerly gullible corporate media, with the media mindlessly disseminating it without evidence, all toward ratcheting up tensions between these two nuclear-armed powers and fortifying a mythology of the U.S. as grand victim but never perpetrator.

If you ever find yourself wondering how massive military budgets and a posture of Endless War are seemingly invulnerable to challenge, this pathological behavior — from a now-enduring union of the intelligence community, corporate media outlets, and the Democratic Party — provides one key piece of the puzzle.

From Caitlin Johnstone:

Psychopathic neocon Nikki Haley is greasing the wheels for her 2024 presidential campaign by screaming that America has been taken over by socialism.

“2020 was the year socialism went mainstream,” Haley tweeted today. “The dangerous ideology, which has failed everywhere it has been tried and ruined countless lives, is on its way to becoming the default economic policy of the Democratic Party. This terrifying trend threatens the future of every American.”

Ah yes, America. The country where Republicans spend all day screaming that socialism is happening and Democrats spend all day making sure it never does.

Meanwhile, outside of Nikki Haley’s magical fantasy world where Joe Biden is ushering in a Marxist world order and Bernie Sanders is personally guillotining billionaires in Central Park, Americans are being denied financial support and healthcare even as millions are thrown out of work during the pandemic.

In reality, the world is still very much locked into zealous worship of the great god known as capitalism. And it is choking the world to death.

And, in "human nature" summary — from Gallup:

Americans are most likely to name President Donald Trump and Michelle Obama as most admired man and woman in 2020.

Trump tied former President Barack Obama for the honor last year but edged out his predecessor this year. Trump's first-place finish ends a 12-year run as most admired man for Obama, tied with Dwight Eisenhower for the most ever.

Meanwhile, Michelle Obama ranks as most admired woman for the third year in a row. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is second.

The incumbent president is usually top of mind when Gallup asks Americans to name, without prompting, which man living anywhere in the world they admire most. In the 74 times Gallup has asked the open-ended most admired man question since 1946, the incumbent president has topped the list 60 times.

In addition to the public figures named by Americans, 11% name a relative or friend as the man they admire most.

Twenty-one percent did not offer an opinion in response to the open-ended question.

One might tentatively infer . . .

. . . from Gallup's poll, that the ability to wield naked power — or wide influence — appear to be the American "be and end all" for its male heroes.

This amoral position seems counter-intuitive in a country whose plurality still pretends to be Christian. I cannot think of two figures less similar than Christ and Trump, or any other recent American president.

Of course, it is likely that Gallup is doing its own form of propagandizing in the way it formulates its questions. For instance, eliminating the genuinely saintly from consideration, simply for being unknown.

On the other hand, twenty-one percent of Our Rabble not being able to name anyone at all is laughable, if one does not simultaneously suspect that Gallup fudges this tidbit, too.

There is, I suspect, no limit to the ways in which "we" are manipulated by organizations. Recall theologian Paul Tillich's never properly attributed quote — "Every institution is inherently demonic."

The moral? — Do Americans arguably enjoy doing vicariously sponsored evil?

Certainly, "We the People" are dumb enough, on average, to masochistically appreciate many of the same wrongs being done to us.

Curious, don't you think?

Only the most optimistic of folk would see hope for democracy and pseudo-freedom in We the People's historically obtuse cluelessness.

Thus, I suspect that the People's Republic of China may have stumbled upon the "ideal" form of human governance. Meaning freedom to personally profit, under efficiency-minded, parameters-set totalitarian control.

Let the Future roll. Happy New Year.

And for sanity's sake, keep in mind all the genuinely good people whom you know. There is solace in that.

Which (of course) raises the question of why so many good folk are customarily governed by so many bad ones. Wolves tending sheep for mutton.

Is this the natural order of things?

Should it be?

PeteFree.com

Glimpses of sour viciousness — the United States in action — December 2020