@Tainari88
I could be inclined to agree with you except for one thing. There is not, nor has there ever been a successful radical socialist movement. Now you can dismiss this point by asserting that the forces of capitalism have successfully pounded down all of them that made the attempt but you would only be making my point.
IF we had a true left/socialist movement in the US (and we don't) the far right would simply, and quite literally kill it. I do not know if you have internalized the dreams of the 2nd Amendment crowd but we are talking people whose personal rape fantasies drive them to imagine themselves, as we used to say, "Killing a commie for Christ". They dream of wiping out the "liberal" family down the street and possessing the daughter who would not go with them to the prom. I am sorry for being so graphic but it is the real deal. These people are well and truly dangerous.
The deep irony is that they worship a system that has made them wage slaves. They have made a religion out of worshiping the likes of Musk, Trump and Beezos. They represent to these far right dream-thugs the very apotheosis of achievement. And since they worship them, they obey them. And, oddly, that is the thing that is keeping them from breaking it all to pieces. (Though they have come close and are not done yet.
Many years ago I saw an interview with a prominent black author on PBS. I apologize because I can't remember his name but I remember he had some fame in the civil rights movement. That is not important though. What he said in response to a question is.... He was asked, "Why do black people riot, burn and loot in their own neighborhoods rather than taking the fight to the white oppressor's neighborhood". Of course I expected the answer to be fear of reprisal. It wasn't. What he said has tempered my thinking for years because I think he hit to the essence of the question. He said, "people do not destroy what they value, respect and desire".
I think this is truth. They destroy what they hate, devalue and detest.
We in the US are in a period of backsliding for sure. Progress which has been hard won since the beginning of this experiment is rolling back somewhat. Radicalism though is not the answer as satisfying as it may be. Look at the news here. Behavior that was once just seen as normal kind, compassionate and caring is now painted as weakness, "wokeness" and treason. The radical left has no answer for this. They are not strong enough to face bullets with ideas and they have no bullets of their own. This has been proven true around the world.
But where IS positive change happening? Though some recent events are concerning, the Scandinavian countries have gotten much better for the overwhelming majority of their people through incremental change. Not revolution. The EU is improving life for a great many people who had no chance a mere 40 years ago. Yes. Capitalism is at the heart of this. But capitalism controlled to some degree by popular opinion and the power of the vote. Even the PRC is moving toward liberal democracy through the desire of its people to have the benefits of Capitalism and more open markets. People who tell me that China is the great threat to our way of life get an earful from me of how China just wants to be like us. Of course the CCP is reluctant to let go but they are doing just that gradually. We (the system of economics and governance) in the West are winning in the long haul. That does not mean that our military power is in the ascendant but our social power sure is.
In Central and South America the socialist movements have been dismally oppressive and utterly ineffective. Nobody wants to live in Cuba except some besotted American camp followers.
We face a real crossroads in the US these days. It is not whether we are going to be liberal or conservative. Liberalism, and you and I would imagine it, it utterly dead. We are a nation of far right conservative and center right. Our hope does not lie in an Amercian Che. It lies in the great center simply and quietly voting and moving the far right to the center.
So I get your laundry list of oppression. I know we ought to have universal health care. Of course wages should be livable. Women should take their rightful place in the political and economic future of the country. But none of this is going to happen at the tip of a bayonet. Our future is not being forged around revolutionary campfires in the hills. The campfires in the hills, around the world, are those of militias, death squads and despots. Our first, best chance of avoiding a modern version of The Hunger Games, is to quietly and firmly go to the polls and vote the right wing bastards out. And then, carefully, with the thinnest of majorities at first, take baby steps to improve the lot of the working and underclasses. Raise the minimum wage this year. Women's reproductive rights next year. Immigration reform the following year. And so progress goes. Not fast enough for you and I to see it in our lifetimes but at some time in the future, if we play our cards right, our grandchildren will see the world you imagine. Or at least one committed to making them happier.
Before Obama was elected, the country was stuck on stupid. George W. Bush had just missed Saudi Arabia and blown the shit out of a half the middle east. (He had the aim of one of Vader's troopers but then I digress.) But even Bush (who I could not help but like) gave us a massively important prescription drug plan. The largest social welfare program since Medicare. Then Obama took some baby steps and gave us the Affordable Care Act. It sucks but it is several orders of magnitude better than what we had before. And try as hard as the Republican blowhards did, they could not put that genie back in the bottle. And so it goes.
IF IF IF, Trump is finally sent packing the move to the left will be noticeable. Several states have women's reproductive rights on the ballot. And they will probably pass. And if Taylor Swift can do what no other woman in history has ever done, get young women, in great numbers, to vote their own self interest, the tide may turn even faster than we dared hope.
Republican politicians are not much different than politicians have been since the beginning of the first republican governments in history. They are keenly aware of what it takes to get elected/reelected. They understood the value of the popular local vote far better than the democrats did. They are watching. Rest assured they will back the best local horse. MAGA seems to rely on Trump. DeSantis tried to out-MAGA Trump and got his penis beaten flat in the process. Haley is going on SNL and trying to sprint to the center as fast as she can, believing that the courts are going to undo Trump for her. They might by the way. I am not holding my breath but just maybe.
So as rousing as your post was, I respectfully disagree with the process. I want what you want. I know I am too old to ever see all or even most of it. But I disagree with the process. I do not want to see a blood bath on either side. Pray my dear. Instill in the new generation a sense of quiet determination and civil responsibility. That will carry the day.
Shakespeare to Trump....
And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his Hath turned his balls to gun-stones, and his soul Shall stand sore chargèd for the wasteful vengeance That shall fly with them; for many a thousand widows Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands, Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down, And some are yet ungotten and unborn That shall have cause to curse the (Dauphin’s) scorn. But this lies all within the will of God, To whom I do appeal, and in whose name Tell you the (Dauphin) I am coming on, To venge me as I may and to put forth My rightful hand in a well-hallowed cause. So get you hence in peace. And tell the Dauphin His jest will savor but of shallow wit When thousands weep more than did laugh at it.
- By JohnRawls
- By Hakeer
- By Negotiator