An Invitation to my former USA students.
Dear friends, your country is going through difficult times and the confrontation between democrats and republicans is hurting your country but is also putting many other countries at risk. And as usual will be the middle class and poor people who will suffer. Is time that you imitate the 15-M movement of Madrid and that through the social networks you convoke people to the streets, to symbolic public places to say your politicians: ENOUGH, think in the citizens and not in your power, your money and your political parties. Is the time in the world in which the social programs are rescued, that education improves, that people has long lasting employments, health care, and that the cuts are made to the wealth of banks and speculators. Is also the time for peace and solidarity, like has been the case in Egypt, Madrid and Reijavik. Is your chance to make a better world.
La Resistencia, 28.7.2011
Ronnie: Indeed, power, money and political parties are, unfortunately, the basis for what counts for "politics" in the U.S. U.S. politics suffer from two grave problems - two "fetishes." These are the double fetishes of wealth and legality, both unfortunately tied to the problem of citizenship and political mobilization. Together, these two fetishes are so dominant in our culture as to make it a cultural impossibility that American citizens take to the streets as they have in the Arab world, in Spain, in Greece. Unlike the French, we Americans will not riot against the state (the 1960s being an exception) because as the majority (although this is changing) tend to view our state as protecting our security, our interests, our values. In terms of the legality fetish: today, in the United States, it is more common for an advocacy group to obtain a legal permit before marching around the White House, in civil communication with the police, than for people to drop their daily routine to join others in solidarity and spontaneous street mobilizations against the absurdity of our political system. In terms of the wealth fetish: we have a cultural problem in which the majority believe that they can go from rags to riches, that with the proper work ethic everyone has the chance to be as rich as Donald Trump. Indeed, we have a grave problem in the United States with politics and social mobilization, because the population is extremely AFRAID of, one, resisting the state, and, two, of being poor. And with the government's ongoing surveillance of our population, these are well founded insecurities. Also, currently almost 1,000,000 persons hold top secret security clearances in the United States - we have roughly the same number of farmers! Too many, unfortunately, are bought into the system, and, to date, the population has chosen to endure hard times, suffering as a result of our political system - than to question the tenure of their citizenship or our political system.
ResponderEliminarDear Trevor, thank you very much for your contribution that helps us to understand better the situation in yhe USA. Nevertheless, it seems that there was a reaction through emails, lettres and phone spe calls to the senators and representatives, that helped to produce an agreement, ebven tough is only a first step. I feel thet in the USA, if people goes to the streets in the particular situation of the government deficit, is not to demostrate against the State, but against the speculators and people that having prtofits and bonuses of millions of US$, they rejectd to be xharged with taxes in order to finance social programs for the workers that permit them to make millions. On the other side, there is a world wide error in confounding investors with speculators. I think that we have to clarify this error and begin to tax speculation. The situation is so terrible, that swince there is a food proce crisis, there is people speculation with maize and beans. Even, new financial "products" have been developed that will make some people rich if the economy fails. Thanks again and welcome to the dialogue. May be in the near future US. youth will also say "Basta" and will begin to ask for more active democratic participation.
ResponderEliminar