False Premises and Tired Narratives
There’s an incessant narrative that goes like this: The US political system is broken and democracy is under attack. The rise of Trump and Jan 6 are pointed to as evidence. Please cancel all subscriptions to that narrative. The US political system is monumentally anti-democratic by design. By. Design. It always has been. That reality has become more pronounced, largely because of what you might call sociocultural evolution. Social norms have changed, scientific knowledge has advanced, and so on. But, make no mistake, the US has been a plutocracy right from the outset. My first ever piece on Medium was all about the ways in which our political system is (increasingly) anti-democratic, because it’s vital that a critical mass ceases to believe party politics is some sort of cure, or the key to meeting the moment (on climate change, on matters of equity, on health care, etc.).
I’ve shared before what Chris Hedges said about revolution versus rebellion and I’ll share it again, because I think it needs to be at the forefront of our minds if we’re to transform society before it’s too late. Hedges said revolution means “establishing a new power structure.” Rebellion, on the other hand, means “perpetual revolt and the permanent alienation from power.” Hedges makes clear which we should aspire to when he states, “It is only in a state of rebellion that we can hold fast to moral imperatives that prevent a descent into tyranny.”
Living in the US is like living inside a Salvador Dali painting, only more absurd. The evangelists on the Supreme Court suggest that it’s up to the legislature, at the federal or state level, to address the issues at the heart of their rulings, knowing full well that Congress and the states are hopeless. By. Design. They’ll suggest that if people don’t like the laws, then they simply need to vote, knowing full well that tyranny of the minority is a systemic feature and not a bug. Those ironically named ‘justices’ will continue, at every opportunity, to uphold gerrymandering and every other aspect of our anti-democratic political system. Likewise, corporate shills within the Democratic Party (Biden, Pelosi, Manchin, Clyburn, etc.) will continue to suggest their way is the only way and that leftist ideals are unpopular, knowing full well they’ve spent decades feverishly marginalizing leftists. As if opposition to things like…
