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The Last Days of Democracy

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Posted on Aug 2, 2007
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Illustration courtesy of Adbusters

(Page 3)

Cohen: And that’s where it comes in now, the difference, it certainly, as I mentioned, the Clinton administration wanted to control the media, as I mentioned.  It was involved in that.  It engaged in quid pro quo and so forth, but the difference here, and this is the difference in kind, I believe, is the ideology that the Bush administration has and that’s this amassing of power and control, this global domination theme, and this is what it lives and breathes for.  Control.  And, so, when you have this voracious appetite for control and then you have the media set up to accommodate it, there is a difference here that’s going on between what we’ve seen in America before.  And it’s the kind of control and desire for control that’s analogous to what we saw in Nazi Germany. ...  What’s different about this case is that we have technology that we never had before.  If Nixon had more than his little tape recorders, he could do a lot more than he did as well.  But you see—.

Scheer: Yeah, I understand.  It’s just interesting to look at, say, watch a movie, or read the book, “All the President’s Men,” and go “Nixon’s pretty bad with wiretapping and in terms of election fraud, and corruption, and those types of things”; it seems that it kind of goes in a revolutionary cycle.  I want to talk about hope because we had a conversation with somebody the other day and it was talking about how some people don’t hope, and that even [I] have been a little cynical.  And I want to talk about your book because at the end you have something called “What’s Now, Compatriots,” and you talk about what you can do as an average citizen, and you put in a selected media guide, even though Truthdig’s not in there yet. ...

Harris: We need to talk to you about that.

Scheer: But, I want to know, does that mean you have hope?  Do you have hope that this system can be changed or do you think that it’s hopeless and we should just kind of cower and go away?

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Cohen: Never cower.  Never cower.  It’s not over until it’s over, and right now we need to understand that that’s where we’re heading.  And it’s easy enough to say, “Well, you know it happened in [Nazi] Germany, but we’re different.”  That’s a very pompous attitude.  As though Americans are somehow different than Germans.  They’re not.  They’re people.  And if we don’t watch it, this is where we’re heading.  Well, what do we do about it?  There’s thing we can do. Well, one thing is for the average person to make sure that they’re informed: To stop relying on mainstream media as much as they do, and to get their information from independent media.  Then really when you look at the survival of dictatorships, and whether they thrive or not. They thrive on keeping people ignorant.  And if the masses of people are just ignorant and they don’t take responsibility for their failure to know, then we aren’t looking in the face of hopeless dictatorship; people need to wake up.  They need to start learning about what’s going on and they need to say, “We’re as mad as hell and we’re not going to take it.”  They need to join activist movements like, for instance, Free Press , which is an organization that’s been really doing a lot to try to counteract the taking-over of the free Internet and the destruction of Internet neutrality.  And a lot of other causes about media ... [like] organizing massive letter-writings to Congress.  People need to start thinking in terms of doing these sorts of things.  Peaceful assemblies.  And demonstrations.  These are constitutional rights, and as long as we have these rights in our Constitution we should make sure that we see that through.  These are things that we need to do.  Educators should stop placating and looking for fair and balanced and start speaking out because there’s danger here and every educator has an obligation to step up onto the plate as a vanguard of democracy.  The lawyers of this nation, including the American Bar Association, need to present a unified front against violations of the rule of law.  They did that at one point where they denounced Bush’s instituting signing statements to do away with the congressional lawmaking authority and they made it clear that it was illegal and unconstitutional.  But we need to be more unified as educators as citizens.  As journalists too.  I think the journalists associations and the schools of journalism need to start making a unified stand that, you know, journalists need to be vanguards of democracy.  We need to get back the Fourth Estate, and we can’t simply support these large corporations allowing this go down the tubes and that’s exactly what’s going on.  I think we need to take the unified stand.  Is it going to happen?  Well, you know, people like us, you and your site and the things that I’m trying to do with the book and doing these kinds of interview are the things that more of us need to take seriously.  And listen and learn.  Is that going to work?  Well, I think that we better do that.  It’s better than laying down and playing dead.

Scheer: Well, thank you.  I just want to talk about Free Press because we have interviewed people from Free Press and it’s not just a liberal-Democrat issue; it’s not just a conservative issue.  Because with Net neutrality the Christian Coalition, that’s their new issue they’ve set for this next election for the next many years, so it’s not just a one-sided issue; it’s keeping a free press.  Keeping the Internet free, we can all agree, is the thing for the citizen.


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By John Borowski, August 3, 2007 at 11:03 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Once we had a government with two parties that had a chance to win an election. All other parties had as much chance as a snowball in mythical hell. One was the totally, which was totally for capitalism. The other party was the completely, which was completely for capitalism. If you didn’t like the totally you could always pick the completely. The totally didn’t like this arrangement, so they eliminated the completely by castrating them. As a result, the completely (The Democratic Party) walked around giving the American people the illusion that we still had a two party system. Unfortunately, with little or no power in Congress even with a majority. The totally could do this because they had an OK from our masters in Britain. The voting booths reflected greater probity when the public saw two levers to pull. In the old days, there were some good totallys (The Republicans). Unfortunately, using fear, intimidation, and black listing they expunged most of these people from the party. Back in the good old days the middle class voted for the totally because the totally attacked the blue collars’ unions and help for the poor. The middle class felt if the unions were emasculated, the stuff they produce would be cheaper for them to buy. In addition, if the poor didn’t get help, their taxes would be less. After the purge of the decent Republicans the totally was not only after the blue collars butt, they were after the white collars butt too. They have the quality of life and living standard of most Americans in a vise; and are slowly cranking the handle. After 9/11, the right used it to go to war in Iraq. The coming attack will probably kill ten thousand Americans or more. The right will use this horror to declare a dictatorship. Sherlock Holmes always said in a conspiracy look at who profits. It amazes me how many Benedict Arnolds come out of the woodwork when the climate is right.PS I can’t understand why the right wing lackeys frequent this web page. If I were a member of their boiler room, I would find right wing fascist web pages more to my liking.

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By Verne Arnold, August 3, 2007 at 10:47 am Link to this comment

#91962 by Leefeller on 8/03 at 9:03 am
(260 comments total)

Good words, and you haven’t posted a lot lately yourself.  Like me, maybe your tired.  This work must be picked up and carried by the young or we’re cooked, yes?

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By Dale Headley, August 3, 2007 at 10:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

There are no two ways about it: the Bush Administration is fascist to the core.  Those who deny it don’t really know what fascism is.  Look it up, then consider this: “if it quacks like a duck…”  Unless we face up to this threat and meet it head-on, we are very likely to become the next Nazi Germany.  In fact, most of the world is convinced we are already.  They see the secret prisons; the torture; the invasion, occupation, and destruction of an innocent, helpless, country; the terrorizing of women and children with white phosphorous bombs; the incremental destruction of American values, institutions, and constitutional protections; and they ask themselves, “What is different about these things and what Hitler did prior to WWII?”  The inescapable answer is, “Nothing!”

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By GW=MCHammered, August 3, 2007 at 9:25 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
~George Carlin


Who Owns You?
(the truth in 3 minutes)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18100.htm

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By NewsSophisticate, August 3, 2007 at 9:23 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

We are in the last days of our Demcrazy.  For the last 28 years Yale has been in the Oval Office.  What are the probabilities of that?  Highly unlikely.  As far as the election is looking it appears they are up to it again.  Hillary and Joe Biden are both from Yale…Is Biden going to be Hill’s VP?
http://newssophisticate.blogspot.com/2007/07/4th-branch-membership-requirment-yale.html

With the continuation of this war of terror the United States has been supporting through the use of sub ‘machine gun’ contractors.  These ‘contractors’ are working for private corporate armies.  These are extremely dangerous to Democrazy itself.  In fact, currently the Green Zone is guarded by a company named Triple Canopy Inc.  Hows that…not British, not American…‘contractors’ guard the highest value target in Iraq.  Worse yet, Triple Canopy hires Latin Americans who don’t speak English well…leaving a language barrier at critical stages in our overall security of the Green Zone.  Perhaps that is why we have been having problems in the Green Zone.

Here is my article on the Green Zone
http://newssophisticate.blogspot.com/2007/07/whose-guarding-green-zone-privatizing.html

Has Blackwater gone to Darfur? Are they part of the ‘new hybrid force’ of the UN
http://newssophisticate.blogspot.com/2007/08/has-blackwater-usa-entered-darfur.html

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Leefeller's avatar

By Leefeller, August 3, 2007 at 9:03 am Link to this comment

The democratic republic sponsored by our founding fathers, has been diminished and continues to be destroyed by special interests, big money and a mass media, all of whom have one goal in mind, money, power and control. 

Constant chipping and hammering by lobbyist’s sponsored by special interest selling personal agendas, have bought and sold most of our representatives in congress and the White House is a given.  Congress represents itself to the highest bidder, the people be damned.

The new order, governments without borders or in the works,  we have seen this being developed for big business, using the WTO and Nafta.  What is happening to the little people without power or wealth, as it has always been, they are cannon fodder for the wars of the elite.

Our founding fathers fought for what they believed in, they put their lives, the lives of their families on the line for what they believed to be a new idea of government.  We have regressed back to a lopsided government, the balance of power has diminished, where corporations have more rights than individuals, the robber barrons are back.

Ignorance and apathy is key in our loss of liberty. People are expendable to uncompassionate governments and leaders, it goes on.

Only if we elect real people, people who care about people, people with fresh ideas not status quo, maybe a change could take place. Otherwise we are doomed to continue with the undermining our founding fathers new ideas for government.

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By 127001, August 3, 2007 at 5:58 am Link to this comment

Yup. However, we are not necessarily in the “last days of Democracy.” It may be already gone, which will show in about the next 10 years. I don’t hold hope. The damage of the current administration, corporate society, and branches of government is pervasive.

Re: #91910 by ardee… “I believe that the vast majority of Americans are well intentioned and decent folks.”

IMHO the current forefront of Americans are complacent and ambivalent, self-serving and ignorant of social issues. This primarily reflects the age groups of the 80’s and 90’s.

Then we have the age groups of the 60’s and 70’s, the ones of the days of activism in this country. Those who did sell out because they became disillusioned and overwhelmed probably won’t want to return to “rocking the boat” and the others that are still trying to hold on to the fight are up against time moving forward.

We have another new generation moving into power. Look at high school and college student ages. They are influenced by technology and the push toward math and science, not philosophy, sociology, or any of the other social educational subjects that move a society forward.

Will we be run by a nation of corporate geeks???

And those young people moving into the voting age won’t know how to take care of themselves, how to think for themselves, and will be more than willing to sacrifice “freedom” for status quo with respect to a safe and comfortable daily life. What concerns me about that is that human life itself becomes minimized to yield to the illusional “good of the whole” (which is really an abstract and illusion). They simply won’t know any better.

How better to defeat any nation or society than to make them unable to think independently, generate their own food and goods, or the many other facets of an independent and self supporting society.

And I can think of several nations right now that have the means and are moving toward the ability to defeat this country ... probably without a shot fired.

Let’s wait and see.

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By cyrena, August 3, 2007 at 5:01 am Link to this comment

#91870 by B Keith on 8/02 at 10:13 pm

B Keith,

This is obviously a rush transcript, and people don’t generally speak in interviews, as they would in an essay or other scholastic analysis.

So, you may have been able to understand it better if you’d listened and read, or even just listened.

Just a thought.

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By ardee, August 3, 2007 at 4:54 am Link to this comment

I have been active ,politically, for over forty years, since becoming politicized in Viet Nam. During that time my smallish group has engaged in many political actions, the most successful of which were always locally focussed. We found, through trial and error, that building bridges to the community through such devices as assisting in the building and maintenance of child care centers, senior centers, enrolling the elderly in programs, and voter registration drives was the way to gain support for our programs.

I prefaced my following remarks to give background to my views. I believe that Democracy is far stronger than many others seem to feel. I believe that the vast majority of Americans are well intentioned and decent folks. I also believe that politics is secondary in their lives, unlike so many here. The failures of our system can be laid solely at the door of the influence of money in politics.

The Democratic Party , in using the DLC as a hound dog actively seeking corporate campaign fundings from precisely those who have stolen our processes, has abrogated its responsibility and negated its track record.

The reason so many despair is precisely because Democrats focus on boardrooms and not classrooms and communities. I have little doubt that this will change, albeit rather slowly. It may not be the Demcorats who lead us from this wilderness but we will find the end eventually.

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By Outraged, August 3, 2007 at 2:59 am Link to this comment

I’m in total agreement cyrena.  Really makes you wonder just what Murdoch has got up his sleeve.  We have to retain control of the internet.  Right now the internet IS democracy and our most reasonable source for truth and inquiry.  And boy do they want it.

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By cyrena, August 3, 2007 at 1:19 am Link to this comment

Excellent. Excellent. This is what we need to know. Or, there are still many of us that need to know this stuff, specfically about what WE can do, as ordinary citizens.

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By B Keith, August 2, 2007 at 10:13 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Would you PLEASE speak English! This reads like gibberish!

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