Cynicism is Corporate America’s Greatest Weapon: Disarm It
I think this is an incredibly good read, and I felt personally challenged by it, to remember
that it's not over until it's over, completely 100% over. And it won't be over until we break free of
these damnable top-down-fetters all over again, like has happened in the past, will happen again,
one way or the other. Doke! It's the arch of history thing.
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Cynicism is Corporate America’s Greatest Weapon: Disarm It
by Richard Eskow * Thursday, August 22, 2013 * Campaign for America's Future via Common Dreams
September’s coming up fast, and we know what that means. Soon Congress will be back in session and we’ll be inundated with fresh evidence that our democracy is broken. That makes this a good time to reflect on the powerful forces arrayed against the public interest – and to remind ourselves that they can still lose.
If you’re a citizen who’s willing to take action, you have more power than you realize. As the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington approaches, it’s a good time to remember that, too.
Granted, my perspective may be a little skewed. I spent several years of my professional life working primarily behind the Iron Curtain – before, during, and after the fall of European Communism. That experience, for someone interested in economics, was something like what an astronomer might feel at the birth of a star. And for anyone who believes in political activism, it was inspiring and enlightening. In a few short months the impossible became the imaginable, the imaginable became an opportunity, and an opportunity was turned into the event that transformed the world.
The cynical view says that there were hidden forces behind that transformation. And it’s true: when it comes to the course of world events, the unseen is often far more significant than the seen. But who knows what we’re not seeing right now? How will we know how broad our horizons of opportunity are today unless we test them?
It’s easy to retreat into the idleness of the cynic, to become the kind of person essayist Sydney J. Harris once described as “prematurely disappointed in the future.” It’s easy – and it’s a mistake.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/22-4
