Thom Hartmann: Life in Post-Legal America?

[thomhartmann]

Run time: 03:58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5_ZTflkf-Y   Posted on YouTube: June 01, 2011 By YouTube Member: TheBigPictureRT Views on YouTube: 108   Posted on DU: June 01, 2011 By DU Member: thomhartmann Views on DU: 764

 
Steal 50 bucks in candy bars from a 7-11 - go to jail. But if you steal 50
MILLION bucks from public pensions on Wall Street - here's a bailout. It appears
as though our rule of law breaks down once you pass the 6th zero in someone's
bank account. But it’s not just this tale of two justice systems that’s weighing
down the rule of law in America. It's our foreign policy strategy too. Our
current war in Libya is raging for more than 2 months now without legal
authority. So while the crimes mount - and our politicians and CEOs don their
immunity badges - the rest of America is going head to head against monster
security machines like the PATRIOT Act and the Nixon War on Drugs. So the
question...When the rule of law has broken down within a nation built on
laws...what is left?

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check
www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[Newest Reality]

1. I agree, overall

with Thom's assessment. He encapsulates the glaringly obvious, actually.

All that keeps the Status Quo going and reinforces the unethical and illegal behavior might be the persistence of memory of what we thought and expected. We are in a collective delay loop that I feel is promoted and feed to us by the corporately owned media's propaganda outlets. Imagine if you had such a sweet deal where you could manufacture consent and shape opinion under the guise of "news" and "entertainment" while people assume there is some form of objectivity or common good in there somewhere. Such a deal!

The problem we face is that we may agree with and abide by the rule of law still, yet when those at the top no longer are beholden to it, that creates an opportunity for unbridled tyranny, corruption and exploitation without boundaries or barriers, checks and balances.

So, here we are facing a collective dilemma that screams out to us so loudly like a piercing siren that it shatters our assumptions and leads us to carefully consider the implications of this grievous and most threatening imbalance where we are held to the laws of the system while the system allows those with wealth and status to thrive and function above the laws. It becomes nothing more than a sucker's game if we continue this way.

As frightening as it may seem to some, this is a threshold where we are compelled to rethink our relationship to the system itself, or face a future of deep insecurity within a threatening control grid where Draconian measures become the norm and punitive policies seek to entrap us for a politically and financially profitable payoff to our owners.

Civil disobedience is one course, yet, in times like these, the best place to begin a revolt against injustice is in the context of one's own mind in regards to expectations and perceptions. There is much to contemplate and there are many shibboleths and idols to question before we find a clearing or path in the forest of this crisis.

Any liberty or equity we expect will clearly not come from passive cooperation, positive thinking, and hopes alone. Action will be required now that the gauntlet has been thrown down and the challenge has been presented. Doing the same old thing, (which is counted on by our riders) will assure not only similar results, it will lead us farther down the road to dystopia and another Dark Age.

[JDPriestly]

4. So True, Newest Reality

[florida08]

2. watching you now on FSTV Thom

Merging states would cause a raucus..lol but I like how you got the Virgin Mary state. The electorate is losing respect for America. Rule of law is just a political football now. Only for the peasants. SCOTUS proved it with Citizens United. A storm is brewing. Because of you we are able to hold our heads high. You being the top progressive in broadcasting compared to Rush Limbaugh. Tells us a lot about the republican party. We are the party of hope..they are the party of hate.

Thank you

[JDPriestly]

3. K&R

[Overseas]

5. Chilling question. Well stated.

But we're in the Era of the Bullies. Right wingers have grabbed all the loot and the major media to trumpet their Winner Takes All philosophy.