Carl,
I also heard Bernie Sanders on Flashpoints. The program was yesterday, about 5
p.m. and the podcast downloads here shortly afterward, about 9:45 eastern
standard time. And I had precisely the same thought as you did when he said we
are becoming an oligarchy. I suspect that he actually may know that we're way
past that point, but he's talking for public consumption and doesn't want to
discourage people. He gathered all the terrible stuff that has happened, and he
put it in one powerful speech.
Dennis Bernstein has some great stuff on Flashpoints: John Pilger, Vijay
Prashad, excerpts from some very interesting documentaries, Amy Goodman's talk
in Berkley last week. You can find some really fantastic stuff if you're able
to look through the archives.
Miriam
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Subject: [blind-democracy] I'm listening to Bernie Sanders on Flashpoint
Regardless of who you supported during our long drawn out presidential
campaign, or where your head is, at this moment, I strongly suggest that you go
to Flashpoints and listen to what Bernie Sanders has to say.
Flashpoints Archives | KPFA
https://kpfa.org/program/flashpoints/
Bernie's suggestion that we must face our own shortcomings if we are going to
build a strong government of the People, is a no brainer.
But I disagree with his belief that we are on the verge of becoming an
Oligarchy. I would suggest to Bernie Sanders that he reassess his statement.
I am convinced that the United States of America, has been an Oligarchy from
its very inception.
What else could we call it when the constitution limited participation to White
Men 21 years of age and older, Landholders, and those who possessed a certain
amount of wealth.
The majority of people living in the Colonies had few rights, and no say in the
Colonial Government. Following the Revolution, they still had no say in the
new government. No, we are not on the brink of becoming an Oligarchy. We are
on the brink of breaking the iron grip the American Oligarchy has held on us
from day one. Of course we, the working class people, have chipped away at
some of the conditions that prevented full participation by us. Slavery was
ended and Negroes were given full citizenship. Women gained the right to vote.
LGBT people gained the right to full citizenship, including the right to marry
the person of their choice. The vote was given to all citizens, and then later
was set at 18 years of age.
But even as these changes came into being, the American Oligarchy dug in its
heels and fought back. Negroes, now referred to as Blacks, were persecuted
from the very day they were set free, and continue to be so persecuted,
threatened, and kept out of full participation in the government.
Gerrymandering has been used to ensure that the candidates supporting the
Ruling Class, have the inside track to being elected, and for extra insurance,
restrictions on who can vote, as well as election tampering have been set in
place. Women are still about 21 cents on the dollar less equal to men
performing the same job. Private prisons have become our newest industry,
holding a majority of People of Color, and providing very cheap labor. School
children are being blocked from college if they come from Lower Class families.
And young people graduating from college find that there are few jobs and huge
debts owed on their student loans. There's much more, but you get the idea.
The Working Class, which includes the majority of Americans, is being dominated
and controlled by the American Oligarchy, the Corporate American Empire.
Bernie Sanders is right when he says we, the People, need to develop a Plan of
Action and some Goals. He reminds us that those in control will do all they
can do in order to divide us and turn us against one another. That tired old
saying really is true: United we stand, divided we fall!
Carl Jarvis
