Civility
In the aftermath of the recent Tucson handgun deaths, it is understandable that President Obama has focused on civility as the new by-word of politics in the U.S.. Yes, civility, based in respect for our commonality as human beings, is a wonderful ideal. However, in a society where social and economic injustice are growing, civility can become a propagandist's code word for, "Shut up and be compliant."
The Middle Way here will be rather tricky. As the Homeland Security Industry continues to crowd human rights at any opportunity, the need for loud and clear protest is greater. Civil disobedience, in the form practiced by Chris Hedges, may well be the model. Will the powers which want to suppress all protest against corporate domination see civil disobedience as part of their definition of civility? I doubt it. Their police will probably be cast as heroes of civility as they pummel protesters. We have been here before.
Non-violence as a way of life is not easy in a violent society, like America. Violence in an economically stratified society boils in the lower economic layers of that society. Frustrated individuals, deprived of adequate incomes and mental health services, are bound to express their rage violently. They live under the threat of prison or homelessness daily. They are tortured by propaganda-filled media, which casts them as failures in a Land of Plenty. Soldiers, police, violent criminals and many protesters come from this stratum of society.
So, in a wave of sentimental public relations, it is fine for President Obama to preach civility, like a Baptist minister, in front of traumatized crowds. Pomp and circumstance has its place in times of public disaster. However, it is hard to forget that Mr. Obama's economic policies favor the people who are creating social oppression. Mr. Obama's policies support an overinflated military, working for corporate interests at the expense of human lives and domestic prosperity in the U.S..
The binging on sentimentalism in politics continues. The new Speaker of the House cries openly like a late-night drunk at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, he rants against the common interest in favor of the wealthy at every turn. The assassination survivor in Tucson is compared to Biblical figures. The expensive technology of neurosurgery which saved her is ignored in favor of talk about miracles from the mouths of people who resent paying for health insurance.
I am a committed practitioner of civility, when it is appropriate. I definitely think that media celebrities and politicians should be better schooled in civility. However, I also believe that civility does not gain universal human rights for the poor or disrespected. I do not believe that civility will create economic justice in America.
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| Photo: Peter Petraitis |
Non-violence as a way of life is not easy in a violent society, like America. Violence in an economically stratified society boils in the lower economic layers of that society. Frustrated individuals, deprived of adequate incomes and mental health services, are bound to express their rage violently. They live under the threat of prison or homelessness daily. They are tortured by propaganda-filled media, which casts them as failures in a Land of Plenty. Soldiers, police, violent criminals and many protesters come from this stratum of society.
So, in a wave of sentimental public relations, it is fine for President Obama to preach civility, like a Baptist minister, in front of traumatized crowds. Pomp and circumstance has its place in times of public disaster. However, it is hard to forget that Mr. Obama's economic policies favor the people who are creating social oppression. Mr. Obama's policies support an overinflated military, working for corporate interests at the expense of human lives and domestic prosperity in the U.S..
The binging on sentimentalism in politics continues. The new Speaker of the House cries openly like a late-night drunk at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, he rants against the common interest in favor of the wealthy at every turn. The assassination survivor in Tucson is compared to Biblical figures. The expensive technology of neurosurgery which saved her is ignored in favor of talk about miracles from the mouths of people who resent paying for health insurance.
I am a committed practitioner of civility, when it is appropriate. I definitely think that media celebrities and politicians should be better schooled in civility. However, I also believe that civility does not gain universal human rights for the poor or disrespected. I do not believe that civility will create economic justice in America.
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