Part II of Can't Never Could

Responding to my comment - ("Can't Never Could" Part I) in the course of this discussion at A Tiny Revolution, John In California asks "So OK, great, we know what the problem is but will you (and Mike) associate yourselves w/ a Solution?" John sees that Solution in the Kucinich candidacy and asks if I would be willing to start pitching Kucinich [to the ever faithful devotees of a political system I believe is irrepairably broken]. My response follows:

Sure. As soon as he runs as an Independent, forms a guerilla movement and seizes CNN.

I get your point, but I suspect the reason I have a FBI file is because I have associated myself with a solution. And it is one frowned upon by The Authorities, as well as those who superficially appear to be my allies.

People invariably want shit spelled out for 'em - in large part, I have learned in recent years, so they can object to it on principle and further absolve themselves of responsibility. That, too, is typical of the Democratic Faithful's mindset: Just give us the answer! When the answer does not comport with what they want to hear - like a Soros endowment or signing a petition - they're outta there.

Dissidence takes many forms, some effective and some not. Deep down, people already know what the answers are - the possibilities, the personal limitations and, worst of all, the cost. Those who wrestle with issues of civil and not so civil disobedience - of duty and risk and sacrifice - ultimately end up boiling it all down to a single question: "Is the USA even worth it?" The collective answer, thus far, is a resounding no. Perhaps it always will be.

But we are early, relatively speaking, in The Republic's passing. Many are only now realizing what we think of as America - the ideal; the potential - isn't simply limping or gasping or otherwise ill. It is dead. And those who didn't actively murder it turned away while the deed was done, Kitty Genovese style. In the place of a Republic stands a zombie, mindless and hungry; extremely dangerous for any person, group or institution capable of challenging its authority in any way, shape or form.

Perhaps when people understand there is nothing left to save - that a new Republic must be constructed out of whole cloth and not merely salvaged - we will have turned a corner. How far we are from that realization, assuming it ever comes, is anyone's guess. I certainly don't expect to live long enough to witness it, and anyone who does is considerably more optimistic than me. Such a mass epiphany, should it occur, will manifest itself far too late for those who experience it. But for future generations, perhaps it will come just in time. In our post-modern culture of boundless narcissism, the concept of sacrificing for future generations could not be more unnatural. I am hopeful of very little, but I like to think Americans - like other human beings - still have the capacity to relearn the signficance of sacrificing our comfort and material fortunes for those who come along after us. It sure beats sacrificing our ideals daily in the here and now.