Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism. Don't look now, but....

Jim June 15, 2012 at 03:57 pm

Well, most folks who think of themselves as enlightened and in Evanston liberal abhor facism and admire socialism and would tolerate communism. But the truth is that all three are at the same end of the polititical spectrum. At the other end is anarchy. The trick is to keep the socio-political-economic needle in the center of the scale. Human dynamics being what it is, there is always some pressure to push toward the extremes and once the slippery slope is encountered, it is pretty hard to stop the slide in either direction. In Evanston, the prevailing tendency is to the left. After all, folks here attend concerts and lectures, ride their bikes, drink wine, believe that the government is there to help them and read The NY Times. They must have the right ideas on their side.

june shellene June 15, 2012 at 05:27 pm

Jim
It will take a near-death experience to shake people out of their media-induced trance, but I think it might be coming before the year is out. Let's pray people don't demand that the government take over everything when the S*!t hits the fan. Right now that seems most likely, for sure, but maybe there are enough people who remember the whole idea of America was individual liberty and responsibility.

Richard Schulte June 16, 2012 at 01:28 pm

I get a similar uneasy feeling about the next 6 months too. I hope I'm wrong, but what happened in Wisconsin over the last 18 months over the recall of Governor Walker is likely to re-play itself out on the national stage.
Couple this with the disintegration of the European Union and we could get a repeat of the 1920s and 1930's. Perhaps the next 6 months will pass uneventfully-let's hope that is the case.

Richard Schulte June 16, 2012 at 01:45 pm

June, thanks for your efforts with this opinion piece. It should turn out to be quite an interesting experiment.
One of the questions that I have been asking myself is: "Is there intelligent life in Evanston?" We should be able to formulate an answer to that question from the response to your pieces.

Jim June 17, 2012 at 06:58 pm

Human nature under the influence of media will wait too long to realize what is happening and then we will see just how thin is the veneer of civilization.

june shellene June 17, 2012 at 10:20 pm

Hey guys,
Yes, sometimes it takes a lot of pain for people to wake up...so, though unpleasant,i will have some purpose. And Richard, we don't see soup kitchens and lines in the street, but the food stamp program is huge, and real statistics on unemployment are right there with the 30's. See shadowstats.com. Part of the tragedy here is that the media is not longer free, as it is owned by the same military industrial banking complex that owns the government, so thank god the internet is still unfettered. Hope it stays that way, but who knows?

Jim June 18, 2012 at 11:49 am

A couple of points: food stamps are huge; good or bad? Well the Department of The Interior posts signs in national parks asking the public not to feed the animals as it makes then dependent and unable to fend for themselves! Odd contradiction in government philosophy.
Every Monday morning CBS Radio's 5 minute hourly newscast is really only 3 minutes because of commercials. Of the 3 minutes 30 seconds are devoted to how much money movies made over the weekend. It is usually the top 5 earners and the total earned by those is about 100 million. Question: Is that important news or just a sop to our ignorant public? If Americans spend that much every weekend on movies (usually not good movies), is there really a serious problem with the economy?