A Downward Spiral?

Since the beginning of the new year, I’ve had a hard time writing a post, for the simple fact that there are so many issues that need attention and they are all so closely interlinked. Every time I sat down to write about something – a confusion of interests between policy makers and the public, developments in the Obama administration, and now the riots in the Middle East (which are laughably being called pro-democracy) – something else comes along that adds another layer to this already enormous discussion.

I’m often left speechless these days and the ignorance, the pandering, and the intentional deception that seems to underline both domestic and international events. Whether it is news stories, policies and bills, or public views, I am left feeling deflated, shrunken even, at the absurdity of everything that is going on. To me, it feels more and more like we are waging a war against institutionalized ignorance and corporate scheming. Worse, it feels as though many of the public are on the side of the opposition. Saddest of all is that before now I have always resisted the perception of these developments as a war of any kind. A war suggests an inability to communicate and negotiate. I don’t want to think it has come to that. And if it has, then who exactly are we fighting against?

I listen to Noam Chomsky, and realize just how intertwined everything is, how issues run so much deeper and are so much more complex every time you dig just a little further down. It seems strange that everyone is clamoring that the US is headed in the wrong direction, and we each point to each other as the reason. The only way out is our way, but that way is actually the one everyone else wants to avoid. Are we spiraling farther and farther into social and political chaos? I don’t want to think so. I want to believe Dunne that the world and society are just going through their paces. Maybe because it is a rationalist perspective; maybe because its comforting to imagine there is an acceptable outcome.

I know this interview is very long, but if you have the time, I urge everyone to listen to Noam Chomsky on recent developments. If you can’t find the time to watch the video, download the Demoncracy Now! podcast from February 17^th, 2011. Once I’ve had time to really consider everything and form some sort of coherent response, I’ll be back with more posts.