Their definition of "honor" is not based on anything truly honorable but on nostalgia for an American golden age that they believe existed in some nebulous time between 1776 and 1960. The cornerstone of this nostalgia is the belief that everything was better back when people knew their place and stuck to it.
It is very easy to see who really profits from a society with rigid class boundaries: corporations and the rich people who own and run them. It is in their interest, and their interest alone, to have a government that does not work on behalf of the people. If the people are empowered, if they are protected from corporate greed and exploitation, if they do not live in constant fear of financial ruin...then they are truly free. And free people are a lot less willing to put up with whatever the corporate overlords want to dish out on them. The plain truth is that corporations in America want to operate with no restraint whatsoever so that they can make as much money as possible. With the help of people like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, they have managed to convince a lot of Americans that this is what is best for the country, and they have done so by hiding their true motive -- greed -- behind a bewildering fog of lies about religion, race, class, money and the role of government. For some reason, these are lies that a lot of people desperately want to believe. I don't know if believing this stuff somehow simplifies the world for them or makes them feel righteous...I don't know what they get out of it. I just know it scares the shit out of me.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2010-08-30 12:52 am (UTC)It is very easy to see who really profits from a society with rigid class boundaries: corporations and the rich people who own and run them. It is in their interest, and their interest alone, to have a government that does not work on behalf of the people. If the people are empowered, if they are protected from corporate greed and exploitation, if they do not live in constant fear of financial ruin...then they are truly free. And free people are a lot less willing to put up with whatever the corporate overlords want to dish out on them. The plain truth is that corporations in America want to operate with no restraint whatsoever so that they can make as much money as possible. With the help of people like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, they have managed to convince a lot of Americans that this is what is best for the country, and they have done so by hiding their true motive -- greed -- behind a bewildering fog of lies about religion, race, class, money and the role of government. For some reason, these are lies that a lot of people desperately want to believe. I don't know if believing this stuff somehow simplifies the world for them or makes them feel righteous...I don't know what they get out of it. I just know it scares the shit out of me.