And the Gods Laughed

Arthur Silber

June 16, 2010 Barack Obama, just two years ago: [I]f we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that, generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when [1] we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless [but]... (APPLAUSE) ... this was the moment when [2] the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal... (APPLAUSE) ... this was the moment when [3] we ended a war, and secured our nation, and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. [but] Oh for three. You're out! That is, you are, assuming you're not a bona fide member of the ruling class or one of the ruling class's willing accommodationists (e.g., a successful commentator or blogger of left or right). But the ruling class, including its leading PR guy at present (that would be Mr. O.), is doing just fine. And you could have known this would be the case since before the beginning, if only you'd paid attention and put your brain in gear. Most people didn't. They knew you wouldn't. As they almost always are about such matters, the ruling class was right. And concerning item 2 -- that would be the "healing planet" -- well, fuck. Obama made a few attempts to resuscitate the magic of his personal omnipotence. F'rinstance: You know, for generations, men and women who call this region home have made their living from the water. That living is now in jeopardy. I've talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don't know how they're going to support their families this year. I've seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers -– even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected. I've talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists might start coming back. The sadness and the anger they feel is not just about the money they've lost. It's about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost. I refuse to let that happen. Obama refuses! He personally, in his own person, out of his own personhood, REFUSES!! The heavens, like, they did tremble, dude. Actually, the gods can't stop fucking laughing. Ever greater numbers of the lives of "ordinary" people, both here and abroad, are ground up, obliterated, slowly (or quickly) tortured to the point of death, and beyond. The lives of the ruling class and their willing accommodationists continue without noticeable change or even momentary disruption. Are they concerned in any measurable degree with the immense destruction visited on many of the rest of us? Why, no. There's lots more where you come from. Obama and the ruling class now can barely stir themselves even to offer a convincing appearance of genuine concern for the huddled, oil-slicked masses. And honestly, why should they? Whatcha gonna do, baby? Most Americans sleepwalk through their days. To the extent they're awake, more and more they struggle merely for survival. That doesn't leave time for other activities. One notable exception to this somnolence can and will be made operational from time to time: many Americans will enthusiastically support another campaign of destruction against largely defenseless, usually much poorer (and usually darker-skinned) "Others," especially when they're five or eight thousand miles away (unless they're threatening the inviolable sanctity of our "borders" here at home). The ruling class, with the indispensable assistance of the media, including many blogs (both left and right), need only convince Americans of the "seriousness" of the danger those "Others" represent, and the next chapter in the neverending war will commence in earnest. Iran in particular is endlessly useful in this connection. Should you succumb to despair? Hell, no, baby. Drop out to the extent you can. Build a radically different kind of life. Construct your own happiness. And emulate the gods: laugh at the goddamned motherfuckers.

Source