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Mike Lofgren | How Democracies Die

Sat, 10/27/2012 - 12:24 — Dave Culver
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  • "Picture a country at the height of its international power and prestige. It has military forces stationed around the globe. It is an intellectual leader...." It's not the one you're thinking of.
  • How Do You Take Your Poison?

Mike Lofgren, Truthout

(Image: Lance Page / Truthout; Adapted: Sean McMenemy, Paula Bailey)

October 25, 2012  | Picture a country at the height of its international power and prestige. It has military forces stationed around the globe. It is an intellectual leader. Its citizens are pleased to insist that the national idea, their country's way of life, is a beacon of enlightenment and human rights for the rest of the world. Indeed, they are wont to harp on the notion that the country embodies the very concept of Western Civilization.

But beneath the façade of greatness there is creeping rot. The rich (who are accustomed to getting their way in all things) corrupt the system and buy the people's representatives in this venerable democracy. The country lurches towards political polarization and, predictably, the machinery of orderly governance becomes gridlocked. The politicians of the right, who take every opportunity to bellow for increased spending on the military, refuse to raise the revenues to pay for it. Why?

Full story...http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/12310-mike-lofgren-how-democracies-die

Related:

How Do You Take Your Poison? Chris Hedges, Truthdig
You can dismiss those of us who will in protest vote for a third-party candidate and invest our time and energy in acts of civil disobedience. You can pride yourself on being practical. You can swallow the false argument of the lesser of two evils. But ask yourself, once this nightmare starts kicking in, who the real sucker is.
 

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