BLOCKED ROAD TO OUR HUMANIZATION

Something bad is happening to our society. From the beginning of humanity, we have been on the road to enlightenment or humanization. Yes, at times the road has been tremendously rocky: wars, genocides, forced starvation, etc. has cost millions and millions of people their lives in the most painful and vicious ways. With time, physical violence has been decreasing in logarithmic steps (Stephen Pinker: The Better Angels of our Nature). We moved from a long period where human life had no or little value and where pain and suffering was entertainment. If the people were not kin or otherwise close, they didn’t count.

Something happened to put us on a different course. It is not worldwide. We cannot just limit this change to the United States, although, we probably were the leaders in modern humanization. We have more people per capita in prison; execute people in many states, torture people in black sites, etc. What ever it was, it was not a single event, teacher, or leader. It was a drastic change in mindset.

It seems to have its origin in politics. I listen to the Republican Party’s position for years, actually from the time of the evil emperor: Ronald Reagan. I watched it flower in the George Bush years and see it flower in the Mitt Romney campaign. The George Bush advisers and his Vice President Cheney along with Secretary Rumsfeld formed a band of conspirators aimed at making money for them and their contributors. They allied themselves with certain political operators, one in particular, who saw his job as establishing a permanent Republican majority—at all costs. One of those costs is to establish a politically responsive court system, another is to destroy unions, and still another is to prevent Democrats from voting. They do this by privatizing all public services: school, prisons, fire fighter, police, even the army (except for those who might be killed), etc.  Pension plans (Social Security), health insurance, food stamps, welfare of any kind goes to the Guillotine. The icon of greed, Ayn Rand would be proud; no one counts but her and her kind. Look at Paul Ryan’s budget. See what Scott Walker did in Wisc., and look at the people in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Look at Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to purge voters. Our slow methodical struggle toward a period of enlightenment has been stagnated but I hope the Republicans have not stopped it, which they will do if you the voter do not stop them.