Quote for today

[bobbolink]

“Our affluent society contains those of talent and insight who are driven to prefer poverty, to choose it, rather than to submit to the desolation of an empty abundance. It is a strange part of the other America that one finds in the intellectual slums.” Michael Harrington

[Ninga]

1. Michael Harrington was an author at the forefront of socialist leanings who single handedly

organized and drove an Democratic organization that influenced the party on issues of the poor in the 70's and 80's. Harrington was a hard drinking, hard leaning leftist, that was a draw in the college lecture circuit, inspiring collage age students to advocate for the poor. Harrington had great difficulty in the dichotomy of how he lived his life, having a large home mostly funded by his successful book sales, and the topic of his life's work, the poor. He had struggles with depression and breakdowns.

President Johnson appointed Sargent Shriver to the top post to eradicate poverty, and Shriver turned to Michael Harrington to work with him. But the Viet Nam War drained all of the money and none was left for the anti-poverty program, and it withered and failed.

Unless the people of this country know the history of what was tried and how we failed, we are doomed to repeat it.

[balantz]

2. It should have been the first course in our history books.

Recent history is the most important so we can learn where we stand in our world. But public schools won't hand out books on the truth of our governmnet. By the time a kid reaches senior year in High School he/she should be educated on the truth of our recent American history, all the way up to yesterday!

[Ninga]

3. The great thing about getting old (me) is that I have an latent interest in history and am amazed

at what I don't know.

It is interesting that I posted a link to a story about the 1980 Dem convention and didn't get one comment. Typically, people do not like to read.

I agree with your take about what should be taught in high school.

But really, why blame it on high school when we have the internet and all of us can learn something new everyday.

:hi:

edit for spelling

[balantz]

4. I don't like or trust Kennedy, i just hadn't gotten to the article yet. I'll read & respond.

I'm 46, but new to paying attention to how the governmnet really works. I have always just faithfully voted "D" because my personal philosophy is far to the left, and I thought all Dems were a safe bet, they just haven't had a chance. Now I see how things really play out and am disgusted with where we are and why. But I am representative of why the truth should be taught in school. Young folks, and old, for the most part won't use the internet to educate themselves on the truth. They will use it for the education they are required to do; to educate themselves on their topics of interest (which probably isn't politics for the most part); and for their entertainment. I really meant starting in grade school to teach our children the truth. But the point I made also was that the government won't provide books for such education because the public schools are owned and operated by the government. And I'll bet a good number of private and charter schools play along with the propaganda too.

[Ninga]

5. Yes, I agree. Truth should be taught. Maybe we will see it happen.

[balantz]

6. How does it go? When pigs fly?

Sorry, I'm pessimistic. Not down in the dumps, just pessimistic.

[Ninga]

7. Snake bitten makes us pessimistic. It's all we know. The snakes in DC have condidtioned

us....

:hi:

[bobbolink]

10. Only if we insist on it. Please see my response to Balanz.

[bobbolink]

9. "Education " -- you misunderstand the goal of education, I'm afraid.

OUr founders, who, of course, thought this country would be governed by the affluent and educated few, intended citizens to be educated to be better citizens.

NOW... education is simply seen as a meal ticket.... a certificate for a job.

There's a vast difference, and I think that vast difference explains the lack of understanding the basic issues we are facing.... namely, the corporate takeover of this government, and the true nature of poverty, etc.

It's not in the rulers best interest to actually promote a TRUE education.

It's not that citizens aren't interested... I actually find when I talk about such things there is a LOT of interest--probably because it confirms many of the things they have seen and observed and ...well, just sensed.

[Andrea]

11. I didn't comment yet, because

I haven't finished reading the whole article. It's really interesting and I appreciate you posting it. 1980 was the first presidential election I could vote in. I was pretty informed for a 20 year old, but nothing like I am now. I was very frustrated with what was going on with the Dems that year. There was no way I would vote for Reagan. I ended up voting for Anderson, but have often wished since then that I would have voted for Jimmy Carter.

Anyway, thanks for posting the article and I'll comment after I finish it.

[Two Americas]

8. powerful observation

This is the key component to the poverty issue that gets chronically overlooked. We assume that all want to be "winners" and do not look too closely at what being a "winner" in modern society means. Much of the help that is directed at the less fortunate then become coercion, as we try to force the presumed defective ones to conform to our very restrictive and destructive modern view of what the "successful" life is.

This is, as we have found here recently, a very painful subject for people and they become easily insulted or offended. Many have battled with poverty, and have a tremendous amount of time and energy invested in their own climb out of their personal pit of terror and deprivation. Naturally, no one wants their own efforts to be invalidated, nor do they want to be reminded of the wolf at the door - and that wolf is close to the door at all times for almost all of us. This is all completely understandable and forgivable and we need to find a way to reach out and come together on these issues. Right now it is a God awful mess, because we are touching on areas where we are all deeply wounded by the inhumane highly competitive culture - competitive to the point of extreme bullying and exploitation - in which we are forced to attempt to survive and retain some sanity and compassion.

Then there are those who have never known want, and who are completely unsympathetic to those who are suffering, and their glib pronouncements and rational "solutions" and advice are seductive and attractive to us, because they reinforce and align with our won struggles to succeed. We are then led to ignore the implicit cruelty and arrogance that lurk behind those ideas. Bullies and reactionary and aristocratic people can hide behind liberal buzzwords and spread their destructive message of libertarian individualism without being easily detected.

We can't "fix" poor people by training them to be self-serving bullies - and is that not the ultimate formula for success in modern society? Nor can those of us with compassion and humility indefinitely reconcile the two conflicting urges in our minds without a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety. Our human urge to help those less fortunate is in direct conflict and irreconcilable with the model we are trying to use to address the issue.

The fear, anger, frustration, and depression we have all been feeling, and once in while taking out on each other, is a direct consequence of trying to hold two contradictory things in our minds at the same time.