Comments on: Anne-Marie Slaughter at SIS: Focus on Care at Home and Abroad

By: KB

KB — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:07:31 +0000

In reply to Alibi Pierce. Orwell and Huxley were both right. War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength. And they're packaged in such lovely, distracting little ways that we can't wait to unbox the next new version.

By: Alibi Pierce

Alibi Pierce — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 22:29:46 +0000

In reply to KB.

I tend to agree with you about the need for “complete subversion,” or, basically, revolution to stoke that subversion, but the reality is that nobody’s in the mood for that shit. I know that no true change will happen within the system, but the system is what’s keeping all us just materially comfortable enough to sit in our heated offices or apartments or classrooms and debate the structure with full bellies and thumbs on our iPhones.

I’m not taking to the streets any time soon.

Most influential wealthy progressives do display what seems to be a naivete, but I honestly think that–in a lot of cases–what feels like naivete is more of a sincere optimism. Maybe rooted in naivete, but you definitely aren’t going to foster any positive change with a negative attitude. Nor will you sell many books 🙂

By: KB

KB — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 02:08:37 +0000

Old white dudes still run shit. Knowing what I know about the intelligence community and how shit is REALLY done, I can’t help but feel her statements belie a sort of … liberal partisan naivete. I’m not bashing her, I agree with her stance, but there’s functionally so little that can be done within the system. Complete subversion of shit is going to have to happen before any meaningful progress is made, and I don’t see that happening as long as there’s a monied elite at the top of the tower calling all the shots. Millennials aren’t going to change shit. They rich ones will morph into the rich old white dudes and want to maintain their position of power possibly even more than the current generation–they will do everything they can to hang on to the power bequeathed to them. The poor ones will be like the rest of us–powerless.

As much as global human suffering hurts me–and it does, it’s not something I talk about because I feel helpless in the face of Mammon–I feel like any personal or NGO action amounts to spitting in
the ocean.