[Dialogue] beyond the Republican meltdown: some further thoughts

[Adelbert Batica]

Marshall -

Thanks for giving this whole mess a cultural context.  Funny, while the public perception of the campaign may be that of a tough political battle between two men wanting to be president, the "cultural" is right there for all to see, except that it's sugarcoated by political messages.  The Christian Right (moribund, we thought) - is "risen" one more time, and using the culture wars to address the American subconscious (you know, that guilt, that fear of burning in Hell, etc.) by buzzwords such as abortion.  The Second Amendment debate, another culture war "icon" is very much in play.  And so it is, the Right is trying to reduce all issues into a few issues.

We have always believed that Symbol is Key, and yeah - the Right is using icons and symbols to deliver their message, which they hope would be easier to sell and digest.  Unfortunately enough for those in the Center and Left, there are no symbols or icons they can get ahold of and "repaint" as "issues".  They have the issues on their side, of course - the War and destruction and the economy.  People are certainly not better off to day than, say, 4 or 8 years ago.  And yet, they'll continue to "cling to their guns and religion" as a means of escape.  Barack was right about this, but....saying so is only giving the other side more ammo for their culture blitzkrieg.  So, what to do?  How do they package their message, so that the majority gravitate to it as if it were a magnet?

What imagery can the Left and Center use as the silver bullet to finally shoot down the "issues" that are non-issues?

Addi

P.S.  I'm a "Republican", I believe in the Republic and in the Constitution.  A Robert Holden-type of "Republicano".

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:18:32 -0700
From: synergi at yahoo.com
To: oe at wedgeblade.net; dialogue at wedgeblade.net
Subject: [Dialogue] beyond the Republican meltdown: some further thoughts

Thank you all for putting up with my existential angst. I got some wonderful responses off-list, including one from one of our token Republicans.
 
Upon further sober reflection, my mind went to the Social Process triangles (of course). 
 
To stick with the obvious, we're seeing more econimc tyranny played out in alliance with an impotent political process that accepts payoffs/influence/collusion and refuses meaningful regulation. This imbalance is leading to severe global economic 'wobble' (my term) which requires painful quick bandaid fixes that are totally irrational from the perspective of the famous Republican unregulated free-market philosophy.
 
So where does that leave me and my colleagues? I think we're squoze together way up in the tiny cultural corner of the social process trinagle and trying to decide what the hell to do from there. 
 
Empowering the political makes a lot of sense this fall. I see Obama as a cultural figure working to shift the context of the political process, with a lot of resistance and not a lot of experience in taking us all to a new place. Remember, 'It's not that easy bein' green.'
 
And that nightmare image of Miss Piggy in the Oval Office...well, if you'll forgive me for invoking her again, I see her too as a cultural phenomenon, coming from a highly reductionistic context and invading the political process as a kind of political messiah figure with lipstick, waving the right wing Republican banner.
 
These two figures clue us in to the absolute necessity of the cultural dimension for articulating the meaning(s) of where we are globally, as oposed to political 'business as usual.'
 
And for what it's worth, I see the destruction of the Twin Towers as a cultural attack, or an attack on our primary Western cultural values (that one's so obvious, maybe that's why it's so hard to get it).
 
So, as we all continue to watch in horror at the Republican meltdown, keep in mind that its an economic meltdown (DUH!) as well as a political meltdown, and finally a cultural meltdown . . . as the Reagan Revolution finally runs outa steam. Jelly bean, anyone? There's not much of anything else left to offer.
 
Marshall
 
 
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