There’s a clear link between progressive culture and progressive politics. No surprise there, right? I don’t think you can purport to be about moving music and artistic culture forward and, at the same time, be oblivious or indifferent to what’s happening in the world of politics.
While it’s been increasingly evident since the 2008 elections that politics has become nastier and more no-holds-barred than ever, seeing this clip from Rachel Maddow’s show on Thursday really chilled me. I guess I still held onto the belief that while things have sunk to new lows, there was still a some tiny modicum of fairness somewhere on the Right. Even if they’ve put forward no-nothing candidates like Sharron Angle in Nevada, Christine “I’m not a witch” O’Donnell in Delaware, or reckless grizzly mom Sarah Palin. But, no, they’re trying to ensure that corporate interests can have free reign by permanently hobbling the Democratic party. And the Right has the Supreme Court and billionaires like the Koch brothers, to name a few of the forces helping their cause.
Rachel’s piece came on the heels of my reading about how the extreme right wing of the GOP has been planning to take the country back to permanent conservative rule. That means no safety nets, no unions, etc. Now, I can’t say I’ve followed all the links in this article, nor have I done all the research to verify that what’s here is true. What I am saying is this: We all need to be aware of the forces that are arrayed against progressive culture as a whole.
The clip is 14 minutes long, but really worth watching. After all, I’m not sure how there will be any progressive culture movement if progressive politics gets crushed. Bake sales versus billionaires, indeed.
It’s not a game out there, people: Be informed.
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