Recently, The Supreme Court ruled in favor of big business when they lifted the ban on political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The ban on spending was put in place to keep a certain amount of checks and balances in place between corporate power and citizen interests. Now, thanks to this ruling, political candidates can be bought and paid for by special corporate interests without the threat of monetary limitations or competition from an impotent public. Soon we will be seeing politicians wearing flashy jumpsuits with the blazing logos of Microsoft, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Wal-mart. For a detailed explanation of the decision and its implications please click on the link below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22scotus.html
Curtis White is an author as well as a professor of English at Illinois State University. In his most recent book he implicates the rise of The Barbaric heart as facilitating America’s unprecedented allegiance to The Market God (i. e. capitalism)—at the expense of all other virtues. The Barbaric Heart is an ancient entity that is concerned exclusively with the satiety of the Ego. It knows no other beauty than the accumulation of things—wealth—and it will do so with lustful vigor by any means necessary: including violence. The Barbaric Heart does not recognize the inherent beauty and virtue in a pristine sparkling river, or the resplendent melody of a symphony or a majestic mountain.
These are all—to those ensnared within The Barbaric Heart, only valuable as commodities. Who cares if a mountain is home to people and animals? Who cares if the mountain is lovely to look at and has served as the muse for countless writers and artists? The Barbaric Heart stands unwavering in its quest for profit and remains unmoved by the beauty in just being. There is coal within those mountains and it will stop at nothing to get to it; even if that means destroying the mountain and everything that depends upon it. Never mind that blowing off the mountaintop will result in displacing thousands of native people, poisoning the land and water and destroying an important eco-system. All is fair in love and capitalism. Briefly-- The Barbaric Heart may contemplate the ramifications. No doubt there will be a few unfortunate side effects along the way; people and animals may die, a whole generation will lose its identity, the beauty of natural vistas will be marred and forever altered—but what really matters is that “progress” is allowed to march forward unhindered.
In this case, “progress” is used as a euphemism for greed and oftentimes veils the violence necessary for it’s implementation. When the capitalist: a contemporary incarnation of The Barbaric Heart, implements the term “progress” it is actually referring to the progression of it’s own wealth. It cares little for the progression of equality, fairness and the what is good for the public welfare. Double-speak is a favorite tool of those ensnared by The Barbaric Heart. Words seemingly familiar and determinate such as freedom, democracy and liberty are restructured into terms that simultaneously mask and codify the greed, consumption and insatiability of The Barbaric Heart.
The Barbaric Heart has found a home within every known historical period. Although it has traded in animal pelts, clubs and spears for Armani suits, briefcases and Blackberries; the ferocity of it’s grim mission remains unadulterated and is just as potent and dangerous as in years past. What is different is the scope of The Barbaric Hearts influence. Via globalization, technology and population mobility The Barbaric Heart has laid siege to the entire Earth: like the frenzied rampage of a blood thirsty, foaming-at-the mouth and irrational monster: a monster that is rendered worse than any imagined in a child’s fairytale—if for any other reason than it is real.
This ruling by the Supreme Court has basically unfettered this dreadful beast from the few sinewy ropes that held it in check. What can we expect for the future? For starters-- the idea of a government of the people, by the people and for the people will indeed perish from America. Corporations will be wedded to the American military so the chances of widespread multiple wars across the planet increase as capitalists seek more nations to plunder for oil and raw materials. Civil liberties, already dealt a blow by the Patriot act, will further erode. The poor will be further marginalized and rendered disposable because they cannot contribute to the capitalistic machine. Debtors’ prisons will likely resurface and the poor along with other dispossessed groups will become the latest victims of the industrial prison complex. (Actually—this has already happened.)
Is this our fate as a nation? Some people envision this as a likely scenario. Writers like Robert Bly and Curtis White don’t think this has to be our fate. Our salvation, they argue, resides in the intangible realms of the human imagination. It is upon the sweat of the artist’s brow that our civilization will redeem itself. Is this far-fetched? I don’t think so. Creative visionaries have always inspired people to higher aspirations. Even now I can see the beginnings of an awakening in the public consciousness. There have been revolutionary movies made recently, including Avatar, The Visitor and District 9; that have cloaked contemporary moral problems within the guise of entertainment. Writers, musicians and artists the world over are banning together to facilitate change. The world may not be saved by the grace of a lofty messiah or the fierceness of a military force but rather-- by the humility of regular individuals wielding nothing but a paintbrush.
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