phyrric victory

most of my friends are talking about how we are going to get through the next four years. i hope it is that simple. i'm really concerned about how easily people have been manipulated by the empty 'family values' rhetoric. i'm getting the idea its a new spin on an old game.

i have been reading "it can't happen here" by sinclair lewis, and have been struck by the parallels to today.

are we descending into fascism?

quick update... we are

i had a talk with my old music teacher in kansas before the election. he is a very reasonable guy and i was struck about how upset he was about abortion and the media. there wasn't anything to talk about after his initial statement of:

the media sucks
i can't vote for anybody who supports abortion
and
how can you hold bush responsible for the missing weapons?

when i left kansas in 89, i always thought it was a progressive state. no matter what people were much more tolerant and accepting of social issues than i was used to (compared to indiana and oklahoma other stops along the way in my childhood), there was less racism and more tolerance for social issues.

in what's the matter with kansas (which i now have to read), thomas frank makes the case that reasonable progressives have been manipulated by wedge issues to embrace an archconservative political agenda.
at the end of the day the republicans have created a "constant moral revolution" that always promises and never delivers.

also currently reading chain of command by seymour hersh.
don't know where to start on this book. it seems the less politically motivated, and more a documentation of what really is going on with the neocons.
if you keep up with the new yorker, harpers, or even read the newspaper you probably have heard many of these incidents mentioned. the book gives more details, and starts to connect the dots. if his observations and experiences are true, we are really forked.
like in a roman empire sort of way.
we might eventually be a new footnote for pyrrhic victory.

a mentor of mine said this reminded him of when nixon won in 68.

we cannot retrace our steps
going forward is the same as going backward...
gs