 |
Wed Jan 07 2009
|
|
|
Departments National Issues
A paradigm shift in America's intellectual community
by Pablo Ouziel
November 6, 2008
Contrary to popular belief, the big change in America’s society stemming
from the recent presidential elections, was not the election of the first
black president. The most important event has taken place in the
intellectual community, in which a paradigm shift has taken place and few
have noticed.
The new era of voting for the lesser of the two evils has penetrated the
core of America’s critical intellectual community, and some of the biggest
voices for change have endorsed Obama. In effect, what has taken place is
the union between those opposed to imperial ideology and those endorsing it.
Although this serious event has gone largely unnoticed, American
intellectuals will need to reflect on its consequences seriously if they are
to contribute to the building of a stable future for humanity as a whole,
and in particular to mending the tarnished corrupt fabric of American
society.
One American intellectual, James Petras, has been able to identify the
direct social consequences of such a paradigm shift and prior to the
elections has publicly expressed his views in an article titled; The
Elections and the Responsibility of the Intellectual to Speak Truth to
Power: Twelve Reasons to Reject Obama and Support Nader/McKinney.
As the title of the article clearly states, Petras voices the reasons why
intellectuals have the responsibility of voting against Obama just like they
should vote against McCain. In regards to those intellectuals who have
endorsed Obama he says:
They are what C. Wright Mills called ‘crackpot realists’, abdicating their
responsibility as critical intellectuals. In purporting to support the
‘lesser evil’ they are promoting the ‘greater evil’: The continuation of
four more years of deepening recession, colonial wars and popular
alienation.
After listening last night to Obama’s first speech after his victory, a
victory he said was of the people, what Petras is saying seems disturbingly
accurate when looked at through the prism of critical discourse analysis.
One can look back now to the presidency of George W. Bush and listen to his
rhetoric. What has been his message throughout the last 8 years? When
Obama’s core messages are compared to Bush’s, it becomes apparent that the
coming presidential plans are not too different to current presidential
policies.
Even more disturbing, is the fact that when Bush spoke throughout his
presidency there was always a slight cynical reaction by the majority of the
public, as most of the surveys have shown time and time again. However, last
night the cynicism seemed to have vanished and the hope of a new American
century was reborn with full force, to the clapping thunder and joyous
splendour of the reborn American people. With every word uttered by Obama
one could see how the empire was not gone, Bush almost killed it, now Obama
the symbol of hope, together with all the American people in unity, are
going to reconstruct their country and the world, restabilising America’s
faltering hegemony.
For those in the struggle against imperial expansion, the task ahead is
going to prove daunting. Perhaps the echoed endorsement of the new
presidency by some of the world’s most public intellectuals is going to set
back the struggle for true justice, in the sense that although voting
without ‘illusions’, a landslide victory has been handed out to Obama by
millions of delusional Americans. Expect more bailouts of the economic
elite, expect the war drums to continue, expect more people to lose their
homes and jobs. Keep organizing at the grassroots level because millions of
Americans are going to need help, like the billions of people around the
world who year after year ravaged by the smiling face of capitalist
imperialism, have been shouting out and had their voices ignored.
The essence of capitalism in the twenty-first century is one of popular
misery, thunderous war, and smiling politicians, as the global elites
struggle to save pieces of their crumbling cake. In the middle of this chaos
there is room for ‘hope’, there is certainly no ‘illusion’, and respect must
go to Ralph Nader for fighting on and James Petras for speaking truth to
power. As for the paradigm shift faced by America’s intellectual community,
strong choices must be made and a new generation of intellectuals must begin
to drive critical thinking into a more serious and coherent direction, if
humanity as a whole, is to overcome the obstacles it faces.
---
Pablo Ouziel is a sociologist and freelance writer.
Email this article to a friend
|
|
 | |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2008 and 2009National Issues
"Help at last for air traffic controllers" December 30, 2008 Dick Meister
"Did Bush Sr. kill Kennedy and frame Nixon?" December 28, 2008 David Swanson
"Class is a dirty word" December 27, 2008 Michael Parenti interviewed by Jason Miller
"Dark prayer" December 25, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"The pacifier tree" December 18, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Three Party Time!" December 8, 2008 Christopher Bifani
"With shot and shell or " December 8, 2008 Mike Ferner
"Women bringing new strength to unions" December 6, 2008 Dick Meister
"Redefining 'realism'" December 5, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"As Congress lay dying" December 2, 2008 David Swanson
"Barry Bonds' grand adventure" November 29, 2008 Dick Meister
"You cannot pardon a crime you authorized" November 28, 2008 David Swanson
"The ghosts of Desert Storm" November 28, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Stacks of dead presidents or flesh and blood companions?" November 23, 2008 Jason Miller interviewed by Robert Turnbull
"History IS SCREAMING" November 22, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Scooter politics" November 16, 2008 Christopher Bifani
"What if labor opposed war?" November 16, 2008 David Swanson
"Hope and vision" November 13, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Open Veterans' Day letter to the president-elect" November 13, 2008 James A. Lucas
"Melissa Gragg and Jason Miller interview Derrick Jensen" November 10, 2008 Melissa Gragg, Jason Miller and Derrick Jensen
"Obama cabinet good and bad news" November 9, 2008 David Swanson
"How to treat a President-Elect" November 9, 2008 David Swanson
"Labor's high hopes" November 7, 2008 Dick Meister
"Let us shed tears of gratitude for this moment of grace. It will be brief." November 6, 2008 Mike Ferner
"A paradigm shift in America's intellectual community" November 6, 2008 Pablo Ouziel
"Vigilante pals of Palin’s not so distant past" October 28, 2008 Russ Bellant
"Monitoring the new president" October 19, 2008 Jim Lucas
"ACORN's Response to Senator McCain's Smear Ad" October 12, 2008 ACORN President Maude Hurd
"Time to create the economy we want; multiple crises in the U.S. presents an opportunity for real change" October 11, 2008 Kevin Zeese
"It's the war crimes, Mickey" October 11, 2008 David Swanson
"ACORN is not the nut here" October 11, 2008 David Swanson
"Repeal Taft-Hartley!" October 11, 2008 Dick Meister
"One nation under capitalism: It’s time for a crucifixion" October 7, 2008 Jason Miller
"The Fed: The fox in America’s henhouse" October 6, 2008 James Heddle
"One nation under capitalism: it’s time for a Crucifixion" October 4, 2008 Jason Miller
"Power to the Cheaple!" October 1, 2008 Christopher Bifani
"Why the bailout vote may fail" September 29, 2008 David Swanson
"VFP lights the way" September 7, 2008 Mike Ferner
"Raiding democracy in St. Paul" September 2, 2008 Kris Hermes, Coldsnap Legal Collective
"It's Labor Day for great expectations" August 27, 2008 Dick Meister
"Civilian diplomacy" August 14, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"My heroes of history" August 12, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
"Pelosi claims Republicans want impeachment" August 6, 2008 David Swanson
"President's job is to pardon" August 5, 2008 David Swanson
"Prosecuting Bush and Cheney" August 4, 2008 David Swanson
"America's second-class workers" August 2, 2008 Dick Meister
"Bush White House hides true scope of federal deficit" August 1, 2008 Richard A. Viguerie
"The religious right is AWOL from the real war" July 23, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
"American Samaritans" July 22, 2008 David Swanson
"How they'll try to bury impeachment and fail" July 20, 2008 David Swanson
"A summer of deadly heat" July 18, 2008 Dick Meister
"Murdering God: of shotguns, American capitalism, and moral expediency" July 14, 2008 Jason Miller
"Steel rain" July 10, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Rep. Virgil Goode swears he doesn't hate immigrants" July 10, 2008 David Swanson
"George W. Bush to speak at Monticello on July 4" July 1, 2008 David Swanson
"Veterans For Peace deliver 23,000 impeachment petitions to House Judiciary Chair Conyers" June 16, 2008 Mike Ferner
"Obama debe aprender de la denuncia de mala conducta y de robo de elecciónes de Dennis Kucinich" June 16, 2008 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Antioch college alumni: university leaders should step down" June 8, 2008 Laura Fathauer
"Now what?" June 7, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Will McCain name torture ships for big donors?" June 4, 2008 David Swanson
"The watch list through the prism of global war on terrorism " June 1, 2008 Ahmad Al-Akhras, Ph.D.
"Gee that's a funny GI Bill" June 1, 2008 David Swanson
"The flip side of glory" May 29, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Indictment and trial of Bush and Cheney" May 27, 2008 David Swanson
"Gravediggers of the world unite! Capitalism must die..." May 17, 2008 Jason Miller
"The penta-pundits" May 16, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Conyers tells Bush Iran attack = Impeachment" May 14, 2008 John Conyers, Jr.
"Long night sitting-in" May 14, 2008 Bruce K. Gagnon, http://www.space4peace.org
"Apology denied" May 9, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"The possible future" May 3, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Desiree Fairooz was convicted today for calling out Condi" May 2, 2008 DC Indymedia
"Truth wreckage" April 25, 2008 Robert C. Koehler
"Jesus knows a camel when he sees one: We are NOT passing through the eye of that needle, America..." April 7, 2008 Jason Miller
"Granny D says Bush guilty of treason, urges people to scare Congress into ending occupation" April 6, 2008 Doris "Granny D" Haddock
"A tale of three men: Pete, Norman, and Bill - More from the take back America conference" April 4, 2008 Joan Brunwasser
"We're sitting in at the House Judiciary Committee Office right now" April 3, 2008 David Swanson
"Antioch College Alumni Outraged at University's Rejection of Bid; Vow to Continue to Fight and to Support "Nonstop Antioch"" March 29, 2008 Antiochians.org
"White House official tells judge searching for missing emails too much work" March 24, 2008 Jason Leopold
"An honor long due: Cesar Chavez" March 24, 2008 Dick Meister
"How an unwanted guardianship cost a firefighter his freedom and his fortune" March 22, 2008 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Will the Fourth Amendment be replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?" March 18, 2008 Pete Johnson
"Nonviolent blockade of IRS headquarters" March 17, 2008 Frida Berrigan
"National Lawyers Guild calls on Congress to override Bush veto of Intelligence Authorization bill" March 12, 2008 Marjorie Cohn
"Free Press reporter at Cleveland's Obama-Clinton debate" March 1, 2008 David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor
""Torture Memo" author used health care statute to form legal basis for waterboarding" February 22, 2008 Jason Leopold
"How sick of it are you?" February 20, 2008 Mike Ferner
"Non-electoral activism in a presidential election year" February 18, 2008 Ted Glick
"Rep. Leonard Boswell signs onto Cheney impeachment" February 18, 2008 David Swanson
"Taibbi gets it halfway right" February 10, 2008 David Swanson
"Can your town ban the military from recruiting anyone under 18?" February 8, 2008 David Swanson
"How Obama could create a long-term Democratic majority" February 3, 2008 Paul Rogat Loeb
"One of key SOTU lies was a rerun" January 31, 2008 David Swanson
"Rep. Nadler holds hearing on state secrets" January 30, 2008 Shin Inouye
"State of Union came with a signing statement" January 30, 2008 David Swanson
"One Bush left behind" January 29, 2008 Greg Palast
"The Iowa Caucus is decadent and depraved" January 28, 2008 David S. Lewis
"No war, no warming, round two" January 28, 2008 Ted Glick
"Road to impeachment and peace runs through Cleveland" January 28, 2008 David Swanson
"No more investigations please" January 26, 2008 David Swanson
"Does Hillary Clinton cross ethical lines?" January 26, 2008 Paul Rogat Loeb
"Martin Luther King, Jr.: his day and today" January 21, 2008 Joan Brunwasser
"What MLK said about change" January 16, 2008 David Swanson
"Washington state Senator introduces resolution exhorting Congress to Impeach Cheney and Bush" January 13, 2008 David Swanson
"The speech McCain should give" January 13, 2008 David Swanson
"To Nancy, with all due respect" January 12, 2008 David Swanson
"Bangor (Maine) Daily News first major newspaper to editorialize in favor of impeaching Cheney" January 10, 2008 Bangor Daily News
"Protesting torture in front of the CIA" January 10, 2008 Washington Peace Center
"ACLU of Florida calls for impeachment hearings for Bush and Cheney" January 7, 2008 David Swanson
"Remembering the separation of powers" January 6, 2008 David Swanson
"Rep. Mike Michaud writes strong letter to Conyers calling for Cheney impeachment hearings" January 4, 2008 Michael H. Michaud
"Peace activists occupy Huckabee's Iowa campaign: "Who Would Jesus Bomb?"" January 1, 2008 Mike Ferner
"Could Obama & Edwards team up in the caucuses?" January 1, 2008 Paul Rogat Loeb
"Ron Paul in 2008? Just say no to Dr. No" January 1, 2008 Jason Miller
Read Articles by Year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

All content © 1970-2009 The Columbus Free Press Disclaimer |