Identifying and Documenting the Problem Is Only the Beginning

“Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” -Alexis de Tocqueville

The images keep pouring in. Day after day, I look at the screens and what I see is repulsive, but 100% expected. If you didn’t expect this type of internal militarization under Don, what exactly were you expecting? He promised to wall himself and all white people in. He’s achieved that, gloriously so. The United States, which has never been united (except by law and force), is isolated and in a state of emergency. We’ve lost 110,000 Americans to disease since March, and there’s no sign of arresting the virus or our love of division and hatred. One reason for this is what we take in every day. Like food, media artifacts provide nourishment or something less.

“The hope that pervasive cameras by themselves would counterbalance the systemic racism that leads to the over-policing of communities of color and the disproportionate use of force against black men was simply a techno-utopian fantasy. It was a hope that police violence could be an information problem like Uber rides or Amazon recommendations, solvable by increasing the flows of data. But after years of increasingly widespread bodycam use and ever more pervasive social media, it’s clear that information can work only when it’s harnessed to power. If there’s one thing that Americans — particularly people of color in America — have learned from George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Eric Garner, it’s that individuals armed with images are largely powerless to make systemic change.” -Ethan Zuckerman, associate professor of public policy, communication, and information at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst

I love this analysis because in one paragraph Professor Zuckerman clearly states a profound problem of our time. I’ve found it difficult to absorb mainstream news for the past few years because the heads that talk keep saying over and over what Don is and what Don did. But everyone already knows what Don did and what Don is, so what is the point of these inane and repetitive reports?

Sadly, people like Rob Reiner, Robert Reich, and a long line of popular pedants use social media as their lectern. It’s all so pointless and annoying.

Did Congress fail to remove Don because the investigation lacked information? No. We, the people, have all the information we will ever need, but what good is it when it does not facilitate justice?

The point is having and sharing information is great, but it doesn’t fix broken nation-states, nor will more information placate justifiably outraged citizens, or even move them an inch from their hardened positions.

Do you know how high Don’s support is today with people inside the GOP? It’s SKY HIGH, my friends. Are his obvious failures and growing list of atrocities new evidence in the ‘Shitcan the Man’ file? Not for believers. Believers have emotions to balance and/or destroy reason.

What’s the answer to the riddle then? How do we persuade others, when facts and images from the front lines won’t do the job?

We’ve tried logic and reason and found it lacking. We’ve tried outrage and social shouting, which also goes nowhere. This is a tough problem to solve. People are not open to listening, because everyone with a phone and a social media account is holding the mic, the camera, et al. As the information age placed the tools of production in everyone’s hands, the cacophony drove authorities, among others, mad. The same is true in business. Fast Company and Wired can produce articles about the value of transparency all they want. CEOs and boards of directors have no interest in it.

Do you see the unbelievable tension between having all the facts and the proof needed to prosecute a case in public and court, but still, it’s not enough?

Power is pushing back all around the world because people in power are frightened of the masses and they’re frightened by oncoming shortages and more social unrest. The systems that got us here are falling apart and fast. The America I grew up in is gone. It lives on in memories, but today’s America is assaulting my senses and scrambling my allegiances. I once said the “Pledge of Allegiance” every morning in school. I was indoctrinated by and for the empire. I was taught to be a good worker. I was taught to behave.

Thankfully, a person can unlearn what they’ve been taught. I did and most of my close friends did. The real America is breathing its putrid, hateful breath on our necks, right now. The bravado inherent in the line, “greatest nation on earth” is not going to sell any longer. This is the empire, borne of genocide and slavery, and abuse of working people of every race, gender, and creed. Now, we know and now we deal with it.

People ask, what can I do? Everyone needs their own answer to this, but one thing we can all do is stop pretending. Our work, our taxes, our votes, and so on are all part of what makes this country work, or not work. There is no Pentagon budget without our approval, no police state, no Don, without our approval. And that right there is the nut of the problem — the rulers of our empire know that we won’t volunteer to keep military bases in 100 overseas countries, or deny health coverage to millions, or to make the rich richer— so the options and the facts are taken off the table.

Right now, Don is asking to test nuclear weapons. Is this a news story we will hear today? No, it is not, because it’s not a story with images that act as currency for media companies and individuals alike. You and I can analyze the situation all day today, but one fantastic photo or video of cops beating kids is just so much more interesting, and distracting, and pleasing to our rat brains.

Here, I won’t deny you the dopamine hits you seek:

Brutal, blunt force has convinced you of what? That there are bullies in our midst and that they work together to put down dissent?

When one is met with violence, it is human nature to return the no favor. The holy among us can preach peace, but peace isn’t possible when you’re being beaten, gassed, pushed around, shot, and verbally abused. What I hope to see going forward is a strategic response from the people. There are real targets of interest, and they’re nowhere near Main St. Right now, the resistance is not focused on bringing down America’s worst people and machinery of power. It’s more about making noise and getting media attention, which as Zuckerman, and this article point out, is not a meaningful end in itself.