They feel a sense of learned helplessness...
Wednesday, 11. November 2009, 06:07:09
Dear Readers,
I encourage you to watch or read
the whole show(link is bellow).
Thanks,
tkm
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10302009/profile3.html
BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - Public Broadcasting Service(TV)USA.
October 30, 2009
Bill Moyers conducts a Web exclusive interview with Glenn Greenwald
GLENN GREENWALD:
..."So, the mere fact that somebody is a constitutional scholar and has knowledge of the Constitution doesn't mean that they are any more inclined to abide by it. In fact, they may understand better how to circumvent it. And I think, you know, the theory of political science for centuries has long when that power corrupts. And so, somebody gets into office as President and sees all these shining jewels of executive power. And either because they're convinced that they're good and won't abuse them, or will put them to good ends, or because they think there's political cost to reducing them — there's an obvious strong incentive to preserve them and expand them rather than to reduce and discard them. And I think you see Obama doing that on many, many fronts."...
..."who we suspect of engaging in terrorism and put them into cages for years or decades without having to charge them with any crime.
That — simply based on executive authority — the ability to point to someone and say, "This is a terrorist," then justifies the elimination of all due process and putting them into prison forever. Obama, several months ago, said that he not only believes in that power, but wanted Congress to enact a statute that would permanently enshrine this theory of law into Presidential power."...
,,,"BILL MOYERS: This brings me back to what we were discussing much earlier. Whether it's constitutional liberties and rights or threats, or whether it's escalating the number of troops in Afghanistan and prolonging the war: Where is the public in all these debates? I mean, some of these issues I would think would drive people to the Bastille, you know? Or to the kind of outpourings in the Vietnam War. Even the Iraq war, there were several hundred thousand people together. But we seem strangely mute today.
GLENN GREENWALD: I agree. I mean, if you look at what happened with the financial crisis, and the way in which Wall Street was — through its own recklessness — the principle cause of what became a virtual worldwide economic collapse and, to this day, continues to result in mass joblessness and misery and suffering on the part of the American people.
And to realize that not only have they been greatly enriched on the way to causing that crisis, but continue to exert principle control over the government and to have laws written designed to benefit only them, while the masses in the United States continue to suffer financially. I mean, that is the sort of thing that has caused great backlash in the past. And, for example, Simon Johnson, who I know you've had on your show several times before--
BILL MOYERS: The economist--
GLENN GREENWALD: And former I.M.F. official, talks about how what has typically happened in more unstable countries, and countries we think about as being the third world and developing countries and under-developed countries, is that the oligarchs and the financial elite will cause the sort of financial crisis through their own corruption and the government will then step in and try and help and aid the very oligarchs who caused it, at the expense of the citizenry. And that will continue until the riots grow too large. That's what he wrote in an article in THE ATLANTIC. And that typically happens. But in the United States, that doesn't seem to be happening.
BILL MOYERS: Why?
GLENN GREENWALD: There is no end to that. And--
BILL MOYERS: You look at our culture, you study our culture, you write about it. What's your theory, at least?
GLENN GREENWALD: I think there's several aspects to it. But I think the principle one is — and interestingly, Barack Obama actually talked about this in his Presidential campaign, quite eloquently and insightfully — that there gets to be a point where citizens look at the government, and they look at both political parties, and they conclude that the system itself is so radically corrupt and the political parties are so fundamentally nonresponsive that no matter what it is that they do, they aren't going to be able to achieve any change. They feel a sense of learned helplessness. And they essentially accept whatever it is that's done to them and simply hope that it's not too bad. And I think that's the population. It's not that they're apathetic. It's that they've come to believe in their own impotence. And I think that's actually sadder and-- and more dangerous."...
*Glenn Greenwald is a former constitutional lawyer and currently a contributing writer at Salon.com, where he maintains the highly popular political and legal blog Unclaimed Territory. He is also the author of three books: the NEW YORK TIMES-bestsellers HOW WOULD A PATRIOT ACT? (2006) and TRAGIC LEGACY (2007), and his 2008 release, GREAT AMERICAN HYPOCRITES.
I encourage you to watch or read
the whole show(link is bellow).
Thanks,
tkm
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10302009/profile3.html
BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - Public Broadcasting Service(TV)USA.
October 30, 2009
Bill Moyers conducts a Web exclusive interview with Glenn Greenwald
GLENN GREENWALD:
..."So, the mere fact that somebody is a constitutional scholar and has knowledge of the Constitution doesn't mean that they are any more inclined to abide by it. In fact, they may understand better how to circumvent it. And I think, you know, the theory of political science for centuries has long when that power corrupts. And so, somebody gets into office as President and sees all these shining jewels of executive power. And either because they're convinced that they're good and won't abuse them, or will put them to good ends, or because they think there's political cost to reducing them — there's an obvious strong incentive to preserve them and expand them rather than to reduce and discard them. And I think you see Obama doing that on many, many fronts."...
..."who we suspect of engaging in terrorism and put them into cages for years or decades without having to charge them with any crime.
That — simply based on executive authority — the ability to point to someone and say, "This is a terrorist," then justifies the elimination of all due process and putting them into prison forever. Obama, several months ago, said that he not only believes in that power, but wanted Congress to enact a statute that would permanently enshrine this theory of law into Presidential power."...
,,,"BILL MOYERS: This brings me back to what we were discussing much earlier. Whether it's constitutional liberties and rights or threats, or whether it's escalating the number of troops in Afghanistan and prolonging the war: Where is the public in all these debates? I mean, some of these issues I would think would drive people to the Bastille, you know? Or to the kind of outpourings in the Vietnam War. Even the Iraq war, there were several hundred thousand people together. But we seem strangely mute today.
GLENN GREENWALD: I agree. I mean, if you look at what happened with the financial crisis, and the way in which Wall Street was — through its own recklessness — the principle cause of what became a virtual worldwide economic collapse and, to this day, continues to result in mass joblessness and misery and suffering on the part of the American people.
And to realize that not only have they been greatly enriched on the way to causing that crisis, but continue to exert principle control over the government and to have laws written designed to benefit only them, while the masses in the United States continue to suffer financially. I mean, that is the sort of thing that has caused great backlash in the past. And, for example, Simon Johnson, who I know you've had on your show several times before--
BILL MOYERS: The economist--
GLENN GREENWALD: And former I.M.F. official, talks about how what has typically happened in more unstable countries, and countries we think about as being the third world and developing countries and under-developed countries, is that the oligarchs and the financial elite will cause the sort of financial crisis through their own corruption and the government will then step in and try and help and aid the very oligarchs who caused it, at the expense of the citizenry. And that will continue until the riots grow too large. That's what he wrote in an article in THE ATLANTIC. And that typically happens. But in the United States, that doesn't seem to be happening.
BILL MOYERS: Why?
GLENN GREENWALD: There is no end to that. And--
BILL MOYERS: You look at our culture, you study our culture, you write about it. What's your theory, at least?
GLENN GREENWALD: I think there's several aspects to it. But I think the principle one is — and interestingly, Barack Obama actually talked about this in his Presidential campaign, quite eloquently and insightfully — that there gets to be a point where citizens look at the government, and they look at both political parties, and they conclude that the system itself is so radically corrupt and the political parties are so fundamentally nonresponsive that no matter what it is that they do, they aren't going to be able to achieve any change. They feel a sense of learned helplessness. And they essentially accept whatever it is that's done to them and simply hope that it's not too bad. And I think that's the population. It's not that they're apathetic. It's that they've come to believe in their own impotence. And I think that's actually sadder and-- and more dangerous."...
*Glenn Greenwald is a former constitutional lawyer and currently a contributing writer at Salon.com, where he maintains the highly popular political and legal blog Unclaimed Territory. He is also the author of three books: the NEW YORK TIMES-bestsellers HOW WOULD A PATRIOT ACT? (2006) and TRAGIC LEGACY (2007), and his 2008 release, GREAT AMERICAN HYPOCRITES.
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