a few thoughts that come to mind after the atrocities to democracy seen in the legislatures in Wisconsin, Michigan and Oklahoma (in the last, the House seeks to prevent teachers from having an ability to go to court to protest against firings by school boards that may have been improper)
the right to collective bargaining - and not just for public sector workers
the right to strike - and not just for public sector workers, few of whom currently have it
the right to belong to a union - this will, if not challenge vigorously, soon be seen on a national level, making it ever harder to organize
the right to keep benefits previously negotiated in lieu of current salary
democratic (and Democratic) government at the local level
the entire social safety net - insofar as states can opt out or slash support
unemployment compensation - insofar as states have any role, remember that some of the Republicans do not believe in it. And certainly the extensions we have seen in the current crisis will be eliminate
freedom of expression for public employees outside of the workplace - do you doubt that those of us who are teachers or police or fire will not find those rights under attack, used as grounds for dismissal, when we have lost all protections provided by unions
And there is more, far more . . .
Consider the three main periods when we moved away from the kinds of atrocious situations so common in the Gilded Age
1. the Progressive Era
2. the New Deal
3. the Great Society
all the advances on behalf ordinary people that occurred during these times are now in jeopardy. ALL OF THEM
In the first we began to see some regulation of the financial sector, of the productions of food and of medicines. Some of these regulations were intensified during the New Deal, despite a Supreme Court that attempted to declare many efforts unconstitutional.
We have seen at a national level the rolling back of regulations, with disastrous effect.
We have seen an increase of corporate power and the concentration of wealth into ever fewer hands.
We have seen the concentration of media power into fewer hands that decreasingly give voice or coverage to points of view opposed by the corporations and the wealthy and their minions in politics and elsewhere.
We have allowed the creation of financial institutions that can now threaten the very stability of our economic system if they do not get their way, if we seek to impose appropriate regulation upon them.
We are seeing a concentration of wealth unknown even during the Gilded Age.
At a national level, Social Security and Medicare are threatened, first with slashes to benefits such as those urged by Eric Cantor, then with defunding the system and using the trust funds for other purpose, with the intent of shifting all to the private sector where Wall Street firms can control DIRECTLY even more of the wealth of this nation, while extracting fees for the "service" they provide, further increasing the wealth of the already wealthy and powerful.
We are already seeing the imposition of ideas by the wealthy through their foundations to the exclusion of the voices of those upon those ideas are imposed - as a teacher I deal with this constantly.
What is at stake is the very existence of the Republic, of the liberal democracy (technical term) that this nation is supposed to be.
What is at stake is everything we hold dear
What should be our response?
This is war. It is a class war. It is intended to divide the American people so that they cannot organize in response, so that they cannot keep their country, their economic and political future, from being taken from them permanently.
The Republicans don't care about future elections if they can lock down their radical and destructive changes now. Sure, they'd like to have a permanent one-party system, with no opposition voices allowed.
Elections have consequences, to be sure. We are seeing that.
But winning elections does not give the right to gut the system that allowed them to win.
Winning elections is not a license to tyranny of any kind, political, social or economic.
Winning elections should not lead to one-sided class warfare, to fomenting generational conflict, to allowing or encouraging hatred and violence based on gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or political ideology. All of this is part and parcel of what is being used to allow the destruction of checks and balances, of protections of minorities, of what has made this country a beacon for so many for so many years, despite our clear failings, our lack of perfection. We were for many the last, best, hope.
Now, we are becoming a nightmare.
What is at stake - have no doubt.
What should be our response?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Do you really still have any doubts?