I see so-called (political) centrists and pragmatists as one of the biggest threats to any chance we may have to ever being able to restore the rule of law in the this country, and to unclench the filthy hands of neo-fascist corporations off of our necks.
If the reader self-identifies with those "labels," let me first acknowledge that I do get the meaning of it, as you see it:
The political reality in the U.S. is that, overall, we are a center-right country. In this environment we need to focus on electing more and better Democrats to elective offices nationwide (at the local, state, at national level). Getting active politically, hitting the streets canvassing for political candidates, making donations to good candidates, are all things we should be doing to help move the country in the right direction.
Typically, those who hold those sentiments are also opposed to what they consider to be extreme-left views and protest movement activism. They see it as unhelpful, especially when such activists criticize the president (too harshly). The typical retort is "Do you think Obama is not doing enough? How would you feel if because of your unhelpful criticism, you contribute to the disillusionment of potential Democratic voters, and we end up with somebody like Newt Gingrich in the White House?"
They typically provide a list of all the accomplishments of the Obama administration when it comes to gay rights, and the health care system overhaul, getting Osama bin Laden, and many other things... They complain that the "radical left" is never happy, repeating the right-wing talking points.
I would argue that, ultimately, what animates this attitude is fear; fear to rock the boat (too harshly); fear based on personal interests and personal security; fear of not knowing what type of "system" could replace the current one (thinking that it may be worst).
Better to do things gradually in the name of stability and order, and security.
And I would argue that that is precisely the attitude that the countless millions of dollars spent by corporatist public relations firms, think tanks (and their corporate funders), is meant to propagate. In other words, in today's reality, being a centrist or a pragmatist is the direct result of corporatist propaganda. The propagandists are getting their money's worth, in spades.
The system is broken. There is no "fixing it gradually." There is no participating in the political system (only) in the hopes of fixing what's wrong with the country.
If I could, I would ask you to repeat after me: The United States of America today is a veritable plutocracy whereas neo-fascistic corporatist interests have taken full control of our government institutions in order to manipulate, subjugate, and enslave the population, with the help of a rapidly-expanding and increasingly brutal police state.
When faced with this reality, it takes a hell of a lot more than being a pragmatic or a centrist focused on working within the corrupt and rigged framework you are permitted to operate in.
Basically what it takes is stopping the machine on its tracks, so it can be re-adjusted; so it can be fine-tuned. It takes a major, head-on confrontation between those who are being enslaved (the 99%) and the neo-fascist ruling class, before neo-feudalism is able to set roots.
It takes cojones; it takes in-your-face brashness, and guts, and confrontation. That's the way it has always been, throughout history. Tyrants and tyranny are never defeated by pragmatics and centrists. To the contrary, during times of rising fascism, pragmatists and centrists help in its imposition (even if unwittingly).
It takes boldness... For example, if the actual state of affairs was fully conceptualized by a large enough segment of the population, what should happen tomorrow (during the day of national action around the country) would include flooding Wall Street with 100,000 people, shutting down the city, and all operations at the exchange. And it would include hundreds of thousands of people shutting down Washington, D.C.
Crowds so large that the police could not even begin to think about suppressing them.
Then, after having shown our collective muscle (which is the only thing tyrants understand), the powers that be would be forced to sit at the table and negotiate...
Remove money from politics; rescind corporate personhood; prosecute Wall Street criminals; restore (or fix) the progressive tax system, and enact emergency measures to properly fund government functions (at local, state and national levels); remove tax incentives to ship jobs overseas; dismantle the "to-big-to-fail" criminal banking institutions, and nationalize the banking system; pass labor laws nationwide making it easier for workers to unionize, with the goal of having 100% unionization across he entire marketplace.
So you start with those easy demands, and then you move to the next ones. But hold the line another month... In the meantime, set up communes and collectives nationwide to help people survive the market disruptions of the necessary shutdown.
Yes, things are this dire. Our choices are: We continue to boil slowly in the pot, like a frog; Or we stand up now (while there is still time), and remove the filthy hands of the corporate hegemony off our collective necks.
And by the way, you can do both. You can chose to still participate in the corrupt, and rigged political system, and also support the (thus far) peaceful revolution. That would be much more helpful, for the entire country, and for future generations. They will be grateful to us if we were to do the right thing now.
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Update: After reading many of the comments, I thought it would be helpful to make one important clarification: I truly believe that our government has been taken over by an exploitative and corrupt corporate hegemony. To me, this is a truism; an undeniable fact I will not back down from because it is obvious. The focus of my (constructive) criticism is on those who say things like, "Hey, things are not that bad," or "We still have a viable democratic system." I would argue that many self-styled political pragmatists or centrists share that attitude, and if so, they represent an obstacle to those who are trying to challenge the corruption.
Now, when it comes to daily life, political participation, and being pragmatic about the choices we make every day, I have no beef with that. I'm not asking you to go stand in front of a tank, or risk being arrested and having a fascist police-cum-corporate-goon boot stepping on your neck--so don't worry.