Leader Worship

Canon Fodder presents a simple quiz: Politics, Patriotism and Protest! Take the test and gauge your loyalty.

1. It is never right to kill another person.

2. Political leaders usually act in the best interest of their countries.

3. If a political leader has done something wrong, it is all right to get rid of him or her by whatever means necessary.

4. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

5. In certain situations it may be justified for a political leader to bend or break the law for the good of the country.

6. People should never compromise their ideals or beliefs.

7. "My country right or wrong" is not just a slogan; it is every citizen's patriotic duty.

8. No cause, political or otherwise, is worth dying for.

9. "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant taste of death but once."
10. "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is [often buried] with their bones.

You may not agree with your score, as interpreted by the opinionnaire. Are there any correct and absolute answers or will circumstances determine the validity of your response? In an acute social environment of polarization, the viewpoint of the individual is pressured to conform to the political goals of the ruling faction. While dissent continues, the official grade for passing is determined by your allegiance factor.

Both major political parties share this bipartisan standard. Defenders of Bill Clinton maintain the same devotion to their chief as supporters of George Bush have for their cowboy. Partisan talking heads, spin doctors and party hacks all rally around the center of their own group interest. The gravity of political power that keeps the gang of self-seeking opportunists in office pulls the organization from all sides. The focal point of mass attraction rests upon the proportional devotion supporters demonstrate toward their party leadership.

Note that the concept of a political platform is seldom mentioned any longer in party circles. Policies are designed to be flexible. Fluid responses to irritant circumstances are the hallmark of daily talking points. What remains constant is the unswerving commitment to the headship and the party organization.

Is this a rational approach to governance? What have either Democrat or Republican parties achieved that benefits ordinary citizens? Ask any party regular who campaigns for candidates, works in their bureaucracy or aspires to be close to the leadership committee! What motivates them is career advancement. Any other response from lapel pin wearers would be dishonest. The proposition that one has to be part of a power junto to make a difference or change the system is absurdly fraudulent on the face of such a sham.

When was the last time any genuine criticism was allowed to go public within either of the two party monoliths? The pretense of internal squabbles fade as soon as the president is challenged, especially when manufactured crisis is used to divert and silence true popular debate. This scheme works for both parties. The key element that protects any president is the taboo that forbids ever questioning the office of the Presidency itself.

In a nanny society the dependent babies need to be fed. The president is viewed as both daddy and mommy for all the children. He can do no wrong when it comes to protecting the home front, providing the free social programs or guaranteeing a Medicaid dispensed prozac drugged society. So you don’t personally like the current occupier of the White House, the next pretender may be another Clinton . . . What will really change when the next un-American idol will be a trailer park goddess?

The foreign policy of empire remains the same, the debt grows expediential, the living wage jobs keep moving offshore, the flood of wet backs track across the border, the cost of living jumps at every turn as the practice of civil liberties are relegated to the trash bin of a previous era. With each successive administration the substance of the “land of the free” is diminished.

Our Dear “Beloved Leaders” remind us and conclude: “the Presidency needs to be abandoned. State governments need to reassert and take back their valid roles and responsibilities. The federal vermin has become a behemoth. The executive for central command and control is a despot, and all the alphabet agencies are mercenary overseers for enslavement. The plantation mentality accepts and even longs for omniscient royalty. George W Bush is just another gangster in an unbroken line of psychopaths that want to be king.”

So how did you fare on taking the Politics, Patriotism and Protest quiz? Are you a devoted minion of the ruling class? Do you champion the unbroken legacy of top down rule that is the staple of both political parties? Bush’s approval is at 38% as polled by Zogby. Bush also received his all-time worst marks in three other categories in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. The better question is why is his ranking or that of any other president as high as it is?

Leader worship is a national sickness. There is nothing patriotic about venerating thugs that rape, pillage and destroy the nation so that privileged elites can advance their new world disorder. The silly campaign season is once again foisted upon us. BATR Politics will cover this next segment of the perennial non- democratic charade. For those non-conformists who recognize the futility of the two party political scam the amusement of another selection cycle may just bring down those polling numbers even more. The demise of leader worship is a crucial step in the road for recovery. If you are tired of being canon fodder, end your consent for a rigged process. Populism deserves a system that is truly representative. Don’t Vote – Revolt!

SARTRE – March 27, 2006