From Alternet: http://www.alternet.org/activism/they-cant-tell-us-truth-if-they-did-people-would-demand-structural-change
It would be a concession to the deep structural changes we all know that our society needs.
By Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers
February 3, 2014
In the last week there were two high profile events that highlighted the inability of those in power to reflect reality and put forward solutions to the urgent problems faced by the United States and the world: the State of the Union and the World Economic Forum at Davos.
The reality is that the current economic and political systems are in crisis. The economy will not recover and the government cannot function to meet people’s needs or to protect the planet. Structural change is needed but the power elites are addicted to the current system. They happily funnel more wealth to the top with confidence that their own pockets will be filled. There is no room in their lives for attention to anyone else.
Although they are skilled at distracting the public and themselves from the truth, the façade is crumbling. There are signs that more people see through it, e.g. there was an avalanche of critical analysis of Obama’s State of the Union not seen in prior years.
And as it falls apart, those at the top are more fearful. They lie to protect themselves. The investor and political classes have not forgotten the national awakening shown in hundreds of Occupy encampments. They see, as we report daily on Popular Resistance, the escalating movements for worker and immigrant rights, to protect education and the environment and more.
Obama’s false reality and inadequate solutions
In Black Agenda Report, Glen Ford called the State of the Union “a festival of lies.” Margaret Kimberly described the speech as “theatrics, worthless punditry and outright lies.” She wrote, the annual event “is used to masquerade drivel as accomplishment and reinforce the notion that a collapsing society is a thriving democracy.” Americans seem tired with this annual show as it had the lowest number of viewers since 2000.
Political comedian Lee Camp described President Obama as “Out Orwelling Orwell” from his false rosy picture of the economy to saying that fracked gas is good for the environment to his glorification of war; Obama’s State of the Union presented a false reality.
Continue reading at: http://www.alternet.org/activism/they-cant-tell-us-truth-if-they-did-people-would-demand-structural-change
