Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
-
July 11, 2008 5:35 AM
The Homogenization of American Politics
To paraphrase Jerry Garcia, my book tour has been a long, strange trip - but as my newspaper column this week notes, it has been strange in how much of the same I've seen.
As our culture has homogenized and as our economy has been Wal-Mart-ized, our politics have - rather unfortunately - followed suit. As I've found in my travels, the concept of thinking globally, acting locally is a foreign one to many political activists. No matter where you go, the focus is almost exclusively on federal elections - and more specifically, the presidential election - to the exclusion of almost everything else. I'm not saying great local work isn't being done - it sure is. But it is undeniable that the political focus in this country - whether among rank-and-file voters or even among activists - is almost completely on the palace drama of presidential campaigns.
The rise of truly "national politics" is something of a modern phenomenon. In many past eras, Congress and the presidency has been seen as secondary or merely equal in importance to state and local politics. A century ago, for instance, a congressional seat was seen as almost a ceremonial position when compared to offices like mayor or alderman.
The column delves into why there has been such a monumental shift in political focus. And let me be clear: the change is due to more than just a broad shift toward cultural homogenization. Congress and the president has usurped more and more power from states, meaning the federal arena has, indeed, become more important in recent years than it was in the past.
That said, the balance is way out of whack. You can have a conversation about the presidential race with almost anyone these days - yet most people have no idea who their state legislator is. Just like Wal-Mart has destroyed local downtown commerce, the one-size-fits-all national political culture is destroying local political cultures all over America.
As I say in the column, there are certainly some upsides to the homogenization of our politics. We can have truly national conversations about major issues. But the downside is that for all the sound and fury of national cable television and radio talk shows, many of the most pressing crises we now face require major changes in state and local political arenas. And if those arenas are ignored under a flood of cable television shows that make, say, David Gergen's blathering about the latest presidential soap opera drama more important than, say, your local legislator's votes, then those crises are not going to be solved - or worse, they will be manipulated by Big Money interests that will fill the political void at the state and local level because they know those arenas are where the real rubber hits the road.
You can read the full column at the San Francsico Chronicle, Denver Post, Ft. Collins Coloradoan, In These Times, TruthDig, Credo Action or Creators Syndicate's website.
The column relies on grassroots support, so if you'd like to see my column regularly in your local paper, use this directory to find the contact info for your local editorial page editors. Get get in touch with them and point them to my Creators Syndicate site. Thanks, as always, for your ongoing readership and help contacting local editors. This column couldn't be what it is without your help.
-
TAKE ACTION
-
About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
-
Recent Sirotablog entries
- HOUSE BAILOUT VOTE: The Uprising Comes to Wall Street and Washington
- Lincoln on Bank Bailouts
- Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against the $700 Billion Bailout
- Going on Maddow to Discuss McCain's Whoppers TONIGHT
- Back In the USSR - Where Amerika Has Always Been
- Brewsters Millions In Real Life - Except Its Billions, and Maybe Trillions
- Remember This When the $700 Billion Bailout Passes
- Questioning Warren Buffett's Role
- Bank Lobbyists Laugh At Congressional Dems
- Restating What We Already Know, But It's Still Worth Restating
-
More David Sirota
-
This Modern World
-
September 23, 2008 -
September 16, 2008 -
September 9, 2008 -
September 3, 2008 -
August 27, 2008
-
-
Donations Recipients
-
RSS feeds
Discussion
If you're gonna talk homogenization, you might as well first acknowledge the fact that Ralph Nader is correct to point out that there isn't a dime's worth of a difference between the Democrats and Republicans. Move on and give other parties a chance. There are third parties and Independent candidacies out there fighting for the progressive ideology and all you can do is still hope the Democrats will "change" for the better? You always said that you can't expect a different result from the same action anymore. Well? The Democrats, for 20 years to say the least, have always stuck to pandering to the GOP and yet they FAILED every time. And even Bill Clinton's 1992 upset over Bush the Elder just happened to be a total fluke.
Don't worry David, the coming of peak oil and the rising cost of motorized locomotion will re-segment the geographical spaces of human society, and re-create regional differences. Internet and communications technology may slow that process and even enable people to remain in contact with friends and foreign cultures, but long distance physical movement and its associated homogenization is bound to decrease. Place will return before too long, as the cost of transportation rises. You are describing a consequence of the oil age, and that phase of human history has reached its zenith.
Oh darn. David, I meant to post regarding this: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/11/10289/
Published on Friday, July 11, 2008 by TruthDig.com
Anywhere Becomes Everywhere
by David Sirota
Please delete my comment or attach it that article on your blog.
Thanks
Miles
The last truly "different kind" of candidate for President of the United States was former Senator Fred Harris - way back in 1976. His campaign of "New Populism" was, in many ways, the most progressive campaign in modern (post 1960) presidential politics.
I still have campaign material from his '76 race (Theme: The Issue Is Privilege") and it's amazing to read his incredibly progressive views, almost all of which are still relevant today! The campaign put out a 32-page booklet called, "The Fred Harris for President Issues Handbook." The quote on the front sums up his economic message: "What we've got to have is a fairer distribution of wealth and income and power." Imagine a candidate putting that on the front of their campaign materials today. Uh huh.
It's hard to tell one from the other in politics these days. We might *think* there are differences, but in most races it's a choice of a) I'll work hard for the wealthy and the elite and b) I'll work REAL hard for the wealthy and the elite.
Loved your new book, David. Excellent!
I could not disagree with you more-- yes there are homogenizing forces at work and economic impulses that devour the local, but America remains a rich product of its people, One of the few places where they exert power is at the local level-- you should not have gone to Noodles in Lafayette but tried one of the local taverns that serve thick, rich local ethnic cuisine. You should have shunned the pikes and prowled up and down the old, often run-down residential districts where you could savor savor the vernacular architecture. Listen to the language of ordinary people; drop in at the libraries and talk to the librarians; learn something of the economy; see where and how people worship; listen to AM or the small college or community stations; study how crops are planted; talk to a farmer; visit where people swim; research the history as this is a prism, often unconscious, through which people view their lives; listen to the jokes in a bar; go to diners and coffee shops at 7:00 AM when they are alive with local gossip; become an expert on today's weather; read a local weekly or failing that, a shopper...tell people how much you like their town and ask what they themselves like most. Check out the local music--gospel, bar bands, fiddle tunes. Go to rummage sales, farm markets, flea markets.
There is an art to reading local AMERICA, but you need a little faith and gumption. What you expect is what you will find.
The more we travel this land and its people, the more amazed we become. It is an intricate jigsaw puzzle of cultural heritage and variety. Last summer, we visited Indiana as if we were making the Grand Tour, We will never forget it. Approach it like a poet or a musician writing the great road song. You will find what you are looking for if you develop some humility and lear to be taught by the vernacular.
America in all
Join the Discussion