The American way is to criticize and debate openly

[Nikki Stone1]

(Some quotes from activist Michael Parenti.)

“The American way is to criticize and debate openly, not to accept unthinkingly the doings of government officials of this or any other country.”


“The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda accomplishments of the dominant political mythology.”


“Conventional opinions fit so comfortably into the dominant paradigm as to be seen not as opinions but as statements of fact, as 'the nature of things.' The very efficacy of opinion manipulation rests on the fact that we do not know we are being manipulated. The most insidious forms of oppression are those that so insinuate themselves into our communication universe and the recesses of our minds that we do not even realize they are acting upon us. The most powerful ideologies are not those that prevail against all challengers but those that are never challenged because in their ubiquity they appear as nothing more than the unadorned truth.”

“A nation as such does not give aid to another nation. More precisely, the common citizens of our country, through their taxes, give to the privileged elites of another country. As someone once said: foreign aid is when the poor people of a rich country give money to the rich people of a poor country.”

“In societies that worship money and success, the losers become objects of scorn. Those who work the hardest for the least are called lazy. Those forced to live in substandard housing are thought to be the authors of substandard lives. Those who do not finish high school or cannot afford to go to college are considered deficient or inept.”

http://michaelparenti.org/quotes.html

[Major Hogwash]

1. I can never find anything you say to criticize!

There's no debating that - you're way cool in my book!!
I like reading what you have to say, Nikki.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. Thanks.

:)

[NYC_SKP]

13. +1 n/t

[tekisui]

3. knr!~

[chill_wind]

4. K & R! n/t

[AllentownJake]

5. K&R

[PuraVidaDreamin]

6. k&R

Thanks for posting!

[saracat]

7. K + r and many of thtese statements directly apply to the new democrats of today.

here are many examples of this type of thinkinbg right here on DU.


"In societies that worship money and success, the losers become objects of scorn. Those who work the hardest for the least are called lazy. Those forced to live in substandard housing are thought to be the authors of substandard lives. Those who do not finish high school or cannot afford to go to college are considered deficient or inept.”

[anonymous171]

8. K&R. nt

[marmar]

9. The American Way....the French Way....the Canadian Way.....the

I don't think we've got a monopoly on free and open debate.

[Nikki Stone1]

12. Just a reminder for those who think the American way is to shut out dissent

:)

[Stinky The Clown]

10. K&R

[NYC_SKP]

11. K~R!

It reminds me of magic tricks; a combination of misdirection and suspension of disbelief.

We accept too easily what is sold as fact, and this extends to what we're told is possible or impossible.

Thanks for the great post.

NYC_SKP