Category: Mason Learns

Cover photo by Nathan Moore

President Barack Obama made a stop in Woodbridge on Friday, September 21, 2012 to fire up his base and to also reiterate the goals and guiding principles of his campaign. These ideas ranged from strengthening American manufacturing to tackling the national deficit. The subject that stole the show was not the economy, but the President’s claim that Romney wants to pull an “inside job” in Washington. This came as a rebuttal of a recent Romney attack focusing on a quote from the President when he appeared on the Spanish language TV channel Univision. On this channel the President declared, “You cannot change Washington from the inside.” Romney quickly jumped on the opportunity to voice another five second opinion and claimed that the President was throwing in “the white flag of surrender,” and admitting he could do nothing to solve America’s problems. Many of the political ads and banter over the past few weeks have been less than noble, but this assertion is especially hollow because Romney said the exact same thing verbatim, in 2008. Since the Romney campaign will not be dictated by fact checkers, this quote will most likely be lost in the wave of attack ads and gaffes that will undoubtedly flood the mainstream media in the upcoming weeks, and this will not be the only thing lost in the noise.

Beyond the glow and glare of the superficial jabs in the political arena, Obama’s use of the phrase “inside job” draws attention to a serious problem facing the country that is often ignored. What is ignored is that the very economic system guiding the country may be the real problem; not Democrats, or Republicans, but capitalism itself. This is surely the view of many of the Occupy protesters who made their voices heard in 2011. It continues to be a pervasive, yet elusive element of the political dialogue. Perhaps some form of “inside job” is needed, where the very system that shapes and dominates the lives of billions is transformed, from the inside out.

With the spotlight constantly shining down on Obama and Romney, it is easy to forget that there are still serious problems within the capitalist system that may not be able to be solved by simply electing a new President or supporting a new party. No one on Wall Street has been criminally convicted for the 2008 financial crisis that devastated millions of people around the world. More recently economist Richard Duncan stated, “Civilization may not survive the death spiral,” of debt America has accumulated. In the face of these facts, both Obama and Romney continue to offer up “solutions” to help the Middle Class, none of which even hint at the core of the problem. These problems consist of corporate greed, big money in politics, a military-industrial complex that feeds on global war, and unsustainable practices that threaten the only planet known to support life in the universe.

Obama’s mentioning of sustainable practices at the Woodbridge rally are hard to reconcile with the capitalist system that is inherently unsustainable. On one hand, sustainability is not profitable to corporations that need the products they sell to expire in a timely fashion so consumers need to buy more and more. On the other hand, as long as lobbyists and financial interests have the undivided attention of politicians and policy makers, sustainability will be nothing but rhetoric, not reality. Obama’s “All of the Above” energy policy that supports the use of both fossil fuels and renewable energy may not be enough to curb what the International Energy Agency has called “irreversible climate change” the Earth will face in five years unless drastic measures are taken immediately. It is clear that what is needed to solve many of America’s, and the world’s problems, is not a new President or a new party, but an entirely new system.

Senator Mark Warner, who introduced Obama at Friday’s rally, started a chant with the words “Guard the Change.” However, the change that America needs to end economic inequality, war, and destructive climate change, has not yet happened and will not happen under a Democrat or a Republican, as long as they are operating within a capitalist, for profit, system. An inside job is needed; one that addresses real issues and offers real solutions. The inside job that Mitt Romney has to offer is nothing more than a continuation of the destructive policies that have proven unquestionably inefficient and undeniably inhumane and oppressive to a majority of the population. The “outside job” of change President Obama spoke of will be equally flawed if that change has its base in a capitalist system that breeds corruption and class struggle.

At the Woodbridge rally the President did a great job, as he always does, of getting his supporters excited and delivering a powerful and rousing speech. Immediately after the teleprompters are turned off and the microphones go silent the real problems are still there, lurking beneath the surface of party politics, largely ignored by the mainstream media, and eating away at the very existence of society and the planet. No one should expect either Presidential candidate to begin to oppose capitalism or offer up new solutions, but ordinary people living under a callous and rigged system can come together and begin to move toward a brighter horizon. The people are not powerless and do not have to depend on an inefficient system to fix problems that threaten the very existence of the human species and the planet Earth. Yes, an inside job is needed, but not one that involves the same political practices that were an accomplice to the 2008 financial crisis and will be complicit in the next. An inside job that addresses the rotting decay at the black heart of the American government and capitalist system is what is needed. The people, united and marching under no banner but their own, can come together to begin to address these issues in a meaningful way. No one speech, no one man, no one party, can save America from self-destruction, only the people, operating under a whole new system can preserve the planet for future generations of lovers and dreamers.

Article By: Nathan Moore

Photo By|  Fibonacci Blue

Monday, September 17th marks the one year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. One year ago a small group of protesters poured into the streets of New York to draw attention to income inequality, government corruption, and corporate greed, leading to Occupation movements sprouting up all over the United States and eventually spreading across the entire planet. Although many have questioned Occupy’s impact and have been quick to point to its waning momentum, the Occupy movement accomplished its goal of redirecting the national conversation to focus on issues that have long been excluded from the mainstream political dialogue, such as the worst economic inequality since the Great Depression and the overwhelming and undemocratic force of money in modern politics. On this anniversary it should be remembered that it was the Occupy protesters who delivered the now ubiquitous 1% and 99%  slogans to America, pointing to a very real problem that has still not been meaningfully addressed by either the Democrats or Republicans.

Even if the numbers at the protests have dwindled and the initial energy of the Movement has died down there are still important lessons to draw from Occupy; the most pertinent being their reluctance to support a political candidate. Unlike the Tea Party who rallied behind and elected many politicians, Occupy has never endorsed a candidate nor do they intend to in the foreseeable future. Their reluctance to stand behind the Democrats or Republicans points to the very real fact that many American voters are disillusioned with both parties and are now seeking alternatives like the Green Party, Constitution Party, Libertarians, and Socialists. Beyond exploring alternative party politics, Occupy sought to engage people in the political process on a real and human level. Occupy reflected the idea that true Democracy does not always blossom from a vote, but often requires people to take to the streets and rediscover their shared humanity and common struggle. They nurtured the idea that when reform is no longer possible and the system is rigged for the financial elite, the 99% must come together in solidarity to peacefully fight for a better future for all.

The Occupy Movement, which lit a fire in thousands across the country in 2011, suffered a brutal and callous response from authority figures and politicians alike, but it has not disappeared. Recently a magnificent documentary tracing the origins and future of the Occupy Movement entitled American Autumn: An Occudoc spread across the internet, and in D.C. many Occupiers have splintered off into work groups, most notably, Occupy Our Homes DC, a group who fights against unlawful and inhumane home foreclosures. The anniversary of the Occupy Movement will see many teach-ins, marches, rallies, and protests, but whether or not the anniversary draws out as many people as in 2011 is irrelevant. Occupy succeeded in its mission of drawing America’s attention to real problems that still need real solutions. The Occupiers do not believe these solutions will be found among the Democrats and Republicans. They believe the change the country needs will not come from one man or one party, but from the people, practicing real Democracy; Democracy that is not bought with billions of dollars or represented by a single politician, but lived and breathed by the people, the 99%.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Photo by|U.S. Department of Labor

Hours before she addressed the Democratic National Convention, First Lady Michelle Obama held a press conference with college students from all around the country. With the election coming up, the First Lady was not shy in her assessment of the role the youth vote will play come November. Naturally this conversation was focused around the issues that are on the minds of every college student across the nation: cost of attendance, and student loans.

The First Lady made sure that each and every person on the call understood that both she and President Obama realized the harsh reality that an education today doesn’t come cheap. As all of us here at George Mason University and other colleges and universities across the country have seen; the price to be educated is not getting any cheaper. She stressed that her and the President have only reached the heights they are at today due to the education they received. It was entirely clear that if re-elected, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would continue to make education reform a top priority in bringing America forward. Both the First Lady and President Obama see an education not as a luxury but as an economic necessity. In order to have first class citizens, you first need a first class education.

The numbers don’t lie. America is behind their global peers in terms of education. If America wants to continue to be the hub of innovation and ingenuity it is today, as a nation, we must tackle the problems surrounding education in our country.

Attending college is not an economic reality for everyone in our country. The First Lady pointed to her husband’s doubling of Pell Grant as a sign that he has young people and their futures in mind when making decisions related to education. She wanted us all to know that we are the engine of her husband’s campaign. Young people, specifically college students, are being counted on to mobilize as many people as possible this upcoming election season.

The few pieces of advice Mrs. Obama had for college students was to join Obama support groups, and to register friends and relatives who aren’t yet registered to vote. The role of young people in this election is going to be huge, regardless of your political affiliation. If you are a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, etc. it does not matter. What matters is that you involve yourself in the Democratic process. As a generation we must “Be Aware, Get Educated, and Vote!”

With regards to how First Lady Michelle Obama felt about this upcoming election, she had this to say:

“We are going to win this.”

With the presidential election looming, Fall for the Book welcomes four scholars to offer in-depth perspectives on the issues at stake for the politicians, the parties, and the voters:David Maraniss, author of the new biography of the president, Barack Obama: The Story; Scott Keeter, director of survey research at the Pew Research Center and co-author of A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen; Linda Killian, journalist, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and author of The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents; and Elizabeth Price Foley, professor of constitutional law at Florida International University College of Law and author of The Tea Party: Three Principles. Sponsored by Gale Cengage.

The event is free and open to the public. The event will be held on the George Mason Fairfax campus on Friday September 28, at 1:30pm in Research Hall, Room. 163.