TBT: The Brutal Truth

The Sunday Morning Blog-Sermon

Forget all about the A-list blogs. That's right. Forget all about them. Let John Aravosis suffocate himself with orchids, let Kos run around fluttering orange as if he were Simkin of Thimhallan, let Jerome Armstrong hide under his computer desk from the SEC, let Armando pretend to be a leftwing smiley face spreading corporate love to all the good little boys and girls, let The Rude One run it all through the Strunk & White / Burns & Carlin rhetorical wringer (with or without blowup doll props), let Billmon go on a whiskey binge-erm, I mean, be himself, and let Greenwald figure out if all of it is how a patriot should act.

Why? Well, because one of the really juicy morsels of truth the great Blogosphere in general can't afford to tell you is that the success and triumph of the Left Blogosphere itself has been pre-destined irregardless of the blogtastical personalities behind it. That's right, folks. You could forget all about these bloggers I mentioned above because, from a purely big picture perspective, they really don't matter all that much. If you could turn back time just a few years and replace them with either Ms. Shakes, The Brainers, or even myself, the only difference is that WE would be among the A-List elite blogs eatting up the traffic, revenue, TV appearances, book deals, banning the shit out of our readers, and every single positive and negative that comes with the package entitled "Success From Running Your Big E-Yap".

Not that WE are complaining or jealous -- that's a defensive mechanism of A-List bloggers to keep the lower, lesser known blogs "in dey place" in the foodchain from crashing their fucking gate. It's easier to slime and castigate us dirty, unwashed, cranky partisan bloggers as jealous and envious of the A-List's dominance. In fact, it's far more easier to just simply ignore us because by sliming and castigating us, they have to give us a link ... and with that link comes dignification and relevance to the debate -- the same logical argument they use in their own defense when the MSM grundgingly links to them.

Although I can't speak for Shakes and the Brainers, Fixer is allready a published author and has a day job as does his wife and probably doesn't want or need the traffic because there's only so many hours in a day to rip the tonsils of trolls out through their sphincter after spending hours underneath engines and transmissions (and he's too proud to give that honor to Gord and Angry Broad alone - they'd have way too much fun). Ms. Shakes has made her position well known that the lack of "Big Time" success has its perks and I agree with her. Admittedly, I could use the cash but not at the cost of my principals and my autonomy -- I moderated countless BBS forums and message boards off and on over the 1990s and thus I've had my fill of both the people that whine, cry, piss, and moan about "trolls" ... and the goddamned trolls themselves. So, the A-list blogs can have both if they honestly believe it's worth it. That'll keep me off their blogrolls ... unless they've either got a sense of humor as twisted as my own or if my truthiness pisses 'em off enough to respond ...

A-List Blogger: "Alright, alright, Sizemore! You're right ... but you didn't have to be a damned self-righteous attention whore about it!!"

Me: "Self-righteous attention whore?!? I thought that was Wankette's new jawb!!"

But as I said, the Left Blogosphere's success was pre-destined regardless of the talent behind it. How so? Look no further than the mirror, my friend. YOU! Every single fuckin' blog reader is directly responsible for the success of Left Blogistan. Why? Because of the repealing of The Fairness Doctrine under Reagan combined with the boneheaded deregulation of the media conglomerates under Clinton, it made you starving -- I mean, literally ravenous -- for some real progressive ideals, principals, and values that the MSM couldn't deliver since true, honest, progressivism is rooted in socialistic, human rights principals based on fairness and equality.

A capitalistic press owned and operated by four multinational entertainment industry conglomerates and one defense contractor isn't going to espouse such values unless the Democratic Party became more docile and accepting of Capitalism's belligerence and dominion at the expense of its progressive base. That event happened under the auspices of Clinton - a pro-business DLC stooge that dragged the DNC rightward to the bogus center kicking and screaming and we're now faced with the burden of having to drag the party back leftward kicking and screaming in order to save not only the country but the middle and lower class ...

Thus, from a greater picture perspective, the repealing on the Fairness Doctine and the institution of the Deregulation Act automatically paved the path for a successful Left blogosphere and the A-List bloggers -- starving for true progressive values themselves -- were merely at the right place and the right time. They're simply riding the wave.

However, I disregard the notion that Left Blogistan is making headway and putting the boots to the MSM because if this were even remotely true, the stock prices of News Corp, G.E., Viacom, Disney, and Time/Warner would reflect it by heading due south. At least, it should. But because they often operate the news room on shoestring budgets to maximize profits, use thier other profitable sectors to offset any unforeseen extraneous costs, and control the minds and hearts of the people through manipulated, homogenized horseshit passing for "news", their bottom line and their trading value hasn't really made them nervous. Another factor is that not since the Vietnam Era has the American people been on the same page morally, racially, and spiritually -- the Vietnam war pissed off enough Americans that whites, blacks, latinos, asians, indians, arabs, jews, etc all marched in protest of that monalithic disaster. In today's America, Americans -- mostly whites and blacks -- have become way too spoiled and won't stand up to any injustice as opposed to legal and illegal Mexican immigrants that dropped everything to protest the idiocy eminating from Washington D.C. (the nation's sewer on the river)

Thus the true power of the Left Blogosphere belongs to educating and enlightening their readers (something that ordinary dead tree newspapers used to do) and that's where the eventual nervousness of the MSM will come into to play ... or not. It's all depends on the ethical integrity and the transparency of the A-List blogopshere which -- just like Capitalism -- is an unfortunate top-down meritocractic system, thanks mainly to the pro-capitalist bloggers such as Kos, Aravosis, and Jerome -- bloggers that have had their own ethical integrity and transparancy issues that they handled just like the MSM would: rants, raves, obfuscation, and mass banning sprees of their readers.

This is why I'm telling you all to forget them. But don't take my word for it because I want you to forget me, too, as this "Sunday Morning Blog-Sermon" is brought to you by two people you really need to listen to because I suspect that you might be erroneously looking at the forementioned A-List bloggers as modern-day heroes.

That is a mistake and, first, here's Rev. Jim Rigby to tell you why:

As we get closer to the presidential elections, a conversation will be heard all across America. "Who can liberals choose that will save this country? Is he the one, or is it her?" Lists are being compiled and a debate held over which of the names is America's savior.

For liberals, the correct answer is "none of the above."

I say this without knowing who will be the nominee. I say this not because the individuals in question are inadequate. I say this because progressive values cannot be saved by heroes. Progressive values can only be saved by ordinary citizens living up to their principles.

It is your principals, dear A-list and lesser-known leftwing blog reader, to save progressivism and this country; not Kos, Jerome, me, or anyone. Don't look at them, me, or anyone in this Blogosphere as heroes. The heroes are in the mirror. Look at how you've made Left Blogistan a success with your time, competence, attention, and contribution? Translate that into actual foot to the pavement action and the following from Ms. Shakes shows you how:

Never in my lifetime has the word “activist” been as dirty a word as it is now, never has it been so inextricably linked to all manner of negative association—crazy, humorless, dangerous, traitorous. There’s always been a certain strain of activism regarded by some as laughable; anytime someone plops themselves in a treetop, there’s inevitably going to be giggles. Now, however, seemingly anyone who cares passionately about making a difference, holding the government accountable, ensuring fair elections, changing minds on social issues, arguing for fairness and equality, etc. is regarded as unhinged, and the quickest way to discredit someone is to call them an activist.

This is collective amnesia of our own history. America was a nation of action. The spirit of “can be done…the pioneer thing,” as Eddie Izzard would say. Go West, young man. Manifest destiny. Send the boys off to war; Rosie the Riveter and her sisters will keep the factories humming. Rural electrification?—no problem. By god, we’ll put a man on the bloody moon! And so we did.

And now, apparently, we’ve decided to take a little nap, after all our forebears’ hard work. Yawn. Thanks to their blood, sweat, and tears, we can fulfill our destiny as couch potatoes.

...

Quaint, and silly, this notion of sacrifice, when juxtaposed against the ease of taking liberty and opportunity for granted. Only a fool would waste time trying to make his voice heard over the roar of complacency that echoes across the nation to its farthest corners. If we can have a war and tax cuts, surely too we can bask in our freedom with no obligatory exertion to protect it.

Having been given the chance to do nearly anything, the majority of us choose to do nothing.

But it can’t last forever. Believing one’s choices are guaranteed but leaving it up to others to protect the continued ability to make those choices—others who then become objects of ridicule for one’s amusement—is a recipe for disaster. Sooner than later, every American will be left with only one choice: keep on laughing at the activists, or become one to save themselves. And what a glorious dawn in America it will be when every chortling, finger-pointing, invective-hurling slacker who finds activism the epitome of pitiable profligacy stops counseling us to get a life, and instead, gets off his ass, and at long last takes a stand.

My friend, you are the alpha and the omega. You've got a brain. You've got a pulse. You've got the time. And you've got the kick the ass you've been waiting for all along. Best of all, you've got a mirror to stand in front up to, point a nuckled finger at your own reflection and shout, "HERO!" and another finger to point to all the worthless, corrupt, immoral scum that are destroying this country all around you from either their action or inaction and shout, "ZERO!" will all the contempt you can muster.

With that, you've got everything you need to declare yourself a type of an American that has once been considered extinct in this age: AN ACTIVIST SHIT-STIRRER! With all the shit around you -- around us all -- we've got plenty of motivation to camp out at the boiling cauldron and start stirring away. And stir you must even if it means some rightwing jackasses might come over and hang your ass for treason. Even if it means some dufus is going to make fun of you. Even if it means your shit stirring causes you to be banned from AmericaBlog, C&L, Freeperville, or Democratic Underground or any place else on the Intarweb. Even if it means the loss of your job. Even if it means jail. Even if it means blocking traffic. As long as there's shit a-boiling somewhere in this country, you must stir it and do so vigorously.

God bless You, you activist shit-stirring sonofabitch.

Go forth and multiply, for humanity's sake!

---

Don't wait for heroes
Believe in yourself
You've got the power
Winners are losers
Who got up and gave it
Just one more try ...

Dennis DeYoung
"Don't Wait For Heroes"
(1986)

Dont go folding.
Lady luck is golden;
She favors the bold
That's cold.
Stop throwing stones
The night has a thousand saxophones.
So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Get busy ...

Rush
"Roll The Bones"
(1990)

posted by Sizemore at 3:35 AM

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