Out of Balance

One of my Facebook friends; probably the closest thing to a true "Independent" you'll find, but with a libertarian bent, asked a simple question--"What has happened to the center?"

It's a good question to ask. Where you have a party rejecting an idea they proposed years ago, and a presidential candidate promising to repeal legislation based on a law that he signed as governor! Where you have state capitol buildings and other places being "occupied" like in the 1960's.

A better question may be "Where's the balance"? What I think has actually happened is that over the last 30 years, America has shifted far to the right. A recent poll shows that America has become more polarized than ever in the last 25 years. This almost coincides with the repeal of the "Fairness Doctrine", the end of the idea that media outlets needed to give both sides equal time. Large, corporate, conglomerates and their advertisers could use voices like Beck and Limbaugh to agitate the masses against "outgroups" and sell them the notion that handing more power to the "%1" was for their own good. Eventually, a whole news channel sprung up to seem to give these ideas justification.

In order to be heard over the "%1" noise, progressives have little choice but to resort to the tactics of the "Occupy" movement. What I still say needs to happen is that the "%99" need to start speaking with one clear voice. Especially since the possibility of the "%99" needing to become some sort of resistance needs to be considered.