I’ve been thinking about Obama and his “do nothing” stance on disemployment. I know that a lot of us lefties pine for a New Deal leader ala Mr. Roosevelt, but if he were around today FDR would probably do the same things Obama is doing.

What? Heresy! Sacrilege! Not our FDR!

We’ve got to remember a few things from history. When FDR was president, there was nearly 30 years of socialist/communist/anarchist organization. There were poor people who weren’t afraid of committing acts of political violence against the elites (then, as now, the elites have NO problem committing acts of political violence against the peasantry.) Whether you are the staunchest pacifist or not, that created a legitimate fear of violent upheaval in the minds of progressive capitalists like Roosevelt.

The elites have nothing to fear from us now. They’ve turned the most violent among us into tea partiers, basically kapos who keep us in line in exchange for tiny advantage from the ruling class.

There is one way to non-violently endow some fear into one section of the elites, the political class. That way is to not vote for them. Not for Democrats. Not for Republicans. Not even the “good” ones. Vote for anyone else, third parties- doesn’t matter which one. It’s the only chance we have at agenda setting, to break up the control of the legacy parties. It doesn’t even matter too much which 3rd party you pick. Make up a party called the Nose Pickers of America and run a giant nostril.

The elites don’t need us. Not as workers. Not as consumers. We are in their way with our little, base demands for things like food and shelter and jobs and healthcare and education. But they keep their veneer of legitimacy by allowing us to cast a vote every now and then. It’s like dating a guy (or girl) who says from the very beginning “I’m going to cheat on you and take your wallet” and every 4 years we take them back because they changed their shirt or hair color.