I don't know who these ultraleftists are, but this is silly stuff. Actually, the only thing I liked about Obama's apotheosis was Seeger's orchestration of Guthrie's socialist lyrics. But this has nothing to do with an endorsement of Obama or his fan base on my part. As for alienation from the ordinary people of the U.S., one has to be more specific about where they stand, as well as where the alleged alienated stand. The fact is, that pace Obama's propaganda, we are not one people and never will be. Obama represents the congealing of a number of interests and competing ideologies into one person. The jubilation of the black masses, of the white masses, of the news media and high profile celebrities needs to be unpacked. The vast propaganda apparatus of the culture industry, which also involves a compromise between competing interests, is designed to coopt and mold the popular mood. A particularly disgusting example was yesterday's Oprah, who reduced the political content of this allegedly new era to do-gooder voluntarism. But any good to come out of the Obama administration will not be the product of the man Oprah christed as "The One", combined with her do-gooder and self-help BS (How can Obama inspire us?). It will come about from the masses twisting the arms of Obama, the Congress, and others to advance their interests.
The failure to unpack Obama's ideology is truly sickening. Obama is a bargainer among competing factions; he wants to give everyone a little something to get a little something accomplished and establish a modus vivendi. Obama both perpetuates the "consensus" approach to American history and politics, and represents both its progress and regression--progress in acceptance of minorities, women, and gays into the upper echelons of power, and regress in terms of class inequality. Obama is a bourgeois politician of course. That is no reason to denounce him in abstract terms. Au contraire, he needs to be understood in concrete terms of what the agenda for the bourgeoisie is now, especially as America's kleptocracy has reduced this nation and others to ruins. At this stage Obama is not even as progressive, relatively speaking, as FDR or LBJ. Whether he will become so is not dependent on passive adoration of celebrity and wishful thinking, but on aggressive mobilization against corporate power and a large portion of cracker America. At 01:20 PM 1/22/2009, Charles Brown wrote: >[Marxism] VIDEO: Seeger and Springsteen sing >original Woody Guthrie at Obama concert Walter >Lippmann Below a comment from the Cuban >newspaper JUVENTUD REBELDE about the >Seeger-Springsteen concert in Washington, DC. in >today's edition of the paper. It's truly pitiful >that the perfectionistic ultraleftist sectarians >are so alienated from the ordinary people of the >United States, above all the Black masses of the >United States of America, that they are blind to >what is happening right in front of their faces. >The sectarians' war against Obama is as strident >now as it was during the first days of the >campaign. Yesterday the largest mobilization in >history came out to greet the first Black >president in the history of the United States, >but the sectarians, enraged by the Obama victory >and frustrated by their isolation from the >popular mood at the present moment, attack >Seeger for his creative action with the Woody >Guthrie song and its heretofore censored lyrics. >Unless Marxists in the United States can learn >to speak to the masses of the people in a >language THEY can understand, and until they can >grasp the actual dynamics of the precise >political moment through which the United States >is passing, how will they ever be able to >achieve a mass audience which wants to take >effective action to move themselves and their >interests forward? The blindness which the >sectarians reflect isn't a medical problem, it's >a willful decision on their part to refuse to >acknowledge the political significance of >Obama's presidency. It was obvious to everyone >that the Zionist regime's targets in its >Guernica-like assault on Gaza was two-fold: >against the Gaza Palestinians led by HAMAS, and >against Barack Obama. No matter what pro-Israel >statements Barack Hussein Obama has made, the >world is looking at many things somewhat >differently in light of the changed >administration in Washington. Yet to our >sectarian perfectionists, nothing at all has >chanbed. As they say in AA: "Denial is not a >river in Egypt." PITIFUL. Obama is not a >leftist, not a revolutionary, not even a >progressive, but his administration already >represents some positive changes from what >preceded him under George W. Bush, and this is >just his first DAY in office: From: Michael >Munk <lastmarx at comcast.net> To: walterlx at >earthlink.net Subject: [national] Four hopeful >signs from Obama? Date: Jan 21, 2009 4:44 AM I. >Obama cancels all Bush pending federal >regulations 2. Obama suspends GITMO trials 3. >Last Israeli solider out of Gaza 4. Iraq says >Obama pullout deadline of May, 2010 OK (Bush >tentatively set Dec, 2011). visit my website >www.michaelmunk.com Obama Orders Halt to >Prosecutions at Guantánamo >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/washington/22gitmo.html >The Cubans put the complete text of Obama's >speech in both English and Spanish on their >website: >http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2009-01-20/texto-completo-del-discurso-de-la-toma-de-posesion-de-barack-obama/ > >Walter Lippmann Havana, Cuba >=========================================================== >JUVENTUD REBELDE A New US President: Is this >Land Really your Land? By: Juana Carrasco >MartÃn Email: digital at jrebelde.cip.cu >2009-01-21 | 14:08:59 EST >http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/columnists/2009-01-21/ >a-new-us-president-is-this-land-really-your-land/ > SPANISH ORIGINAL: >http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/opinion/ >2009-01-21/esta-tierra-es-tu-tierra/ Thanks to >my friend Walter, I received an article that was >published January 18 in the Tuscaloosa News >newspaper entitled, âThis Land Is Your Land, >Like Woody Wrote It,â a song which is almost a >hymn in the United States, learnt by children at >school and inspiring pride in their country. >Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, at age 89, >teamed up with Bruce Springsteen to sing the >song at a concert on January 18 at Lincoln >Memorial in Washington, to celebrate the first >African-American president in the White House. >But the great singer, who in the 1960s had the >world singing Guantanamera composed by JoseÃto >Fernández with verses by José MartÃ, sent a >new message to his people singing three verses >of This Land is Your Land, written by Woody >Guthrie in the 1930s and inspired by the Great >Depression, the hardships suffered by his people >and his decision to stand up and fight. The song >had been edited âto make it less politicalâ >and censured for many years, the Tuscaloosa >newspaper reports and Seeger sang it as it had >originally been written. «I wasnât familiar >with those verses,â Walter told me, and I felt >that he would have liked to have been at that >concert to wholeheartedly sing these lines along >with thousands of his fellow citizens. So old >man Pete Seeger had the crowd sing the song as >it was actually written, as not only a >celebration of this great land -which not doubt >it is-, but as a demand for workers' and >people's rights. That is, he restored the verses >that have been censored from the song over the >years to make it âless political.â >Journalist Tommy Stevenson published the song as >it was known and sung by Guthrie, who had been >persecuted as part of the infamous witch hunts >of the McCarthy era, and his original version of >this song had been black listed ignored by the >commercial industry. These are the original >verses: There was a big high wall there that >tried to stop me; Sign was painted, it said >private property; But on the back side it didn't >say nothing; That side was made for you and me. >In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By >the relief office I seen my people; As they >stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this >land made for you and me? Nobody living can ever >stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; >Nobody living can ever make me turn back This >land was made for you and me. The edited verses >substitutes âprivate propertyâ with âno >trespassingâand instead of âhungry peopleâ >in the second verse, writes âsomeone is >whispering and someone is asking/Is this land >made for you and me.â The cry to fight in the >last verse was simply eliminated. George W. Bush >and his failed eight years in the White House >have left an economic mess inherited by Barack >Obama so bad that we can compare these coming >years to those of the Great Depression. In his >opening speech this Tuesday, he spoke about the >current economic situation and how he has come >to the White House with a promise of change. It >seems only appropriate that the >singer-songwriter recalls that the celebrated >land, like it or not, is the land that one day >really will belong to the people, and that is >worth fighting for...The Tuscaloosa News >journalist writes, âIt was wonderful to see >the gleam in his subversive eye as he did his >call and response with the throngs in front of >the Lincoln Memorial... Somewhere Woody - and >Leadbelly, and Sonny and Cisco and the rest of >the great balladeers of that bygone era - are >smiling tonight.â Photo Caption: On Tuesday, >Barack Obama became the first Afriocan-American >president of the United States; in a ceremony in >front of some two million people he called for a >new era of responsibility to deal with the >economic recession and two wars - in Afghanistan >and Iraq- and announced the responsible removal >of troops from Iraq. >========================================= >WALTER LIPPMANN Havana, >Cuba Editor-in-Chief, >CubaNews >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/ >"Cuba - Un ParaÃso bajo el bloqueo" >========================================= This >message has been scanned for malware by >SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com >_______________________________________________ >Marxism-Thaxis mailing list >Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change >your options or unsubscribe go to: >http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG. >Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.10.12 - >Release Date: 1/21/2009 12:00 AM _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
