June 16
The War on Youth in the Age of Fascist Politics
Of all the wars the US Empire has fought over the last 70 years, its assault on youth is the least recognized or talked about.
But the war on youth makes perfect sense. Neoliberal capitalism puts short term greed over long term benefits. One's children hardly count.
Once a billionaire, the rest of the world just looks like dollar bills. There is no limit to how much capital one can acquire, and how many workers, consumers or children will have to pay. This philosophy has been explained to us since the beginning of the European colonization of the Americas. In fact, Native Americans have been pointing out the ultimate insanity of capitalism since the 1600s. In some ways, our Constitution refers to rights often missing in European societies. Whether we want to call it "freedom" or responsibility to the "seventh generation," the indigenous peoples of our country saw the nihilism of European culture from the very beginning. It is a culture of slavery and death.
Can we collectively demand a transition from what we now call neoliberalism? And can we act quickly enough, before our environment is toast, and our warheads fill the skies? Or is our current system a death wish for older Americans to bring as many with them as possible when they die?
