Thought Prisons

We're about to have a municipal election where I live.  Six council positions and three have been acclaimed.  The others are likely to go straight to the incumbents.  But you never know.  But even if a new candidate was elected, he or she is likely to inhabit the same thought prison as his or her predecessor. 

This idea of thought prisons just popped into my head.  In politics, but thought and debate about major issues more generally, we are really only allowed to operate within a tight band of opinion.  So for instance the (global) economy is viewed by all within our thought prison as a wonderful, unquestioned thing that brings us stability, happiness and fulfillment.  No one brings up the negatives including its direct link to the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.  It's not even that we are prevented from bringing it up, we actually restrain ourselves. Try standing in a meeting and describing how the economy acts like a cancer, growing endlessly and consuming life.  You'd think you had turned into a card carrying Liberal, talking about how we need sustainable growth or a 'green' economy as if some food colouring would help.  Well maybe that's just me.  It's even worse if there's a camera around. 

When I think of Canadian politics much like US politics, many progressive people long for the rise of the NDP to be the government of Canada.  The party has some impressive policies in some areas.  But having seen this rise on a provincial level (figured out where I live yet) we should expect to be disappointed.  To be electable in Canada you have to embrace your thought prison.  You can have some wiggle room to be pro-choice or pro-life but as long as you don't challenge the thought prison (and you can't) then you can rise to the occasion.  I can see a federal NDP government calling for a 'balanced' approach to fracking or how they support 'responsible' mining in developing countries.  But, hey, we'll feel happy in our thought prison at least and maybe that's all that matters.

The US election is particularly disturbing on this charge.  Check out the great analysis from Glenn Greenwald below if you have a few minutes.  Last night I was lying awake with visions of Obama-plums dancing in my head.  I thought of the evil one party Soviet Union but really what you have in the US is the same thing but you can change the colour if you like.  The result, and the thought prison, is the same.  Feeling a bit misogynist, vote Republican!  Feeling guilty that you're gorging while some family starves in a tent on the other side of town, vote Democrat!  But in the end there's really only one party in the thought prison.

I was thinking about how this might change, how these thought prisons might be smashed open (metaphorically of course).  Is it even possible to change after so many years of what could easily be called brainwashing?  Really deprivation and suffering are how things will change.  If you're not completely worn out and run ragged and can see that you have less while others have more then you might notice the prison and think outside this thin band of thought.  It's a tall order.  But I suppose there also have to be thinkers and demagogues to articulate new thoughts.  

Now I'll go back to reading articles and opinions that further restrict me to my thought prison.  And on Saturday we'll welcome a new county council with a lot of new ideas.  They'll just look a lot like the old ones.  What a relief!