I'm well acquainted with the 'new democrats.' I rubbed elbows with them for years. I was a progressive blogger for over a decade and attended many of the annual Netroot's gatherings around the nation. I partied with them, I engaged in conversation with them, online and in real life. I argued with them. Mostly I argued with them.

Until recently I had been a more-or-less life-long democrat, but a Tom Joad, Civil Rights democrat. These new democrats are another matter entirely.

I had much in common with the new democrats, at least superficially, agreeing on most of what they called 'the issues.' They were right about much of it so far as it went, it just didn't go nearly far enough. Many of them, though intelligent, well-educated and seemingly rational, were capable of remarkable levels of denial. The blind spots often stunned me. Many of them were 'broadly satisfied' with the status quo.

Some I spoke to didn't even understand that there really is such a thing as the Military Industrial Complex. And if you don't know that we have one or what that is, you can't begin to understand our society or culture, because the MIC is the dominating factor of our existence as a nation. It drives our wars, our economy and our government. We fight immoral and unnecessary wars for the corporate profits of the American war machine and those who profit from it (the MIC) and to efficiently transfer wealth from the people and the national coffers into the private pockets of the already obscenely wealthy and horrifically powerful. If you don't understand this, you understand nothing about modern America.

Our political system has degenerated over decades to the point that it is no longer recognizable as a rational, useful or wise venture. It is strictly a problem. Our political class in general have become slick con artists working the system to get elected to office in order to feather their own nests. That's the system, that's how it works. It's no one person's fault. It's the system itself that stinks to high heaven. Much of that is well understood by many at some level, that's why congress has an approval rating of 19% - which is only surprising because it seems too high.

Our professional politicians are, or try to be, slick, silver-tongued devils who can fool enough of the rubes into buying their fake messages, to get themselves into office. Like the 'progressive' democrat running on his dedication to the ludicrous, self-inflicted and phony as a three dollar bill, 'war on terror.' Because that's a vote getter, right? Winning is all that matters. In the end, virtually all of them, despite their rhetoric, end up serving the interests of the 0.01% and propping up the status quo. If they don't, the corporate money spigot will be turned off. They end up doing quite nicely. There is good money in betraying your constituents.

Status quo is another misunderstood phrase. Many understand the meaning of the term without understanding the full scope of what it means as applied to our society. In other words, they don't understand what our status quo has become. They buy into the superficial view that things are mostly alright. All we need to do to progress as a society is tinker around the edges, make some social stuff better, get some incremental improvements going and so on. Some of them support tax cuts for the rich and many of them support the war on whatever is current: terrorism, Russians, Iranians, whatever. They are in varying states of denial.

The new democratic elite is college educated, securely employed and doing quite well, thank you. They are often bright, energetic and profoundly connected to the world. They are no dummies. Many of them are quite privileged in one way or another. Many are upper-middle class types, wealthy or headed there. They have first rate health insurance, are food secure and have expendable income.

But when the world is fairly awesome for you, it's hard to see its faults. There is a tendency to think that whatever keeps your world rockin' must somehow be okay. This is not even remotely true, of course. It amounts to a profound denial of reality.

Many people are not comfortable discussing how capitalism has ravaged the earth or how it continues to do so. They don't really want to think about the children making their iPhones for slave wages, or the human price of cheap goods at Walmart. They often own stocks and cheer the market's advancements, with no concern for or thought given to the ongoing corporate wars on humanity, the trashing of the earth or exploitation of its people that the surging market (in part) signals. Think about what's good, ignore what isn't. Prosperity is good. Best not to question where it comes from.

We are a nation in denial. But these privileged and well-educated people should know better.

You can't make a list of our greatest problems without the Military Industrial Complex and its inexcusable wars on humanity in the number one spot. If we can't solve this, it will be the end of us and the rest will be moot.

Objectively, our status quo is horrific, immoral, inhumane, self-destructive and unsustainable.

One of my favorite writers, Matt Taibbi:

Goodbye, and Good Riddance, to Centrism

Last week, after yet another week of anti-establishment upheavals in Europe, former Bush speechwriter and current Atlantic senior editor David Frum tweeted in despair:

"I think we need a word to describe people broadly satisfied with the status quo & skeptical of radical changes based on wild promises."

Radical problems require radical solutions.

To those who are 'broadly satisfied' with the status quo, and who truly understand what that is - fuck you.

Peace out.