are we in a revolutionary moment
rick pearlstein is with us his twitter is rick pearlstein p acc r_l_ as t_v_ i
am
and uh...
uh... historian journalist author of nixon land the rise of a president and
the fracturing of america
report on the program
catatonic great u_s_ you thank you
you were quoted by a day last sunday
uh... for the b_b_c_ in the news magazine as uh... talking about learned
helplessness helplessness than in america is a concept that
that uh... marty seligman
uh... came up with years ago and popularized
that you know when they shot these dogs in and they didn't have the ability to
run away from the shock over a period time they stopped trying to run away
even when there were no longer restraint
that they've learned how to be helpless
do you really think that the american people have learned helplessness the way
the party solomon's dogs did
well looked up at
you helicopter which donnell sideline enough left
you know i think the most of them by their i mean
it's a very hard and inouye a rational response
for us to believe that um... what we've do politically has much response uh...
among the people who governor an office even given that that's an example
uh... the whole idea of the paper committee which in addition to being a
cardiac chipping away at it
guaranteeing a week
cut programs that the american people actually need out the whole idea of it
the whole idea of having a bipartisan commission that says if you know well
these are the rules are and are tied
basically removes affirming any kind of popular accountability
any kind of writing and they will you know i'm not and doing you know what i
have to do end of the matter for a million people show up at their doorstep
uh... i can't do anything about it right at least by a don't be subject to an
upper dock vote no filibuster that at least one member that the beginning at
twelve is actually retiring
on since genuine lane
non-responsive er actually might be responsive to their next employer which
is probably going to be a lobbying shop uh... rat the
it let me play for you a clip of brocco baba five days before the election of
two thousand eight
damaged this is the address is about the twenty five thirty seconds it's a mashup
but it's all from one speech in uh... mister here yes
do
had transferred
students
this me
yes
ride history
please use this
play doses
there is a registered too hard
donors ordinary americans with thesis
does
warriors dot
don was that are
solicited personal lives of the despite all of this fast less than a dozen
others
and it's plastered
but twice in atlanta is that we will change this country
and the second and he said and we will change the world that was a call to
revolution
what time are you know what
aku when you hear barackobama drop an eight-year image for your wallet
from the aft well i i'm not quite that cynical i t i you know i'd clearly
clearly he surrounded himself with people who are entire aleutian areas
he's run itself with
with you and your claim chrono
who may have been revolutionaries in their day
and may have tried but by this time and business points on the arts
and and and he became the establishment and the question i guess in my mind is
it is clear so clear to me
that when americans voted for f_d_r_ they were voting for revolution in fact
he had the bonus army just nine months before then we have dug macarthur
driving here through with eight tanks before spec whipping and shooting people
on the and the white house lawn all without the potomac nine that in thirty
two people were calling for revolution in in in sixty eight people earth sixty
four rather pippi people well actually throughout the sixties before caused a
revolution but the other big revolutions of the of the great society the in
nineteen eighty
and that there was a pot and and not all of america that was calling for
revolution and i think that they were call it a revolution against
high interest rates is stagnant stagnant economy and and and a seemingly into the
president
that means the reagan revolution was realigning he didn't
he didn't say that to the pack of people may be a compromise with the okay uh...
you know please connect or he said you guys are fired you're out on your boss
and and every single one of his revolutionary presidents and i can't
take it back you know through their through lincoln and and uh... andrew
jackson in a way i his revolution is the banks
and and jefferson's revolution eighteen hundred alison if you ever see one of
those
was an american revolution as significant as the revolution seventeen
seventy-six except they happen in the ballot boxes and the question is will
america have another revolution
well you know i i think the pack and uh... the nineteen eighty one you know
iron air traffic controllers reagan it
in interesting example up because what we have here is
arabian president promising on the campaign trail transformative change
and whether you know you are i like it or not you're delivering transformative
change
eastside in that bronco bamut each it very interesting because i'm really
talking psychological terms learned helplessness
there's nothing more are kind of denuding of kind of energy that people
have in apparent winner here the kind of
dynamism but to get up in the morning and fight then um...
the idea that they're gonna give
a politician chant after deciding that politicians uh... are not worth giving a
champ and that's what happened to fill many within the campaign trail factually
young people
have invested that energy and that hope in that truck and politician
in uh...
to have uh... to have that cut cut off at the knees
stepping up your wealth
and uh... so the question is whether you know we're going to be able to come up
to the popular energy
make big changes and gotten three and get that we need to get done
i'm a little cynical about it
because uh... already we have millions and millions of people group takin the
rap taken good care that they didn't think that they would be taking with
barackobama and finding them felt systematically i've disappointed
so i'm a little cynical about that
history can turn under very very narrow voice of politicians of the people who
know to separate going down the street yeah it's taken us a check on the front
misapplied and so this is my parade
and hostility capital become their evolutionary again all in this kind of a
lover
yeah i mean no one prominent hill coming out on the russian revolution coming
you know and producto or coming you know they thought the premier deal reached
but that
so you know anything could be coming around the corner and you know once
again as always probably knows better than anyone get tough tough it up to
your listeners if not up to the president he didn't say ino uh... yet
he can't beat that yes we can yet and so we have to choose from
circular firing squad mode too windy and the back
not in investment question way
but really really be out there and putting the pressure on so to say yes we
want real change this time thank you for experts
barton about fifty feet in the past week week because of a five believe your eyes
plan so they do but i have said referrals team thought that rickles to
use twitter rick thanks so much for being with us today