(for the record, I am, in fact, a person)
What is personhood?
Merriam-Webster employs a few key factors: human, individual, guise, body, personality, self...
A person is a multidimensional entity. It is your body, your mind, and your individual traits and acts.
Does a blastocyst have a mind? A personality? Thoughts? Memories? Could it have a guise?
The religious right sees no point in answering these questions. And in seeing things as such, they present utterly idiotic laws and constitutional amendments that never pass. They only seek to keep the issue alive. An issue that should not be.
Will "issues" become the next thing to attain "personhood?"
Well, apparently corporations won the prize. So, who knows what's next. But that was thanks to the US Supreme Court.
Is a corporation a human? Does it have a mind? A body? Is a corporation living thing?
Corporations can have guises, though, and so the latest is "personhood."
It's easy to see why the corporatocracy finds comfort in the aid of the religious right. The religious right voters seem to believe abstract contractual constructs and just-fertilized ova should be treated as "persons" just like them.
It is ironic, in that the religious right believes in the soul and can not make the argument that a corporation has a soul.
It is further ironic in that their position stands against their own interests, allowing corporations to act upon human beings as other humans would do with each other. When corporations can act without regulatory constraint, they can, without liability, lie, misbehave, deceive, in all sorts of ways, just as we people often do socially.
And then we see a dark side of other-personhood: As my father always says, "I am a human being, not a human 'resource.'" The very corporations the religious right support, have gone beyond personhood, into masterhood. Breaking contracts with employees, investors, and third parties, without any constraint from the people - the "persons."
The consequence of theo-corporatism, as my wife said: "A human being is no longer a "person" with a soul, but just an object to be manipulated."
This unholy alliance of the religious right and the corporatocracy reminds me of a little proverb I often use: I love Jesus, Jesus does not like abortion, I love Wall Street, Jesus loves Wall Street, I do not like abortion, Jesus wants less regulation of Wall Street.
It's just the ol' bait 'n switch.
Between the Occupy movement and the beat-down at the polls the Left put on the Right this Tuesday, I think people are starting to think more about what it means to be a person - and hopefully they're thinking more about being suckered.
JMJ
15 comments:
What a mishmash...
First off, do you know how to be gracious in victory? The personhood amendment was voted down, and a little demographic math will tell you that anti-abortion people voted it down, so cut those people some slack.
Corporate personhood is a legal fiction, allowing them to make contracts and be fined for breaking laws. They do not get to vote, so I guess the personhood is qualified.
And do you have any data to prove that the religious right has a higher percentage of support than other groups for the concept of a corporation?
Were you drunk or high when you wrote this?
Silver, I would hope you were sober enough to understand what I wrote.
Here was one point: The religious right wants "personhood" for all sorts of stupid things.
How's that for a point?
Here's another point: Corporate America, about as pious as a pimp, is playing you guys for fools.
Get it?
JMJ
Here's another point: Corporate America, about as pious as a pimp, is playing you guys for fools.
Corporate America isn't pious? Oh no!
Are you serious in contending that someone actually thought corporate America was pious?
And exactly how is corporate America playing the religious right for fools, but not the rest of America?
I just did a laxative suppository and was thinking of you.
Actually I'll agree.
Blaming anything on said "corporation" is chickenshit dodge.
Of course a set with a group of ethic/morals made decisions that bear the company standard.
But whay I dont agree with is the asshole occupying wall street when the should be picketing on the lawn of the house for decades of policies that actually bred criminal behavior due to government interacting with the private sector.
Its not the governments job to supply jobs, houses, cars or healthcare.
Everytime they stick their noses in these businesses bad shit happens.
Better known as cronyism.
Corporations are about much a human being as is the government.
I want my government free of capitalism just like I want it our my church and visa versa
whay I dont agree with is the asshole occupying wall street when the should be picketing on the lawn of the house for decades of policies that actually bred criminal behavior due to government interacting with the private sector.
Its not the governments job to supply jobs, houses, cars or healthcare.
Everytime they stick their noses in these businesses bad shit happens.
Better known as cronyism.
Amen, Micky! Put that in your hopium pipe and smoke it, Jersey!
And you still haven't answered my questions.
Micky, it takes two to tango; Wall Street and the Gov't in this case. You can play chicken and egg all you like, but it doesn't matter. Either way it's the both of them. To target one and not the other seems like trying to stop traffic by only blocking one side of the road.
Silver, I'm not sure what you're not getting here. My point was pretty simple - the religious right (or at least most of it) has embraced the notion that a corporation is in fact a human being, a person. Maybe if they weren't so flippant about defining personhood, they wouldn't be such suckers.
JMJ
But you haven't proven your assertion that the religious right is more of a sucker for corporate America than other segments.
And you can go out about chickens and eggs, but the simple fact is that government can pass laws and enforce them and that would put a stop to Wall Street's crap, but they give too much to Obama, so he doesn't want to go to hard on them...
"But you haven't proven your assertion that the religious right is more of a sucker for corporate America than other segments."
They're not. I do not argue with that. Suckers grow on trees, Silver. You know that.
I found irony in the religious right's assertion that a blastocyst is constitutionally in all ways a "person," and so is also a corporation. It seems hypocritical.
"And you can go out about chickens and eggs, but the simple fact is that government can pass laws and enforce them and that would put a stop to Wall Street's crap, but they give too much to Obama, so he doesn't want to go to hard on them..."
"but they give too much to Obama"???
Silver, you're losing me here.
If you can't see the connections of power - be it from money, office, or sex - then what are we even talking about here?
JMJ
OK Jersey. Go to Open Secrets and see who Wall Street gives more to, and then do an outraged blog post on it...
Silver, it's far more than just "Wall Street" firms. Look at the MIC, Big Agro, Pharma, Insurance, and on and on. Wall Street, and most of the other big money interests, gives to whoever is in power. Watch what happen when the GOP is back in the Senate and the White House - see who gets the money then.
All you've done here is shown how ridiculous you always are about the Democrats. They are not "socialists." They are in the pockets of Wall Street et al just as the rest of them.
JMJ
They are in the pockets of Wall Street et al just as the rest of them.
I'm glad to see you wake up and say something that makes sense for a change.
Ya' know, Silver, you could find nicer ways of complimenting someone. ;)
I mean, do you guys really think I'm a Democrat (and for at least a decade, only Democratic state and federal level) just because I vote mostly for them these days?
I vote for them because they are just at least a little better than the alternative.
That's why I find the argument that America has become a Socialist/Fascist state, and because of this or this or that puny Democratic initiative or politician, so utterly, annoyingly, stupidly ridiculous.
Look. I'm a real, educated, honest liberal. The Democratic party, to any real, educated, honest liberal, is just a little less conservative than the GOP, just as the GOP is not conservative enough to most real, educated, honest conservatives.
You guys are conservatives. Try to realize the GOP has moved the country and it's governance very far to the right on a host of issues for a very long time now.
You seem to think our problems come from "socialism" and such, but you have only a small argument. We are the least socialistic people in the developed world these days, and it's been that way more and more since the the 1970's.
Conservatism has been the order of the day for thirty-something years now. It's been an unsound, cracking roller coaster.
Conservatives: Take a look in the mirror. Most of the time we will find our problems in ourselves.
JMJ
No Jersey, I rarely invoke the word socialism. I believe our problems stem from progressive statism advanced by both parties.
It's not left-right, it's state control vs. individual liberty, and we the individuals are losing the battle.
Silver, I would love for you to explain how "socialist" programs created capitalist games, other than to show how capitalist games gamed socialist programs.
So, what is it? Is immorality the du jour of todays' caps.
JMJ
Your last comment makes no sense, since I did not blame anything on socialism.
Government getting in bed with wall street and big biz is a bad idea (as you would say) PERIOD!
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