The Reality Oprah Helped Us Create: Disempowering People From Changing an Unjust Society

The response to Oprah Winfrey's speech at the recent Golden Globe ceremony proves yet again that President Trump makes people with emotional intelligence look good. Yet despite hopes that Winfrey might be his 2020 opponent, enthusiasm for her candidacy has been widely critiqued. Objections have been raised to Winfrey's lack of political qualifications; her support for establishment agendas, such as the Iraq War (which she promoted); her billionaire status; and her resulting failure to critique the inequities of capitalism. Given that in modern US history, charismatic people in high places have perpetuated unending war, corporate overrule, prison privatization and environmental degradation, for a growing number of people, emotional warmth can no longer mask retrograde agendas.  Read more.