Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!
Whine! Whine! Whine!
What's the point?
I agree.
If all we do is bitch and whine and stop there, there isn't much of a
point. It's just more pain and frustration piled on devilry and
dysfunction.
But . . .
It doesn't have to and shouldn't stop there.
From my perspective out here in Expat Land, the biggest obstacle there in
America is that people don't understand the problems. Often they are so
overwhelmed, they just bury their heads in the sand. Americans are
misinformed, disinformed, and in the throes of massive collective
denial.
Understandably, everyone just wants to go on with their lives, do their job
__ if they have one __ take care of their kids, mow the lawn, watch some TV,
and try to eke some fun and comfort out of their often miserable and tense lives.
And if things in America were on track, this certainly wouldn't be too much to ask.
But things are not on track. In fact, the country is heading 180º in the wrong direction.
People sense this. Every day there's some new crisis. Prospect of another war.
Scary stuff everywhere. New terrorist threats. ISIS. Russia. China. Iran. Contagious
diseases. Ebola. Killer Avian Flu V. 3.0. Violence by the police. Counter-violence
by angry mobs. More arrests and police killings. Ranting and raving in
Congress. More gridlock. Shutdown of the federal government. Ranting
and raving on TV. Muslims, beheadings. Immigrants. Same-sex marriage,
abortion. Climate change. No climate change. Moreguns. Fewer guns.
Stand your ground. Arm teachers. Arm bus drivers. Bring a gun to church.
Bomb Syria. Arm Ukraine. Bomb Iran. Sanction Venezuela. Bomb North Korea.
On and on . . .
Beyond the anxiety and outright fear caused by this ongoing tsunami of chaos and
trauma, there is a growing sense that all this calamity is not just a
string of bad luck __ that there is something fundamentally wrong!
The problem is that with all of the yelling, finger-pointing, and verbal
mayhem, no one can keep any of it straight, and anything resembling a
constructive conversation is impossible. The lunatics have taken over
the asylum.
We no longer have time for this. There are three challenges which if not faced squarely and honestly pose an existential threat to our nation. They ultimately could destroy us.
The three existential threats?
- Collapse of the economy
- Destruction by war
- Climate change
We increasingly see the police being militarized, being authoritarian and unaccountable.
Some observers suggest we are already on the threshold of being a
police state. Those responsible for maintaining the status quo __ i.e.
the standing configuration of power __ know where the incipient chaos
and dysfunction is taking the country, and understandably are preparing for the worst.
But they are not heading off the potential catastrophes. In fact, they are largely to blame!
They are the reason we're in the mess we're in and plunging toward even worse times.
This bleak future is not inevitable. We can turn this around.
We!
Not our current crop of myopic leaders. You and I. But it will take some doing.
And doing starts by getting people to pay attention.
Maybe that's where the bitching and whining comes in.
But it can't stop there. Out of the negativity of recognizing how bad off things
are now, there can and must emerge a positivevision of what should follow.
That means each and every one of us deciding what's important. We start
by asking ourselves what makes our country great . . .
Is it having the biggest military?
Is it having the most billionaires?
Is it having the largest economy?
Is it winning the most gold and silver medals at the Olympics?
Is it the freedom to buy all sorts of stuff __ a seemingly infinite selection __
because television ads tell us that will make us happy?
Is it our entertainment industry __ envy of the entire world, cranking out movies,
TV shows, video games, music __ into which we can escape and live rich
fantasy lives?
Is it how easy things are __ meals we can pick up at drive-thru windows, credit
cards we can swipe when we're broke but want something really bad,
social sites where we can find out what our friends are doing every
waking moment of our lives?
Is it all of the instant gratification __ drugs, fast food, smart phones, Instagram,
Twitter, free porn, online shopping?
Is it the seemingly endless variety of spectator sports __ football, baseball,
boxing, cage fighting, basketball, hockey, pro wrestling, the amazing
spectacle of the Super Bowl?
Is it the American Dream __ though the vast majority of us don't get to live it?
We also must decide how we are going to go about shaping our society and
country, how our democracy will function, how decisions will be made,
how much of the responsibility to ourselves and future generations we're
going to entrust and delegate to our leadership elite, the elected or
de facto pillars of society . . .
Can we just depend on "experts" __ corporate CEOs and our political leaders __
to make the right choices for our communities, our schools, every aspect
of our lives?
Can we let corporations decide everything for us __ what to buy, what is safe,
what is healthy, what products and services are constructive and
sustainable, what makes for a better society and positive future for our
children and our children's children?
Can we let expensive campaign ads during election cycles substitute for meaningful
debate and serious discussion of critical issues that effect us, our
safety, the quality of our lives?
Can we in good conscience permit the privatizing of everything __ schools, roads,
water, sewage, electricity, libraries, the internet __ because some
corporate-owned demagogues say government is bad bad bad and private ownership
is good good good?
Should we allow our leaders to worship at the altar of "free trade" __ NAFTA, TPP,
TTIP __ if it means surrendering national sovereignty and handing over
the design and control of our entire future to multinational
corporations?
Can we continue letting our schools, towns, roads, bridges fall apart and
become worthless because we have wasted so much money on unnecessary
wars and military bases, that now we supposedly don't have any funding
left for education and crucial infrastructure?
Should we allow capitalism and pure unfettered pursuit of profit trump individual
and community needs and values?
Can debt-based currency creation __ the privatization of the right to "coin money"
by ceding that power to private banks __ over the long haul serve the greater good
of the country and provide equitable distribution of our national wealth?
Can the monopolization of production and services by large multinational
corporations fulfill the long term goals and aspirations of our country?
After our humiliating record of defeat on the battlefield __ Korea, Vietnam,
Afghanistan, Iraq __ can we trust that our leaders, locked into a
feckless 'war-and-more-war' approach to foreign policy, will do the
right thing on the international stage going forward?
After being lied into the war in Iraq, after having the economy completely
mucked up, after seeing our factories and jobs shipped overseas, after
being conned into bailing out the big banks and watching the wholesale
looting the Treasury and Federal Reserve to stuff the wallets of Wall
Street fat cats and corporate CEOs, can we trust our current politicos
with respect to anything at all?
In theory, nothing in our democracy is written in stone. We __ you and I __
can change the priorities. If our country is headed in the wrong direction,
we can turn it around.
At least . . . in theory.
I'm currently writing a political tome, a concise but powerful, practical
manual for change, which I believe can make a difference. It is my
attempt to help put 'We the people' back in the political
equation, giving the majority of American citizens say in shaping the
future of the country. It's about taking power back from those who
driven by greed and hubris have bankrupted the country and made us the
most feared and hated nation in the world, then assigning that power to
its rightful owners __ you and I. It is not about tossing
power capriciously into the filthy hands of an unruly mob, but a plan
for thoughtfully and respectfully placing it in the guiding hands of a sane
and sensible majority.
I hope to have it out late May or early June.
Working title . . .
Candidate Contracts: A Manifesto (A New Front and Perhaps Last Stand
in the Battle for True Representative Democracy in America).
Do you see now? At the end of the day __ and it has been a long day for sure __
I don't mean to merely be negative.
I actually intend to be quite positive.
[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
