Change We Can Believe In

 

According to recent polls . . .

Approval of Congress stands at an all time low. Only 13% think they're 
doing their job.

Almost half of American voters "think their own member of Congress 
does not deserve reelection" while only 25% thought they did.

This is an election year __ perhaps the most important election year in 
recent history __ meaning we have a choice to make.

Will it be more of the same?

Are we going to be obedient little robots again and pull the lever for the 
guy with the clever campaign ads and teeth-whitened smile?

Or is it time to take this seriously?

Our situation is certainly serious. Despite the massaged statistics we are
fed and the latest Wall Street bubble courtesy of our Federal Reserve,
our economy is in shambles. Popular and highly successful programs 
like Social Security and Medicare are still under attack by the viciously
selfish 1%. The rich still don't pay anywhere near their fair share of
taxes, and they seem bent on starving the most vulnerable among us by
cutting food stamps, heating oil subsidies, unemployment benefits, child
care, school lunch programs. Jobs continue to be shipped to slave wage
countries in Asia and profits bankrolled in tax havens around the world.
Corporations get the royal treatment and we regular citizens get the
shaft.

Had enough of this?

It's time for some major change in this country.

It starts November 4th.

Here are some related blogs:

Trust No Incumbent
It's Nothing Personal
VIDEO BLOG: It's too complicated
VIDEO BLOG: "Take me to your leader!"
Guillotine or Exile?
Real News
The Day That Changed The World



[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Ship of State

Our ship of state cannot find a new, better direction by rearranging the deck
chairs, hiring a new trumpet player for the band in the Captain's
Lounge, or repainting the life boats.


It really comes down to setting an entirely new course, even turning the ship 180º
around if it's heading entirely in the wrong direction. Nothing less will get the job done.


Yet, our often bitter national conversation __ sometimes a shrill shouting match
__ is always focused on the tiniest details, irrelevant details which
serves both to distract us and obscure the larger issues which are the
real source of our national conundrum and chronic paralysis. Whether
this is intentional or not, it has poisoned all of the air in the room
and killed progress on the many critical __ as in life-or-death __
challenges confronting us.


We argue about capping student loan percentages and whether bankruptcy 
should be allowed for individuals who can't pay for their student loans. 
Public funding for advanced education has been coming up short both at 
the national and local level. Public universities facing insolvency are
either depending more on private __ as in corporate __ funding, or being
completely privatized. Tuition is shooting through the roof. To assure
profitability, institutions of learning are becoming more beholden to
private industry. The disturbing upshot of these trends is that higher
education is becoming unaffordable for the majority of young people, 
at a time when employers are demanding even more education of their
prospective employees. Nevertheless, all we seem capable of doing is
nitpicking away about the burgeoning student debt problem.


The real question is what kind of country doesn't educate its population?
Conservatives say the money isn't there. Yet we spend in the upwards of
$1 trillion a year __ that's trillion with a 't' __ on our military. We
really need to ask: Books or bombs?


We argue about the upsides and downsides of Obamacare, wrangle over
the exemptions and loopholes in the program, condemn governors who
are opting out certain aspects of the Affordable Healthcare Act. These 
are certainly genuine issues but not the problem.


The real problem is twofold: There is nothing keeping the cost of health care
under control __ we spend 17.7% of our GDP on health care, next closest
are Holland at 11.9%, France at 11.6%, Germany at 11.3%, Canada at
11.2%,  __ and much of what we spend on services is turned into
corporate profits. You get sick, corporations make money. The sicker you
get, the more money they make. Am I off here but isn't there something
bizarre or even cruel about turning human misery into an ATM machine?


So forget the details of this sub-clause and that policy rider. We need to 
address a very fundamental question about what kind of society we want. 
Is America a country where the proper care and health of its citizens is a
fundamental and integral part of "the general welfare" __ is a basic
right __ or is it a service commodity like getting your car tuned or
your house painted? There is no other modern industrialized nation 
which does not lean toward seeing health care as a right, like voting, free
speech, freedom of religion, and so on. America distinguishes itself by
ignoring this most fundamental aspect of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. Only in America will you be left to die just because your
insurance doesn't cover your problem or like 40 million others you have
no health insurance.


We talk about whether we should go to war with Syria or Iran, whether 
we should continue to use drones, what we can do about North Korea. 
Yes, this is a dangerous world. But we ignore a simple fact. We are the 
ones making the world a more dangerous place. We are now viewed by 
the rest of the world as the greatest threat to peace and stability on the planet. 
With maybe a few obvious exceptions, we are the problem, not those we are 
constantly demonizing. We are becoming a pariah in the world community.


Because of the wholesale takeover by the military-industrial complex of our
foreign policy apparatus, meaning wholesale embracing of a 
neocon imperialistic world view, we don't even consider peace as an option. 
We don't work for peace. We don't think about peace. We rarely mention peace. 
The military option, from targeted drone bombing to full-scale war is apparently 
the only option. We have a one-size-fits-all strategy: Bomb, kill, destroy.


The real question is:  Do most American citizens want America to rule the
world by force?  Do the imperial ambitions and delusions of global hegemony
of our leaders truly reflect the values of the majority of our citizens?
What insanity is Washington DC championing here on our behalf?


Who's version of America arms the world __ we are the biggest arms supplier
on the planet __ antagonizes every other world power, bullies its friends and foes 
alike, never takes 'yes' for an answer unless it's a 'yes' for armed confrontation, 
and expects to survive?


This is a survival issue. Because if any significant number of the countries
becoming increasingly fed up with America's my-way-or-the-highway
tactics unite, no amount of bombs and bullets will rescue us. Think
about this: America hasn't won a war since WWII. Oh right . . . forgot. 
There was Grenada. A country of with less than 1/4 million people with 
no standing army. We trounced them.


Then as we spend about as much on the rest of the world combined on our 
vast military machine, we scream and yell __ perhaps rightfully so __ about
our national debt, about both our personal and public indebtedness,
about home mortgages, foreclosures, credit card debt, of course, again
student loan debt, how much we owe China and Japan, etc. Sure these are
important matters. But they are only the dirty wine glasses on the
Titanic.


Because the real question is:  Why doesn't the nation we pay our hard-earned
taxes to have control of its own currency? Why don't we as Americans
have any say whatever in the way the money of the richest country in the
world is handled by its central banking institution, the Federal Reserve? 
The Federal Reserve is not federal __ meaning a part of the federal 
government __ any more than Federal Express. It is a privately
owned-and-operated corporation! Our currency is not issued by Uncle
Sam. It's issued by Uncle Ben, as in Ben Bernanke! How can we get our
budget priorities in line when we don't have any control over the very
currency we use? This sounds on the surface like some abstract question
but it is fundamental to creating a sound economic system. He who
controls the purse strings controls the world.


And now is the really big one, which spawns all of the others. This is the 
big daddy sitting at the top of this shit pile of self-deception causing all
of the yelling, blather, incoherence, gridlock, confusion, frustration,
helplessness __ the ultimate bargain with the Devil.


We argue about Republican vs. Democrat, conservative vs. liberal, we 
have our standing jokes about Libertarians and spoiler candidates from 
the Green Party, and we point at the ultimate lepers of our time, socialists!


But the simple truth is that it's not about Democrat vs. Republican. It's about
tyranny. The tyranny we have invited by our apathy and our self-invoked
declaration of surrender. The tyranny that marches in when hope is
replaced by hopelessness and toughness traded out for submission and 
compliance. It's the tyranny of the power elite that fills the vacuum of 
citizen engagement and self-rule. It's the tyranny of rule by a tiny core 
of elite oligarchs when voting becomes an exercise in futility, if not a 
complete joke.


All of this contentiousness, bickering, in-fighting, out-fighting,
cage-fighting is irrelevant. Because we don't have representative
government anymore.


DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA IS DEAD!


Now that's the real issue.


And until we address that issue, nothing else will get done. Politics will be
a board game, about as relevant to governing our nation as Monopoly is to
the real economy.


The evidence for this is clear.


No matter who is in power, Democrat or Republican, most everything 
just gets worse.


Ralph Nader made the controversial claim in his 2000 campaign for 
president that the two parties were Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. That 
was both perceptive and prescient. Now in the coming mid-term and 2016 
elections, it is even more the case than ever. Real choice within the two-party
system is an illusion. Third party and other independent candidates are
almost totally shut out, shouted down, or mocked by those who benefit
from having a two-party system beholden to the corporate aristocracy.


So the questions we need to address here are not the hot issues of the day. 
The questions are practically never what is being discussed in the 24/7/365
tsunami of scandal, rumor, manufactured crisis, and drama queen reporting
that passes for news these days.


The most important question is whether we can become a functioning 
democracy again.


Whether a Democrat or a Republican supports gay marriage or gun control
or legalization of marijuana may seem like life-or-death issues. This is
what we constantly hear from both media pundits and politicians alike.
But these issues __ these "details" __ pale against the real question,
the big question.


Do these men and women in suits __ Democrats and Republicans __ 
support America?


Do they support America, or is their true loyalty to the huge transnational
corporations which are looting our treasury via corporate welfare and
off-shoring their profits, turning our country in a big wasteland devoid
of real opportunities for real Americans, trashing the environment, and
bankrupting our political system by buying our elected representatives?


So what's the point of all of this?


It's very simple . . .


We can wring our hands, fret and ponder about the minutiae. But until we 
fix the big problems, nothing will get resolved. Our educational system is
rigged. Our health care system is rigged. Our foreign policy is rigged.
Our tax system is rigged. Our monetary system is rigged. Our democracy 
is rigged. So . . .


We can sweat the small stuff but all we will end up doing is standing in a puddle
of sweat.


I talked about this problem of scale __ the big fundamental systemic issues vs.
the narrow typically charged and highly divisive ones __ quite some time
ago in a previous blog called "You Don't Use A Microscope To Find The Cow
You Don't Use A Microscope To Find The Cow That Left The Barn".
I also discussed the epic levels of exaggeration which issues from our
government institutions supported by the talking puppets in the media,
essentially propaganda designed to convince the public that the dysfunctional 
blowhards we elect to public office are actually getting something done. 
That blog was called "Differences That Don't Make A Difference".


Back then __ respectively April and March 2011 __ neither seemed to make 
much of an impression. But considering it's been almost three years now and 
things are just getting worse, maybe this would be a good time to revisit them.


As to the important business of steering the ship of state . . .


Maybe it's time for a mutiny.





[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Why feed the beast that feeds us nonsense?

 

I recognize that television is fun.

But it's more than that . . . and less.

The late cultural critic, educator, social scientist, and futurist Neil Postman,
a renowned professor in the Department of Culture and Communication at
NYU, wrote a book in 1985 that changed my life. This truly groundbreaking 
work, Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 
I read  in 2000. I was so inspired, moved, appalled and frightened, that I turned off 
my TV. For good!

Postman argues that television presents us information as graphic-based
montages, as opposed to hierarchical conceptual ordering. Hierarchical
organization is the basis for language and literature, and has been
responsible for what we credit the progress of many centuries, producing
civilization, industrialization, modernity. Juxtaposition of imagery on
TV and computer screens is not necessarily a bad thing. Just different,
one offering not only a different world view but creating a totally new
untested mental environment for solving problems. We don't know what
kind of future associative image-based "reasoning" will produce, if it
becomes the prevalent vehicle for shaping our social and political
interactions, our economic relationships, our future. It's easy to be
pessimistic, considering how "uncritical" thinking is and how impotent
we as individuals seem to be now, in the deluge of pre-packaged
information and propagandistic blather.

But the more frightening prospects comes from a more sinister aspect of the medium.

Postman argues very persuasively __ enough to get me to turn my TV off forever
__ that television doesn't just feed the brain with a different menu of
highly delectable treats. It actually REWIRES the brain. Excessive
television changes the neurology of the human mind __ the way we process
ALL information, not just what we're viewing.

I don't want to carry on for another 800,000 words going into all of the
research that backs this up. I will say, this sure goes a long way
toward explaining why I can't carry on the most basic conversation with a
lot __ maybe the vast majority __ of people these days.

And by theway, his thesis would appear to apply to much of what is being weaved
into our lives as convenience, then necessity. Smart phone, iPads, Google Glasses, 
smart tablets __ note that these are all image-based technologies.

So it's not just television. But TV is the gateway drug. It is more addictive
than heroin, and if Dr. Postman is correct, more onerous.

By the way, I'm not a Luddite. I am not writing this blog on the back of a
shovel with a chunk of coal. I own three computers, sophisticated
electronic recording technology, and living in Japan am surrounded by
more gadgets and remotes than I know what to do with. And I truly love
the wondrous things that complex and powerful software applications are
capable of.

So I too have to fight it. This stuff can suck you in more thoroughly, more
bewitchingly than watching Angelina's lips on the big screen. I catch
myself checking my email too often, looking at the stat calculator on
this website more frequently than is necessary or healthy, just taking a
"quick peek" at FB way too much, scanning the news aggregator websites
with serious intentions but being subjected to a lot of celebrity gossip
and salacious pseudo-journalism, and generally tending to be more OCD
about all this marvelous gadgetry than I prefer. It's really really addictive 
stuff!

This hypnotic enslavement is a predictable side effect for all of this
flashing, dazzling junk. It's what is termed "contraindications" on
prescription drugs. I think they should print on the side of most of
these devices something to the effect of: May cause obsessive behavior
and other forms of neurosis, enslave unsuspecting individuals to living
life inside the tiny confines of a high-resolution screen, break up
relationships, decimate entire generations of families, encourage
delusional fantasies of epic escape into totally non-existent and
unproductive artificial worlds, and produce numbness in anterior parts
of the human anatomy and critical areas of the cerebral cortex.

Truth in advertising, even if the print is very very small.

So . . .


Turn off your television now!

Get out a sledgehammer!

You know what to do.




[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

“You wanna fight about it?”

 

To listen to the politicians and pundits, you'd think we can't agree on anything. This is a self-fulfilling and very dangerous fabrication, completely contrary to the energy and spirit of everyone who came before us and built this amazing country.

It's become increasingly clear __ at least to someone who is outside the constant barrage of 24/7 bullshit that passes for news and a national conversation __ that all of the fighting and bickering is intentional. We have the war on terror, the war on Christmas, the war on free speech, the war on marriage, the war on free trade, the war on capitalism, the war on the uterus, the war on voting. What else?

The war on twerking?

What's the point of all of this?

Well, in terms of accomplishing ANYTHING constructive at all, there is no point. Except maybe . . . to keep us from accomplishing anything constructive at all.

AHA! Could it be?

I'm not a conspiracist. I'm a realist. And I know this. The best way to control people is to frighten them, confuse them, divide them, set them against one another. The rest is easy. You can just lean back and let people destroy any sense of civility, community, decency, caring, sharing. And when the exhausted masses are lying in a heap, you can take their wallets, maybe pass around some stale crumbs and chicken bones, explain that's all they get but thank god they aren't living under the crushing thumb of socialism, then tell them how incredibly good they have it just being an American and living in a country where they're free to bicker and fight and self-destruct.

Perhaps this all sounds abstract and you think I have my head in the clouds __ or maybe inserted in a dark anatomical posterior tube. So let me offer a somewhat tongue-in-cheek example of what I'm talking about.

Let’s say the only thing a person could see or read about for an extended period of time was whether fire-breathing dragons should be regulated by the federal government or locally by the states. As the heat of debate is steadily cranked up and the pros and cons are bandied about, the ridiculous underlying premise becomes further reinforced, and woe be anyone who has the audacity and courage to point out that there is no such thing as fire-breathing dragons.

The public would be polled:

“Is the proposed regulation of fire-breathing dragons good for America?
Do you feel safer?”

Politicians and pundits would grandstand:

“Again we see the tax-and-spend liberals in another example of overreach,
as they impose their socialist world view not only on fire-breathing
dragons but on the rest of us who have to foot the bill.”

A huge divide would open up as opinion became more polarized and attacks more vicious. The media would dazzle their viewers with graphics!

“This map shows where things stand. The red states are the ones who believe
they themselves have their fire-breathing dragon situation under
control, the blue believe that the crisis requires greater
oversight from Washington DC.”

In the meantime, the myriad of real problems would be ignored. No time to discuss the unsustainably high unemployment rate, the loss of manufacturing jobs in America, the illegal foreclosures on homeowners, the continuing abuse of money in politics, the increase of unnecessary surveillance on American citizens and their loss of constitutionally guaranteed rights, the bleeding of the U.S. Treasury by big investment banks, the pursuit of unnecessary wars and building more military bases throughout the world, the declining safety of food in the country, the bankrupting escalation of health care costs and the tens of millions of people who still could not afford private health insurance, the strangling of the economy by the ballooning national debt, the absurd and anti-constitutional surrender of control of the nation’s money supply to private banks, the debilitating dependence of America on foreign suppliers for its addiction to oil and the lack of a comprehensive national energy policy, on and on and on.

But at least we would inch closer to getting those pesky fire-breathing dragons under control!

Think about it.

Or maybe you'd rather fight about it.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

 

Bullies Can’t Be Domesticated

 

We all love our cats, dogs, birds, gerbils.

However, regardless of how cuddly other members the animal kingdom might seem, some just can't be domesticated.

We can go into all sorts of reasons for why this is. It's instinct. It's part of their wiring. They had a bad time in school (I guess that would only apply to fish).

We can find countless stories which confirm this. Here is one extremely gruesome one about a wolf hybrid which killed a 5-year-old in Cincinnati.

There's a lesson in this for all of us. If something bites your head off, then proceeds to eat you, best not make a cozy place for it in front of the fireplace.

There are certain animals in our society who have made it very clear they aren't hanging around to be cute and fill our lives with canoodles and love. They have bitten off the head of our government by destroying democracy, and are now proceeding to eat the decaying corpse by strip mining our nation and its citizens of all of the wealth.

These predators are leaving a trail of carcasses. Towns like Detroit, Camden, New Orleans, Scranton, Buffalo, Youngstown, Cleveland, Flint, and St. Louis have been gutted of their capacity to survive and offer any kind of life for their residents.

These sociopathic bullies are literally ripping America to shreds and sending the choice morsels off someplace else __ the money to offshore tax havens and our jobs to miserable impoverished countries so they can treat their workers like animals.

These are vicious, self-serving, rapacious individuals who by sneering at our appeals to their humanity make it clear they don't have any humanity.

What to do? Should we try to sit down and have a nice talk with them about what kind of country America is suppose to be and how we all need to do our part? How about some new slap-on-the-wrist tax code regulations which create the illusion that we're requiring them to contribute to rebuilding a strong and just America? How about some new laws which guarantee equal opportunities for everyone, protections of the vulnerable against the predations of the powerful?

Naw! Waste of time. We've tried that. Doesn't work.

How about if we drop them off in some jungle where they can fight for survival with their own kind __ other undomesticable beasts with no conscience, no morals, no noble values, nothing driving them but kill or be killed?

Ah yes . . . the law of the jungle . . . or the free market system as it's sometimes called.

The problem is we're the ones in the jungle. They're in their plush mansions, exclusive club houses, gated communities, yachts and resort spas. We're the ones, who ill-equipped and at enormous disadvantage, are forced to try to survive undomesticable beasts with no conscience, no morals, no noble values, nothing driving them but kill or be killed.

THEM!

There's only one way to defeat a bully.

Isolation.

Ignore, avoid, shun, ostracize, exile, quarantine the thug.

Starve the beast!

There's no secret to any of this. It's no mystery.

We actually know what we have to do to stop the rampage on America. We know exactly who is behind the systematic destruction. We know that even though they like to portray themselves as all cuddly and concerned about the rest of us, they can't be trusted. We know they are insatiable and will attack and devour everything and everyone they can get their claws on. We know that there's been a class war going on in this nation and the rich bullies, who now own our government and the vast majority of America's wealth, will not slow down until every last shred and morsel of our once great country has been carted off.

Some people say, "Live and let live." Or, "Turn the other cheek." Noble sentiments which have a lovely ring to them, for sure.

I prefer, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Coming from a family of pretty decent people who taught me that I am my brother's keeper, I'm more than happy to share the wealth with everyone. There's plenty to go around. Plenty!!

For those rich elite who feel no responsibility for their fellow citizens, who regard hunger, poverty, educational opportunity, a livable wage, justice, peace, fairness in the work place and the voting booth, equality, good affordable health care for everyone, personal privacy and freedom, as someone else's problems, for those bullies who use America's resources, its government, its people, its military, its institutions, only for their own enrichment and aggrandizement, I used to feel pity.

Now I only feel contempt and loathing.

It's just not America to be so selfish.

It's not America to be so insatiably greedy.

It's not America to game the system.

It's not America to buy the politicians, bully the public.

At least it's not the America I grew up believing in.

It's not the America you and I know is possible.

We didn't start this class war. These folks are extremely dangerous.

We can't just let them wander around the house.

Bullies can't be domesticated.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Guillotine or Exile?

 

You've got to hand it to the French. When they needed change they could believe in, they didn't fool around.

But I'm not a violent guy. Except when some illiterate blockhead spitefully gives one of my novels a one-star rating __ because he's sinfully ugly or his brain hasn't fully developed __ I prefer the path of peace, love and self-restraint. You know, Buddha, Gandhi, MLK . . . there must be others.

More to the point, these are enlightened times we live in. We've learned that killing __ especially chopping off heads __ is just way too messy. We certainly don't want blood splattering on our silk Gucci dress shirt or entrails slopping all over our Salvatore Ferragamo suede Parigis. So armed with the most sterile and tidy technology, now we hire Xbox wizards to do our killing for us on video screens. Point. Click. ZAP! Bye-bye.

So axe the guillotine for now. Or at least put it in storage __ we might need it later.

I have a better idea for the rich assholes that have stolen democracy and are strip-mining our nation for every last dollar they can squeeze out of it and each of us.

I say that when we get some REAL congressman in office __ more on that in an upcoming blog or go here for a preview __ we pass a simple, straightforward piece of legislation.

This new law will require everyone to give a complete accounting of their personal assets, then to move to the country where most of their wealth sits.

Everyone knows that the ultra rich are parking their money in places like the Hong Kong, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, and a mere 55 minute flight from Miami in the Bahamas. There's hardly a lack of choice. So many ways to screw the IRS, so little time.


But with my new law, the government will cancel their passports __ as they did with Edward Snowden this past June __ and put them on a plane. We can be nice about it, give them a choice. Do they want to live in the Cayman Islands which is the renowned international headquarters for thousands of shell corporations, or maybe Luxembourg where they have the safety deposit box with all of their stock certificates and blood diamonds, or Nauru where they have the numbered bank account with a running balance in eight figures? Nauru has very beautiful beaches. It's not like we're sending them to Bangladesh or Swaziland.

To give this new law some teeth, the displaced billionaires will not be allowed to re-enter the United States until they ship their money back here and pay their fair taxes on it.

Sound harsh? Not really.

We always hear cries of outrage about immigrants coming to this country to welch off the rest of us, suckle off the teat of the public dole, without having contributed their fair share to the big piggy bank where the U.S. Treasury tucks away our tax dollars.

Well, what about the creeps that are already here who aren't paying their fair share? Who have their money stashed away in banks around the globe to avoid giving something back to the nation that made them disgustingly rich?  Just by having a P.O. box in Georgetown, Grand Cayman or a cardboard sign hanging somewhere in Liechtenstein, they're avoiding paying the price of admission right here where they have all of the advantages of living in the richest nation in the world.

And let's be realistic. These guys are not getting a few dollars in food stamps or using the free local clinic to get some measles shots. They are using every possible advantage right here in America to leverage their already incomprehensible wealth into even greater piles incomprehensible wealth __ our banks, legal system, copyright and trademark protection, all sorts of regulatory advantages and slick financial mechanisms which cater to their every need and rewards their pathological level of greed. They're getting handouts in the form of corporate welfare, bailouts from the Treasury so they can add more zeros to their salaries and bonuses, and zero interest loans from the Federal Reserve so they can blow up ghastly financial bubbles with more frightening potential for catastrophe than they did when they crashed the world economy in 2008. Talk about leeches! It's more nauseating than a double down sandwich from KFC.

If that weren't bad enough, their damn chauffeurs double park their limousines on our busy streets causing annoying traffic jams.

I say we apply the merchants rule: You break it, you pay for it. And if you refuse to pay for it, what happens? We call the police and the boys with badges haul you away.

The rich have broken our democracy, they've broken our economy at least once in 2008, and they're setting up to break it again. But they refuse to pay for it.

Time to call the police and haul them away.

As I said, we'll be civilized about this. We'll let them take all their antiques, jewelry, fine art. We'll give them a Certificate of Appreciation for their mansions and vacation homes, which will be turned into homeless shelters, alternative schools, hospices to provide care for people who are lacking proper health care, centers for peace studies.

We'll even give them a reasonable amount of time to pack __ say 20 minutes.

Or if they prefer, we can haul that guillotine out of the basement.

Their choice.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

 

No . . . THEY DON’T!

 

I'm finally cured __ I hope.

I used to ask questions like . . .

"Don't the rich care that there are many unfortunate people in America who will go to bed hungry?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want world peace __ a permanent end to war?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want everyone to share in the vast wealth of America?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want true democracy in our country?"

Well . . .

The answer in most cases is:  THEY DON'T!

Who are the 'they'?

You know who they are. They know who they are.

They're not ashamed at all. In fact they're quite proud of their elitist status. It's their imperial entitlement. They're rich. They can afford to not give a shit.

Take the first question. Quite simply, there are many people in our midst __ to whatever degree they mix with us pathetic peasants __ who can just shrug when they see a starving child. Especially if the kid isn't white.

Or they look the other way. "The view of the marina is so lovely from the club house, don't you think, honey?"

How about war? Give me a break! They love war! They make tons of money on war. Best of all, they don't have to fight them. They just wave the flag, conjure up some cartoon version of an imminent threat to our country, our women, our freedom __ whatever __ then send the rest of us, especially if we're not white, off to fight and die to protect their investment portfolios.

How about sharing the wealth? Are you crazy? It's a lot of hard work piling up daddy's money in nice pretty stacks. Why share it? Besides, we all know what would happen. Your typical slob would waste it on beer, lottery tickets, a leather bumper bra for his Ford F-150 Series pickup, the latest X-box, and a new flat panel TV to watch porn.

What about democracy? This nation was founded on . . . right right. Yes, we are a symbol throughout the world of government of the people, by the people, for the people. The rich know a good thing when they see it. Image is everything. So they want to keep the illusion of democracy in America, where everyone gets a darn good feeling every couple years from thinking that by voting they are deciding the direction of the country and shaping a future for their children. But giving people a real say in government? No way! If the majority of citizens could actually make a difference, it would be complete anarchy! Why everyone would have plenty of food, clean air and water, educational opportunities, the best health care, good solid jobs. The U.S. would be at peace and provide leadership in the world to address the challenges of poverty, disease, climate change, wealth inequity, illiteracy, women's rights, proper nutrition, population control. What a nightmare!

Aah yes! It's a relief knowing where things stand. Knowing that it's a complete waste of time to try to discuss the values which we as Americans all supposedly share, but in point of fact do not. Most of us do. But the ones who have ruthlessly destroyed our democracy and now firmly clutch the reins of control over every aspect of our society, do not!

Here's what I've concluded we each must do, and the advice I now give myself every day. It's kind of a new form of meditation. The idea is to get me to wake up, pay attention, stop dreaming like some silly clueless idiot. My newest spiritual mantras . . .

KNOW THE ENEMY
CUT THEM NO SLACK
DON'T TURN YOUR BACK
DON'T FORGET WHO THEY ARE
DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT FORGIVING THEM!

Try it! Say these every day. Repeat as needed for it to really sink in.

There are frankly some very very ugly people in the world. We here in America have more than our share. They're selfish, smug, disdainful, self-absorbed assholes __ sociopaths who don't care about any of the things most people reading this blog care about.

They do have their own set of priorities.

They love war. They love absolute power over others. They want all of the material wealth they can get their hands on. They love getting their way because they really truly know in their imperious hearts they deserve it. They know they're right about everything and it's their right to ignore the filthy masses. But . . .

They don't care about starving children much less starving adults.

They don't care about human suffering unless it's theirs.

They don't care about murdering innocent people.

They don't care about equality and justice.

They don't care about democracy.

They don't care about you.

They don't care about me.

Hate to break it to you.

They just don't care.

[ I'm sorry if my views offend any of the wussy liberals out there. But as Chris Hedges has eloquently pointed out in his amazing book "Death of the Liberal Class", by ignoring treachery you become its ally. ]


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]