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As yet another yuletide descends upon us, I am left with a very empty feeling. Perhaps my melancholy has been fueled by the results of the last election, whereby the hated Republicans swept back into de facto control of Washington, after I and many others had dismissed them as mere relics to be finally discarded after the elections of 2008.
I guess I was premature in my wish to see them go, for once and for all.
But as I take stock in all that I see around me now, I am smote with the realization that a huge number of people actually believe in the Republican way of life. They actually DO believe that Sarah Palin would be a good candidate for President. Or that nobody has the right to ever expect a helping hand from anyone. Or that the President is a socialist whose agenda is just a little too far out with his wish to see as many as possible be covered by health insurance.
As it stands at this writing, a good portion of our unemployed will soon be receiving no more unemployment, trapped as they are in the worst economic crisis this country has seen in more than 70 years. Yet no one seems to care. Instead, everyone has taken the "I don't care so long as it's not happening to me" line. What has happened to us as a people?
Thirty five years ago, a Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann would have been regarded as an extremist, far out of the mainstream. Today, one is contemplating a run for the Presidency while the other spouts off one crazy conspiracy theory after another, and yet both are taken seriously.
Whatever became of concern for the poor or the downtrodden? Has human kindness or sensibility been replaced by the "I've got mine, now you go get yours and don't bother me about it" mode of thinking?
Whatever became of the "Americans always fight fair" motif? How did it become replaced by "torture is ok if it's against the other guy" idea?
Have we become a nation so obsessed with winning that we will do whatever it takes just to succeed, no matter how sordid or unseemly our actions may be?
What has happened to our country? Have we abandoned ALL which once made us great, or is this just a simple anamoly that will soon pass?
We stand poised to give tax breaks to billionaires who don't need them, even as we are shutting off millions from the very sustenance they need to exist.
The America I see before me today is not the one I grew up in. This is not a place where I want to stay, where stock dividends for stockholders take precedence over the needs of the workers who produced the wealth to begin with. This is a nightmare!
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11 comments:
The half term governor is a “Dan Quayle” in heels. Since we already had an idiot “W” that caused our current economic debacle, America knows not to trust in fools who think they are brilliant. One of the reason for “W” failure was his drinking, Palin just has bad genes.
Montana,
Thanks for your comment. I sincerely hope you are right that we know not to trust in fools, but I am not so sure. I mean, how do we account for the fact that Boehner is set to become Speaker of the House? That Bachmann is set to begin her third term in office? It's gettin' kinda scary out there...
Hello Jack,
Here is the latest news update from the Mid-Atlantic "Delmarva Peninsula." This is just toooooo rich!!!
We now have yet one more example on how Corporate America is taking another marketing opportunity to fleece the hard earned money from the uneducated, easily mislead, ultra political conservatives, in this country.
Christine O'Donnell lost an election, but gained a book deal where publication is scheduled for August 2011!?!?!?!
The Delaware Republican and Tea Party favorite, who was overwhelmingly defeated in last month's voting for the U.S. Senate, will offer her take on the campaign and her "frustrations" with the political process, St. Martin's Press announced Thursday.
Backed by Sarah Palin, O'Donnell was a surprise winner in the GOP primary, but was widely ridiculed for her lack of experience and for past comments, including statements about her youthful interest in witchcraft and her opposition to masturbation as just a few examples.
I recently have been reading the prose of Alexander Pope’s, “An Essay on Criticism.” This is what my latest blog posting subject.
Even though it was written over 300 years ago, 1709 to be exact, its applications are still current today. The poem covers a range of good criticism and advice and represents many of the chief literary ideals of Pope's age. The Age of Enlightment.
Pope has been quoted almost as much as Shakespeare and many have heard the quotes of, “To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine” or one of my favorite, “A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing, etc.”
To be correct, the accurate quote from this work is:
“A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.”
This last passage is where Conservative Radio or Fox’s Conservative Programming leads many astray. They pass on accurate statements but only up to a point so long as it supports their point of view. If you took the complete aspects of the subject the proof would be the inverse of their conclusions….of course this is never presented and this is the pitfall of how many are led astray by this slanted message media.
This is the lesson of Pope’s message of:
“There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.”
In the Ultra Conservative person’s viewpoint cases; “A little Learning is a dang’rous Thing.”
Thanks for the update, Engineer of Knowledge. Give credit to Christine O'Donnell, though: she, like Palin, is doing her very best to extend her 15 minutes of fame. Maybe she, Palin, Virginia Foxx and Michele Bachmann can start a conservative woman's book club and can rant and rave their insanities for all time!
Jack,
I share the melancholy.
The simple matter of a free press contributing to an informed electorate would lead to solutions for much of the issues weighing down on us.
With access to any media source other than the corporate media taking effort, the public will continue in "Uncurious George" mode and we will mostly continue to preach to the choir.
We can't compete with Skating with the Stars, Jack.
A lurker and fan here. I, too, am dismayed. More every day. Yesterday I was reading some letters sent to Michael Moore on his Web site. Normally, they were of the "go get 'em, Mike!" ilk, but this time they were written by people with no hope, people who have given up. There will be a "let them eat cake" moment, but it's taking way too long to get here. And when it comes, I fear it will be brother against brother rather than us against the people who put us here. It will be ugly. And unnecessary.
My husband is a scientist, a pragmatist all the way. But when he reads that Michael Moore or Chris Hedges has given up, he cries. He actually cries. I cry for him. I cry for us.
Oso,
Thanks for your comment. It really is too bad that the corporatist media exists as it does. Thank God for Link TV and the BBC!
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Anonymous,
Thank you for that beautiful comment. I share your and your husband's angst. The scenario you describe reminds me of a 1970s-era Sean Connery film that is one of my favorites. It is set several hundred years in the future, and it is called Zardoz. In it, we find a set of 3 separate and distinct classes. One are the elites of the day, who have found a way to make all mortals immortal. They naturally want to keep things just as they are. The next are called Renegades, who oppose the social order and want it destroyed. Since they cannot be done awqay with, they are instead aged for each offense they commit. So we see various forms of them in n various forms of near Alzheimer's. The third are called the Apathetics. They go about mindlessly completing their assigned tasks, a totally defeated sort of people. I fear we are becoming dummyed-down into a set of "apathetics."
Again, thank you for stopping by. You are always welcome here!
It's not the America I grew up in either, Jack. America has soured and our pH strip reads deep red. Acid.
Too bad that The People don't know who poisoned their well. You and I do, Jack, but The People are too scared, too uncertain to want to find out. They've hunkered down into survival mode and can't be bothered with all of that at this time.
mud_rake,
History has shown time and again that whenever we as a people go down a wrong path it always bites us in the ass. I suspect the same will hold true this time. I just hope the bite won't be too catastrophic or cost too many lives...
Have we become a nation so obsessed with winning that we will do whatever it takes just to succeed, no matter how sordid or unseemly our actions may be?
The short answer is yes. There are two justifications for such a frame of mind. One, that when you are the lone superpower might makes right and you never have to say "sorry." The other being that at some level you know your time at the top of the global mountain is ending and you want to grab as much as you can before leaving a sinking ship.
The former is for the Marching Morons to believe and is sold by the likes of Hannity and Beck. With Bread and Circuses, like Oso mentioned, for those who want mindless entertainment.
The latter is for the corporate types who are transfering power and money to places like China.
Thanks, Beach Bum. These are indeed strange times we are living through! HELLLLPPPP!!!
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