I'm feeling a bit political today, even after enjoying the afternoon with the kids at Churchill Downs. I am still exasperated by our need to paint ourselves as Democrats and Republicans. I'm still confused on how we have sat through the past 12 years and not figured out something very bad is happening.
We are just months away from an election that I am certain will be called the "most important" of our generation, even though the last five have been called that also. The politicians and media want to frame this as some sort of culture war and it is, but it's not liberals versus conservatives. It's the powers that be (federal government, multi-national corporations, mainstream media) against our freedom and civil liberties. Now, I can sit here and say we must wake up, but it's really almost too late for that. The voting booth no longer holds power. The days of your vote meaning anything are over and you let it happen.
Democrats and Republicans are essentially the same when it comes to the situations that truly have an effect on the life of an average American citizen. I'm talking about your production as a worker, your ability to get health care that is adequate and affordable (and not some fucking luxury), your safety, and your ability to treat your life as your own. They differ on the bullshit. The bullshit that is important, but is more divided into groups. The social issues like gay marriage, gun ownership, abortion, drugs, and such are important to be sure, but those are the issues that they want us to fight about as a distraction. It makes us feel like we are part of the team. In reality, we are all fighting for the same team. The Democrats and Republicans are the same thing. They are political parties that thrive on power. They understand the need for each other and that's OK with them, so long as no third or fourth parties try to get involved. Power is just an election cycle away and they want to make sure that your choice is limited.
All that said, here is a big problem for us; we do not support each other as citizens. Why do I support entities such as The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street? Because they are a mass of citizens that are standing up to what they see as injustice and the robbing of the middle and lower classes, or an erosion of our constitutional rights. Not that I agree with either of those two movements across the board. In some cases I agree a lot. In other cases, not at all. I do understand what they are doing though. I do understand they are motivated by a want to make things better and to shine a light on where things have gone wrong. But, you know what almost always happens? These groups are instantly portrayed by the media as either a Republican or Democrat movement, and then they are overran with entities from those parties, robbing them of true power and influence. This frames the debate about them. It eliminates a Republican from looking at OWS as a movement that they may find some commonality with. It eliminates a Democrat from looking at the Tea Party as a movement where they may find topics that they agree with. It's all or nothing. The media is in cahoots with corporate America, and our federal government, to suppress power from going back to the people. There can be no groundswell of support for what is going wrong, because anyone or anything who wants to change the system or bring awareness is pushed into a political side and immediately, 50% of the populous is against it. Just because of a label. The label of liberal or conservative or Republican or Democrat. Think of it in the terms of a sports rivalry. Both teams in a rivalry play the same sport. They have the same amount of players on their roster. They have similarities all up and down the line, except they have on different colors. THAT is where the dislike and even hatred comes from. Sure, there could be other small circumstances, but overall, over a long period of time, it simply comes down to the name on the shirt and nothing else. It's not logical to do when it's concerning something so important as the future of our nation.
Folks, we have been duped. We are past the tipping point. We have been led to be opponents who fight tooth and nail against one another, even as the sides we support are basically in bed together. We are the fools. Let me explain;
If you are an American who believes you have the right to own a gun, why would you not support the rights of a gay couple to marry? You don't have to approve. You don't have to condone it. You don't have to participate. It won't affect you in any way, but we still have to take sides, don't we? We want the rights that we want and piss on someone who doesn't hold the same values as we do. I think gun ownership is an important part of being an American if you so choose to have one. Where is the incentive for a gay man in California to stand up for a man in Arkansas who wants to make sure he has the right to a firearm? And vice versa. What business is it of yours (or the governments) if your neighbor smokes marijuana? Even if you don't. What business is it of your neighbors if you want to have a couple of drinks when you get home from work? If we don't start seeing rights as the rights of EVERYONE, whether we choose to exercise those rights or not, then any persons rights are apt to be taken away. If we don't care about civil rights, human rights, and Constitutional rights as a whole, then we truly weaken those rights. If one persons rights can be taken because of political trickery and lies, then ANYONE can have their rights taken by the same measure. If you don't believe that, you are not thinking.
Please understand that is is the United States. We don't (or shouldn't) favor anyone's rights to be greater than the next persons. We can worship how we like. Or not worship at all. We can own a firearm. Or not. We can marry. (well some of us) Or not. We should seek out more freedom, not less. We have gone past the tipping point and revolution is the only way that things will change on a grand scale. And if we seriously want to stop the politicians, multi-national corporations, and the media from treating us like pets and giving and taking as they see fit, we have to start standing up for one another. We are being divided and conquered by our need to fit in. Stop it. We are Americans first. Stop letting them decide what you support and don't support. Stop letting them decide what you will do in the privacy of your own home. Stop letting them decide how America should be. It's our country. We were founded on the populous controlling the government, not the other way around. Stop hating the opposition.....the opposition is YOU!
Here is an article that I urge you to read about how spy drones are collecting information or will be collecting information on American citizens. Oh, "I have nothing to hide" you may say, but does that mean you are OK with your civil liberties being violated? What about when something you do think you have a right to gets taken away? Will it matter then?
And this is a short TED Talk on how the American middle-class are the real job creators, not the wealthy. It's important because we have been fed the supply side theory for so long that we accept it as truth, instead of examining whether it is sustainable and healthy for the middle and lower classes.
