Politics - a Dirty Game That is Getting Dirtier.
I was thinking back today, to the first time I really took an interest in politics. I was sixteen, watching the Bush and Gore debates on television. A chill went through me when Bush started talking about how he wanted to "Rebuild the military to make peace." Because, young and naive though I was, I did a lot of reading, and knew a lot of history - and no one, to my knowledge, had ever actually rebuilt a military to make "peace".
Time went by, I decided I was a fanatic democrat like my Father - then later, a proud liberal. Now here we are, having survived the Bush years and lived through most of the Obama years - and the small repairs he has been able to make to the overwhelming catastrophe of destruction that was the Bush regime. Yet for all of that, now he, the man who gave us hope for change, is pushing like mad to promote (and pass) a trade deal that almost every single person who knows anything about tells us is a very, very bad idea for American workers. For American jobs. For American wages. For American companies.
Somehow there is this notion that we must compete with the world, remain relevant in this modern age, improve the lot of others while we allow our own freedoms, luxuries, protections and so on to be weakened. I just wonder... would not rebuilding our failing infrastructure (and hiring millions of Americans to do so) be a good start? Would it not be a good start to provide a good path to citizenship for "illegal immigrants" who came to this Country as infants or toddlers? Would it not, just possibly, be a good idea do something about our terrible (and getting worse) public transportation system through much of this great Nation?
How about building some more factories, or mills, or investing in clean technology and energy to put more of people back to work. Programs to train them to enable them to do the work. Why are we not leading the world in reducing our carbon footprint? Why are we not leading the world reducing the effects of climate change? Why, oh why, are we not leading in the world in ridding ourselves of nuclear weapons?
We've become huge producers of Natural gas now (woohoo! Just don't stand too close to the stuff - and ignore those enviro-whackos talking about methane leakage, it's good for you, because it's money and jobs and pink fluffy bunnies). We remain involved in a war over-seas (at least one that we know of), we have a congress that probably couldn't come to an agreement on what color underwear to wear in the morning. We have a senate that is nearly as bad - and nearly all of them get their marching orders from people even richer, even more greedy, even less capable than themselves.
Super PACs, Monanto, Walmart, Nike, GE, what have you - buying their politicians at top dollar, especially since the Supreme Court told them they could (so there!).
Meanwhile... Americans are working harder than ever before. Two or three jobs just to get by, just to pay the rent and put food on the table. Student loans that are crippling our workforce (case in point, my sister pays 138 a month right now, 100 of it pays just the interest), working conditions that are becoming poorer, despite productivity having gone up. A social safety net that now the Democrats eagerly assist the Republicans in ripping apart, piece by piece.
Fewer people can go to school. Fewer people can afford to survive. Fewer people have any hope of enjoying their lives when they are forced into working two or three demoralizng, shitty jobs for shitty corporations, just to make ends meat (and often even then, they fail).
We need a heavy revival of our welfare system. We need a greatly improved social safety net. We need millions more decent jobs - and we need all of this like... last year, ten years ago.
Sadly, even if we do get a President like Sanders, I see the road ahead as being filled with obstructionists. With rich idiots bickering because their rich idiot masters don't like this plan or that one. I see the oligarchy as a monstrous, tangled web that has become almost unfathomable.
Still... I believe that our time is coming. I believe the American people are (perhaps, I hope and pray) within my lifetime, going to demand back what has been stolen from us, going to demand back a chance at the sort of lives we all deserve. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. A Nation that - when we make it (and damn it all, we WILL make it) will provide for the poorest of people as well as the rich. A nation that will see that every human being, that every life has value. A nation that realizes that it's greatest asset is NOT money, not the 1%, politicians, corporations, or Athletes... but it's damned WORKERS - and future workers.
Enough is enough. We need to take our Country back from the rich fucks that are trying to kill it.
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