ORDINARY AMERICANS

[Orwellian_Ghost]

My impression is that ordinary Americans are so far ahead of their politicians, so far ahead of their media, and so far ahead of all those who claim to be their betters and bestow on them stereotypes, that are almost contemptuous.

Indeed you can go back to Madison, when he described he American public as at best meddlesome. I think if you look the credible polls, say those done by the Pew organization, then you will see the majority of the people of Americana are very dangerously subversive. I would say they may even be left-wing. This is a very worrying situation, of course. But the majority of them want the decency as you suggested, they want universal health care system. Now I am talking about two-thirds. I think the figure I saw was 70, 74%.

They want their country out of the colonial wars that they are fighting. The various wars, Afghanistan and Iraq. They want the government to take responsibility for those who cannot care for themselves. They want the “banks and the banksters”, as Franklin Roosevelt called them, brought to account. They have decent – I hesitate to call them radical views. They’re not radical, they are just the views of decency, but they are views at huge odds with their government, be it a Bush government or an Obama government, and their views are at odds with the media that claim to represent them, to be their agents as it were.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/6/filmmaker_journalist_john_pilger_on_honduras">JOHN PILGER

[TxVietVet]

1. I agree with your statement.

The media and our elected officials try to rule by some polls without really knowing what's going on in Joe Citizen's world. His life, his work or his home. What are his concerns.

The greedy get richer and the workers are losing their jobs and are tiring of a government that doesn't listen to them. I've noticed as I've gotten older that most people who want your money don't listen to you anyway. Of course, being a Vietnam vet, I usually expect to be ignored. So, it's nothing new. :toast:

[Suich]

2. And I agree with your statement, TxVietVet!

Whenever a phone or internet poll asks what year I was born, I get a "thank you for your time" response!

Thanks for your service!

:toast:

[Mari333]

3. knr

[bertman]

4. Recommend highly. Do not fail to write, call, or email your Rep, Senators, and President.

They need to know how you feel and what you want.

The enemies of the peoples' democracy sure as hell let them know how they feel and what they want.

Excellent Ghost-post.

[drmeow]

9. Too often they don't listen

Especially entrenched incumbents.

Mine especially don't listen - Kyl and McCain!

[bertman]

12. That's when it's INCUMBENT upon you to do your best to unseat the bahstids.

Does your Rep listen?

Kinda reminds me of that old line from Pink Floyd: "Is there anybody out there?"

[TBF]

5. K&R n/t

[R. P. McMurphy]

6. K & R n/t

[maryf]

7. K&R

For the people...

[Greyhound]

8. And yet they remain firmly glued on their sofas, eyes fixed to the TeeVee screen and do nothing. n/t

[MellowDem]

10. Calling them colonial wars

won't make them so. False labeling does nothing for your cause.

[scarletwoman]

11. So, what do you call them? What are we there for, if not to attempt to control the fates of

those countries?

[MellowDem]

13. Well, we're doing a poor job of it then

by allowing the local populace any control at all and having their own government. And where is the mass importation of American settlers and the expulsion of all natives? It's definitely an occupation, but I don't see much permanance here.

We're doing what we can to steer the fates of these countries in directions that we consider positive to us, but we do that with every country. We don't have much control really, as we've seen, in the process, and will have less and less control in Iraq here soon and Afghanistan probably not long after (in relative terms).

[anonymous171]

14. EXACTLY. We aren't the radical ones. Our politicians are.

[Senator]

15. K&R

[leftstreet]

16. K&R

[maryf]

17. kick,nt

[HOLOS]

18. YES!