A house burns down. A person dies of a treatable disease. A family becomes homeless.

[Duer 157099]

All because they lack sufficient money.

The question is: what sort of society allows--or worse, cheerleads--this?

What must we do to turn the tide away from the disaster that is looming? Or do we let it all burn down?

[MineralMan]

1. There you go. You have it exactly right.

[TexasObserver]

2. agreed

[Canuckistanian]

3. Thank you.

At least YOU get it.

[ananda]

4. There is no rational explanation.

nt

[emilyg]

5. k

[the redcoat]

6. All examples of how

the true purpose of privatization of social services and human rights-ensuring services is fundamentally different from the purpose of the services it is concerned with.

[Initech]

7. We live in bizarro world.

There was a thread just a minute ago where one DUer had a relative who makes $200K, pays no taxes, and is complaining about freeloaders. People like that just seriously fucking piss me off. WTF is wrong with our society? :wtf:

[Spazito]

8. Your OP encapsulates it well....

Recommended.

[JuniperLea]

9. Thank you

It's good to see SOME DUers get this.

[Duer 157099]

10. So where is the comparable outrage for those other 2 situations?

That's part of what is so disturbing to me today, that so many of us can clearly recognize the horror and injustice of allowing the man's house to burn, and yet we are complacent about the other situations (health care, homelessness) that are SO MUCH MORE PREVALENT in our society!!

Are we just numb? What is the dynamic that is makes one case SO CLEAR but the others have become--WHAT? What have they become? Acceptable? Invisable? The cost-of-doing-business? What is it?

[Fumesucker]

14. Exactly...

We are *used* to the other two situations so our outrage is muted at best if not entirely missing.

[bobbolink]

16. Thank you, THANK YOU! You have made my day.

There are answers to your questions in the book "Empathy Gap", which I have begged DUers to do a group study on, to no avail.

So, I have to conclude that people really don't want to know the answers, nor do they want to make any CHANGE.

CHANGE. Remember that word?

It only applied to *some*.

[live love laugh]

18. I think the fact that we all live in a house resonates. People can relate.

Not everybody is or knows anyone who is ill or dying.

[Duer 157099]

24. Not to nitpick but... we don't "all" live in a house

There are DU members who are homeless.

[Jamastiene]

20. Jaded

The point where the outrage no longer wells up because we are just so accustomed to it.

We are jaded on the other injustices because they have just been around long enough to be facts of life. We don't remember a time when it was any other way, when it comes to those other injustices.

The fire thing is sort of new to us, that they would let it burn and refuse to help.

We are jaded. I think that explains quite a bit of it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. They are connected

deeply connected.

Add foreign financing of elections

School privatization.

See a pattern?

Sadly they are winning... and before our vision becomes dominant again I fear things have to get MUCH WORST... we are far from hitting bottom.

[fishwax]

37. +1

[ThomCat]

11. Once upon a time, Our Party championed the solutions

to all of these problems.

We championed paying for firefighting for everyone out of taxes, so that nobody was left out.

We at least talked about everyone having a right to health care. Some of us still do. We even implemented emergency rooms that couldn't turn people away as a first step in that direction, but it was only supposed to be a first baby step! There were supposed to be many more steps afterward.

We championed programs to try to raise people out of poverty, and build a safety net for people still in poverty. We tried to fend off the republicans who kept trying to tear holes in that safety net.

But then Clinton (damn him for this!) tore that safety net down, and our party let him, to triangulate to the right and align with corporate donors to get all of that plentiful corporate money as well as any republican could! :(

Money from the unions and from the public wasn't enough anymore. Republicans were out-fundraising and outspending democrats. Money was more important than ideals. So Clinton sacrificed everything the party historically stood for, and betrayed all of us in order to get that corporate money and prove that the party could be loyal to corporate masters.

Ever since then, the party has been working hard to prove over and over and over again to corporate masters that their money is more important than what the people want, and what the base thinks. That is Clinton's biggest legacy within the party. He convinced the party to throw all of us under the bus, and run us over repeatedly.

That was the end. Our party stopped standing up for people in need. Caring became something our party only PRETENDS to do, instead of something our party really does. Corporate money, and the wishes of corporate lobbyists have became more important that what real people really need. :(

[Duer 157099]

12. You are correct, of course

What do we do to bring that back? Surely it can't be impossible?

[bobbolink]

17. Dear Thom, I wish you could run the party! You have so much knowledge, and political savvy.

:loveya: :hug:

[riderinthestorm]

13. Exactly! Remember the Rural Electrification project?

We use to care about others, we used to know that if we lifted all boats even in sparsely populated rural areas - that we all benefited.

What happened to the attitude that we all mattered? That health care, food, basic services (like electricity), shelter... all of those were part of who we were as a nation?

I wish I could recommend your OP a million times.

[bobbolink]

15. You have hit the target square on! Only ONE thing you have left out.. WE are society.

This is what WE are allowing... yes, WE have been complicit.

thank you. :applause:

[Jamastiene]

19. I'm not sure what we can do, but

I sure wish people would not cheerlead tragedies. That is cold-hearted to the max. It's sickening.

K&R

[Dreamer Tatum]

21. A homeowner can't scrape $75 together for a YEAR of fire protection?

Sorry, but bullSHIT on that.

[COLGATE4]

26. I don't think it's because he couldn't - it's because he didn't want to.

[Dreamer Tatum]

33. Exactly my point, thanks nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. Let's see...If I were Queen, I'd

legislate Corporate pay to no more than 40 times that of the lowest paid worker, and raise the minimum wage commensurate with the change. (Annnnd rules enacted to close loopholes)

THEN,

Universal Health Care (and Dental!)

Bring back the Fairness Doctrine, and change whatever needs to be changed so that Cable networks are included.

Fix Education (ha, I don't know how, but I'd get progressive experts to help me on that. AND, require Critical Thinking repeatedly in all grades, from 3-12)

Reform political Campaign financing--require publicly broadcast fact sheets on the candidates qualifications.

Just a few over simplified steps off the top of my head.

Hmmm, and how about require a Civics Curricula broadcast regularly on National News--including a segment entitled "Conservative Idiots".

:)

[Hannah Bell]

23. Obion County HAS SUFFICIENT MONEY. It has a higher median income & a bigger tax base than the

cities it's leeching off for fire service.

This is a case of a larger, richer body trying to free-ride on smaller, poorer bodies.

it's not a case of a richer body refusing to take care of its own poor citizens.

[COLGATE4]

25. There is absolutely no indication whatsoever that the man';s

house burned down because he 'had no money'. Rather, in contradictory statements he first said he forgot to pay it, followed later by "I thought they'd put it out anyway", etc. etc. He had not paid in the past. Let's be clear what the issue is here.

[Duer 157099]

29. Ugh. I was painting a bigger picture.

Some people actually do NOT have money for the things I mentioned, which was the point of my post.

Ugh.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. I fear things will have to get much worst

before those with a competing vision, are banished for a few generations AGAIN.

[Mimosa]

28. Cranick did NOT LACK THE MONEY.

So that is not the case.

[Duer 157099]

31. But can you admit that somebody else might not?

I didn't specifically mention the man by name, it was not about him.

It was about the situation generalized. Surely it applies to some people, specificially, even if not mentioned by name? That's who I'm talking about, if I *must* be talking about someone.

[hayu_lol]

35. DUer...that $75/week breaks down into...

$1/44 weekly. Anyone, even poor homeowners can pick up enough beer cans to make that amount. This individual said no...repeatedly.

Tax base for essential services: library, fire, police, sheriffs, hospital, and all the rest of the infrastructure including schools, rest homes, community centers...the list is endless.

Single-payer National Health Plan covering all expenses for everyone.

Thats why we pool our resources, to take care of all of us.

[Mimosa]

36. Yes, but we've been talking about 1 case in particular. n/t

[seabeyond]

32. they could not afford 75? didnt know that. we are cheerleading?

again, havent seen that.

[Arugula Latte]

34. I think all these are symptoms of corporate control of government.

The only answer seems to be campaign finance reform. And good luck to us for getting that. The jailers have the keys and aren't giving them back to us without a bloody fight.

[Chulanowa]

38. But according to the "Progressives" on DU, some people just plain deserve it

And who are we to question?