NO POLITICAL HOME FOR ME
Regardless of all the name-calling and charges about my political affiliation, I am not a member of any political party or movement. I am very frightened, however, of the direction this nation and this culture is going. Evidence of our greed, selfishness, parochial thinking, bigotry, lack of knowledge, outright ignorance, militarism, and blind goose-stepping cannot be ignored. We are headed in a very dangerous and self-destructive direction. Even well educated people can exhibit ignorance, greed and selfishness [evidence the greedy bankers and Wall Street schemers that caused the current economic debacle]. I refuse to goose-step to this sinister greed and bigotry.
You don't like what a labor union is doing, therefore all labor unions are bad. Ignore all the good they have done through the years, and simply throw them into your hate bin. No knowledge required.
You learn about an illegal immigrant breaking the law, and you conclude that all illegal immigrants are violent and dangerous. No knowledge required.
You blindly take in the propaganda of big business and the greedy wealthy, and all regulations on business are bad, all corporate taxes are bad, wealth = correctness, and our capitalistic society should simply stand back and allow corporate decision-mak ing to be the law of the land. No thinking required.
We identify with America's long history of slavery, bigotry, Jim Crow, Japanese concentration camps out west, our stealing land from Mexico, denying women's rights, treating blacks as second-class citizens, labeling all Moslems and Arabs as terrorists, and are suspicious of "the other." We twist this to somehow become the new "American dream." No insight or tolerance required.
We follow the corporate and wealthy "leaders" and decide that we are "going to take our nation back." Back to what? Slavery? No women's rights? Persecution of American Indians? Back to what? Don't bother yourself with those questions, just go along with the nice-sounding "take back our country."
We forget about America's long-standing child abuse in the workplace and slave labor in this country. And we overlook how much labor unions have done to get rid of that hideous chapter in the workplace in the U.S. Just get into lock-step against labor unions. No thinking or remembering required.
Big business, corporations, and their political lackeys are correct about creationism, abortion, climate change, gays, etc. Never get your conscience or brain engaged. Ignore what over 95% of scentists state. Let Halliburton and the Tea Party tell you what is right. No thinking required. Follow orders!
Let Dick Cheney and the "real Americans" determine if it is OK to use torture. We are always right, and when other nations use it on our people, it is always wrong. How's that for an intelligent conclusion?
Once a creative and work-hard nation of entrepreneurs, we now have a group of big businesses that are too uncreative and unwilling to do what it takes to compete. While Germany and other successful capitalistic nations have stricter regulations and higher corporate taxes, our companies want special favors, lower taxes, and the easy way to make money. They want guarantees without taking any risk. They criticize the government, but they want the government to take good care of them. Our auto industry required President Obama and the average citizen taxpayers to give them a hand-out so they could overcome their own ineptitude. How's that for lazy wealth?
While I am dismayed and disappointed at both major political parties, the Republicans have really moved to extreme ignorance. Our waiting, needy nation is waiting for them to act. Lower taxes for the wealthy is obviously not the answer, but it will get you money on that platform. And to get elected, one needs money...like big business, laziness is the modus operendi. And the danger of the GOP is far greater because it is inviting a fascist-like state of affairs that is killing the middle class and making the poor suffer more. If you do not like big government, stay away from the Republican Party. They are led by sinister people similar to Dick Cheney and Karl Rove who want to snoop on everything you do, and force themselves into your private life. They want to establish a nation of scheming corporations and extreme right-wing individuals who see politics like a religion, and they are the believers who are headstrong about bringing about a capitalistic nirvana...for the few. No thinking required or wanted. Just follow orders from "patriots." Religious mumbo jumbo and greedy hocus pocus rule the right-wing.
We need a major third political party. A left-center coalition that will listen to the right-center. Because of the cost of political elections, a new third party, made up of the huge middle ground of people who are sick of current politics and extremism, and thus can "get 'er done" in raising money. It can be done. Obama did it in 2008, but he lost his way. Neither one of the current parties is listening to you. Laziness and selfishness rule the day. Hard-working Americans who are sick and tired of the silly, petty, dangerous political climate today, must act to create their own party. Altruism is still alive. We must fix our social, economic, and political problems that are growing and muliplying. We are losing our middle class, and the neediest in our nation are hurting most. It is time to wake up, roll up our sleeves, businesses and corporations have to stop their whining and asking always for favors, and tell the extremists and selfish to get out of the way. We need a strong leader, a catalyst who can spark this movement. He or she will probably come from one of the two current parties, and will have a soul [and not a greedy one]. America is ready. America needs you.
