I have reserved commenting on the Occupy (enter city name here) for a long time, waiting and wondering where it would lead. When it first started, I was skeptical of just how it could possibly accomplish anything. There is no figurehead, no spokesperson, no firm message. Half the people who attend the Occupy protests are all protesting for whatever their personal agenda is. End the Fed. Universal Healthcare. Tax the Rich. End Corruption. And, not surprisingly, the overwhelming sense I had, and still have, is that not one person is getting any message at all. I read comment posts, listen to GOP candidates, and the actual protesters, and lose even more of my faith in my society. It is not that I think Americans are stupid- I think the vast majority of them are just guilty of self-induced blind ignorance. I pride myself on doing my utmost to get my information of the world from non-biased sources, but even I and others who actually want the truth are still sometimes guilty of the same. Humans want to be right. They want others to be wrong. I see this attitude reflected more in our people now than any time since the 60's and 70's during the Civil Rights Movement and the protesting of the Vietnam War. This civil unrest is my generation's Civil Rights Movement. And all of the potential that we have, everything we as a generation, and as a population can accomplish with our unified voice is being lost under the cacophony of hypocrites and morons.
Before I am accused of being too radical, this goes for both sides. However, it is the conservative right who are the most guilty of this self-imposed bubble of ignorance. I watch political figures spread total and utter falsehoods and epic levels of deliberate exaggerations with straight faces. And I have to wonder, do they really believe the things that are coming out of their mouths? Is Cain truly so out of touch with reality that he actually believes that if you aren't rich, it's because you're lazy and just don't want a job? Unemployment rates, the ones that are figured by actual claims, is hovering around 9%, and this is supposed to be an improvement. But- and here I am pointing the finger at both sides of the government aisle- this does not factor in those who have aged out, the so-called 99ers (the unemployment 99ers, not the income 99ers) or those who are wildly underemployed, or those who have simply given up looking for work. When all that is factored in, now we are looking at a number that is actually more like 24% (http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts). The approximate number of US citizens of working age (say 19 to 55) is 143 million. 24% of that is 34,220,000 people. Is this sinking into anyone? Cain is basically saying that we have over 34 million incredibly lazy assholes who just don't want to find a job. 34 million people who have only themselves to blame that they aren't rich like he is. That is what the conservative right wants the world to believe. That there isn't corruption, or a disproportionate amount of wealthy versus poor, just a staggering number of lazy bums.
What I don't think people understand is that this Occupy movement isn't-or shouldn't be- about blaming Wall Street in particular for the country's financial woes. There is more than enough blame to go around. I more than admit that blame gets spread to both Republicans and Democrats. Wall Street is focal point for the corruption that led us to this point, however, and this is why it started here. Our government destroyed itself because the banks and corporations allowed themselves to go bankrupt, covered it up, managed to get 800 million bucks from the little people, and gave themselves all big, fat bonuses. The US Chamber of Commerce is made up of corporations like J.P Morgan, Pfizer, Phillip Morris, and Chase Bank. They rank number one in lobbyist spending (second was GE at 161 million dollars). This means, essentially, that what they want to happen in government, both on a state and federal level, tends to happen. Every aspect of a great majority of our country's legislative and executive decisions include the whims of large corporations. Incidentally? These companies don't usually end up paying a dime in federal taxes. General Electric, according to their tax disclosures, earned 14.5 BILLION dollars, and paid not one red penny in taxes. They paid a crap-ton of money for lobbyist groups and very inventive accountants, however.
This is why the Occupy protesters are angry. Because, I'm sorry Mr. Boehner, the United States of America is not a business. Nor should it be. Does everyone forget what our country was founded upon? I see more and more of what the founding fathers believed in fading away by the year. What about the whole basic concept of for the people, by the people? When did that take a back seat? Now, it's for the rich people, by rich people, and who gives a crap who gets trampled on in the process.
Except, that's not really the case. The rich people thing. Several polls have showed that 65% of the people support raising taxes on people who earn 1 million or more a year. Warren Buffett
So, back to that 235,413. I personally know some Republicans who love to argue about how we shouldn't tax the rich, how poor people are essentially a blight on humanity that abuse the system, and why should their taxes be raised so their tax dollars can go to feed some poor chick with poor birth control methods can feed her nine children? (Sorry guys). These people are not among the 235,413. Even the one person who makes the most out of all of the people I know don't come close to that. They will not be remotely affected by taxing the wealthy. I would like to point out for the record, that the same people (not just people I know) like to make the argument that their tax dollars shouldn't go to social programs, and in the same breath fill out unemployment claims. News flash- while you did indeed pay into that system, the thousands of dollars you've collected was not your money. It was taxpayer money. From the wealthy. And the poor. At one point, my tax dollars as well. But I digress. The point being is that these people don't see the inherent irony in these arguments. And why is that?
Because people who cling to capitalism like it's a life raft in a tsunami want to believe they can be a part of that 235,413. But they probably won't. In fact, I nearly guarantee they won't. That doesn't stop them from blasting the very class they are in fact a part of. The middle class is disappearing, and all we have left are the destitute, the poor, the working poor, and the very very rich. Yet the Republican talking heads called the proposition to raise taxes on the 235,413 "class warfare". When the French monarchy made similar political stands in 1789, the poor, unrepresented and downtrodden citizens eventually started lopping off the heads of their oppressors. Something to keep in mind, GOP.
The Occupy protesters are the representative forces of the deeply pissed off majority. To me, the movement hasn't "moved" much past it's starting point of having no unified message or spokesperson through whom that message will be brought forth. But the underlying unease is epidemic. These are not the lunatic fringe, not all a bunch of hippies too "lazy" to get a job. These are people who are afraid, and angry, and want solutions. In the Republican debate in September, the Tea Party idiots cheered the notion of letting the uninsured die. If you research a lot of what normal Republicans say, they agree with the sentiment but are too savvy to say it so bluntly. How did we ever get to the point where people-who, as a point of fact are almost decidedly NOT in that 235,413- would actually cheer at the idea of letting 49.9% of Americans die because they can't afford to be insured? How is it that more people don't see how incredibly wrong this all is? When did being poor become a disease we need to eradicate so as to not infect the "righteous" ones with Blue Cross/Blue Shield?
The irony is that it's these same people who called Obama Hitler.
In my opinion, this is the chance, and the environment, to get real change enacted. It took a million people marching for one true cause to change the course of history. There are about 200 million adults in America, minus that wonderfully blessed 235,413, and maybe all we need now is one million of them to stand together. What if all the people who want their country to stand for something other than corporate greed and corruption and personal gain would stand together? What if they actually used our Founding Fathers-given right to change the government when it turns corrupt? What would happen to us then? Would we actually have something to be proud of again? Or do we do as liberals and Democrats often do- have great ideas and zero follow-through? What kind of America do you honestly want to leave for the next generations?
I want to leave my children an America that wants life and liberty for everyone who lives here. An America in which the pursuit of happiness is not paved with the blood and hunger of millions of poor. An America that provides for every one of its citizens, not just the ones with large IRAs. I want an America that stands for something that is true. And all I see is an America that stands on everything that is wrong with the human condition. The people who believe that less than a quarter of a million people out of 307 million deserve every consideration and the 143 million deserve nothing but contempt should be ashamed of themselves. It is the same as saying you would watch a person starve in front of you rather than buying them a sandwich because, by God, you earned that money and that makes you better than them. It is the same as telling a sick child they deserve to die because you need a new Ferrari.
Me? I'd rather give half of what I earn to ensure that never happens.
Before I am accused of being too radical, this goes for both sides. However, it is the conservative right who are the most guilty of this self-imposed bubble of ignorance. I watch political figures spread total and utter falsehoods and epic levels of deliberate exaggerations with straight faces. And I have to wonder, do they really believe the things that are coming out of their mouths? Is Cain truly so out of touch with reality that he actually believes that if you aren't rich, it's because you're lazy and just don't want a job? Unemployment rates, the ones that are figured by actual claims, is hovering around 9%, and this is supposed to be an improvement. But- and here I am pointing the finger at both sides of the government aisle- this does not factor in those who have aged out, the so-called 99ers (the unemployment 99ers, not the income 99ers) or those who are wildly underemployed, or those who have simply given up looking for work. When all that is factored in, now we are looking at a number that is actually more like 24% (http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts). The approximate number of US citizens of working age (say 19 to 55) is 143 million. 24% of that is 34,220,000 people. Is this sinking into anyone? Cain is basically saying that we have over 34 million incredibly lazy assholes who just don't want to find a job. 34 million people who have only themselves to blame that they aren't rich like he is. That is what the conservative right wants the world to believe. That there isn't corruption, or a disproportionate amount of wealthy versus poor, just a staggering number of lazy bums.
What I don't think people understand is that this Occupy movement isn't-or shouldn't be- about blaming Wall Street in particular for the country's financial woes. There is more than enough blame to go around. I more than admit that blame gets spread to both Republicans and Democrats. Wall Street is focal point for the corruption that led us to this point, however, and this is why it started here. Our government destroyed itself because the banks and corporations allowed themselves to go bankrupt, covered it up, managed to get 800 million bucks from the little people, and gave themselves all big, fat bonuses. The US Chamber of Commerce is made up of corporations like J.P Morgan, Pfizer, Phillip Morris, and Chase Bank. They rank number one in lobbyist spending (second was GE at 161 million dollars). This means, essentially, that what they want to happen in government, both on a state and federal level, tends to happen. Every aspect of a great majority of our country's legislative and executive decisions include the whims of large corporations. Incidentally? These companies don't usually end up paying a dime in federal taxes. General Electric, according to their tax disclosures, earned 14.5 BILLION dollars, and paid not one red penny in taxes. They paid a crap-ton of money for lobbyist groups and very inventive accountants, however.
This is why the Occupy protesters are angry. Because, I'm sorry Mr. Boehner, the United States of America is not a business. Nor should it be. Does everyone forget what our country was founded upon? I see more and more of what the founding fathers believed in fading away by the year. What about the whole basic concept of for the people, by the people? When did that take a back seat? Now, it's for the rich people, by rich people, and who gives a crap who gets trampled on in the process.
Except, that's not really the case. The rich people thing. Several polls have showed that 65% of the people support raising taxes on people who earn 1 million or more a year. Warren Buffett
So, back to that 235,413. I personally know some Republicans who love to argue about how we shouldn't tax the rich, how poor people are essentially a blight on humanity that abuse the system, and why should their taxes be raised so their tax dollars can go to feed some poor chick with poor birth control methods can feed her nine children? (Sorry guys). These people are not among the 235,413. Even the one person who makes the most out of all of the people I know don't come close to that. They will not be remotely affected by taxing the wealthy. I would like to point out for the record, that the same people (not just people I know) like to make the argument that their tax dollars shouldn't go to social programs, and in the same breath fill out unemployment claims. News flash- while you did indeed pay into that system, the thousands of dollars you've collected was not your money. It was taxpayer money. From the wealthy. And the poor. At one point, my tax dollars as well. But I digress. The point being is that these people don't see the inherent irony in these arguments. And why is that?
Because people who cling to capitalism like it's a life raft in a tsunami want to believe they can be a part of that 235,413. But they probably won't. In fact, I nearly guarantee they won't. That doesn't stop them from blasting the very class they are in fact a part of. The middle class is disappearing, and all we have left are the destitute, the poor, the working poor, and the very very rich. Yet the Republican talking heads called the proposition to raise taxes on the 235,413 "class warfare". When the French monarchy made similar political stands in 1789, the poor, unrepresented and downtrodden citizens eventually started lopping off the heads of their oppressors. Something to keep in mind, GOP.
The Occupy protesters are the representative forces of the deeply pissed off majority. To me, the movement hasn't "moved" much past it's starting point of having no unified message or spokesperson through whom that message will be brought forth. But the underlying unease is epidemic. These are not the lunatic fringe, not all a bunch of hippies too "lazy" to get a job. These are people who are afraid, and angry, and want solutions. In the Republican debate in September, the Tea Party idiots cheered the notion of letting the uninsured die. If you research a lot of what normal Republicans say, they agree with the sentiment but are too savvy to say it so bluntly. How did we ever get to the point where people-who, as a point of fact are almost decidedly NOT in that 235,413- would actually cheer at the idea of letting 49.9% of Americans die because they can't afford to be insured? How is it that more people don't see how incredibly wrong this all is? When did being poor become a disease we need to eradicate so as to not infect the "righteous" ones with Blue Cross/Blue Shield?
The irony is that it's these same people who called Obama Hitler.
In my opinion, this is the chance, and the environment, to get real change enacted. It took a million people marching for one true cause to change the course of history. There are about 200 million adults in America, minus that wonderfully blessed 235,413, and maybe all we need now is one million of them to stand together. What if all the people who want their country to stand for something other than corporate greed and corruption and personal gain would stand together? What if they actually used our Founding Fathers-given right to change the government when it turns corrupt? What would happen to us then? Would we actually have something to be proud of again? Or do we do as liberals and Democrats often do- have great ideas and zero follow-through? What kind of America do you honestly want to leave for the next generations?
I want to leave my children an America that wants life and liberty for everyone who lives here. An America in which the pursuit of happiness is not paved with the blood and hunger of millions of poor. An America that provides for every one of its citizens, not just the ones with large IRAs. I want an America that stands for something that is true. And all I see is an America that stands on everything that is wrong with the human condition. The people who believe that less than a quarter of a million people out of 307 million deserve every consideration and the 143 million deserve nothing but contempt should be ashamed of themselves. It is the same as saying you would watch a person starve in front of you rather than buying them a sandwich because, by God, you earned that money and that makes you better than them. It is the same as telling a sick child they deserve to die because you need a new Ferrari.
Me? I'd rather give half of what I earn to ensure that never happens.
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