Going off line for a spell.
You folks be well and enjoy life. Get outside. Ride your bike, hike, take your kids to the park, read some books, cook a grand meal, have a beverage with a friend. Show love and kindness to people just because it’s the right thing to do. Look for the good in people, be generous to all and take care of one another.
Adios
I’ve watched the healthcare debate with keen interest this week. Millions of liberals are hoping Obama finally delivers on a major promise, while millions of conservatives organize Astroturf disruptions in the hope their ridiculous, hate-ridden screams will be heard and acted upon.
I’m not so sure the average guy has a lot of say in the matter, though, as something tells me these decisions are made in smoke filled rooms few of us will ever access. Even as butlers. The town hall meetings are largely a farce.
About the only things we really know are, one, that private industry failed to provide adequate, affordable healthcare to millions of Americans, and two, that there are no perfect solutions.
As an anarchistic type, I have many reservations about giving government too much power. I believe centralized governments are the enemy of real democracy; however, like Noam Chomsky, another anarchistic bastard like myself, I believe we need a short term strengthening of the federal system to offset and combat dangerous levels of corporate power, the greatest threat to democracy and to ecosystems all over the planet. It’s the real terrorist threat within our borders, headed by organizations like Exxon and Monsanto.
Of course, the problem is how we control the beast once we arm it. We know how to handle corporate power, but how do we keep government power at bay? I say this is possible with an educated populace and eventual decentralization at the bioregional level. This will become even more necessary as world resources become scarce and people are forced to live more locally within their bioregions. But for now, we need a big gun to slay the really terrifying, humongous beast known as post WW2 industrial capitalism, and that big gun is going to have to be the government.
Behind the scenes, us ordinary folk will continue to do our part to aid the war effort by eschewing ourselves of the mega-corporate, consumer way of life. By saying no to the auto-industry, Wall Mart, Monsanto and Exxon. We’ll help slay the beast via non-participation and pray for a return to pre-World War Two sensibilities.
The record of our federal government leaves a lot to be desired, but I will give credit where credit is due. Many bemoan the U.S. Postal service, but frankly, I’ve never really had any trouble with getting mail. In fact, I get way too much. I’d be damn happy if they’d lose some stuff from time to time, mostly catalogs and bills I don’t want to pay. Yet, they arrive like clockwork. It’s pretty impressive that the Postal Service can get a letter from Washington to Los Angeles in two days for less than fifty cents.
Our military gives me a lot of heartburn, but I don’t lie awake at night worrying about being attacked. We have the best ass kickers in the world, in fact we’re so good, we’re teaching everyone else how to kick the shit out of living things. There’s a damn good reason why the United States (not including territories like Hawaii in 1941) hasn’t been attacked by a foreign military since The War of 1812.
So, the government can do some things pretty well.
I’m for Universal Healthcare, because we don’t have any better options on the table, and because I believe decent healthcare is a basic human right in a modern, industrialized society. I hate suffering, and we have the money to do it if we’d just stop being so damn greedy.
For all you rich muckety-mucks bitching and moaning, I have something to say to you. You’re so selfish and self-absorbed; it’s unreal and disgusting. You live in an imaginary world most of the world cannot even fathom. While millions of people can’t even get a decent meal or even think of luxuries like vaccinations, you spend your summers lying on the beach, sucking lattes and crying about having to wear the same thing twice. Have some sympathy and don’t you dare try to tell me that all of “these people just need to find jobs.”
If I were a religious man, I’d pray for someone to drain your bank accounts, 401K’s and investment funds and redistribute the money to people that really needed it. (Where’s Zapata when you need him?) People that live in communities blighted and made unsafe by companies in which you invested. Bhopal India comes to mind. Baton Rouge. Cypress Creek in North Memphis. People that were preyed upon by your usury and duplicitous loan practices. The ones that lost their jobs (and their insurance) when they tried to organize or strike. Don’t think for a minute you’re immune and that your actions are benign, because they most certainly are not.
You disgust me, and yes, we’re coming to get your money. Reagan ain’t here to save you. Get over it, and be happy it’s just a few measly dollars being taken via tax collection. In a lot of other places, you’d probably be standing up against a wall.
