“Trust, Like The Soul, Never Returns Once It Is Gone”

That our entire system of politics and government is seriously broken is beyond dispute. All one has to do is expend the minimal amount of effort required to dig just below the surface and it becomes glaringly apparent that it isn’t working for the benefit of the people. It only serves the elite.

Both major political parties dominate and control the national agenda of what gets through the legislative process. Attempts by fledgling third political parties to make inroads into the system continue to be futile. The power and affluence of the two major players in this business renders any serious challenge moot.

The major parties have become completely owned and controlled by the massive amounts of money flowing into their coffers. Any serious effort that might benefit the people is little more than an illusion. We blithely go through the charade of behaving like serious citizens but, more often than not, we end up casting our votes for what we want to believe rather than on reality. They tell us what they think we want to hear and what is likely to “play in Peoria. “ We are much too complacent to bother with checking out the veracity of their assertions. We have no idea what we are getting or what measures we need to take in order to ensure the most elementary and credible standards of conduct and morality. Their public persona and lofty speeches make us feel good but, at the end of the day, they usually give us what they think we deserve, not necessarily what we need.

What goes on behind closed doors and in secret meetings is what determines the outcome, and it very rarely serves anyone other than the vested interests that lace their pockets and finance their campaigns. It is a mockery to believe there is any real meaning to the ceremonial charade we go through. They go to the electorate every so many years and seek their votes in order to return to their seats of power, and pander to their real constituents; big money and raw power. Is it any wonder the result of all of this is a body of legislators and elected officials who see themselves in some divinely ordained position where they can summarily ignore the will of the people and write the rules to suit themselves? They determine and approve their own compensation packages, benefits packages and a whole host of other perks that trump anything they might legislate in favor of the public. All they lack are the imperial togas and the laurel leaves adorning their heads. There is a striking similarity between whores and politicians. Both are for sale, at a price, with no commitment.

Given that we are not terribly bothered by all this drivel when things are going well, we don’t really pay much attention to what they are doing in our name. However, when the bottom starts to fall out from under us, then we shift into denial mode, naively believing things will get better, then slide further into full panic mode.

When panic overtakes reason we look for quick and easy answers to our problems. It doesn’t take long before hoards of demagogues come crawling out from under the base boards, promising easy solutions to combat stark reality. That is what we got from the elections of 2008 and 2010. We only need to seriously view the latest group of representatives elected to Congress. If that isn’t proof positive of our abdication of social and political responsibility, I don’t know what is! How can any rational mind look at that pathetic bunch of intellectually challenged, selfish, and simple-minded examples of humanity, and believe they can solve the complex problems facing this nation today, not the least of which are the economy and the fractured bedrock issues that have supported and sustained us as a civilized society? Moreover, can they even comprehend what they face?

The ravages of who and what our government really holds in store for us is borne out by the shenanigans brought down on our heads by The Federal Reserve, Wall Street, multi-national corporations, the super rich, home mortgage lenders, the health care industry, the pharmaceutical industry, big energy, agribusiness, and all the other heavy hitters to whom we have sold the very soul of this country. The servitude of the House, the Senate, the White House, the Supreme Court and the Military-Industrial Complex to big money and power is no longer subtle. It is glaringly apparent as the taxpayers are fleeced at will, and bear the financial burden, economic ruin and social chaos created by rapacious greed and the complete absence of human decency.

Our current two-party system is well on the way to permanently ensuring a two-class society. Both appear to be working for the same outcome. The only things that can prevent this from happening are (1) massive campaign finance reform, (2) term limits, (3) restricting the role played by lobbyists and the interests they represent, and (4) the strength of our collective will and commitment to make it all happen. Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? Not likely.

There used to be standards of conduct, standards of character, standards of honesty and integrity that we used for evaluating how those we elect to office served us. Issues such as lying, cheating, bribery, conflicts-of-interest, stealing, etc., that used to be abhorrent are now commonplace. There are no real or lasting consequences for resorting to whatever measures the traffic will bear in the pursuit of personal gain at the taxpayer’s expense. We accept those flaws as a necessary evil in the character of our elected representatives. We accept them at face value and a necessary part of the cost of making the democratic process work, such as it is. Standards of morality which used to be a mark of trust are now mocked. Just look around you.

Leadership, statesmanship and the repository of wisdom residing within the electorate was once the gold standard which guided this “democracy.” Now it is compromise, bi-partisanship, politics and massive ignorance that steers our ship of state, the blame for which rests squarely on our shoulders for allowing it to happen.

The merits of a free-market system, and the foundations upon which it is based, used to be respected and trusted by the people. Now? Unbridled greed and exploitation of the human condition are the order of the day; whatever the traffic will bear.

I regard the free-market system of today as an aggressive and unrelenting assault on human dignity. The last consideration in the business equation today is the “human” element. The “free-market system” of today is a fraud. Taken to the extreme it can only result in the total disintegration of a civil society. I fear we are approaching the end-point on the continuum. Three of the most glaring examples of what lubricates that philosophy today is to be found in the total lack of a meaningful social conscience by the oligarchs, the preeminence of carbon-based energy and the token concern regarding global warming. Like the parasite that cannot see that it is killing the host on which it feeds, if given free reign, they will destroy the human race. It is simply a question of time, and time is not on our side. Greed says it is folly; sanity says it is not. Greed is winning. When we reach the point of no return, as we surely will, there will be no turning back. The human mantra of “More, More, More,” will gradually fade into a deafening silence. The Crown Jewel of Creation will enter the throes of a slow, agonizing death. Perhaps not in our lifetime, but sometime in the future.

The arrogance of corporate power believes those who invest in ownership have the absolute right to determine the direction and destiny of business enterprises, free of government restraint or social conscience. They believe the proper role of government is that of the enabler rather than the regulator.

Now, I ask you, how have we grown and evolved over the past 30 plus years of the uninterrupted, unabated assault on the social, economic and moral fabric of this nation? Look at private education vs. public education. Look at what is being done to social safety nets and our common welfare during these difficult economic times vs. what is being done for massive wealth, big business and financial institutions. Look at those who serve in the military vs. the “patriotic service” rendered by those who benefit from wealth, power and privilege. Look at the focus on attacking social programs as a means for reducing the national debt vs. demanding that massive wealth pay their fair share in taxes. Corruption is the standard; destruction is the end-game.

To honestly believe that this country is a real democracy is, in my opinion, exceedingly naive. If we accept the definition that says it is “an egalitarian and tolerant society,” then the few periods of enlightenment in the history of this great nation have been rather fleeting at best. The darker side of our human nature has a way of curtailing any real and lasting progress. We are a nation where there is a constant test of will as to who will dominate and who will serve. It is never put to rest, but continues to ebb and flow over time. Great wealth seems to survive the ups and downs of the cycles. The plight of the common people is most susceptible to the long-term negative consequences of those fluctuations.

The world is too complex to rely on what we like to refer to as a “democratic republic.” That system no longer accrues to the benefit of all the people in a fair and just way. There will always be the “haves” and the “have-nots,” but demonizing of the latter by the former never solves the problem.

Investment may provide the resources for business to operate, but it is those who labor in their service that produce the goods and services that enables ownership to prosper. That should count for something. The model adopted by several European countries is much more rational. Both owners and workers share in governing the enterprise. In today’s world, that makes a whole lot of sense to me. It not only acknowledges the essential role played by each, but it dignifies their respective contributions as well.

There is no way we can sugar-coat the frailties inherent in our human nature. We are, basically, survivors with all the aggression and ambition that go with it. No government can effectively represent the interests of all the people without safeguards that will define and guarantee standards of conduct that cannot be compromised. We cannot have meaningful and effective public and social services without paying taxes. That is a fundamental responsibility of citizenship that is best shared by requiring those who have the most to pay the most. Effective regulation keeps us honest.

The parliamentary system of government is, in my opinion, the soundest and least complicated form of democracy in the world. It provides the shortest distance between the electors and the elected and, therefore, offers a greater degree of accountability and transparency. There are no “squatter’s rights,” in that system. They are privileged to serve only so long as they retain the confidence of those who put them in office.

There has to be a massive and concerted effort to purge the corrosive and corrupting influences within the government we have, and strive to restore it to the level of integrity and honesty that have stood the test of time. Is it going to be easy? Not a chance. However, if we don’t breathe new life into and resuscitate “equality and justice for all,” we are a lost cause. We must stop deluding ourselves into believing that what we see and hear is necessarily truth and in our best interests. We have to find that out for ourselves. We have a right to expect that those who represent us will be honest with us, and we, in turn, have an obligation to hold their feet to the fire. Moreover, the resources we give to them must be seen as a solemn public trust, rather than their personal slush fund.

If we don’t get serious about the vast disparity in the way wealth and privilege are treated by government vs. what they ask the average American to bear, the consequences may be catastrophic. The working people of this country can only be pressed to sacrifice and give so much before their pent-up frustration and anger explodes. We may live to see the day when the fires of rebellion against decades of economic and social oppression, akin to what we see in the Middle East, may come home to haunt us, as well. The challenges facing this country are monumental. We not only face the task of changing the system, but we have to address the flaws in our basic human values in order to restore health to this nation and the government that is there to serve us. I am not so sure we have the will or the time to make that happen.

We have to stop accepting anything on blind faith. We must re-learn the merits of determination, hard work and the ability to question, question, question. However, the most essential goal of all is to rebuild a value system that stands for the common good, and that will create and nurture a unifying bond between all of us. Genuine respect and loyalty are never bought, they must be earned. That can only be realized when I have confidence that what I see is what I get. If I am to believe you and trust you, you must convince me that the prize is worth the cost of entering the contest.

It is time for government to earn our respect and our trust, and work to keep it. The future looks progressively more uncertain and ominous. Confidence in government is tenuous.

“Trust, like the soul, never returns once it is gone.“


Cowboy Bob
February 6, 2011