What is the value of one American? That varies from one individual to another
and one moment to another in time. It is
whatever that one American’s vote is worth that puts just one person in office
and in a position to exploit the system to his own advantage. It just takes that one American to create
what will, in turn, give unlimited power and privilege to that vote seeker
which will put him in a position to claim all the spoils provided by the
American taxpayer to a system of government that will promptly forget how he got there and lose sight of the fact that he is claiming the right
to spend what has been entrusted to him as if all of it is a rightful
entitlement to be disbursed as he may see fit, and at the expense of
all those whose vote has been so freely given.
I watch a lot of news programs about every conceivable
aspect of what our government and all those who comprise that dubious
manifestation of all those who profess to be doing something for us rather than
to us. They really do believe they are
the anointed ones and Mr.& Mrs. America are nothing more than nameless and
faceless conceptual creations that are there to do whatever they may deem their
rightful prerogatives, any accountability to the benefactors be damned. We, the American people, are nothing more
than enablers to those who see the government and all its real benefactors as
theirs to do with as they please. You
can bet that none of those who bothered to go to the polls will count for one
scintilla of what public servants will do with the trust we have placed in
them.
Those who go to Washington ,
D.C.
While the common person, under penalty of law, gives their
taxes to the government, ostensibly for myriad services that serve the common
good, it is freely taken from them and re-channeled to the many vested
interests who are the real benefactors of our government’s largesse to all
those who grease the hands of those who do their bidding, more often than not
at taxpayers expense.
How did we come by a two-party system that, for all intents
and purposes, is essentially the same?
They impoverish the bottom tiers of the population and pass their tax
dollars to those in the form tax relief to the very rich, bailing out banks and
financial institutions that have pillaged and plundered our nation’s
economy. They, in turn, pay less in
taxes, engage in monopolistic practices and operate with fewer and fewer
regulations there to protect the consumer public. They operate in secret, make backroom deals
and spy on us at will. We, in turn, live
in a flat-lined economy while the coffers of all the plutocrats simply bulge
ever more with each passing handout from Uncle Sam.
Those we have elected to office, meanwhile, engage in ritual
wailing and gnashing of their teeth because our national budget is out of
control and we are overspending! Alas,
alack! What misfortune faces us now? Those of us who pay our taxes and live at the
bottom of the food chain with barely enough to feed our families and pay our
bills see what few social benefits we have evaporate right before our
eyes. Where has the unemployment
insurance gone that was created to help those of lesser means to weather
downturns in the economy? Where have the
food stamps gone that were put in place to help the least among us get through
the tough times with barely enough to put food on the table for our
children?
What has happened to all those young people searching for a
means to get into and graduate from college so they, in turn, just might have a
shot at the American Dream by becoming a cut above all those living on a
minimum wage? Just ask any one of those
aspiring professionals how much of a burden they are carrying and the constraints
they live under for having taken the money from the government to finance their
educations? Is there any hope that their
burden of debt will ever be paid off?
Then, just for the sake of watching the shock on their faces, ask those
from the Ivy League Schools and environs sometimes frequented by the likes of
Barack Obama how they managed to get through the system unscathed and
financially sound?
Let’s face it, those who enjoy the most from all of those
who have the least are the corrupt and compromised members of banking, law,
hedge fund management, founders of successful companies, entertainers, senior
managers and other scavengers who sit on the sidelines hoping, just hoping, one
of the big boys will throw them a crumb once in a while in exchange for their
loyalty and support.
Call it what you will, but this country is owned by those of
means and all those who serve them. They
are the wealthy, the privileged, the news media, the entertainment industry,
the military services, the intelligence community, the military/industrial
complex and all of those of lesser stature who routinely engage in feeding
frenzies at the public trough. Those who
shape public opinion and appetites in their favor are the complete antithesis
to anything resembling a democratic system.
It is a myth to think otherwise.
Personally, I think the entire fable of how this country was
founded is questionable. How many of
those so-called “Framers of the Constitution” were men of modest means? How many of them lived in mansions on
plantations and owned slaves? How many
of them lived on Elm Street
and drove a one-horse carriage to the office every day? How many of them worked by the sweat of their
brow and supported a family living at the subsistence level? How many of their philosophical progeny now
work in the halls of government with the avowed purpose of limiting all forms
of “democratic” behavior that has the potential to impede the continued
exploitation of all that rightfully belongs to the American people?
Frankly, I see little difference between the “Conservatives”
and the “Progressives.” The former seems
to have God on their side on every issue.
The latter seems to have an “enlightened and informed” view of society
on every issue, as well. The former
operates from a base of divine enlightenment and the latter operates from their
concept of what constitutes a perfect world.
Both groups seem to have plenty of money and privilege at their
disposal. It must be rather easy to leave
all that behind and return to the comfortable surroundings to which each has
become accustomed. It is quite a
different thing to take a stand and fight for what you know to be right and
just.
At the end of the day we have Fox News to keep one side
happy with the knowledge that they really are right all the time. On the opposite side we have those who are
secure in the knowledge their view of the world really is on the side of all
those who are continually exploited by the system in one form or another. If that doesn’t beg the question of having a
multi-party system, I don’t know what does.
Both of what we have continually feed from the same troughs of
corruption.
We Americans, such as we are, always seem to be looking for
something “different” to entertain us and to occupy our minds. No sooner were the Christmas trees taken down
and the liquor bottles put in the recycling bins than it was announced that
Hillary Clinton was retaining one of the best political packs to launch her bid
for the White House in 2016. The
euphoric exhortations from every corner of the Democratic Party, the White
House, and the “progressive” community were deafening, almost to the point of
hearing that she was about to be elected by acclimation. This was just a reminder to saner minds that
the entire spin machine was already in place to make sure she was the only
viable Democratic candidate for President in 2016. I don’t share that view.
First of all, I perceive our two-party system as an accepted
means of controlling the numbers of people seeking office and limiting their
numbers to those who have already proven their prowess in how to play to the
plutocrats that already own and control our system of government. Their strategy is formulated and fostered by
the club who seeks to further their own vested interests at the expense of the
preponderance of Americans who will go to the polls and cast their votes in the
next national election.
I don’t subscribe to the notion that the conduct and
behavior of the Clintons
in the White House, the Senate and the State Department are necessarily ancient
history and should be forgotten, nor has the slate been wiped clean as their
supporters would have us believe. Bill
Clinton’s conduct while President was reprehensible and he proved himself to be
about as base and vulgar as one could imagine.
From the tales that have circulated since she left the White
House, Hillary could swear like a drunken sailor with the style and ease of a
seasoned veteran. She supported George
W. Bush and Dick Cheney on going to war with Iraq and, frankly, I don’t think
her performance beyond that has been particularly remarkable or
impressive.
The Clintons
are what they are. They are in it for
the money, power and prestige. It is a
testament to their prowess and skill that they have managed to get as far as
they have and to have burnished their image so an entire nation sees them as
ready to mount the white horse and ride, triumphantly, back into the
limelight. They haven’t earned the
renewed respect and admiration of the American people that is essential for
such a quantum leap.
We have the right to a couple in the White House that has
the stature of the First Family. Harry
and Bess Truman may have been basic people, but they were honest, decent and
down to earth. Harry was a leader of
principle and courage. Bess was a dedicated
and supportive wife. That is more than I
can say for the Clintons .
I, for one, believe we have had far too much testosterone in
the White House for much too long. Men
posture too much and they are not always what we think they are. Women, on the other hand, seem to be better
listeners, studious and act on the basis of fact rather than supposition. I think their time has come but we have
better possibilities than Hillary Clinton.
Elizabeth Warren went to the White House and set herself to
the task of creating a Department of Consumer Affairs, with the promise from
Barack Obama that she would become the first Director of that endeavor. However, typical of our resident chameleon at
1600 Pennsylvania, Barack Obama pulled the rug out from under that commitment
and gave it to a man, about which little seemed to be known. Senator Warren graciously accepted the
decision and supported that effort during her remaining time in the White
House.
As soon as another opportunity arose that was compatible with
her education, knowledge and experience, she set her sights on U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts
and won the office handily. She has
served with distinction, determination, strength, leadership and acumen. She has garnered the admiration and respect of
the country and those with whom she has served.
She has demonstrated a degree of honesty and resolve that few in the
Halls of Government can duplicate. She
has all the attributes we need to clean up so much of what has been created by
others who have gone before her in government.
She has consistently demonstrated courage and perseverance where others
would have failed.
Frankly, I do not believe we could find a better person to
assume the mantle of the Presidency and to establish the precedent for a woman
in the White House than Elizabeth Warren.
My choice for a back-up would be U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
from Minnesota
who has shown great promise for higher office by her intelligence, acumen,
record of accomplishments and conduct during her time in office.
This country has suffered long and hard at the hands of a
very corrupt government. Moreover,
President Obama has shown himself to be more a chameleon than a leader by his
ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth and his complete adoration and
accommodation of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
He has pandered to the rich and powerful plus the Republican power
structure by his penchant for secrecy, Executive Orders and compromise at the
expense of the Democratic Party and the multitudes who have suffered by his
actions and which have adversely affected so many lives of those who could ill
afford his folly.
We need to demand a renewed sense of honesty, integrity and
principled courage from our elected officials.
They all need to revisit their fundamental pledge and commitment to
serve and defend the interests of the American people; not those of wealth,
power and privilege, including the President, the Senate, the Congress, the
Supreme Court and all the sundry departments and bureaus that have blossomed
since the Founding Fathers affixed their signatures to the Constitution. We, the people of this country, have had
enough of being seduced by their rhetoric, their under-handed behavior, their
thievery, their sense of entitlement and privilege.
The winds of change are upon us. I see and hear it every day from people of
all walks of life. Their disdain is more
than just a casual complaint. Those of
you who sit on high thinking you are putting one over on the people need to
take stock of who and what you are, do your job and restore integrity and
genuine service to the people of this country.
Cowboy Bob
January 28, 2014
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