So here we are, watching the lame duck session of Congress making a last ditch effort to pass the majority Democrat agenda before the Republicans take over in January.
And what are they talking about? An Energy Bill? An Immigration Bill? Nope. Tax cuts for the rich. What a disappointment. And who's right behind this “compromise?” None other than President Obama.
It has to make you wonder. Is Barack Obama a closet blue dog Democrat? And if so, does he have a choice?
Actually, in a way he does not have a choice. If we wish to save our Democracy, we have to do something about the growing inequality of our society. This next graph says it all. This graph should be etched upon the minds of every American. This is the most important economic information we have in determining our Democracy's future.
America is splitting into two different Americas. The super-rich are getting richer; while the rest of us are paying for it - and being left to fight over the scraps. If this continues, our Democracy will not survive.
If this growing inequality continues; what we will have is a tiny fraction of our population living like kings/prisoners inside their gated communities, surrounded by armies of privatized paramilitary forces – with the talented population of Americans working like slaves and the rest of the population treated like human garbage.
Needless to say, this won't be popular. If this growing inequality continues, most of us are either going to end up underpaid or not paid at all. To continue this oppression, one has to expect those in power to create a Police State. And we obviously can't expect our elections to end up being fair. Because if future elections were fair, the overwhelming number of poor would immediately elect people to change this. They would elect people who would do the obvious. They would elect people who would raise taxes on the rich and share that wealth with everyone else.
Most of us want to be rich. Consequently, nobody I know wants to eliminate the rich. But neither do we want to be slaves to the rich – or human refuse to the rich.
So, if we keep our Democracy, eventually some politicians are going to have to say; “ENOUGH!!!”
These politicians may not initially raise taxes. They may try to fix loopholes in the tax system. They may try to turn off the flood of subsidies to rich companies. But eventually, they will have to stop the widening gap between the rich and the poor. And the easiest way for a government to accomplish that is with taxes.
Of course, everything I have just pointed out has already happened – to some extent. We have already lost some of our democracy. The 2010 election has proven to us that the rich can still buy the gullible. The “Supreme” Court has determined that elections should not be fair. We have more Americans in prison per capita than almost every other country on the planet. We are in a state of perpetual war. The places the rich don't dare tread in America (for fear of crime) are getting steadily larger. And now the Republicans are talking about privatizing parts of Homeland Security.
Obama could have done so much more. Or could he?
The Republicans in Congress have threatened to vote NO on everything until they get their tax breaks for the rich.
We really need to think about this. What does this threat really mean? Moreover, who benefits – and how?
What it sounds like to me is the powers that be are threatening to destroy America if they don't get their way. That's right – they've threatened to DESTROY AMERICA!!!
Think about it. If the Legislative Branch of the United States were to shut down indefinitely, what would happen? Think about it. What would happen? It doesn't take a PhD to figure out that it wouldn't be good. And yet, something very similar to this has already been happening in the Senate for the past four years. The Republicans have been filibustering like there is no tomorrow. And guess what? It's starting to look like there won't be a tomorrow!
The American people are angry.
The American people are scared.
The American people are slowly giving up on our Government.
Some people may want this.
Sadly, there are very likely people (who call themselves Americans), who don't care what happens to America. If America were to fail tomorrow, they would only get richer. We saw this with the fall of the Soviet Union.
Many of those who were in power in the Soviet Union are still in power. And many of them are richer than they ever were in the Soviet Union. What do you think some the powers that be here must have concluded by that?
There must be powerful people in this country (who call themselves Americans) who see opportunity in the collapse of America. Evidence of their existence is in the behavior of the Republicans in Congress. The Republicans are essentially exclaiming that either we do things their way or they will shut down the Legislative Branch of Government – and let the whole system collapse.
Either we let their super-rich “clients” have everything they want, or America will collapse and their “clients” will get everything they want anyway.
That doesn't give President Obama very many options.
However this threat has a soft underbelly. If the American people still believe in what America stands for – and are willing to stand themselves; America is much less likely to fall.
So far, far to many of us have been willing to sit back in our sofas with a beer and watch TV to see if anybody else is going to do this for us. And guess what? The corporate owned (rich people owned) mass media hasn't reported anything – even if it has happened.
We have a choice. We can wait until we don't have a home for our sofa and our TV – and no money for our beer – and then riot in the streets. Or, we can organize to push (and back-up) President Obama and the remaining Democrats in Congress to do the right things... But we don't have to do it their way.
We have two years until the next election. In the last two years, the Tea Party was created and reinvigorated the Republican Party. We saw how it was done. The Left can do the same thing – only better. Because we can create a Party with integrity. We can reinvigorate the Democratic Party.
...Or, we can sit on our sofas and watch all the Democrats turn into Blue Dogs.
If you know of any third Party which has the potential to become the Left's answer to the Tea Party, please let me know. The co-opted Right has failed us. What's left of the Left has failed us. Only the people of America can save America. And if we do it with honesty, integrity, and the overwhelming will to make a truly better world; almost everyone will be glad to join us.
Liberty and Justice for ALL!
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