The current way government is running and the power the corporate elite have in politics has deterred the average American citizen from taking pride in one's country. An uncivil war is what has occurred here and it is time to make a change.
*Republicans versus Democrats; the two simply cannot co-exist; their ideology and philosophies are totally incompatible.
*Corporations versus American workers; Corporate America
divorced itself from the U.S. workforce after it fell in love with
Chinese workers. U.S. workers want reconciliation, but the masters of
Corporatism have no such intentions.
*War hawks against anti-war activists; those who
facilitate endless war are winning this battle hands down as the U.S.
government continues to operate under the influence and control of the
Military-Industrial Complex.
*The richest Americans versus those that they consider to “occupy a lower station in life.”
In America today there are some 536 billionaires and nearly 10 million
millionaires enjoying a lavish life while some 47 million people on food
stamps struggle to just survive.
*NRA against gun safety/gun control activists; the firearms industry is easily winning this battle.
*NSA against the American citizens and their rights to
privacy, as the government’s spy agency listens in and collects their
communications. President Obama, in the role of Big Brother, fully
supports those actions against the people of this country.
*The Justice Department and President Obama wage war
against whistleblowers and are determined to restrict journalists’
ability to bring government abuses to the attention of the American
people.
*Climate scientists under attack by climate change
deniers; scientists who are trying to save this planet and its
inhabitants from a future catastrophe are under siege by ignorant,
corporate-controlled politicians who say climate change is a hoax.
*The Christian Right against the LGBT community, gay
marriage, and a woman’s right to choose. Why in the world do they call
themselves Christians?
*Rising anger from racists and bigots against those of the
Islam religion. We are seeing more and more intemperance and hatred
toward others rising to the surface and becoming embedded in this
society and culture.
*Aging, paranoid Caucasian men against minorities; old
fossils absolutely terrified at the prospect of minorities becoming the
majority in America, something which will happen in the middle of this
century.
*Declining ethics and morality versus rising unethical practices and immoral behavior.
*Americans fighting against the fracking industry; people
trying to stop this dangerous, toxic extraction process for oil and
natural gas that is contaminating water supplies, causing dangerous air
pollution, destroying streams, and devastating landscapes.
*Wall Street versus laws and regulations designed to
govern their operations. Many white collar criminals who continue to
scam the American people who should be in prison are being allowed to
operate above the law.
Now there are those who will dispute that such an uncivil war is taking place in this country. They will say that conditions are no different than they’ve always been, that it’s not all that bad, and that there is nothing about which to be concerned. Well, just look at the headlines in your newspaper, the breaking news on the radio, and the constant conflicts and confrontations seen on TV; this is real, it’s happening day in and day out.
I recently picked up a copy of Time Magazine in which the cover stories illustrated exactly what I’m saying. One was, “The Attack on Gay Rights.” The second was “The Attack on Believers”, which included a sentence in the accompanying story that stated, “Traditional Christians find themselves under siege.” And then another article in the magazine was entitled, “The Battle of Indiana.”
When I try to understand why all this divisiveness is going on, why it has become so pervasive in this country, it seems to be due to a variety of very obvious reasons; the population of America, especially that of its minorities, is growing far more rapidly than that of Caucasians; LGBT and gay rights are advancing, the U.S. manufacturing sector has totally collapsed taking millions of well-paying jobs with it; and, above all, the inequity of wealth and income in this country continues to escalate.
Many people living under this kind of stress and frustration can take only so much before they begin to unravel. This government is doing absolutely nothing of any kind to even begin to address the underlying causes of the massive problems that are tearing America apart. I’m reminded of the words of Rodney King, shortly after he was beaten to a pulp by Los Angeles police in 1991 when he later said, “Can we all just get along?” However, I would change his remark slightly to, “Why can’t weall get along?” Who knows? But the fact is that we seem to be largely incapable of getting along in the America of today.
In most all European and Scandinavian countries the people bond together for the common good. As difficult as it is for Americans to understand and accept, the people in these countries have no problem with paying higher taxes because they know that they will be used for the benefit of all people, both the rich, the poor and those in between. That’s why so many of these nations have universal health care, either fully funded college education or generous government assistance. The people seem to really care about each other and the divisions are minimal compared to the deep ones we find here in the U.S.
Here in America we have an entirely different philosophy. We believe strongly that “it’s every man for himself”, it’s the “survival of the fittest”; we often hear the remark that “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And here’s a quote from a story I ran across on the internet: it goes like this: “I’m safe here in my lifeboat, there’s no room for you; so you can swim to save yourself.”
And so this highly destructive war rages across America, pitting American against American. Every one of these conflicts and battles between the various opposing factions serves to weaken the foundations of America. As Pogo, the comic strip character once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Let me refer to this famous quotation that I often use from one of America’s great Founders, Benjamin Franklin, who said, “”We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Now there are those who will dispute that such an uncivil war is taking place in this country. They will say that conditions are no different than they’ve always been, that it’s not all that bad, and that there is nothing about which to be concerned. Well, just look at the headlines in your newspaper, the breaking news on the radio, and the constant conflicts and confrontations seen on TV; this is real, it’s happening day in and day out.
I recently picked up a copy of Time Magazine in which the cover stories illustrated exactly what I’m saying. One was, “The Attack on Gay Rights.” The second was “The Attack on Believers”, which included a sentence in the accompanying story that stated, “Traditional Christians find themselves under siege.” And then another article in the magazine was entitled, “The Battle of Indiana.”
When I try to understand why all this divisiveness is going on, why it has become so pervasive in this country, it seems to be due to a variety of very obvious reasons; the population of America, especially that of its minorities, is growing far more rapidly than that of Caucasians; LGBT and gay rights are advancing, the U.S. manufacturing sector has totally collapsed taking millions of well-paying jobs with it; and, above all, the inequity of wealth and income in this country continues to escalate.
Many people living under this kind of stress and frustration can take only so much before they begin to unravel. This government is doing absolutely nothing of any kind to even begin to address the underlying causes of the massive problems that are tearing America apart. I’m reminded of the words of Rodney King, shortly after he was beaten to a pulp by Los Angeles police in 1991 when he later said, “Can we all just get along?” However, I would change his remark slightly to, “Why can’t weall get along?” Who knows? But the fact is that we seem to be largely incapable of getting along in the America of today.
In most all European and Scandinavian countries the people bond together for the common good. As difficult as it is for Americans to understand and accept, the people in these countries have no problem with paying higher taxes because they know that they will be used for the benefit of all people, both the rich, the poor and those in between. That’s why so many of these nations have universal health care, either fully funded college education or generous government assistance. The people seem to really care about each other and the divisions are minimal compared to the deep ones we find here in the U.S.
Here in America we have an entirely different philosophy. We believe strongly that “it’s every man for himself”, it’s the “survival of the fittest”; we often hear the remark that “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And here’s a quote from a story I ran across on the internet: it goes like this: “I’m safe here in my lifeboat, there’s no room for you; so you can swim to save yourself.”
And so this highly destructive war rages across America, pitting American against American. Every one of these conflicts and battles between the various opposing factions serves to weaken the foundations of America. As Pogo, the comic strip character once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Let me refer to this famous quotation that I often use from one of America’s great Founders, Benjamin Franklin, who said, “”We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
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