The Terrorists have won

It’s becoming more and more obvious to me that the terrorists have won their game.  The object of most terrorists is to take down a government.  Ours hasn’t been a functioning democracy for some time.  Both political parties are so wrapped up in building and maintaining their power that they have forgotten what power is supposed to be used for.  Small groups of activists in power in each party are convinced that a divide and conquer strategy is the best one to use.  By spreading fear,  hate, anger and blame to the other party they think they can consolidate their power.  I haven’t voted for a candidate for a long time and I bet you haven’t either.  We vote against the candidate we think will do the most harm.  We have equated money with power and believe you need one to get the other.  We have stopped listening to the “horse’s mouth” and instead listen to the pundits misinterpretation of what was said.  Instead of discussing ideas, we bad mouth people.  One group blindly agrees with what they are told to believe and another group thinks they know what is right for everyone and that everyone should agree with them without discussion.  We are  told to see things as good or evil with no in-between.  We are led to believe that all relationships fall in the category of winner or loser and the thought that a transaction could benefit both sides and even result in synergy is not a possibility.  We are taught to believe that if the other party gets its’ way, the country as we know it will implode.

As an old white man who wears a feed hat, I am tired as being portrayed as a racist, and I am sure that black people are more tired at being told their lives don’t matter.  When Archie Bunker came on the scene we all thought it was funny when he said things that people thought but didn’t say out loud. Now it seems people just want to say the most outrageous things they can to be noticed. People rant against “political correctness” when it is really just being polite.  We used to be taught that “if you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything at all”. 

The media has found that using outrageous headlines is what garners them the most attention and money and have turned to using opinions as headlines.  We are left not knowing what to believe as we are told that truth has two sides now.  Even the most reputational media provides opinions when they decide to report only the bad things, (or good) that a politician does.  With all the cacophony going on I would suggest that no one knows what the country wants, and anyone that says they do is only pushing their own agenda.  We no longer provide any importance to a politicians’ integrity and many even think the best liar makes the best politician.  This championing of mistrust is perhaps the most harmful aspect of our current climate as all business and politics require trust for anything good to happen.  It’s gotten to the point that when I hear one party accusing the other of distasteful actions, I know that the accusing party has already taken part in those same actions.  The names politicians give their bills always seem to describe what the bill will not do.

The phony stories about entitlements, income redistribution and takers really gets my craw.  I am entitled to many benefits because I have paid for them!  Income redistribution is seen as awful when the rich are to give to the poor, but the recent past shows the largest income redistribution in over a hundred years going from the poor to the rich.  Being accused of being a taker when the accusers are usually promoting tax cuts is the largest folly.  When one politician gets taxes cut, politicians in other governmental units end up raising taxes in order to keep the services that government provides.  I would suggest that the tax cutters are the biggest takers in the way they pass on larger and larger debt to future generations while continuing to spend. It’s the same story I heard in corporate life: We get some good benefit now, and when the it hits the fan it won’t be on my watch!

As long as we let the drug, finance, insurance and other fat cats finance our electoral system we will see no change.  It is in their interest to keep everything as it is.  Lawmakers have made it illegal for Medicare to negotiate drug prices while we are flooded with opiates,  Bankers can continue to rip off their clients without facing jail, and the Federal government will continue to subsidize health insurance premiums.  Meanwhile all our Congress people stay the same, arguing that government is either the only problem or the solution to all our problems.  Voters have to realize that when you elect clowns you end up with a circus.  We must unite to prosper.