Article: A Different Wind is Blowing

Path to Insanity
(Image by Abbey Chicken Photography) Details DMCA
v>

Just when I start to believe that everyone is finally wising up and getting the true picture of how things really are in this country, I read an article like this: "Bill Moyers: The Biggest Problem With Obamacare's Rollout Is Being Caused Intentionally by Republicans". (No offense to Bill Moyers). The reason I mention this at all is because the article's title is just so inane. First of all Mr. Moyers, the biggest problem with Obamacare's rollout is Obamacare itself. The ACA is a poorly crafted piece of legislation that has managed to not only offend just about every demographic possible by being a giant giveaway to the private insurance companies. While claiming to address the inequalities of the US healthcare system, the ACA does nothing to protect the American healthcare consumer. In fact, it forces people to purchase medical insurance or risk being penalized. Secondly, the Republican's are not the reason that the ACA is an unmitigated disaster. The damage was done by the Democrats. They wrote the law, passed and implemented it. The website is substandard and is a threat to everyone's personal information. The people that designed the website should be fired and fined. In fact, the entire ACA should be scrapped. If this piece of legislation is Obama's signature achievement, it illustrates how badly flawed his Presidency really is.

This article is not about Obamacare however. I just used the title of the article to illustrate how preposterous our political landscape really is. I wanted to see single-payer healthcare, more like Medicare for all. I would have desired legislation that allowed the government to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies and allowed them to negotiate set fees for procedures. This will never happen however... the medical industry, part of the corporate oligarchy that runs this nation through political patronage, would never allow it. It doesn't matter that Americans pay more than any other nation on the planet for their medical costs, while our ranking is a paltry 38th compared to other health systems, our health care industry puts profits over people.

The reason I claimed that Americans are just not getting the true picture of how the powers that be who are running this country into the ground is because of the discourse I see in the media. I'm not just talking about the mainstream media, I'm talking about the internet and all other alternative media also. People that are usually pretty fast on the uptake still fall for the "blame game" that the people who really run things in this country want us to play. The only reason that they allow two political parties is because it gives the people an illusion that they have a choice in who represents them. The choice is always between the lesser of two evils, but in most people's eyes that is better than no choice at all, right? The fact is, we really have more than two choices. We have a multitude of choices. The problem we really face is that through decades of propaganda, we believe that there are only two viable political parties in this country.

Most people when asked, claim to be independent. This has only recently changed. The percentage of people that consider themselves to be Democrats or Republican is dropping. This should be a good thing as both of these political factions, for all of their bluster and propaganda, are two sides of the same coin. They are supported by the same corporate benefactors (by and large) and on most issues, when push comes to shove, vote the same way, especially when it comes to foreign policy (supporting the empire). That isn't to say that there are not side issues such as LGBT issues, abortion, gun control and religion, but on the whole, there isn't much difference.

I'm sure that there are many reading this that are scratching their heads right now and wondering how I could say such a thing. There are some people however, that understand exactly what I'm saying, and probably know what I'm going to say to justify what I've written. Before I do this, let me give you a list of political article headlines and tell you where they came from.
1. Right vs. Left in the Midwest Editorial, By Lawrence R. Jacobs, NY Times . This editorial discusses the discourse between the Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota. In reading this, one must first understand that there is no real "Left" in Minnesota. In fact, in my humble opinion, there is no real "left" anywhere in mainstream politics. This is just an example of how a "choice" is being portrayed...falsely.
2. Wash. Inmates Learning Aerospace Work Nichola K. Geranios, Associated Press . " The prison system must constantly adapt its training programs, as even traditional inmate jobs such as welding and auto mechanics have become more complex. I think we all know that the United States has more inmates per capita than any other nation on the planet. It's only logical to train them in occupations where they will probably need a security clearance. 3. Gov't Claims Americans Have No Right To Challenge NSA Phone Surveillance Matt Sledge Huffington Post. " No telecommunications firm has ever fought an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees the NSA program and is closed to the public. " Thanks for that information. It sure makes me want to stand up to the system.
One more...

4. Reform the New York Times! Stop Protecting Companies Tied to Chinese Corruption. Patrick L. Smith, Salon. " The flow of under-the-table funds from Western banks and corporations is essential to Chinese corruption and those who benefit from it on both sides. Follow the logic out: It is one reason (of many, of course) that China is among the world's most inequitable societies by way of income distribution. JPMorgan did but one thing differently: It got caught (which seems to be CEO Jamie Dimon's special gift. At least Salon recognized that the New York Times did not just protect corrupt Chinese!

These articles and editorials are based not on truth, but on propaganda. As I said about the first article, there is no left in American politics, not in Minnesota nor any other State. The media uses the term "left" to describe anything that isn't hard right. The second article about the inmates is another bit of propaganda that can lead people to believe that even though we jail people like no other place on Earth, we can "feel good" about "rehabilitating" them. The third article makes it clear that any reasonable expectation of privacy is an unreasonable expectation. The fourth article is truthful and illustrates just how much we will submit too.

When people point out the ridiculousness of the whacked-out Republican Party, they are not standing up for women's rights or anyone's rights, for that matter. Railing against the GOP doesn't make any thinking person respect you, it just leads them to believe that you have partaken in the Democratic Kool-Aid that they are serving up. Everyone knows that most of the Republicans are either bat-sh*t crazy or pandering to the insanity of the people they need to win over to win their elections in their gerrymandered districts. All that you need to know about the GOP was there for you to see in their last Presidential Primary. They are not a threat ... they are a joke.

The real threat to our freedom and our sustainability as a nation comes from both parties, but it appears that the Democrats are actually winning hearts and minds. That shouldn't be difficult when you consider the alternative...and that is exactly what they are counting on! The people that really wield the power behind the throne don't care what corporate party gains power in any election as long as they control them. What they are deathly afraid of is any kind of real democracy coming to the fore. The thing that gives them nightmares is Socialism, especially Democratic Socialism. That would end their century old party.

When you read an article, watch a video or TV, ask yourself who produced it. Ask yourself why we spend over half of our budget on the military. Look at Worldwide rankings on healthcare, incarceration, middle class income and productivity and then wonder why we are failing so miserably in comparison to other nations. If we are the richest nation on the planet, why are people struggling and pinching pennies to get by? Who exactly is making all the money on Wall Street as the DOW makes the largest gains in history? This is a question that all Americans should be asking, other great powers have fallen, we would be just another. Don't believe for a second that the wealthy would care all that much, they would just move to a more favorable location.

So what can a person do to change things for the better when we exist in the largest surveillance state in history? A nation that has thrown the Constitution and The Bill of Rights overboard years ago? How can we take back the economy from the Bankers and the corporate hierarchy? How can we extricate ourselves from the military operations and all of the military bases we have in almost one thousand places? How can we restore the Middle Class and make life better for the poorest Americans that don't have adequate shelter or enough to eat? How can we stop this endless "War on Terror" that is nothing more than a ruse to control the World and keep the defense contractors wealthy? How can we stop corporations from poisoning our food with GMO's and destroying our soil? How can we stop greenhouse gases from destroying human life on the planet? How can we give our children and grandchildren a chance for a productive life free from tyranny and neglect?

I can't answer these questions or tell you what to do in this short article, but I can tell you what not to do. Stop listening to the media when they tell you what we can or cannot do. These people don't have a clue. Try to realize that most of the millionaires and billionaires that we pay homage to are either sociopaths or they were born into money. They also have an agenda...keeping what they have. Try to realize that America is not an exceptional nation, we were fortunate enough to have a nation with many natural resources and two oceans that separated us from any existential military threats. Understand that we are fortunate enough to have had remarkable people that had the audacity to build a government unlike any in modern history and understand that it is our job to continue to make it work. Most importantly... understand that we are bound together as a nation, to sink or swim together and that we deserve nothing from other nations.

Don't expect the wealthy to take care of the needy, they won't. They didn't get where they are by giving money away. Most (not all) give to charity for tax breaks. Don't expect the government to respect your rights if you don't respect them enough to fight for them. They will do as much as we let them get away with. Try to understand that the "free market" system is a ruse to keep the fruits of our labor in the hands of the wealthy and that "right to work" states are anti-worker and anti-union. Free trade is another name for outsourcing our manufacturing base. Free trade agreements mean corporate control of government. Corporations if they were people would be considered sociopaths. They only exist to turn a profit.

Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option. The simple truth is that capitalism is an inequitable and corrupt economic system. Things under capitalism work when an economy is expanding, but it crumbles when an economy shrinks. The markets that kept capitalism alive are no longer enough to sustain it. The time has come to take a more humanistic view and create some kind of hybrid economic system that combines a degree of capitalism with socialism. Latin America and the Scandinavian nations have made great strides in this. The time for billionaires is over.

Question everything and trust your own judgment. Spirituality is good for the soul but religion is anathema to any type of progress. If you wish to believe dogma, keep it to yourself and let others live their own lives. Try to let others speak and find out what they think instead of attacking them because of your own preconceived notions of what you read in a book, or heard from another imperfect human being, no matter how good or wise they appear to be. We are in a time of great change, I think everyone can feel this if they just take the time to understand which way the wind is blowing.