An observation worth noting ... and pondering, from RJ Eskow:
From the first breaths of life to the last, our lives are being stolen out from under us. From infant care and early education to Social Security and Medicare, the dominant economic ideology is demanding more lifelong sacrifices from the vulnerable to appease the gods of wealth....
Middle-class wages are stagnant. Unemployment is stalled at record levels. College education is leading to debt servitude and job insecurity. Millions of unemployed Americans have essentially been abandoned by their government. Poverty is soaring....
And yet, bizarrely, the only Americans who seem to be seething with anger are the beneficiaries of this economic injustice -- the wealthiest and most privileged among us. But those who are suffering seem strangely passive.
As long as they stay that way, there will be no movement to repair these injustices. And the more these injustices are allowed to persist, the harder it will be to end them.
Where the hell is the outrage? And how can we start some?
Where indeed? How many examples do we need before we are all persuaded that the official Republican Party platform is devoted not even a little bit to helping most Americans--at least the ones whose bank accounts don't show lots of zeros and commas in the "Total Wealth" columns?
A primary theme of mine has been that Americans need to invest just a little bit of time and effort to understanding for themselves what policy proposals and enacted legislation means, and how it will play out. None of us can afford to tolerate any longer the mere parroting of talking points urged by preferred media. Certain elements and factions of the Fourth Estate have their own vested interest in keeping followers uninformed and agitated.
Asking why ... why is this legislation being proposed; and what ... what happens when it passes, are questions requiring precious little effort. The answers aren't all that difficult to figure out, either.
Add those to Who benefits? and Who does not?, and we might find ourselves having very different public and private discussions about our future.
Hope is a good thing....
Adapted from a blog post of mine
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