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June 10, 2012

 Compassion - Where Has It Gone 

By Bill Habedank

After the recent election in Wisconsin , where has the compassion in politics gone?

::::::::

{The Wisconsin voters have spoken and Governor Scott Walkerwill remain its governor. The Democrats are licking
their wounds like an injured dog but are also wondering "what just happened?". The Republicans on the other hand are
gloating and are calling this is a victory for democracy and for jobs. Republicans (especially the top 1 percent that controls it)
it seems are prepared to spend any amount of money for politicalvictories but are reluctant to spend money on actual job
creation.

There was no winner in this election. We are all losing. Elections now say that any political victory can be had with enough
money spent. Sixty percent of Governor Walker's 30 million dollars spent on thecampaign came from outside Wisconsin.
It also says that if you are a public employee belonging to a union, you do not have the right as a groupto negotiate better salary
and benefits. If you are a private sectoremployee you can expect the same but even more brutal treatment. Unionbusting by
corporations is now fully entrenched. Corporations of course have their own union and it's called Congress.

The Wisconsin election was about more than collective bargaining. We all know it was aboutmuch more than that. It was
part of a much larger nationwide agenda to slash and burn the social and financial structure that has seen the building of the
Middle Class in America. It has been an agenda to starve out social security, Medicare/Medicaid and public education and
other things rightfully earned. (Not earned you say? What about all the poor youngsters who had no other options but to join
the military and fight wars -- them too?) The right wing wants them all gone and will support any measure to achieve that
goal, especially by supporting unjust wars and the now fully entrenched military industrial complex in order to bankrupt the
Federal government. Make bombs before butter as they say. Theyliterally want to starve out the Federal government and the
Middle Classby protecting the wealthiest one percent who are saying "we won't pay for that anymore". Yes, private jets and swimming pools are very expensive. Can this possibly be a winning plan for a stronger, more secure America? History tells
us no.

The Democrats are not blameless in this process. They have abandoned their principles and almost seem to haveembraced
the motto "if you can't beat them, then join them". For a very long time they have been backpedaling and are now viewed as
a weak front against this onslaught of right wing austerity and social restructuring.While everyone seems worried about a
deeper financial depression, we may need to worry more about the collapse of America's whole social structure and the violence
that will bring.

Of course the right wing wants us all to believe they are compassionate people and are crusading for the welfare of all. This
ruse should be over by now, but too many people (voters) do not see it for what it truly is. The Democrats have always talked
about compassion but it appears now to be mostly hollow talk. I struggle to think of any legislation passed in the last ten years
that resembled anything like compassion toward the less advantaged; even Pres. Obama's healthcare, as healthcare is still too
costly for most.

If compassion toward people from both parties has been evaporating, where has it gone? It now resides in the private sector
and in the non-governmental organizations (NGO) to pick up the slack but their funding resources diminish year by year.
The truth is that NGOs have never, ever been enough to take care of the basic needs of all the people.

So just who is going to help all the people (especially the children) that desperately need help? Again, don't look to the right
wing to do it as they clearly say no. Even their likely Presidential candidate says that people need to fend for themselves and
work harder. Yes, maybe having three jobs would help them but get sick and you lose them all. Newt Gingrich even said
that poor children should join the workforce to improve the lives of their own families. I guess that would be better than
going to school, right Newt? This is sounding like what I had read in history class about The Dark Ages. Yes, that was a
wonderful time to be poor.

The right wing is calling it "game over" for the poor people (and yes, you can be in the Middle Class and be poor) and the
Democrats are unable or unwilling to help the poor. It looks like strike three and you are out. In theAll-American game of
baseball you are entitled to get three strikes before you are out. The truth is that some children are born with one strike against
them and some even two. Heck, now they now won't even get a thirdstrike. A chosen few are born with no strikes but don't
worry about them because who's counting theirs? You're right! No one! We don't have umpires anymore who will count,
who will right a wrong, call a foul, or an error, or see that the game is played fairly.

In eight hundred years ago we had The Dark ages andif man is still around in another eight hundred years, what do you suppose
they will call this age we live in? There just might be alittle hope that it will be a good name, but I doubt it.}


Authors Bio:
Peace activist since Sept 2002, Member of Veterans for Peace, Chapter 115 and its executive director, retired veterinarian

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