At least Three More Years of Darkness: Groundhog Says

Protection Against Mind Manipulation?
I know most Americans didn’t watch the President’s speech the other day, and those who did thought this guy isn’t doing much to improve the lives of the “average person.” I was playing the... drinking game, whereas I had to imbibe some alcohol every time Bush said his favorite phrases, terror, 911, freedom, democracy, to protect, etc. It was a trip let me tell you, yet, no amount of drinking can take the edge off the painful experience I go through every time I hear this man speak. It’s not his “nukelar” vocabulary—especially when he talks unscripted—but it’s the realization that our country is led by a bunch of selfish people. I’m not sure to what extend their incompetence stems from the lack of sense and sensibility, but it doesn’t really matter.

I always recommend George Orwell’s books, like, Animal Farm, and, 1984. Although he wrote many decades ago, his themes have been very relevant today as well the past. In Animal Farm he shows us how a society can be organized, theoretically on merit and need, but in reality the elite is “more equal” than the rest. In 1984, he shows us how a totalitarian regime operates by using the politics of fear, the crushing of individuality, the spying, repressive conformity, the leader-knows-best, the re-writing of history, and Newspeak (when words have lost their true meaning as applied to reality).

So, we have a few people who are “better than others,” not by ability, but by ascribed status. This inner circle usualy has disdain for most of the commoners because the latter are easily deceived, especially when their emotional buttons are pressed; they further demonstrate their ignorance by voting against their own interests. The myth of socio-economic mobility is holding well, because who has time to check the facts? Have we realized that the actual income for 90% of Americans [yes, it includes YOU], when adjusted for inflation, has fallen in the last 25 years? Or, that the gap between the super-rich and the rest has grown exponentially in the same period? People like to hear about tax cuts, but how many people really know that we’re giving even more to those who already have lots, and we’re doing it by increasing our national debt, and by cutting services the rich don’t need/use but are essential for the “other” Americans? “We are not doing it, they are!” is often the retort. But I don’t buy it! We elected “them”; they act on our behalf though not in our best interest.

Hurricane Katrina gave us ample warning and when it struck it blew away the emperor’s clothes; those make-believe clothes that had been woven with much fanfare for four years, since 9-11.They needed more powers to protect us they said; we gave them such. They want even more, and have argued the Nixonian line, “when the President does it, it’s not illegal.” Meanwhile, the expanded bureaucracy suffers not from quantity but quality. For example, Horse playing is a good enough qualification to be hired as FEMA director. [OK, he did bring lots of money to Republican coffers too]. The remaining fig leaf cover was blown away too when Congress returned from its summer vacation, few days after the Katrina disaster, and the Republicans' first concern was to push a bill to revoke the estate tax! It’s the one I call, “the Paris Hilton gift,” since it benefits the children of the supper rich (less than 1% of Americans).
Double Talk, a.k.a, Newspeak
So, we have presidential declarations about this and that, but when they are compared to presidential policy they fall short or never materialize. Newspeak is “in”. He talks about the “Clean Air Act” and we get more pollution. He talks about “No Child Left Behind” and we have less education (most of it federally unfunded), especially in science. He talks about oil dependence on the Middle East [currently only 13% of our needs] and that he wants to cut this by 75% in 20 years, but his Energy Secretary just came out to say, “don’t take this figure literally.” Who really has the time to pay close attention to his energy bill anyway? Who notices his cuts in programs like biofuel, alternative & renewable energy? How about conservation, CAFE standards and environmental policy? The additional $70 billion he asked for the war effort when combined with the past and future expenditures for the Iraq war could have been spent on programs to make America less dependent on oil. That’s a debt I’d welcome, and whose payoff would be far greater and more universal in the benefits distribution.

The wealthy Romans—the ones who had power—felt a duty to keep the masses entertained, so they arranged for gore fests in the Coliseum. Our present day emperor, his senate, and the other patricians, act in like manner. OK, the carnage is kept overseas, where our legionnaires are vanquishing the barbarians, but the national myths are well fed and promoted. We are a remarkable country indeed, but we’re rapidly losing ground. We may have the best health care system in the world, but the question is how many Americans have access to it. Of course the capitalist system is a system of inequality (and this isn’t necessarily bad), but that’s why we have a government to make sense of it and not let it run amok. Personally, I don’t find it meaningful to say, “between Bill Gates and me we have a gigantic fortune!”

Those in power would like us to feel superior and content. In the abstract, we do compare favorably to the best countries out there. We can say we spend twice as much on healthcare per person than others but we are the only advanced country that doesn’t have universal health care coverage—with more than 45 million Americans uninsured. Don’t they count? Where’s the compassionate conservatism? Who's worthy of compassion? I find it shocking that we’re 28th in infant mortality and, although climbing, life expectancy in the US is much lower than other countries. For the wealth and abilities we have at our disposal, we aren't doing as well as we should, and, most importantly, we aren't giving our children the best we can.

I’m offended by Newspeak too. They say one thing, they mean & do the opposite. The President talks to us like we’re like little children; well, maybe we are, but I’m fed up by the dumbing down. What’s up with the President’s anti-intellectualism and anti-scientific stance? Is he trying to be folksy, or is he a wolf in sheep's clothing? He had a chance (via ascribed status) to attend a first-rate school—not that he did much with this opportunity, but he didn’t have to. He came from a privileged family [a "dynasty" according to the very Republican Kevin Phillips--read his books] with connections to money and power. But, most Americans aren’t that fortunate. Yet, the President and his Praetorians in Congress don’t believe in using the power of the government to improve the lives and chances of the “average person.” Maybe they are the new Kalvinists [they believed that only some persons were “chosen” by birth, and there was nothing one could do to jump ship; Martin Luther and the Reformation attempted to change this]

It’s obvious that those in privileged positions are always afraid of the “masses.” In the fashion of a Machiavellian advice, keep the masses entertained; feed those masses myths & fear and they’ll leave you alone. They might even cheer you up. They might even buy into the idea that what you’ve got you deserve because you are special! Above all, you don’t want to give them the means to wake up, so you make it difficult for them to get a higher education by cutting billions in student aid/loans. Rip, rape, and burn as much as you can, for you don’t have to feel the ill effects of your actions; besides, the benefits are so great today that even if the ..unthinkable happens, you'll have more than enough to last several generations of your kin. Go ahead, and while at it, cancel the ..winter in the Northeast. Who needs it?

I believe that the quality of our politics is a reflection of the people involved. Further, that there is a strong correlation between the citizens’ level of education and the quality of their politics. Politics is what we do, from the family unit [like choosing to watch 12 hours of football on Thanksgiving as a distraction to family disfunction] to the national level. The question is how we use politics to better our lives, for the maximum benefit & for the greater number of people. Did I mention that our government made cuts in education for the first time in 10 years? At least “freedom is on the march” they tell us. Do you feel as free today as before? Come on, be honest, there is nothing to be afraid of (unless you're not a citizen, in which case please go away as I don't want any problems with the Fatherland Security Apparatus).