Protest 2: Politicians
56Ask not whatyour country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
President J.F.K. stated it best when he stated the quote above. Never since has an American President said something quite as poignant as this. To date this is arguably one of the most recited sentence-long stanzas by any one of our leaders in the 20th Century. The reality that crossed party borders of Democrats and Republicans placed in this statement still hits us at our core to this day. Reagan's "Kingdom on a Hill" speech still makes about everyone but the ultra-right puke in their mouths. Of course there's the age-old Gettysburgh address by Lincoln, but not the 21st century and still much longer than a sentence. Other men, never president, have had many a phrase left to their name (Give me liberty, or give me death!).
Truth is, Kennedy saw the future. He saw a nation filled with capitalist greed (after all, capitalism is greed incranate by nature). He saw a self serving group of people running amok with wall street thieves, traitorous politicians, and idiotic lobbyists. Perhaps his statement was a warning to us to fear the future, a future of apathy and lack of discernment religiously, politically, and socially. Perhaps they weren't stupid back then, even if they didn't have big screen TV technology to get fat on.
Politicians -- the height of things I hate -- you supposedly can't live without them, but then again have we been able to live with them? They rank atop the pyramid scheme of greed and corruption and walk on the little man time and time again, leaving us tired and beaten down with issues they are supposed to alleviate. Instead of helping us, the politicians in Washington rob us of our passion, energy, and yes -- money. This nation is built upon the ridiculous notion that the rich get richer because they work harder.
Seriously? Are we still stuck on the trickle down theory too? The one where I supposedly get richer because the rich do? Obviously it's working for me!
Politicians make a lot of money salary wise. 3 million dollars a year for being president seems like a weak paycheck for having the [supposedly] toughest job in the world. Given, it's not a cake walk and God knows I'd fail miserably at it, but even then how much is the president we have actually doing? I'll never make 3 million in my life and he did it in a year. To top it off politicians are in deep with huge corporations and lobbyists, making them exponentially more money than they make at their job. Then they marry into money, such as John McCain who married the lady in the rubber duck suit, or John Kerry marrying into the Heinz fortune.
Politicians also promote apathy. There's nothing we hate more than caring. We care little to vote, we care little to pick up our feet and walk to the corner (instead, we drive). All this is the celebrity statuses we place on these rulers who are supposed to be OUR tools to freedom and liberty. Instead we get abuse of power in some areas and lack os use of any power in others. In my mind, giving the power back to the people entirely is the way to go. If the citizens shared publicly the property we live on, if we appointed a leader based on a flat voting standard, or if we didn't have a single leader at all and merely had (something to the extent of) a Roman Senate without a Caesar, we might have more say.
But politics take that from us too. We've allowed the political scheme to own the media, in turn the media dictates the political scheme and the media is owned by the same people who bought each president into office. What has happened is a vastly corrupt system with little answer to each of our individual needs that we have.
Want healthcare? Sorry, got to wait for the idiots in D.C. to make the decision!
Want a degree? Sorry, pay us 100k so you can make that after working til retirment. At least you weren't at McDonald's for 30 years!
Want food? Time to wait in line and see if Obama finds you appealing in his eyes. If he doesn't, prepare for purgatory.
Politicians screw everything up. They're virtually unnecessary and only fill ouir entertainment needs, and trust me, even "He's Just Not That Into You" was more entertaining than the presidential battle between a hard cased cancer ridden McCain and the messianic Obama.
Not to mention the joke that is the Senate and House of Representatives, but let's save that for another day.
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Comments
I've entertained thoughts of heading to some places in Canada, really. The money is of course not there nor is the immediate practicality. I don't hate America, nor does the government make America, but we certainly have dug ourselves into a hellish grave politically of late.
I did not know JFK used the City on a Hill metaphor. I called it Kingdom because a lot of really conservative evangelicals believe America is the kingdom of God, as in physical (not spiritual). Reagan was their god in the 80s and supposedly made God's almighty kingdom stronger after the evils of Carter. It's all crap, but people really believe it.
What's the government like in those places of Canada that you've looked into? I think the same can be said by anybody at any point about America's government - there's always flaws, because it's run by people, and people are flawed.
I think those are the same people who spout "God Bless America" and forget that God blesses people outside of America as well. Ha ha, that's where their problem lies - turning a man into a god. Sorry, I'm a slight Reagan fan, but I wouldn't place him in the "god" category.
thoughtful and sensible hub, exposing much of the political machinery for what it is -- a machine grinding along whether we want it to or not. . .
Government is bad about anywhere, but maybe not as prominent or invasive in other countries. In some other countries it's starting to look like tey have more voting power as well, something we're losing very quickly.
I could be a slight Reagan fan too on some issues here or there, but again we're in the realm of deification. No president is God, and it seems even Obama is capable of being god lately.
I agree that politicians are doing more for themselves and the wealthy than they are the rest of us, but I love my country and know we still have more freedoms than any other country. I pray for change before it is too late. In the end God has a plan and it will unfold His way, in His time! President Obama has made some right decisions and some wrong ones. No human is infallible. I do believe they are balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class and poor and that is wrong!
The question I have is, do we really have more freedoms?
In other countries, marijuana is legal. It's not in this one.
There is a much lower drinking age in other countries too. Call it protecting the young, but isn't that decision for those making it, not the government?
In other countries, even poor people who by no fault of their own have full healthcare. Looks like we will too soon, but is that right to have a nation where the rich have everything and the poor get a "tough shit, work harder" statement? I'd say no.
We can't speak our minds, we're afraid of races we don't belong to, we're in a bind financially where the top classes still come out with trillions in bailout money and we don't get any. Is that freedom and liberty?
This nation, and mind you I've been to others, has it's issues and while we have some benefits, we're way behind the 8-ball on freedom anymore. Patriotism isn't waving a flag and screamind "God Bless America." Patriotism is making a country you have no national cause for your own. Make something into something better, and that's what we need. We need full blown reform in the government, and not the type of reform that "reformers" (like Palin is called) are calling for. We need the power back to the people, not the politicians. And I have to mind my words even in this "free"country because wiretapping and monitoring may claim me as a terrorist.
"is that right to have a nation where the rich have everything and the poor get a "tough shit, work harder" statement? I'd say no."
It's refreshing that you just said it flat our like this. I wrote a hub once about income in America, and we are not as rich as we think we are, or rather, most of the wealth is held my a very small percentage of people at the top and the rest of us share what's left. A third of all American familes, not individuals but families, get by on $30K or less, and nearly 2/3rd on $51K or less--that's total FAMILY income. If you make $30K a year a bank will loan you $100K for a house (if your credit is good) even though you can't afford a $100K house. They don't care if you lose the house, because they sell your loan right away to an investment banker who splits it up and sell it as securities backed by crooked ratings agencies--all these people get rich and in a year or two or three you will lose your house (because no one making $30K can actually AFFORD a $100K house), and they'll take the house back and do it all over again with someone else. It's a little like gang rape, only with banks and mortgages.
That means the people at the top (the ones holding most of the wealth) have a disproportionate influence on government right now, and the scraps the rest of us share are fast disappearing. Right now you have to buy what you want in government, and we don't have the cash to buy what we want, so screw all of us. That seems to be the attitude in Congress lately.
If it doesn't change I fear we will end up like those South American countries that have a violent coup every year or two. Health care reform, IMO, is the 'canary in the coal mine'. If it doesn't pass, we are sunk, because it IS going to get worse and the health care system is so out of control it will bring what remains of the rest of the US financial system crashing down on working people and that will be that. There will be violence. It will get very ugly indeed. I know that sounds horrible but that's how I see it. Thanks t.keeley, hang in there.
Thanks for the comment Pam (I guess when I replied weeks ago at work it never got sent thru).
According to some, the health care issue will sink it whether you're right or left (aka, if it passes we're dead, if it doesn't we're still dead). For me, it's not quite the big deal everyone's making it. I don't care if some Canadians are claiming their system is like the Third Reich or not, frankly it's not killed them, nor has it England.
Can't say I have any faith that American politicians can do it correctly, though, and I'm am deeply scared of anyone in Washington right now. Know what I want? Anarchy.
Perhaps a little good old citizen revolution will topple this leaning tower of idiocracy to the ground.
jaimelinus0316 says:
6 months ago
Try $400,000 a year. :-) http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabin
I'm guessing you were referring specifically to Obama, but you made it sound general. Just wanted to make sure.
Oh, and it's not "kingdom on a hill", it's "city upon a hill". JFK used it in one of his speeches as well.
So...are you planning on leaving the US anytime soon since you think the government is so shitty?