We Can See You, You Know- We're Standing Right Here...

Like the droning of a million killer bees in the distance, I've listened to the news of the past week.

On the radio, the computer screen, the TV everything points to the imminent demise of the US economy unless our politicians can get their collective shit together and heads out of their asses and man (or woman) up to do their part for their country and their people.

Not the goddamn millionaires and billionaires- they are perfectly capable of caring for themselves which is very obvious by how they've neatly purchased and dissected an entire nation, divvying up politicians and corporations and assets like the US is a big ol' monopoly board.

I'm sure it's tiring for the poor dears to have to listen to the whining of all the Little People- just so many ants and lice and other vermin crawling and scuttering across the playing area- knocking a bit of the sparkle from all those hotels on Boardwalk.

"Well? What can we do? We're just Little People- they have all the money and power and I can't be late for my low-paying, no-insurance job because it's all that stands between my family and homelessness".

"Well? What can we do? We're just Little People and they've purchased all the politicians on both sides AND the people who make the voting machines".

I get all that. Hell, I AM all that.

But I'm just naive enough to believe that our votes still count- and if we all just throw up our hands (or just throw up) and refuse to vote because "it doesn't matter" than we absolutely deserve what we get.

Because here's the thing. We've been pounded on and drilled into and harped at and whipped into a frenzy about bullshit. Time to forget labels and look at substance, to actually listen to what is being said and proposed and think through for OURSELVES what the outcome of that will be for us, personally and our children and elderly specifically.

See, that's what separates a society from a business- taking care of our weak and helpless because we're human is vastly different from watching the bottom line and "trimming accordingly...even if it hurts a little bit (read: throws the smallest cogs under the bus...nothing personal)". That's why for-profit health care is such an all-around bad idea.

It's easy to listen to the man on the screen say "We need to make some harsh cuts in order to keep our fiscal house in order", and nod our heads like grownups.

But what, exactly does that mean?

Especially when all the harsh cuttings are coming from OUR lives and not the lives of the top 2% of the money/power holders who hold upwards of 20% of the actual cash.

If it means no public option in health care, letting private insurance business clerks act as executioners like they do now, it's a bad idea.

If it means no new roads and bridges, no funding for schools and teachers, no real ways of weaning our nation off of our oil addiction, it's a bad idea.

If it means "blank checks" continuing to line the pockets of the Pentagon to wage their wars of Oil and Empire, it's a bad idea.

And for damn sure if it does NOT include raising the taxes of the corporations- even doubling them would leave them paying laughably lower taxes than they've ever paid...ever, and if it does NOT include reining in Wall St., it's an

outstandingly

freakishly

horrifyingly

bad idea.

So lets start there. Really listen to the individual platforms and not the parties and vote accordingly no matter what. And be sure to drop a line to that effect-

"Dear Sir/Madam, I'm not voting for you because you're a fan of (fill in the blank of whatever bad idea we discussed above). If you can show me and your other constituents that you've changed your position on that, I'll be happy to reconsider. Otherwise, get the hell out of the way".

-or-

"Dear Sir/Madam, I am voting for you because of your admirable stand on (see above parentheses). If you are fortunate to become elected, please refrain from turning into a corporate shill asshole, because we will be watching you. Thank you."

Never ever waste a vote just to "send a message" to a particular party or to "make sure we have a one-term president". That's irresponsible, childish and guaranteed to put us in a worse spot than the one we're in.

What can we do NOW? Email, call, show up at your elected official's office and give them a piece of your mind- it regenerates, truly it does. Tell 'em to grow up and grow a pair and get on with running this country for US, not the goddamn corporations. To quit jacking with OUR social security and medicare- those are NOT entitlements other than the fact that we are entitled to them because we paid for them, dammit.

For too long we've allowed ourselves to be cajoled and nit-picked into corners filled with detail and batshit craziness- paying so much attention to the speck we can't see the log...

...that reminds me- anyone who runs on a "Man of God going to bring the Nation back to Christ" platform? The Founding Fathers thought that was a really, really bad idea.