The Voice of the People
... or at least my own
|
|
|
... or at least my own | | ||||
January 7, 2003
|
In this nation we have a lot of freedoms. We have a long established tradition of local jurisprudence that has maintained these liberties that we take for granted. We also have a long historical tradition of a believe in the power of improvising our society that rises up to the challenges that our nation faces. We are not any different than any other society really, except that perhaps we are evolving in a unique historical direction. Unlike other members of the "new world" America was an integrated part of the European British trading system probably because it was closer to Britain and France. There's no reason we could have evolved into the banana regimes and despotic governments of Latin American fame. The Civil War did happen with the Aristocratic south that was propped up on slavery and breeding racism in the poor whites and middle class. There is nothing innately democratic about our nation. Some have ventured to say that we are a historical accident. So we are free but there is no guarantee just because we have a 216 year old parchment locked in the Smithsonian Institute. Men will always interpret the words that are written by the "ancestors." Men will also always twist words and phrases to serve selfish ends, so we should not expect our freedom to be guaranteed just because we have some words written on paper. We must constantly fight for freedom as this freedom is impugned in OUR OWN COUNTRY, not halfway around the world in a poor nation because some scum-bucket corporate agents want to be able to lease the rights to own the world's 2nd largest known oil reserve. Imperialist wars are about feeding the greedy monsters who live to get filthy rich and have power for themselves at the expense of everyone else. And what about the rest of us. What are we free to do while these pigs buy everything and start asking there judicial friends to re-interpret the laws ? Well ... We are Free to pay taxes and find some job that pays rent to someone else, and then be able to have enough money to eat regularly and perhaps blow a little money frivolously so we can think we live like the rich and famous we read and hear about all the time. If we're lucky we'll be able to pacify our stressed out frustrated souls and afford cable TV for the whole family. Meanwhile, as we rush by those other mother fuckers on the highway in our pay per month for 5 years car, we intend to get the best deal at the store and stash our stuff in our uniform apartment building/house room number 251, thank you very much. Hopefully we don't get sick or we'll have to pay some money we don't have because even if we do have insurance, the insurance company plays games with us and we wind up having to pay more money than we should because we don't feel like battling the lawyers for 5 years over $500. Oh god, but we get by somehow, someway. Since at least we are free, which means that we don't get picked up by the police for no reason, and that there are not too many bureaucratic hoops to jump through if we ever did want to start a business and work all the time to pay off the interest and lease payments on the stuff we have to get initially to start the business so that we don't wind up in 60% failure rate of all American small businesses. And no doubt that is because it's big government that's buying up small businesses and under-selling the market to drive the mom & pop stores to the wall. But that's okay because every new Walmart means new jobs, so we can forget about the jobs that are replaced. And corporations have the right to uproot and reinstall themselves in a foreign land where labor and business costs(ie. taxes and regulations) are negligible, because they will be able to pay bigger dividends to the top 5% who own 75% or more of the stock certificates. Besides, when the market bubble bursts, who cares if the small fish die off, because the big-time operators are always there to buy up the good deals since you still have money if you only lose 50 million dollars but you still have another 900 million left. Those little guys making 100,000 dollars a year need to wait until the good times come rolling in and forget about whether they can retire or have to work their whole life and hope Social Security will be enough. After all, rapacity and ruthlessness must be rewarded in our country because that's what like to call free enterprise. And this nonsenses would stop if we would just give all the taxes back and get rid of government all together. The free competition of businesses and business fiends would certainly make more sense than a bunch of fool politicians who sold there souls for corporate bucks talking about issues and democracy. No sir, cause I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free to watch the broadcasts of ABC, NBC, CNN, CBS, TNT, FOX, and all those other corporate anagrams that basically spell out the phrase "We're fucked." How could 3 gigantically bureaucratic news organizations ever become infiltrated with corporate propaganda agents? I'm sorry, when Dan Rather and Ted Koppel and Connie Chung read off of those typed words scrolling in the distance, I believe every word. They seem like nice people to me. I mean they smile and grin all the time when they talk in those offices on the 31st floor of a New York City skyscraper. Imagine all that information being transformed electronically into a radio signal that pulsates into outer space and bounces off the satellites to the many branch offices of the conglomerate network, then retransmitted to a local television nearest you. What is there in this entity that is not to trust, I dare ask ? Let's all sing together now with the radio song ... "and I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free."
|