Not Your Country

Second Amendment

Time was…in a galaxy far, far away…the people controlled their elected “leadership” through the power of the ballot box.  Before that, they relied on things like...well, tar and feathers...ropes and rails...to move rascally scoundrels out of town when they misbehaved. When things got really bad, the people revolted – arming themselves and challenging their “leadership” to a war – literally taking matters into their own hands.

Alas, I’d argue that those times have passed in most of the developed world. Not that the people don’t still feel that way at times, but it’s just not prudent and practical to risk breaking one’s new cell phone engaged in some sweaty, armed uprising or act of civil disobedience. ( Note: special warranty on cell phones specifically proscribes against such negligent damage and those devices aren’t cheap to replace.) One could try setting oneself on fire publicly or blocking the path of a tank column with one's body, but that may only provide a short term fix.

Still, folk want to do something when they feel that their government isn’t representing their interest – or worse – acting against the interest of the common person. So, what to do? 

At the local level, it’s a bit easier to take action. Circulating petitions. Neighborhood/precinct rallies. Old-fashioned organizing and mobilizing...then boot those bastards out! That still works fine when...say...the local county executive and his wife have been taking bribes and giving developers hall passes to raise hell for local communities. It’s quite another thing to get those lifer senators and representatives in Washington out of office. 

The thing is, unlike the local politician, the honorable seat-warmers in Washington enact (or fail to enact) policy actions that affect one’s life and livelihood in Peoria or Galveston, even though she/he may be from districts in Louisiana or Florida. How do you punish them when the only tools at your disposal only work in the district in which you reside, and you’re not crazy or inhumane enough to try taking  them out with an assault rifle on a baseball field?

Corporations ARE People?

A short time ago (ages ago in Millennial-speak) a group calling itself “Occupy Wall Street” came to be and promised to do something about the corrupt links between Washington and Corporate America. Even further back, a certain governor of California raised the issue during his presidential bid. He called for campaign finance reform. He went nowhere, and the issue went into the legislative sewer system in both the House and Senate. More recently, an unassuming and outspoken senator from Vermont and a rather plain-speaking, energetic Senator from Massachusetts have tried to enlighten the American people about this age-old issue. Corporations have more influence over governance than the people. More about these heroes later.

But corporations ARE people, aren't they? Well, corporations do have a permanent seat in Washington and do roam the halls of congress, helping erstwhile bashful representatives craft and pass legislation that significantly and permanently affects the lives of every single person living in America – legal and Illegal. 

Health Care was a prime example. It was supposed to be FOR the PEOPLE, but back then that poor democratic congressional committee had so much trouble crafting it that they brought in industry experts to help them massage the overly aggressive proposal so that it pleased enough members to pass. Of course, it also pleased the industry...pleased them enough that they could then assure the beneficiaries of their campaign support that it was okay to vote for it. 

Not right you say? It was supposed to be in the best interest of the people? Well...they're people. The highest court in the land...an unbiased...non-political body comprised of the brightest legal minds the nation has to offer...says so. 

(Full disclosure: The Health Care sector did remarkably well after ACA (Obamacare) took hold. Profits were up...way up...after the initial scare faded and the actual design played out...and I made money.)

Hey Americans! It’s NOT YOUR COUNTRY. It’s theirs.

Time For Change

So Occupy Wall Street fizzled out. 

Actually, they stayed around longer than I thought, just not long enough to build up a good proton burst sufficient to blow down the power shield around those politicians and corporate interlopers in Washington. They ran out of fuel…or money…or leadership. Who knows…maybe some got bought out; investigated by the justice department (IRS) (FBI); or maybe they just got tired because it was even harder than the “really hard work” George W. Bush talked about during his presidency...Changing Washington.

The "Change We Can Believe In" people had a good slogan, but they would have been better off bringing a barrel of hot tar and a couple sacks of feathers when they came. Some steel railroad rails and a stout rope would have been good too.

As to the senators from Vermont and Massachusetts? They were snubbed by their party. 

C'mon! What were YOU thinking?! They were gonna let some firebrands, from New England of all places, change the system that keeps the big contributions rolling in year after year?! Here...put that out in this ashtray and save it for later! So if those heavy hitters couldn't make a dent in the force field, what are you and your petition (or blog) going to accomplish?

Washington is a fortress. Even if you’re lucky enough to get your elected official’s office to call you back about a concern, it’s unlikely they’ll do much more than stroke you a bit then get back on the phones for their required quota of fundraising for the “Party.” Here's why: Corporations take government assistance in the form of massive tax breaks and special considerations that reduces the tax revenues of the nation while concomitantly boosting their bottom lines. It’s Welfare…they just don’t call it that because...well...it isn’t really need-based and it frankly doesn’t matter whether the CEOs have children or not.  Besides...corporations pay better than you do.

Making America Great

You've heard of the tail wagging the dog in government? Crazy, but tail-wagging by a dog is supposed to be the sign of well-being.  I like the analogy:

• When a dog is scared, the tail tucks in out of sight. 
• When things are great, that tail does seem to shake the whole dog from side to side.  
• When that dog is about to take a dump on something, the tail gets up high out of the way!

They say confusion exists as to whether our leaders are actually the tail and the economy (corporations) the dog? Sometimes that gets confused, like at those times when crap has dropped and the owner (us) has stepped in it. We see the dog but by then the tail is often tucked away out of sight. Then we need some newspaper to clean up the mess and enough airtime for the stench to go away.

Tail...dog...it’s all the same and it likes to be fed – regularly and well. 

So I suggest...fixing America.

You mean as in America being GREAT again?

No. It's not just about the economy (stupid)...belief that if the economy is good then all is good with America is kinda true...just not in that "trickle-down" way from back in the Reagan era.

Let’s-Not-Feed-It

How do you keep that dog from crapping all over the place?

1. Don't feed it so much.
2. What does it eat? Food, Treats and Sticks.
3. What does the food and treats look like? Money, of course.
4. Where does the money come from? You.
5. What's the stick for? Not playing fetch.

So what are ya gonna do, not make that campaign contribution this year? 

Well you should know your elected official does appreciate the $25 you sent in twice during the last election campaign…or was it the one before? Really…they do. But your check isn’t even a rounding error on the massive money that they receive from corporate and big private donors. Our Supreme court conveniently says that the corporations are like special people and can give until it hurts through exceptions in the laws (see PAC). 

Thing is…it doesn’t really hurt them…they get it all back and then some. So when entities like (I can’t mention their specific names ‘cause they have better lawyers than I do and they’ll make me sell my house to pay a settlement) one whose name starts with...say a K...ponies up ten million dollars to help someone get elected, they outbid your measly attempt to gain favor a million-fold and then some. 

• So you can't hurt them withholding your money.
• They aren't from your district so you can't vote against them.
• In presidential elections we've seen enough evidence that there are too many under-educated, under-informed, gullible, naive, stupid, mean or otherwise incompetent voters who will vote for a one-eyed troglodyte if she/he promised them a few occasional strips of bacon.
• Exercise of the Second Amendment is just a theoretical discussion.
• Violence is out of the question.

Neither The Bullet Nor The Ballot  

SO here’s the thing (total disclaimer: I’m not advocating to be anybody’s leader or do anything that might endanger the warranty on my smart phone)  

So here’s the tl;dr 

1. Identify which elected official is misbehaving. Too many on the list? Narrow it down to those whose actions are the most egregious. Doesn’t matter what state or district. What committee is she/he serving on and what is their record. 
2. Then – who are their corporate contributors? 
3. Who are the private entities behind the corporations? 
4. What are the parent companies? 
5. STARVE THEM. Starve them all!

For instance, if say, the "BIG COOKIE COMPANY" (again with the name-withholding) that produces a lot of those packaged, sweet, baked goods that you like to eat while binging on the latest episode of Orange is also owner of the company that makes Ketchup (Catsup), hamster treats, salsa dip, breakfast cereals, etc., is one of THAT representatives’ larger contributors, starve THEM!

Don’t buy any of their products…as a group. No pitchforks. No torches. Just no money. Then:

• Tell them what we need them to do. 
• Make them OUR lobbyist. As good as the perks are for them coming out of congress, their money mainly comes from us! That…I would argue more than the ballot box…is our weapon. It’s our silver bullet. 

[So that company's competition is just as involved with the representative you say, and you're only going to give up one snack for this cause? Well we flip a coin and choose one or determine which gives the most or has otherwise more reprehensible behaviors requiring sanction.]

Some really smart leader type once said that the choice was the ballot or the bullet. I’d argue that the ballot isn’t as useful anymore…I mean, can people REALLY be trusted with a vote when they believe anything and everything these actors say to get elected? Vote with your pocketbook (or your smartphone easy pay system).

Occupy Wall-Streeters...and those with similar goals...organize once more, BUT this time with a plan. We don’t elect corporations BUT they do end up shaping our laws. We CAN and DO choose to support them…with our money...or NOT. Just sayin...whose country is this anyway?

Stormy mUNday

As a kid, the one day I dreaded most of all was the first day of school after summer vacation. I mean, after you got into the month of August, it was just there. Waiting. Getting closer with every sunny morning that you rolled out of bed, ready to have nothing but fun.

So you shook it off as you hurriedly splashed water on your face and wet your toothbrush to fool the toothbrush police before rushing out to play, and you told yourself that you still had a few weeks...couple of weeks...almost a week...a few days...AIEEE! It was the night before the terrible day! Where did the summer go?!

Well, next to that first day of school, there was no day that I dreaded more than e-v-e-r-y  s-i-n-g-l-e Monday (that wasn't part of summer vacation or a holiday). It wasn't just that I never finished my homework or studied for the big test. It was just that Monday meant an end of freedom.

"Clear the yard! Prisoners return to the block!"

There were other things too. It always rained on Mondays. There was never a snow storm on Mondays. Teachers always sought to get even by scheduling big exams for Mondays. The kid you narrowly escaped on Friday afternoon always said, "I'll get you on Monday!"

Fast forward. Finished grammar school and high school (Ugh!) Set my own schedule for college classes, and...you guessed it...avoided Monday classes like plague villages of the Middle Ages.  That was nice. Plus, with college, you got spring breaks, final exams came much earlier than ever before and there was generally lots more time for having fun...if you didn't have to work part-time to avoid starvation and didn't really care that Cs made your transcript look like the printer key got stuck in one position and no one in the registrar noticed. Still, every weekend was a little nicer because it didn't end on Sunday nights. I kept my Mondays clear...life was good.

Then I really grew up.  So whose bright idea was it to start the work week on Mondays? Aargh!

What followed was 30+ years of Stormy mUNdays. (mUNday? That's found in the  dictionary as "The bleak 24 hour period immediately following Sunday which often hangs like a dark cloud and UNdoes or potentially obstructs all the fun to be enjoyed during the preceding 48 hours.") The only good thing about mUNday is the popularity that it brings for Fridays.  Surely, no day is celebrated more than Fridays by the greater masses. It's sort of like the last day of school, only it comes once a week.

Show of hands...? Who likes Mondays? (Of course there has to be one oddball in every group.) Put your hand down. Okay, what about Fridays? Okay. Okay. Put your hands down. Stop waving! It'll be over soon enough.  Once you start getting those AARP letters twice a month in the mail, it won't be long. Just a matter of time before they get your email address too.  Before you know it, you'll only know the different days of the week by the t.v. shows scheduled on your DVR.  I mean, nothing - no matter how long suffered - lasts forever. You'll either retire one day or you'll be taking a dirt nap. In some cases it's not obvious how different those options might be.

So finally every day is the same...when being retired means no ups and downs through the week...when Friday just means there will probably be more of a crowd in the grocery store..mUNday has become the day I just smile when it's rainy and cold in the morning and traffic reporters say you should probably call in sick.

But something's missing. I kinda miss the high of a Friday afternoon in early spring, when the thought of taking off early plays through your mind at lunchtime.  It was also kinda nice realizing through hump day that you'd made it and were heading downhill. Let's not leave out that guiltless bliss of calling in sick on a mUNday morning while still in your jammies, knowing that you'd just cheated the demon of his due.  Without the dread of mUNday, there wasn't so much to look forward to at the end of the week. Waah! How can this be??! How can I miss it??

So what's left for a late Boomer like me? Like you? What are other Boomers up to these days? Maybe I should've gone to those stupid retirement seminars? What's this retirement thing all about? I thought it finally meant "freedom."

I say it's: "Doing Time On Planet Earth" and I'd like to hear how you're doing your time?

Copyright 2013 D. EDWARD DYER  All rights reserved.