Half-hearted Political Rant
People are extremely pissed off about the political situation in the United States. Democrats hate the Republicans, Republicans hate the Democrats.
Listen up people—you will be much happier once you face the facts: America is fucked. NAFTA has destroyed the manufacturing sector. Globalization of business means you will not have a job if someone overseas can do it cheaper. And make no mistake about it: they can, and they will. Millions of Chinese will work six or seven days a week, 10-12 hours a day, for 60 cents an hour. There’s no way we can compete with that. I would not be surprised if the teaching profession is outsourced—give each kid his own computer in school and have the lesson taught by someone in India. Security guards? They’ll be replaced by codes punched on a keypad, or by door cards and cameras. Low-paid technicians around the world are reading your ultra scan results. My advice is learn to do something that has to be done here. Learn to mop. Be a carpenter. Become a surgeon. Not everyone can do these things, or is willing to do these things. They can learn to operate a French fryer or wrap tacos. You’ll be low-paid, but you’ll have a job. So shut up and get used to it.
As for politics, there is no one party that’s going to fix things. We need a full scale revolution. An overthrow of the government. But it won’t happen, because everyone is too fat and lazy. A million people liking an “Overthrow the Government” page on Facebook isn’t going to do shit. Fuck Facebook.
Both major political parties are jokes. Everyone in politics has their own agenda. That’s why they are in politics. If their agenda happens to match yours, and they manage to change things, then you’ve lucked out. Politicians can’t make it in the private sector. That’s why people run for office. They have an agenda, or someone they know does. I’m ashamed to admit I ran for city council a few years ago. I was talked into it by an ex-boyfriend. I tried to get out of it, but I either had to commit a felony, or move out of state. Neither one was an option at the time, so I halfheartedly started a blog and asked people what they’d like to see in downtown Fort Wayne. I got some interesting responses, but that’s all I got. I never really went out and campaigned or did fund raisers, because I really felt I shouldn’t be running. Ironically enough, on election day, I ended up with more votes than my (then) boyfriend did, and it pissed him off to no end.
I ran as a Libertarian, which is a story in itself. Every so often I see a letter to the editor saying it’s time for a third party. We’ve had a third party for quite some time, unfortunately, they are just as fucked up as the other two. The Libertarians appear to have some problems—number one, no one really seems to be able to figure them out. They are socially open minded. Some of them want to legalize drugs; a majority of them appear to not care what you do, as long as you don’t ask for help from anyone, particularly the government. They don’t care what kind of lifestyle you lead; feel free to be as amoral as possible. However, the Libertarians seem to have a bug up their butt about spending money. Libertarians have to be the cheapest people on the planet. There’s nothing wrong about being frugal; I’ve changed my spending habits over the past year or so and I try not to buy unnecessary things. But—the Libertarians, by their very frugality, should be the richest people on the planet. Yet no one really seems to realize they exist, until you hear that a dominatrix happens to be running for state rep on the Libertarian ticket. Or they get someone like Howard Stern to run. Libertarians are in dire need of some positive public relations. If that means hiring a PR firm, so be it. But when you run whack jobs on the ticket, you shouldn’t be surprised when people roll their eyes when you say you’re a Libertarian. They’re going to expect you to be a gun-toting, drooling, militia member. Libertarians are like the guy at the singles’ dance who appears to be rather normal, until you realize he’s wearing green, red and white plaid pants with a lavender paisley shirt and Crocs. He may even sound rational if you go up and talk to him, but his outfit makes you wonder what the hell he’s thinking. So it is with Libertarians who also think everyone is perfectly able to take care of themselves. It’s obvious Libertarians don’t work in social services. Has any Libertarian told some severely handicapped 18-year-old kid confined to a wheelchair, with his head permanently rolled to one side who has an IQ of perhaps 35 that he’s going to have to get a job and support himself once he graduates high school? Has any Libertarian spent some time in a group home for mentally challenged adults? Have they spent time in a nursing home? Libertarians all seem to think that everyone is 35 years old, perfectly healthy, has a successful business (because working for someone else is for pussies) and can pay for their own private health insurance (because pre-existing conditions are for pussies) and makes at least $20,000 more than their state’s median income level. It will take a long time before Libertarians are taken seriously, because they need to stop nominating people like Howard Stern, people who are into “alternative lifestyles” and people like me. I’m pro-people, which probably makes me a socialist. I want people to have enough food, adequate shelter, access to education and health care, and not have to worry so much about stuff. I’d like to erase the resentment of sick people in this country. I’ve actually heard people say the way to deal with the health care situation in the United States is simply, “don’t get sick.” Tell that to the parents of a five-year-old girl, recently diagnosed with cancer, who don’t have health insurance. Tell it to your 26-year-old son, who is unemployed, who got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
It should be obvious to everyone people who run for office can’t make it anywhere else. If politicians really wanted to work for the good of the people, they’d find a way to support themselves while in office. Either they’d get contributions from people, or they would be wealthy enough to work for change without taking taxpayer’s money, but then it might backfire, ensuring that only rich people would get elected. The rich can buy politicians, which is why they no longer work for all of us, just some of us.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I don’t look to the future with anticipation and joy. How long will it take until we run out of cash, out of jobs, out of housing, food and resources? How long will it take until we truly want to take back our nation? We’re like the frog in the pan of water. As the heat gets turned up, we get used to it. But we’re too dumb to realize we’re getting cooked. Is voting truly the way out? Not when your candidates are already hand-picked for you. And they are.
Listen up people—you will be much happier once you face the facts: America is fucked. NAFTA has destroyed the manufacturing sector. Globalization of business means you will not have a job if someone overseas can do it cheaper. And make no mistake about it: they can, and they will. Millions of Chinese will work six or seven days a week, 10-12 hours a day, for 60 cents an hour. There’s no way we can compete with that. I would not be surprised if the teaching profession is outsourced—give each kid his own computer in school and have the lesson taught by someone in India. Security guards? They’ll be replaced by codes punched on a keypad, or by door cards and cameras. Low-paid technicians around the world are reading your ultra scan results. My advice is learn to do something that has to be done here. Learn to mop. Be a carpenter. Become a surgeon. Not everyone can do these things, or is willing to do these things. They can learn to operate a French fryer or wrap tacos. You’ll be low-paid, but you’ll have a job. So shut up and get used to it.
As for politics, there is no one party that’s going to fix things. We need a full scale revolution. An overthrow of the government. But it won’t happen, because everyone is too fat and lazy. A million people liking an “Overthrow the Government” page on Facebook isn’t going to do shit. Fuck Facebook.
Both major political parties are jokes. Everyone in politics has their own agenda. That’s why they are in politics. If their agenda happens to match yours, and they manage to change things, then you’ve lucked out. Politicians can’t make it in the private sector. That’s why people run for office. They have an agenda, or someone they know does. I’m ashamed to admit I ran for city council a few years ago. I was talked into it by an ex-boyfriend. I tried to get out of it, but I either had to commit a felony, or move out of state. Neither one was an option at the time, so I halfheartedly started a blog and asked people what they’d like to see in downtown Fort Wayne. I got some interesting responses, but that’s all I got. I never really went out and campaigned or did fund raisers, because I really felt I shouldn’t be running. Ironically enough, on election day, I ended up with more votes than my (then) boyfriend did, and it pissed him off to no end.
I ran as a Libertarian, which is a story in itself. Every so often I see a letter to the editor saying it’s time for a third party. We’ve had a third party for quite some time, unfortunately, they are just as fucked up as the other two. The Libertarians appear to have some problems—number one, no one really seems to be able to figure them out. They are socially open minded. Some of them want to legalize drugs; a majority of them appear to not care what you do, as long as you don’t ask for help from anyone, particularly the government. They don’t care what kind of lifestyle you lead; feel free to be as amoral as possible. However, the Libertarians seem to have a bug up their butt about spending money. Libertarians have to be the cheapest people on the planet. There’s nothing wrong about being frugal; I’ve changed my spending habits over the past year or so and I try not to buy unnecessary things. But—the Libertarians, by their very frugality, should be the richest people on the planet. Yet no one really seems to realize they exist, until you hear that a dominatrix happens to be running for state rep on the Libertarian ticket. Or they get someone like Howard Stern to run. Libertarians are in dire need of some positive public relations. If that means hiring a PR firm, so be it. But when you run whack jobs on the ticket, you shouldn’t be surprised when people roll their eyes when you say you’re a Libertarian. They’re going to expect you to be a gun-toting, drooling, militia member. Libertarians are like the guy at the singles’ dance who appears to be rather normal, until you realize he’s wearing green, red and white plaid pants with a lavender paisley shirt and Crocs. He may even sound rational if you go up and talk to him, but his outfit makes you wonder what the hell he’s thinking. So it is with Libertarians who also think everyone is perfectly able to take care of themselves. It’s obvious Libertarians don’t work in social services. Has any Libertarian told some severely handicapped 18-year-old kid confined to a wheelchair, with his head permanently rolled to one side who has an IQ of perhaps 35 that he’s going to have to get a job and support himself once he graduates high school? Has any Libertarian spent some time in a group home for mentally challenged adults? Have they spent time in a nursing home? Libertarians all seem to think that everyone is 35 years old, perfectly healthy, has a successful business (because working for someone else is for pussies) and can pay for their own private health insurance (because pre-existing conditions are for pussies) and makes at least $20,000 more than their state’s median income level. It will take a long time before Libertarians are taken seriously, because they need to stop nominating people like Howard Stern, people who are into “alternative lifestyles” and people like me. I’m pro-people, which probably makes me a socialist. I want people to have enough food, adequate shelter, access to education and health care, and not have to worry so much about stuff. I’d like to erase the resentment of sick people in this country. I’ve actually heard people say the way to deal with the health care situation in the United States is simply, “don’t get sick.” Tell that to the parents of a five-year-old girl, recently diagnosed with cancer, who don’t have health insurance. Tell it to your 26-year-old son, who is unemployed, who got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
It should be obvious to everyone people who run for office can’t make it anywhere else. If politicians really wanted to work for the good of the people, they’d find a way to support themselves while in office. Either they’d get contributions from people, or they would be wealthy enough to work for change without taking taxpayer’s money, but then it might backfire, ensuring that only rich people would get elected. The rich can buy politicians, which is why they no longer work for all of us, just some of us.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I don’t look to the future with anticipation and joy. How long will it take until we run out of cash, out of jobs, out of housing, food and resources? How long will it take until we truly want to take back our nation? We’re like the frog in the pan of water. As the heat gets turned up, we get used to it. But we’re too dumb to realize we’re getting cooked. Is voting truly the way out? Not when your candidates are already hand-picked for you. And they are.
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