Author: A. Whitney Brown, writer, actor
Since starting Toner Mishap October 17, 2004, with B2 and On The Mark, I have been following the news even closer than I used to and now I can certainly understand why most people are apathetic to our government.I now feel that we have a government (both parties) that is out of touch with the people. National representatives have a different health plan, and, if I have this right, are exempt from Social Security because of the government’s plan for elected officials which explains why most politicians only provide sound bites about Social Security and no action.
I find myself more often than not feeling very frustrated by the Machiavellian machinations on both sides. Then there are the corporate chieftains that have advanced stealing to a new level only imagined by the monopolistic industrial titans of the Gilded Age.
Yet, no one seems to care. Worse still, is that even if you do care, what can you do? I feel that Sisyphus had more of a sporting chance than we do. I watch corporate executives in amazement at there lack of knowledge. I am sure if I were to meet the great and mighty Oz, he would tell me that they have something I lack. He would say, “they know how to operate within the system. Doing something you like is foolish, unless your passion is to make money. It does not matter if they don’t know the definition of rigor or that they think there are 51 or 52 states in the union. As long as they can make money they are viewed as smart."
This is a long way of saying that since Congress is vacationing on our dime and Bush is back at the ranch for the fiftieth time in five years, I am going to skip writing about politics this month, unless something noteworthy happens.
Now, I can just compare Rafael Palmeiro's nuanced comments with Bush’s regarding Turd Blossom, if he were caught leaking information. What a world!
4 comments:
I think we are probably atop the speed bump on our way down, thus sooner than anyone expected, but longer than those money-people behind Bush wanted.
I understand your frustrations and agree with much of them. One of the things that I have been suggesting is a focus on community.
I think that in a smaller setting it is easier to exert influence and affect change.
But I do not see this as being the worst time in our history. I think that there are legitimate challenges to that title and that there have been a number of moments that are worse and that there is good potential for improvement.
I have to agree it is not the worst time in history, Slavery, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Cold war nonsense, blacklisting, the hits just keep on coming. However, I would say that our attitude and leadership is on the lower end of the scale.
I forgot to mention local involvement. Yes, that is a very good way to be heard, but when the same petty politics used on a national scale are applied locally, it is really depressing. My recent letters to the City Council, Mayor, Police Chief resulted in an almost form letter response from the police chief. I have even met all the city council people through Rotary, when I once belonged, and nothing from them. You can tell where I live from the stats on your site, so you know it's a smaller more enclosed area where one can make a difference, if one were only home during the week to do so.
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