"Right On!"

Time to talk politics again - at least a little.

     NOTE:  Following last night's surprise information that CBS News conducted a poll that shows an unheard-of 91% (!) of the polling sample approved of the proposals outlined by President Obama in Tuesday night's address, it appears I may be in large part preaching to the choir.  Still, I had already written the sermon over the past few days, so I'm going to post it anyway! 

On Saturday, January 21, I joined another protest group for a midday rally.  No marching this time, which actually would have been much better for my aching joints.  It's harder to stand than to walk, and sitting was out of the question.

The day was the second anniversary of the "Citizens United" decision by the Supreme Court.  My sign, on one side read,  $  IS  NOT  SPEECH,  and on the other side,  AMEND.  It would be to better effect if I could actually show you the sign the way it was hand-printed, with the word "SPEECH" running large in the lower half of the total space, below the "$ IS NOT" line.  Then on the reverse side, with more space for my one-word message, I made the appeal to "AMEND" in much bolder print.  It turned out to be a great sign for the spot where I placed myself, at a busy intersection and on a divider median, where I could hold the smaller print side toward traffic as drivers slowed for the light, while the back side of the sign with much larger print was visible to traffic coming faster from the opposite direction.

Interesting to observe people!  Hundreds of passers-by honked horns and shouted approval to the thirty or more members of our little protest group.  Many thumbs-up gestures were held aloft and a few used the "V" sign with two fingers, I suppose for either victory or peace.  Now and then someone energetically thrust upward the single middle digit instead.  All-in-all, I estimated about 99% of the public were positive toward our effort and 1% were not happy to see us.  That must have been what the single digit was signifying - the 1% definitely do not like anyone pointing out the huge unfairness in our current atmosphere of big money controlling the political races.  And Citizens United fosters that unfairness.

But bizarre attitudes of many confused folks demonstrate the difficulty we all have in getting a focus on our frustrating governmental sphere. 

We protesters were out there specifically to call attention to what is surely the most destructive decision ever handed down by our Supreme Court - the grand opening for corporations to buy elections.  [If there had been a larger poster board handy when I was making my signs, one would have read, CORPORATE CORRUPTION Has a SUPREME COHORT.  I may still do that one some day.]  Now what group, as a very general class, gets the greatest advantage from that deplorable court decision?  The rich and powerful, obviously, and along with them those mainstream Republicans who typically support big money interests.  Who will likely have a major battle this year to win re-election, even though not a single Republican pretender to the highest office is at all competent?  Our embattled President.  And what will actually be his largest barrier to re-election?  Big money and powerful corporations - the Wall Street agglomeration that hates Obama and all his efforts on behalf of the 99% of U.S. citizens.  While FAIR SHOT/FAIR SHARE should be the slogan of all who believe in democracy, about half of our populace apparently cannot believe in this concept.  It seems to me that millions of people in this country believe whole-heartedly that they deserve a fair shot at becoming successful, but they would not agree at all to paying their fair share if they were to become wealthy.  Shame!

And many people simply do not have a grasp on the facts or the big picture.  Check out this odd exchange I will attempt to recite from memory.

Lady At Traffic Light:  "Thanks for being out here; we need to get things changed!"
Yours Truly:  "Agreed!  We need an amendment to stop the madness the Supreme Court unleashed!"
LATL:  "We have to get him out of there.  Washington's a mess!"
YT[a bit nonplussed]:  "Nothing can get done with a Congress that is stuck in reverse gear and uncooperative."
LATL:  "I know someone in Washington and she says that every piece of liberal policy that comes across his desk, he just signs without looking at it!"
YT  [Stunned - seeking a calm but solid retort]:  "Well, in my book, we can never be too progressive."
LATL [as traffic light changes and she pulls away):  "RIGHT ON!!" - while flashing a "V" sign.

Is it possible that the art of plain communication has been lost?  Has some Supreme Being (not Justice Roberts but some other supreme being) confused the tongues so we can no longer understand each other?  Or has the 1% establishment released a secret concoction - maybe Agent Green - into the air and water so that all of us without the antidote have become dull of wit and unable to fight the stupidity hovering all around us?  Is the average person on the street really unable to see what is being done to us?

     Allow me to insert a comment here - mostly as self-protection.  Some of you may be gunning for me!  If any of this writing sounds too personal, as though I am talking straight to you in my criticisms, it is completely unintentional.  I try to always keep it impersonal and general when I criticize "the electorate" etc.  But please also, if it feels like a slap in the face, perhaps a wake-up is in order.  I do so hope all thinking people will actually THINK before the elections approach.  We have all made mistakes in our voting decisions over the years.  This year's vote seems somehow vital to our national survival.

Again I reveal my very UN-neutral opinion toward this coming election.  Because of the utter disbelief I suffered in 2004 when a dim-witted electorate returned to office the most destructive president in our history, even after seeing what he was capable of doing, I am now fearful.  While today's inept and floundering candidates propose their idiotic ideas of what America needs, sounding very much like clones of the former despicable politician who ravaged our land and our stature in the world, it seems logical that a landslide win for the incumbent should perhaps surpass that experienced by Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  But our people have been so badly bruised in spirit and in pocketbook that the voting booth has become a theater of war.  Witness 2010 elections!  People walk in there prepared to do battle with something they don't understand but something that has hurt them, so the only thing they know how to do is pull the lever to oust incumbents.  Actually, if there were even ONE potentially capable candidate at the top of the ticket for the Republicans, I as an Independent would welcome the ouster mentality.  At least that might mean that the horde of right-wing and Tea Party do-nothings who waltzed into the House in 2010 could also be dumped this time around.  And isn't the king of the do-nothings up for re-election this year?  If so, maybe his fellow Ohioans will give him something to cry about - while looking for work back at home!

Please remember the Lady At the Traffic Light who is possibly a symbol of the typical citizen today.  She knows her life could be better; she knows she has been hurt by governmental policies of the past; she assumes she is being hurt by recently adopted policies, by this current administration; she sees people in streets carrying signs, so she assumes they are helping her country reach for the change she feels is needed.  Yet in her mind, getting "him" out of there is the logical move.  HOLD ON there, LATL!  The "him" to whom you refer is at least an intelligent and apparently a very dedicated servant of the people.  This him is also the one carrying the heavy weight for three years, trying desperately to dig us out of the mess that was handed him by incompetent and even proud destroyers of our nation.  This him is the one we need to continue carrying the weight for another term.  This him is capable.

The rotten eggs who need to be gotten out of there are those who stand in the way of progress when they should be building on good ideas.  If Congress had passed the jobs bill that "he" proposed last year, we could be well on the road to full recovery of what we lost in the Bush years.  No, I do not feel our President today is perfect; I merely feel he is dedicated.  His only glaring fault has been in trying too long to promote bi-partisanship when it was obvious early on that no such cooperation from the other side was forth-coming.  His biggest weakness is his desire to be what any great leader should be - in it for the people.

           Very likely, the Lady At Traffic Light did not even deign to watch the State of The Union address on television because she already had her mind set against anything our President might say.  Or if she did watch, she may have sat as stone-faced as Mitch McConnell or looked as smug and disrespectful as did John McCain and some other people in the chamber.  Perhaps they, and she, were nostalgic for the good ol' days of GWB's scintillating orations and his clear vision for a strong America(!).  No, I think it's more likely that people whose minds are dead set against Mr. Obama for whatever reason (and I've elsewhere indicated what I firmly believe is a major but subliminal reason), were stunned by the sheer reality of how much better he is in the Presidency than was his predecessor.  They also must surely see how much better it would be for the nation if he were to continue in office than would be our plight if any one of the opposition's weak and massively flawed choices were to manage to get in.  Once again, Mr. Obama and his proposals for our country were overwhelmingly positive.  And as a candidate for the top office in our nation, the man stood (as usual) in stark contrast against all the less capable who would try to unseat him.  We have the right person at the helm, and if we let him work, my prediction is that our nation will be back to a high point of respect and progress after four more years.  And you, Dear Reader, will have a better chance at personal success while I keep my tiny social security income and get to sell a few more homes as the economy strengthens.

So when you are faced with voting this year, I hope you will ask yourself the simple question of What does this (or that) candidate seem to want most?  Position?  Power?  Money?  or to genuinely help the people of this country?  As of today, January 26, I know of no candidate other than President Obama who can honestly be seen as being in the political business for any motives other than selfish ones.

And as a corollary to re-electing the capable leader, it's time for people to wake up and realize, for the good of all of us, that EVERY MEMBER of CONGRESS who voted AGAINST the JOBS BILL should be REPLACED!

If we plummet to the depths of former failed policies; if Republicans maintain control of the House and we are subjected to another imbecile-elect in November, I will sincerely need to consider finding a new country!  This one is becoming ever more like that of Steven Tyler's "...land of the free - FRIGHTENING SCREAM!"