Breaking Point
Last edited Thu Jan 8, 2015, 06:48 PM - Edit history (4)
Chris Shiftie leads from the rear. No shocking revelation there. The fact that his defense in his latest scandal is "a rule was written, by a previous governor, that makes it ok for governors to take gifts from friends" ranks as one of the most condescending and elitist dodges I have every heard.
The fact the Bob McBoondoggle in Va only got 2 years when sentencing guidelines called for a minimum of 10-12 years is a condescending and elitist miscarriage of justice we rarely see even among convicted politicians. State chief executives, all elected officials for that matter, should be held to the highest standards of conduct and should face the harshest penalties when they do not.
Only the privileged have the arrogance and sense of self-entitlement to make a speech and walk away looking like the victim.
People of color, the poor and the most vulnerable of our society are increasingly the target of a legal system that has become jaded and cruel and gives every impression that it has lost all perspective in the meaning of "justice". When we lose confidence that the rights and privileges that we are all endowed with as citizens, secured by virtue of birthright, our Constitution and the blood of patriots that died to protect those rights from the battlefield at Yorktown, VA to the streets of Selma, AL, no longer applies to everyone equally, we must take notice.
Income disparity must transition from an human interest story to a front page story before we can even begin to address it. A 2014 Credit Suisse report in worldwide income distribution found that 91% of the world's adult population only controls 15% of its wealth. In contrast, 8.3% of the world's adult population controls 85% of the the world's wealth. Forbes top 10 richest people in world are, as a group, richer than they were last year. 8 of 10 are US citizens. Bill Gates, number 1 on the list, has twice as much money as number 2 on the list (80 v 40 billions of dollars). Gates's wealth is greater than number 9 and 10 combined. We, as a people, will soon reach a point when this level of disparity will can no longer be sustainable. Already, many have felt the impact from their final straw breaking and their hopes and aspirations with it. For far to many the American Dream is just that, a dream. The exception can not be the rule anymore. Stop using exceptionally rare situations as examples to shame someone for their lack of success. For far to many the goalpost never stops moving. For to many success is measured in the simplest of terms: a clean and safe place to sleep and clean water and enough food to keep the ache of thrist and hunger at bay for a little while longer. Success is the simple act of existing.
Borrowing part of a popular quote in a different context, stand up for what is right or resign yourself to live on your knees.
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