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Edited on Wed Oct-03-07 12:16 PM by Cyrano
Is your health care plan as good as the one your congressperson and senators get free? Does your salary even approach that of your congressperson or senator? Do you have a pension plan backed by the U.S. treasury like that of your congressperson and senators? Do you have people seeing to your personal security day and night? Do you have limos at your disposal? Can you take "fact-finding" trips anywhere in the world you feel like going? Can you make a list of all the personal perks you can take advantage of on a daily basis? Are you surrounded by people who's job it is to take care of your every whim?
Well, what the hell. If you're answer to all of the above is "no," it's because our elected representatives are "serving our country." You are not.
The majority of those who "represent" us, are so far removed from our daily life experiences they might as well be living in a different universe. Most of us worry about our next paycheck, social security check, or disability check. Our representatives worry about the next election and whether or not they are doing enough to earn the mega-checks from their big contributors.
It's been said ad nauseum that "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Perhaps that's true. Too bad we haven't tried much democracy lately.
It seems to me that the citizens of all the world's other democracies, from the western European countries, to Canada, to Japan, seem to care more about their citizens than does our current Uncle Sam (read George Bush, Dick Cheney and the entire Republican Party, as well as quite a few blue and yellow dog Dems and the corporations that own them all).
Most of us know we are being screwed every hour of every day. So when do we collectively wake up, rise up, revolt against the tyranny of the privileged, and decide we will no longer settle for the crumbs being thrown to us. Just what the hell is it going to take for us to reach out and rip our basic human rights from the bloody claws of those who are oppressing us?
If we truly had a democracy, do you think we'd be in Iraq? Do you think we'd be without universal health care? Do you think corporations and the super rich could call all the shots while ignoring our existence? Does anyone really believe that we'd have a minority of religious freaks and a wingnut-dominated Supreme Court telling us all what kind of country we are going to live in?
Okay, that's the end of my (super pissed off) rant of the day. If only I had the talent/intelligence to channel my rage into changing the world -- or even the small part of the world with which I come into contact.
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