Politics and the state of logic
Don’t you just love it whenever the president and the GOP lay claim to being pro-life? I am always amazed whenever I meet someone and they tell me they only vote for Republican candidates because they are pro-life. Then they look at me like a deer caught in headlights when I ask them why then is the GOP so quick to send our men and women off to die in wars half way around the world while refusing to provide citizens with quality affordable health care at home?
A lot of what is called an argument that makes sense in politics makes no sense at all. We spend more money on our armed forces than the next 10 to 12 highest spending nations combined. It seems to me, we should be doing the same to ensure the best health care, education, infrastructure, senior care, and any other government supported service you can think of. Unfortunately, we fail miserably in most other services, which is why the United States is no longer looked at as the best place in the world to live.
I also do not think the left fully understands how taxing the rich is not the answer to all that ails this nation.First, we know if this were to be done, the rich would up and leave and take their wealth with them. And while the top one percent own anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of the wealth in this country (it depends on how far left the politician is when throwing dollar figures around), it isn’t enough to pay for all the free stuff they think we deserve.
Don’t get me wrong, I like free stuff, although the watch I got from Time Magazine when I renewed my subscription never worked which is what a lot of people on the far left aspire in life; I prefer to cherish the things I earned in life. This isn’t new. I remember friends of mine applying for guaranteed student loans back in the early80’s, just before the program was ended, who had no intention of paying them off. They thought of them as free money and in most cases blew theirs on new stereo systems, a nicer apartment, and lots of weed.
Advice should be free while in college, health care, career training, and other essentials should be made more affordable, but not free. This might mean we live with a few less wars, but I really do believe if you asked the average American, they’d be happy if this were the case.
Our future is going to be determined by taxes more than anything else. It’s not that we mind seeing our income taxed by Uncle Sam, sometimes more than once, it’s what we get in return, or fail to get, that pisses us off. From 25 to 30 percent of my money goes to my government and I really have no say in what they do with it. Where is the logic in this? My income is placed in the hands of greedy elected officials who are only going to do what the lobbyists they are tied to at the hip tell them to do.
Our elected leaders know what we want. They read social media, hear us at town halls, and read the polls and then turn around with a deaf ear to it all and want us to believe “their hands are tied” or “there are some things voters do not understand.” Republicans’ and Democrats’ hands are tied to big money and they hope like hell the average voter never understands the bullshit they call work. They prefer lower voter turn outs on election day because they thrive on citizen apathy.
Toss the poor a few bones so they don’t rise up and revolt. Make concessions that amount to next to nothing to fringe groups so they will shut up. Pray no white cop shoots an unarmed black youth in a major city because the fallout is too hard to explain. Cross your fingers no one shoots up an elementary school because how do you explain to the grieving that guns don’t kill? Tell your base we can have it all without having to pay a dime more in taxes because the rich should be made to pay for our happiness. Create so many regulations jobs are lost overseas and then bitch about unemployment. Brainwash our youth into thinking college is the only path to success and then make it impossible to pay for or too humiliating to choose another path in life.
Most of all, master the art of speaking without saying anything that can be used against you in a future election because reelection is more important than leadership.
You would think all of this B.S. would be enough to rile up citizens and we would see more people running for office to change the system. Instead, we can’t be bothered because we have more important things to do like post photos of ourselves, binge watch the endless number of television shows available, or drink ourselves silly and forget about it all. If we get angry, we take it out on some stranger who posts something we disagree with or who waves a sign we do not like. There just isn’t enough time to attend a local town hall because it gets in the way of our life.
So what is the solution to a government that continually lets us down, fails to accomplish much of value, and leads the way in the endless finger pointing and hate that permeates our society if people are not willing to do much more than sacrifice a few hours on a couple of weekends to march and carry a sign, but sure as hell won’t run for office, even if it is at the lowest of local levels?
Logic tells me this can’t continue if we want to remain a strong nation that leads the world in a positive direction. Then again, for some, their idea of a positive direction is not much different than what Hitler thought. It might mean more government or it might mean less government. Maybe it results in more guns and fewer shootings or fewer guns and more shootings. Maybe it will see us all become pro-life even if some are anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, or anti-Immigrant.
Maybe the solution is to crush the Artificial Intelligence movement and replace it with Artificial Logic. Perhaps then we will see a government that makes sense and a public that cares less about political affiliation and more about what just makes sense. Just don’t ask me to get involved because I am busy enjoying my free time and can’t be bothered.
Jim is a life long resident of California and retired school teacher with 30 years in public education. Jim earned his BA in History from CSU Chico in 1981 and his MA in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1994. He is also the author of Teaching The Teacher: Lessons Learned From Teaching. Jim considers himself an equal opportunity pain in the ass to any political party, group, or individual who looks to profit off of hypocrisy. When he is not pointing out the conflicting words and actions of our leaders, the NFL commissioner, or humans in general, he can be found riding his bike for hours on end while pondering his next article. Jim recently moved to Camarillo, CA after being convinced to join the witness protection program.