living it up

According to a KTVU, Bay Area Channel 2, report Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is living it up at tax payers' expense. KTVU is apparently upset about the sorry state of Oakland, where Dellums was recently elected mayor. So their special reports team went to dig into the public records and found that Ron Dellums, a long time politician and former congressman is greatly outspending his predecessor, Jerry Brown.

I have to admit that the news coming from Oakland is not good. Crime is up, streets are full of potholes, and the schools are performing badly although they appear to have improved somewhat. It is however unclear how much of that is related to Dellums. Most problems were there well before Dellums was elected mayor. Some would argue he was elected to fix these very problems. If that it true, then it certainly remains a campaign promise. However, what really rubs people the wrong way is the Mayor's plan to cut back on city services to save money. Not that he has that many alternatives given the sorry state of the California budgets.

Dellums is well known for his left-leaning policies, and wikipedia calls him the first openly socialist Congressman since World War II. There is no doubt that many are strongly opposed to Dellums and would welcome any criticism of the man as long as it is negative. Given his political orientation, it is obvious where that criticism would come from. Note that KTVU felt it necessary recently to make clear to its viewers that while it is affiliated with FOX, FOX News has little or nothing to do with the contents of its reporting. Now there is a coincidence if I ever saw one.

To be honest, I am not all that upset about another politician getting free rides. They all do. One might say it is probably the main reason why they went into politics. Perks and power. That is what politics is all about. Never mind the advertising tag line of "public service." Remember, the ministry of love?

What is truly interesting about the whole episode is the warped idea people have of happiness and success. An idea that affects Dellums and other politicians as much as it does most of us. It is the consumer society's idea of happiness and achievement.

It appears Mayor Dellums enjoys fancy hotels, flowers, eating in expensive restaurants and being driven around, be it locally by his personal chauffeur, or in the nation's capital using expensive limo services. These, my friends are put forth as the true measures of what we should all strive for and aspire to. That is why it is supposed to irk us that this particular politician is getting all these perks undeservingly so, and at our expense -or at least the expense of the citizens of Oakland. Furthermore, being a left-leaning politician, this is an indicator of his deceitfulness and untrustworthiness. As if right-leaning politicians are entitled to live it up.

It is sad that people equate dining at expensive restaurants, sleeping in luxury hotels, and first-class airline travel with happiness and achievement. These are ostentatious acts designed to impress others. Their only biological benefit is in attracting mates and generating more offspring. Unfortunately, that is often not possible. So what remains is a ritual shell with all the costs of sexual display, but none of the advantages.

These "perks" do not enhance personal well-being. They are more likely to make you sick. Many people sitting in expensive restaurants wish they could have a hamburger and a beer at home. If only they could shed their expensive costumes and untie their restrictive ties. They would feel happier if they did not have to travel and meet strangers. If they could just shed the yoke of consumerism and enjoy life instead.