Wednesday, September 16, 2009

democracy?

We Americans like to go out and bring democracy to the world. But perhaps it would behoove us to look more closely to what is happening at home before we go out and try to help others. America of all countries is surely not a democracy.

Consider this: the top 1% in this country own more than the bottom 99% combined. If you think a democracy is possible in a country with such inequity, think again. Even if you -like most Americans- secretly dismiss the homeless and the poor, and believe the "true" inequities are much smaller, definitely think again.

More than anything, the so-called middle class, and that includes the upper middle class, are the true victims of this deplorable state of affairs. The middle class are the only ones who have enough money to feed this greed machine. Never mind the poor and the homeless. They literally don't own anything so they cannot be robbed.

The homeless and the poor may very well suffer, but they are not really counted when it comes to wealth. They simply don't count, not just in your secret dreams, but in everyday reality. They are not part of any statistic and nobody really knows who they are or how many of them exist.

When it is said the top 1% own more than the bottom 99%, then the bottom 99% means those people who are not part of the top 1% but are still counted because they have jobs, social security numbers, driver's licenses, jobs, homes, etc. It means the rest of us. The American consumer. The ones who can vote but somehow never seem to use their vote to protect their own rights.

Modern America is closer to a Vegas casino than you think. In its vast halls there are millions of people playing the losing game. They do so because they are led to believe they may one day be rich by playing the game join the rich. But in reality they are slowly but surely robbed of all possessions they have, and -as the recent credit crisis shows- then some.

And where are the top 1%? They are the ones running the casino. You never see them because they are hidden behind the scenes. All you ever see are their enforcers and their highly paid entertainers. In this world the entertainers are called president, senator, and representative. They are the ones that keep you hooked to the machines. And when their magic fails, there are always plenty enforcers to keep the peace.

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