Forum Post: These Are Historic Times

For at least a decade I have seen absolutely no reason to be optimistic about America’s future.

On the one hand, there is the idiotic divisive partisanship of many Republicans and Democrats and the resultant utter failure of the American political system to govern for the good of the Nation. No matter which political party you may favor, the truth is that you have been played for a sucker. The simple fact is that the American political machine is oiled and maintained by the rich and powerful with no meaningful oversight by either the American people or the Mainstream Media. Us “little folks” have been kept in the dark and fed a never ending diet of superfluous issues like family values, abortion, birth certificates, religion, homosexuality, terrorism, crime, liberal vs. conservative. As a result, this nation is more divided than at any time since the Civil War and Congress is paralyzed and unable to govern during the most dangerous times since the Great Depression.

On the other hand, we have these two insane wars in the Middle East which our dear leaders seem absolutely incapable of either winning or ending. Osama bin Laden along with a mere handful of fanatical followers has been the real winner by helping bankrupt the United States and turning it into a writhing frightened community which has reacted by terrorizing its own citizens and even suspending constitutional rights. So far the cost is approaching $3,000,000,000,000 and 7,000 lives, not to mention an estimated 250,000 lives in the countries invaded. Of course, this cost is justified and supported by the war profiteers such as Halliburton, Bechtel, General Dynamics, Exxon, Chevron, Titan, and Aegis who have gotten rich on “no-compete” contracts. The really sad part, however, is that we have created far more terrorists thru our foolhardy actions. “Nation Building”….kiss my ass.

Then, we have Wall Street and the bailouts. Too big to fail. Wall Street or Main Street. General Motors. The Housing Bubble. Massive Unemployment. Gutting of the Middle Class. The National Debt Ceiling. The Tea Party. Foreclosures. Plummeting Real Estate Prices. Insolvent Entitlement Programs. Out of Control Health Care. Unions. The War on Drugs. TSA. Homeland Security. The Greek Debt Debacle. And just this week, the MF Global Bankruptcy – the largest bankruptcy of a private firm in American History ….and much more. Is it any wonder many people are more pessimistic than they ever imagined they’d be? Who would have imagined 20 years ago that Western Democratic Civilization – America and Europe – would so soon be on the brink of collapse? That the very nations who crowed the loudest about being the “best hope of mankind” would cut their own throats and be eclipsed (and financed) by a Communist country? For several years I’ve been saying that “the American people are about to get exactly what they deserve”….but recently, there’s arisen a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) Movement is the first REAL movement for POSITIVE change this country has seen in decades and it appears to be fueled by Americans of all walks of life and all political persuasions. Is it possible that Americans are actually waking up and stating publically “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore”? Will the United States (and Europe) experience their own versions of the “Arab Spring”? Are the American people (finally) waking up and educating themselves to what is REALLY going on in the World? Will this movement “grow legs” and scare the living hell out of both political parties to the extent that governance on behalf of the People is again possible? We can only hope. So far, the OWS movement seems to be embraced by the Democrats more so than by the Republicans, but is that any real surprise? One thing’s for sure, if the OWS movement catches fire, a lot of politicians will lose their jobs….again, we can hope.

We are truly living in historic times. There could be a sliver of hope after all. It could be that we become a united people once again…even exceptional…again….OWS may be our only chance.

03NOV2011