Greetings All,
How nice it would be if I could really believe that one U.S. political party is any more dedicated to the needs of the people, whether it be the people of the United States or the people of the world, than the other political party.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
From either perspective, whether domestic or international, neither U.S. political party has been responsiive to the needs of the people.
In fact, both political parties, if truth be told, appear to be dangerous.
Both political parties supported the destruction of a nation, Libya:
Which was ranked No. 54 on the United Nations Index of Human Development;
A nation that offered free education; free health care;
Free seeds and land for farmers;
Homes for every citizen;
A life expectancy of 79 years of age, the highest in Africa;
Equality of men and women; a literacy rate of 90%; $500 into the bank accounts of each Libyan, monthly, through Libya’s oil revenue-sharing program;
Libyan cities that were more modern, architecturally and aesthetically, than European cities;
Libyan women who could marry for love, rather than be forced, by male relatives, to marry whom those male relatives had chosen for them.
Libyan women who could drive their automobiles anywhere in Libya without being escorted by a male relative.
And if anyone think’s that the destruction of Libya, through NATO (of which my country, the U.S., provides the biggest revenue), was a God-send, then examine the current landscape in Libya: anarchy, almost total violence, rape, murder and an atmosphere that is saturated with fear.
The “leaders” of the puppet NTC government there recently announced that Libya is “broke and broken.”
Libya is now a launch point for Al-Qaeda, which sends its fighters to fight in Syr8ia. Of course, as usually, the global media is absolutely silent, especially the U.S. media.
No one is going to be told what the war on Libya has “achieved,” because it’s time to vote. Tons of weapons, of all sorts, have now flooded North Africa, from Libya, in part due to our government’s interference in the affairs of that soverign, but now destroyed, State.
On the domestic scene, both political parties are too busy vying for power to give a damn about the common people. What is the estimate now? Some 50,000,000 U.S. citizens are impoverished, and the number is rising by the nano-second.
And now, yet again, we are expected to place our hopes in a political system that appears to offer nothing to the world but war, by the U.S. government’s “death by a thousand cuts” policy of destabilizing and destroying nation states [Iraq, Libya, Syria, and we all know who might be next].
We see the politicians, in suits and ties, at their conventions, smiling; and we hear the bands playing, and the emotions being pumped up. And, year after year after deteriorating year, we fall for it. We fall for it.
Black, brown, and poor white people languish in the prison system. A whopping 70% of professional black women have no mate. And this state of affairs has been attributed to the new caste system that was created 40 years ago, and that has resulted in the phenomenon of mass incarceration.
Neither party has not mumbled a single word about the millions and millions and millions of children whose parents are locked away in prison. Neither party has said anything about the inability of those who are “released” from prison to:
1. Find employment, due to the fact that employers can legally discriminate against ex-felons, simply by asking, on employment applications, “Have you ever been a felon.” If you answer “yes,” then guess what happens? Your application goes into the “circular file,” i.e., the garbage can;
2. Obtain housing, due to the fact that landlords can legally discriminate against ex-felons, and deny them housing;
3. Obtain health care;
4. Receive social services, such as food stamps;
5. Vote–they are permanently disenfranchised members of the new American caste.
When an individual cannot find a roof to protect himself from the elements; when he cannot obtain food to eat; when he cannot obtain employment so that he can earn a a living, then what does the U.S. government think that that individual will do?
Oh, it knows what he will do: He will participate in the underground economy. Invariably, he gets caught, and he goes back to prison, generally for non-violent
offences. And this is the revolving-door reality of multi-millions of human beings that have been created as America’s new caste–no, not CLASS. I said CASTE, and that is not hyperbole.
A permanent under-caste has been created in the United States. And what will Obama or Romeny do?
Judging from the past, as well as from the fact that our nation’s politicians are now ruled by private money-interests, they will do nothing to create decent jobs, particularly in manufacturing [Only God knows if manufacturing will ever return to the U.S.], that will help the ex-felon avoid the need of participating in the underground economy; that will allow the ex-felon to take care of his wife and children.
How telling it is that, in some countries of Europe, prisoners can vote. Not only that, entire voting drives can be held. Not so in my country, the U.S., whose politicians continue to champion the illuison that the U.S. is “the greatest country in the world.”
Isn’t there a saying that goes something like, “You can tell whether a nation is truly civilized by how it takes care of the least of its citizens.”
Concentration camps now horde a permanent underCASTE in the United States–the least of our citizens.
Urge both political parties to work to remove money from the political process. There is no need for me to elaborate, because everyone knows what’s going on.
Incidentally, if anyone thinks that the description “caste” is an exaggeration, then I invite you to view the following lecture by Dr. Michelle Alexander, a legal scholar as well as a civil rights and human rights advocate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BSwEYyFu2E .
And if you don’t come to tears while listening to her speak, then you’re either asleep, dead, or you’re a politician. I would also ask that you obtain her book,
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595581030
I am not suggesting that no one votes, although that is a tempting suggestion to make. I am merely stating what everyone, unfortunately, knows: The U.S. political process is non-functional, in terms of its ability, or willingness, to help the people.
It doesn’t function. And that reality must be faced if we’re to have any chance whatsoever to save our country, and to help uplift the fortunes of the suffering people of the world–the least of us.
Warm regards,
Ron, Just an ordinary citizen