Blame Game
"We had all become used to the totalitarian system and accepted it as an unchangeable fact and thus helped to perpetuate it." – Vaclav Havel, President of Czechoslovakia, January 1st, 1990, only months after overthrowing a despotic communist regime.
We, the people of the United States of America, are all responsible for our current state of affairs. The problem is that we don't take any of the responsibility. If we're Republicans we blame it all on the Democrats, if we're Democrats we say it's all the fault of the Conservatives. We all helped elect this current debacle of an administration; we all have put a man like Dick Cheney in power and let him remain there. Even if we didn't vote for him we all created an atmosphere in which the only other choice for President was a pompous hypocrite like Al Gore or a meandering socialite like John Kerry.
Last year, Rolling Stone magazine pointed the finger at the American Congress and said "Pigs!" The Economist magazine pointed the finger at this Congress this year and said "Thieves!" Every daily paper in every city across the country points the finger at the American Legislative body and says "Liars!"
But I point to the American people and say "Fools! Scoundrels! Selfish Bastards!"
It is our selfishness that steals our own fortunes. It is our greed that is destroying our own nation. It is our own lack of moral clarity and utterly irresponsible behavior that is ruining this once beautiful nation.
"Well, what about the thieves!?" some might shout. "What about the goddamn thieves ruining America? You can't blame me with so many asshole lawyers and politicians and businessmen dead set on ruining our country!"
Certainly some of us are making more money, are taking more luxury, some of us are visibly accumulating giant empires from this total destruction of the United States of America. Yes, Halliburton continues to steal Billions of dollars from our troops and is now moving their company headquarters to Dubai to avoid paying taxes back to our people or being investigated for criminal fraud. Certainly the corporate executives at McDonald's have garnered incredible stores of wealth from making our children fat and sick. And I agree that Exxon Mobile corporate offices may as well be paved with gold for all the money they have 'legally stolen' from the American people over the years. So what? The certain fact that some groups are more violent or disgusting in their pursuit of power and money doesn't mean any other American is 'just a victim.' We are all co-creators of this culminating chaos.
My question is this: Why has the American given up his natural rights in the face of this unrelenting destruction on the part of these resource sucking animals? The answer is simple: Convenience. Simply this: as long as a man has no moral compass by which to judge his society he will fall into whatever category is Easiest and creates the least Conflict for both his own intellect and his own existence.
The worst part: These crimes committed by the most offensive of human beings are not hidden from view. They are clumsily cloaked in rhetoric and dressed up in vague references to our founding fathers, but they are not in the least bit Invisible. In fact, they are often stripped of their ridiculous democracy costumes by clever writers and hard working journalists. But this is the consistency of the problem: even if the writer or journalist should get the message right and make it entertaining enough for the selfish and bored American to sit through, even if the message is clear and makes my countrymen and countrywomen nod their head or wipe tears from their eyes, Nothing Changes. Because we are so used to saying everything is someone else's fault, we Americans have become unnaturally used to believing that someone else is going to fix it. This is the dark truth of America: No one is going to fix it. The motivated men and women are already busy profiting from the destruction. Everyone else is just watching it on TV.
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Preston Picus writes for satisfaction and works for money. He sleeps better that way.
"We had all become used to the totalitarian system and accepted it as an unchangeable fact and thus helped to perpetuate it." – Vaclav Havel, President of Czechoslovakia, January 1st, 1990, only months after overthrowing a despotic communist regime.
We, the people of the United States of America, are all responsible for our current state of affairs. The problem is that we don't take any of the responsibility. If we're Republicans we blame it all on the Democrats, if we're Democrats we say it's all the fault of the Conservatives. We all helped elect this current debacle of an administration; we all have put a man like Dick Cheney in power and let him remain there. Even if we didn't vote for him we all created an atmosphere in which the only other choice for President was a pompous hypocrite like Al Gore or a meandering socialite like John Kerry.
Last year, Rolling Stone magazine pointed the finger at the American Congress and said "Pigs!" The Economist magazine pointed the finger at this Congress this year and said "Thieves!" Every daily paper in every city across the country points the finger at the American Legislative body and says "Liars!"
But I point to the American people and say "Fools! Scoundrels! Selfish Bastards!"
It is our selfishness that steals our own fortunes. It is our greed that is destroying our own nation. It is our own lack of moral clarity and utterly irresponsible behavior that is ruining this once beautiful nation.
"Well, what about the thieves!?" some might shout. "What about the goddamn thieves ruining America? You can't blame me with so many asshole lawyers and politicians and businessmen dead set on ruining our country!"
Certainly some of us are making more money, are taking more luxury, some of us are visibly accumulating giant empires from this total destruction of the United States of America. Yes, Halliburton continues to steal Billions of dollars from our troops and is now moving their company headquarters to Dubai to avoid paying taxes back to our people or being investigated for criminal fraud. Certainly the corporate executives at McDonald's have garnered incredible stores of wealth from making our children fat and sick. And I agree that Exxon Mobile corporate offices may as well be paved with gold for all the money they have 'legally stolen' from the American people over the years. So what? The certain fact that some groups are more violent or disgusting in their pursuit of power and money doesn't mean any other American is 'just a victim.' We are all co-creators of this culminating chaos.
My question is this: Why has the American given up his natural rights in the face of this unrelenting destruction on the part of these resource sucking animals? The answer is simple: Convenience. Simply this: as long as a man has no moral compass by which to judge his society he will fall into whatever category is Easiest and creates the least Conflict for both his own intellect and his own existence.
The worst part: These crimes committed by the most offensive of human beings are not hidden from view. They are clumsily cloaked in rhetoric and dressed up in vague references to our founding fathers, but they are not in the least bit Invisible. In fact, they are often stripped of their ridiculous democracy costumes by clever writers and hard working journalists. But this is the consistency of the problem: even if the writer or journalist should get the message right and make it entertaining enough for the selfish and bored American to sit through, even if the message is clear and makes my countrymen and countrywomen nod their head or wipe tears from their eyes, Nothing Changes. Because we are so used to saying everything is someone else's fault, we Americans have become unnaturally used to believing that someone else is going to fix it. This is the dark truth of America: No one is going to fix it. The motivated men and women are already busy profiting from the destruction. Everyone else is just watching it on TV.
----------
Preston Picus writes for satisfaction and works for money. He sleeps better that way.
