Wasting time with teabags and red letters
We’ve always been taught to believe that government has our best interests at heart–that our legislators represent us, and that the majority of Americans have a say in how government works.
But that view has fallen on hard times as more and more Americans are seeing just how Uncle Sam doesn’t work. Or rather, how he has stopped working for Americans and started working for soft money, special interests, and corporate America.
This accompanying video is a representation of that view–a view which I share, by the way, and I’m not alone.
All across the U.S., Americans are displaying their outrage with teabags, of all things, and red letters. But what are we really accomplishing with these pitiful displays of our anger and dissatisfaction at our legislators? Our leaders already know that Americans’ satisfaction with the job they are doing is abysmal. They already know we disapprove of their multimillion dollar bailouts, of their obsequious gestures of goodwill, of their hypocrisy and of their willingness to represent whoever has the deepest pockets.
As you watch this video, consider what it’s going to take to turn things around. It will demand more than a teabag, a stamp, and an envelope. My prediction is that as long as we are content to waste our time with these kinds of displays, things will continue as they always have.
In order to have an effect on how we are governed, we will have to adopt strategies which have an outcome that can be felt by our leaders in a meaningful way. That means total reform at the legislative level. We will have to find a way to beat the politickers at their own game. Since no one on the Hill has the backbone to do the right thing, most likely, we will have to find innovative ways to exert political pressure on our current legislators. Next, we will have to replace them with legislators who will enact the kind of reforms we need to substantially diminish the corruption of our system. That means, among other things, enacting term limits and campaign finance reform. We’ll also need to systematically remove corporate lobbyists, special interests, pork barrel spending, and soft money in any form. A watchdog group of American citizens will probably have to hold legislators accountable. Stiff penalties will follow for those who violate the law.
Is this little pipe dream of mine possible? Sure. Will it happen? Probably not. Once the political machine is in charge of holding itself accountable, it becomes self-perpetuating. It’s a closed loop system, which ensures it’s own survival by upholding the status quo. Reforming it will require unity on a national level and as long as the Party favorites are running the show, keeping us divided and distracted, the most we can expect from Americans is a red letter and/or a tea bag. Maybe, we would gather the courage to act in a pragmatic way, if we knew that our protests did little more than provide our lawmakers with a free beverage and cheap coaster to sit it on…but I doubt it.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Maybe the only “hard times” you speak of are the direct fact that the “little guy” took the ride with Corporate America and got a small piece of the much larger pie (crumbs falling from the table); now the baker has left the building and the successful “little guy” (false reality ???) is in a pinch to live up to the same lifestyle. I beg you to show where these Corp peoples lost in proportions to the “little guy” American dreamer now throwing a big hissy fit……..oops that be for Mr. Ron who claims the bashing of Corp America is “old news”. Doesn’t that fit the same principle of this article ? Throwing teabags is like bitching today about a wrong being done, then saying tomorrow it is old news and let it go, while the same wrong continues to be done.
Here’s the problem, we folks are the only ones saying all this “madness” is wrong. They see no harm in their agendas. The masses of “ignorant” American citizenry don’t understand and see right from wrong as they ride the tide of the American agenda. Does any of that sound familiar to a scene from 2000 years ago ?
Either I am totally ignorant or it took powerful men, men of influence, men of stature and pull to have a “tea party” and buck the status-quo ; great men took it upon themselves to beat down powers of dictatorship in politics and religion in our past. Where are they today , but non-existent in the pit of greed and self-profit that also plagues the common man.
If the common man suffers from the same disease, how can they produce leaders from the fold to make a difference? Too many “intelligent” common folk believe their only path to “greater wealth” and “safe, prosperous retirement” is thru the lead of such said Corporate thieves. Seems catch-22 to me.
Your ideas sound nice, but who will enforce such agenda? The common folk can’t even unite to enforce a 1-day gas boycott when the price is $4-5/gallon……….how can they produce a set of leaders to change the rule ? Wishful thinking.
It will only happen with a true Revolution, the kind of which the American populace is ill-prepared for and the Liberal elect is working overtime to prevent. All change of said regimes in history came by drastic measures, by a dominating force, and even during the great Peasant’s Revolts of olden times thru the underlying support and influence of people in the power positions themselves.
We gave them their control, then they made sure we had no say afterward. Regardless, you have the right to vote, then call/write your leaders. You have ZERO say in any law/bill enacted, tax hike passed, lobbyist agenda pushed, or any control of how your tax dollar is spent………no matter how much you kid yourself to think you do. Now who would dare protest to put the fear of God into them in order to bring about the change you desire?
Not near enough !!! as true protest comes with a price to pay. It is no different than discipline when your child must pay a loving price for wrongful action. They , too, and foremost, began to dissolve discipline thus leading the peoples to socially accept discipline as a “bad” or “racist” or “unethical” response. Discipline is tough to take, thus no one (even Corporate America) likes to face it.
Protest is only true protest when it hurts in a disciplinary form . You want a real and successful protest = don’t go to work !!!!!!!!!!!! You get bombarded with all the self-helps of saving for 6/mths wages in case of catastrophe, but few follow sound advice. The Corp and Gov banks on that. They know Americans need to work to pay their bills/debt.
Who would be forced to stop and listen if the workforce refused to go to work for 4 weeks/1 month ? No one payed taxes for a month, no one produced a product for a month, and in the perfect scenario no one spent a dime on any product for that same month. Is this not the reason for forming a Union? To keep Corps from ruling the worker with the iron-fist mentality? Right now , people are “scared” to lose their jobs.
Fear= man’s worst enemy, the Corp and Gov’s best ally.
Men of old were men of honor, valor and chivalry. Today that sounds like being a wishy-washy fool. They used to say if it was worth living for, it was worth dieing for. Today’s mentality says that too is wrong.
The men need to find it in themselves to stand against these oppressions, unless they are satisfied living off the crumbs from the kings table (trickle-down-economics).
I cannot believe you would besmirch Uncle Sam’s name by conferring that title on the present administration.
Uncle Sam stands for a free, common sense, help-out-your-neighbor, where everyone rolls up their sleeves and does what is needed and what is right.
Maobama and Pelosi’s socialist henchman aren’t Uncle Sam. They’re Ackbar Al-Samdi. They’re Comrade Maobama Say Change.
By besmirching Uncle Sam, you besmirch years of a country that did work- before the welfare crowd “elected” their figurehead.
For shame. For shame.
What’s next, are you going to mock the Eagle? Ridicule the three-cornered hat of the Minuteman?
We can keep our pride in the United States, just not the regime currently holding the reins.
I never quite looked at an “Uncle Sam” poster and felt warm and fuzzy inside. It showed a finger in my face, grouchy, grumpy face (like my grandma when she got REALLY REALLY ANGRY) , one of those scare you into submission kinda’ looks………
……that’s “Uncle Sam” , even on the posters. But…oops, well, when and why did Unc Sammy come about , anyhoot?
What the crap is the 3-cornered hat of the Minuteman? Cousin to the 3-toed sloth?
Uncle Chad has great ideas, great aspirations !!! ( I do agree!!!) ……..just no henchmen or Uncle Sam-boys left to actually get the job done. Actually, where’s the American value in people to get the job done ? Oh, I forgot, they got tired of the last regime and voted against the “Bush” party. What happened to “your” country….was it just Obama getting elected? or the accumulation of many, many years of political abuse ?
A three cornered hat is what was worn for hundreds of years. Think of the hat that Johnny Depp wore as Captain Jack Sparrow.
People got tired of the Bush party? Years of Political Abuse?
Bush didn’t do much of anything. He was a laissez faire President. Even Slick willie reacted to terrorist acts by launching cruise missiles immediately- unfortunately hitting the wrong target (the Chinese Embassy). Bush…. he handled it like Captain Picard and went into a conference first.
Maobama got elected on his skin color and age- both hyped up by a willing media. Because we have a younger generation raised on doing what TV tells them to, and now they can vote.
You echo what I have been saying for @ least 20 years. What is going on now is a massive “undoing” of what Ray Gun accomplished. The same game just with different players?
In the last 40 years, until now, we have had two Democratic presidents. Let them run with the ball a few yards before you chop them down.
How does this current economic stimulus attempt compare in sheer volume of dollars to the bailout given to the banks and insurance companies? Which has helped the people more?
The bankers took the money and are siting on it. That wasn’t the intention of the government officials approving the handout.
Why do I have to wait for disaster to strike to give a cautionary warning? Do you let your kids put screwdrivers in the electric socket, or warn them before they do it?
The Devilcrats clearly are going to wreck things. We knew it before Slick Willie took power, and we were proven right. But I would gladly take Slick Willie back over Maobama Faux Change and his plan to socialize the United States.
Run with it? Maobama sure will run with the ball- right off the field and back home where it’ll never be seen again.