According to right-wing radio host, Jason Lewis, as a liberal, I am automatically a doom-and-gloomy "tortured soul invested in defeat and pessimism" for not denying the underbelly of American society, and defending the greatest poverty of them all -- American Poverty -- capital A, capital P (raise the flag, and play the National Anthem)!
Jason Lewis: Give us your poor -- if you can find them
Dig into the numbers, and poverty doesn't look as bad as the gloomier among us say it is.
Wow, I didn't know I was supposed to be a tortured soul... maybe a bit peeved, but tortured? Guess I'll put that on my to-do list.
In this instance, Lewis claims we doom-and-gloomers are making a mountain out of a mole hill when it comes to poverty in America, and that it's really not that bad. It strikes me as about as honest as a millionaire telling a homeless person that money and shelter are overrated. How's your portfolio looking, Lewis? Pretty good from Bush's tax cuts I bet.
Ah yes, the trickle down conservative tax cuts. Of course this makes the big assumption that those who can afford to trickle will in fact, trickle, and stats have shown the opposite to be the case. As taxes go down, so do charitable donations. Perhaps the upper eschelon didn't get the memo, but then with all the lost paperwork coming out of the Bush WH, it's not suprising.
Amazingly enough, Lewis didn't mention Clinton until the fourth paragraph, and then complimented it with John Edwards. I would bet his balls shrivel up at the thought of Hillary, but Edwards has become fair game as the rich liberal wanting to help the (non)poor. He has earned the honor then, of being a serious contender, and someone the right needs to scare the base from. Way to go John!
Lewis points to the stock market as proof that the economy is booming. That is terrific news... for those who earn a living in the stock market anyway, and it's even better for corporate profits. Problem is, corporations don't like to trickle either.
Jason points to low unemployment, while ignoring the slowest recovery in American post-WWII history, or the loss of full-time high paying jobs with benefits in favor of low-paying part-time and temp jobs with nothing. American worker productivity is up, and corporations have been rewarded, yet wages are stagnant, and any increase is eaten up in higher prices for goods and services. Sorry, there I go again... doom; gloom. Suck it up; walk it off.
Jason also tells us that liberals need a crisis. (Should I put that one on the top of the tortured soul thing, or below it?) Hey, we could come up with our own Crisis Color Code. Of course we would use every color in the rainbow, or the old mood rings.
The simplest logic dictates that if you aren't willing to see what is broken, then you can't fix it, and to me, covering a tumor with a Band-Aid and declaring yourself cancer-free -- or better yet, blissfully hammering on a major bridge thoroughfare (I-35W for instance), slated to be replaced, and declaring it safe is just askin' for trouble. Pollyanna Lewis says ignorance is bliss, so hey, if you die, at least you'll die stupidly happy.
I wonder, though, if Jason may just be sending a message to our conservative friends out there who are set to visit during the '08 GOP convention that all here is fine. Rumor has it that the fate of the closest homeless shelter to the Excel Center is in question, at least during the convention, so see no poor; hear no poor = there are no poor.
Perhaps Jason can elaborate on what he thinks the poverty level should be, and what percentage below that should constitute a problem. I think the fact that most of the poor in America have jobs and homes is more of an alarm than the contrary, but for Jason, it's proof that there is no problem. After all, being poor in America is still way better than being poor in... well, anywhere else, so quit your whining.
To be authentically poor, you must forego that cell phone. Sure, you may need it for emergencies, particularly if you have children you shouldn't have had, yet shouldn't have not had, but it's the decision you made. Public investment in public transportation is out as well, so if you choose to be poverty-stricken (as you must have, because we all have the same potential for success regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual preference, et al), then ditch the car. It will save the bank the cost of repossessing it, so think of the other guy and don't be so selfish.
Also looking on the rosy side, since poor people are fat from choosing a diet high in cheap starchy foods instead of expensive organics, a good walk to that low-paying job or two without benefits would do them good. In states like Minnesota, just think of the calories burned crawling over snow banks, and trying to keep warm. Then again, if global warming keeps doing its thing, you may not have to worry at all. Walking would also serve to lessen the stress of not having that health insurance more Americans than ever have ever had, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, that more Americans than ever, have lost.
I don't know Jason, the fact that even one soul, tortured or otherwise, in the Good-Ol'-U-S-of-A... the most powerful, rich, abundant, and wasteful nation on the planet... if even one soul fits the new "food challenged" definition (aka, hunger) something is grossly wrong. Obesity is not just overindulgence, which shows how much homework Jason does before regurgitating his ignorance.
I find the rightwingnut theories of liberals as nonsensical in it's simplest form. I know it's hard, but think about it. They tell us we're all about winning, yet we are the one's who hand the bat to the nerd so he or she can play. Damn the game, this is life! We are told we hate coroporations and business, but employer/employee success goes hand-in-hand, so if one fails it doesn't help the other, and hence, support both. We are told we don't like rich folk, yet somehow abstain from burning down McMansions and prodding bejeweled elitists with pitchforks (made from recycled material, of course). C'mon, singing Kumbaya by yourself just doesn't cut it.
The American Dream is for everyone. True freedom isn't at the expense of anyone either; my freedom to practice the religion of my choosing or not practice at all depends on your freedom to do the same. I get the feeling that conservatives like Jason Lewis think that wealth, in any form, is finite, and that if John or Jane Doe get some, that Jason has to sacrifice. I won't go deep and say the box you should think out of is only one you jumped into in the first place and really doesn't exist, so to keep it plain, just because Johnny gets a piece of birthday cake doesn't mean you don't get to keep your presents.
Perhaps it's just that liberals have more faith in our fellow human being's ability to correct what is wrong. With just a quick glance around me, I can see evidence of the creativity, intelligence, and simply amazing things people are capable of creating, and I am drawn to think of the possibilities before us in fixing our errors, rather than fear the responsibility of it.
Abraham Lincoln once said: "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong it's reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
The challenges before us are nothing new, and there is nothing to be gained by pretending there are none. Doom-and-gloom my ass; let's get this shit cleaned up and get on with life.