Crisis of Faith
Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 08:07:28 AM PDT
I've thought about this constantly over the past year, in the form of various questions.
As I watch the "news" I wonder "How did it get this bad?" and "How did we let this happen?" and, of course, the $64,000 question, "What the hell is wrong with us?"
As I flip the channels and see Survivor and Celebrity Fit Club I wonder "How is this relevant to ANYTHING?" and "How did this get on the air?" and, of course, "Who the hell is watching this?"
As I surf the internet and read stories on altering the bacteria in ruminant stomachs to lower their methane production so they produce less greenhouse gas, and floridated water that is poisoning millions and anything to do with Mansanto, I wonder "How do these people sleep at night?" and "In what world is this acceptable?" and, of course "Why did our government allow this?"
I've been lurking on Kos for years, although rarely logging into my account and certainly never posting a diary, but I have reached a point where, I suppose, I need to hear from others. I often come here for a sense of perspective and voices of reason, and even hope. Lately, however, there is nowhere that I turn that I don't find a sense of despair: Iraq, Afghanistan, debt, healthcare, a poisoned food supply, global warming, corporate welfare, dying bees, the loss of habeas corpus, immigration, outsourced jobs, NAFTA & CAFTA, genetically modified foods, medicines that cause more problems than they solve, tax breaks for those who don't need them, election fraud, unprotected ports, Gitmo, drought and other natural disasters that lay waste to areas of this nation and there is no one to help them because we're all struggling too (and our National Guard is overseas as well)..and yet numerous folks in my neck of the woods still drive around in SUVs with W04 stickers in the rear window.
It was this news article about Iran that set me off today:
"My position has not changed. All options are on the table. I would hope that we could solve this diplomatically," he replied.
Bush said it was important that Iran faced "consequences" such as sanctions and other economic measures for defying the international community over its nuclear program. "There's a price to be paid," Bush said.
It's fascinating to me that a) others should be faced with consequences when he never is b) Congress knows this is the prequel to Iraq Pt II yet says little and does less to counter it and c) that we as a nation have allowed an alcoholic sociopath who throws temper tantrums like a six year old and thinks the Constitution is just a godamned piece of paper to remain in office.
And I wonder...what would this world look like if there were no money in destroying the environment and killing people? What if the government that is supposed to serve us actually did? Suppose they were the sorts of people interested in bettering this nation instead of lining their pockets and it didn't pay to be evil and soulless and not give a damn about your fellow man? Currently, we as a nation pay health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and our government representatives to kill us. Literally. I have tried to look at it a different way, but I cannot. They take our money, in premiums, payments or taxes, and laugh all the way to the bank while allowing arsenic and fluoride in our water (not to mention all the other toxins that its cheaper for corporations to dump than dispose of properly), refusing to treat diseases they deem too costly, putting drugs on the market that will kill an acceptable number of folks through organ failure--which both the company and FDA knew would happen, and send our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers to die half a world away for--well, what is the reason today, exactly? WMDs? Democracy?
I want to believe the 2008 election will change something, I truly do, but I've not seen one candidate refuse to take money from a corporation. I've not heard any of them say lobbyists have to go and that they will ban them from the capital. None of them have said the protections and tax breaks corporations enjoy have broken this nation and must be revoked. No one has said the FCC should be overhauled and the media conglomerates destroyed in favor of a free press. They're all walking that line, being courted by corporate interests at $1000-a-plate fundraisers while pretending to give a damn about us. And I make no distinction here between Dems and Repubs. I've been to Open Secrets many times to see who is selling and who is buying. Everyone, it seems, is selling, and some of the buyers are people and corporations I honestly feel should be banished from this nation permanently. Starting with Rupert Murdoch, but that's a different rant.
Do not misunderstand--I loathe republicans because of what they have become, but my father was what people would call a Goldwater Republican and I have a great deal of respect for many of those values. Too bad the republican party seems to have forgotten them, because they lost my Dad, along with many others, on the road to crazy town. But--and here's the thing--the Dems haven't exactly picked him up and I cannot in good conscience encourage him to go there. I used to be a raving Dem. But I've watched this new Congress play three-card monty with our nation in an only slightly less offensive and overt manner than the previous crowd.
No timelines for withdrawal from Iraq (but they had to pass one because of the troops, right? No, it was so all the big oil guys could get in and get their cut--THAT was the only timeline anyone was really worried about), a joke of an immigration bill (I don't even know where to start with that one), no cloture on Gonzo (and there's NO question he's guilty of criminal wrong-doing), and so on, and so on. They continue to allow W to bully the world and don't hold him accountable for treason (the least of his crimes in my opinion), and yet they can find time to complain about him and send me letters asking for money to help with the fight. Wait a minute, don't I pay you to represent me? Isn't fighting him your JOB?
So here I am, losing faith so fast there's a doppler effect. Please, someone tell me a happy story. Show me where there's hope. Give me a reason to remain in this country I was born to and used to be proud of. In a word--HELP!
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