I envy the people of Libya; they took matters into their own hands.
I envy the people of Egypt; they went to into the street and took out their bad government.
I envy the people of Italy; they voted in a comedian who got almost a quarter of the vote, and now they don't even have a working government, which is without a doubt better than what they had.
The United States of America? We haven't even begun to learn what political effectiveness is.
80% of the people of the United States want comprehensive gun control and background checks. You would think that the majority rules, but you're wrong. The government doesn't give a rat's ass what the people want, and today they made it clear. They told us exactly what they thought of us; that we are powerless.
And you know what? They're right. They know that they can flout the will of the people and nothing will happen to their cushy jobs.
Because we, the people of the United States, just can't seem to understand how to be effective. Get out in the street and demonstrate? Too much trouble. Get out and vote? The privilege of voting is something that we take very much for granted When you consider our poor turnout.
So the politicians are fine, and they're going to be fine, and if you don't like what I'm saying it's tough, because it's the truth. “Hope and change” turns out to be “business as usual”. Our president speaks well, but behind the scenes his paymasters dictate what is REALLY going to happen, and it's not the will of the people.
So now that we have determined that the American people aren't going to go into the street and stage a general strike, and they're too blinded by politics to vote effectively, what can we actually do?
That's where your wallet comes in. Because every time you buy something, you're voting. THAT'S where the real voting takes place. And that is the ONLY thing that the people who actually run this country right now, the people who pay the politicians, will hear. If the 90% of the people that want gun control don't buy gas for one or 2 days, you can bet that THEY will hear it loud and clear. And if the people who want gun control actually pull off a general strike, and 80 percent of them actually refuse to go to work for even one day, the politicians would be on their knees, begging for people to go back to work.
Because the old saying “if voting worked it would be illegal” is sadly true. The only people that caused real change and now have hope are the people that actually worked together to send THEM a message that they were forced to hear.
So yes, I envy Egypt. I envy Spain. I envy Argentina, where students went into the street to insist on education. I envy Italy, even now that they have completely non-functioning government, where people elected a COMEDIAN because he was better than the career politicians, and that's really not saying much. I mean, Italian politics and American politics really aren't that different. the politicians say what the people want to hear, and then they do what their paymasters want.
The people who actually have the power will not give even the slightest bit of it up until they are forced to do so.
What are you going to do about it?