Ok, this is going to be a short Diary, because what I am trying to do is brainstorm some ideas on just how we communicate to all the people WHO DON'T SEEM TO GET IT...just how bad things are in this country.
My only question here is: How bad does it have to get before a real majority actually notices...AND DOES SOETHING ABOUT IT???
This snip from a fundraising email inspired me to this question...I am breaking it up by numbers, to make editorial comments below:
1. The special interest agenda is not good for middle class families. In fact, that's
an understatement -- it's terrible for middle class families.
2. These groups want to keep the minimum wage stagnant.
3. They support proposals like the Ryan Plan to end Medicare as we know it.
4. All they care about, at the end of the day, is their bottom line and their tax loopholes.
I'm not the only "hunted Democrat" anymore.
5. And the progressive values we believe in are in the crosshairs.
6. But as long as we continue working together to beat back the Kochs, Rove, and all the other special interests -- we can stop them.
We have to hit our June goal -- and I know we can with your help. Make a
contribution, even if it's just $5.
1. WE KNOW THIS. How bad does it have to get before MOST PEOPLE NOTICE???
2. How is it in their best interest to keep everyone in a position where they are not able to be a consumer? This totally makes no sense to me! How much money has to be concentrated into just a few hands before money itself becomes totally worthless? I mean, it would be great to have a milion bucks, but what if that million bucks won't even buy you a cup of coffee? And it HAS to come to that point at some point.
If most of us who are even WILLING to make those cups of coffee are starved to death, then all the money in the world won't buy that cup of coffee, will it?
3. Don't these people have mothers or fathers who are elderly? Social Security and MEdicare were started SO THAT WORKING PEOPLE COULD CONCENTRATE ON RAISING THEIR OWN FAMILIES...and not be in the position of having to choose between helping Mom and Dad...and their own family. And those who have worked all their lives deserve a dignified retirement.
Speaking of which, Medicare and Social Security does not supply a dignified retirement anymore. Unless you happen to have a pension from a former job and an already-paid-for house. Most retirees do not have this.
4. See #2 above concerning "the bottom line." At the end of the day, if all that money won't buy a damn cup of coffee, what good is it? And, as to tax loopholes...WHY is it such a sport in this country for rich people to dodge taxes? Taxes are the price of living in a civilised society. As long as we GET THINGS OF VALUE for our tax dollars, everyone ought to have no problem paying taxes. And if we got more people in office who shared OUR VALUES...we would.
5. I cannot understand how any but the top ten percent, at the outside...can be opposed to progressive ideals. Because progressive ideals benefit 100 percent of society. The ten percent on top - I can see them being opposed on selfishness, that they would be paying the bulk of those goodies for everyone. Selfishness and greed will, alas, always be with us - it has been around since the first caveman figured out that if he got up early and picked all the berries, hw could make all the other cavemen do whatever he wanted them to do. In other words, it is a character trait of assholes who like to control other people and limit other people. And you can BET they would not like the same done to them!
6. How the HELL do we fight back against the likes of money like that?? And why the hell should it TAKE money? It ought to be that the one with the best ideas wins, end of story. JESUS never needed money to spread his message, why the hell do WE?
Anyway, enough of my rant, and sorry, this Diary turned out longer than I had planned!
UPDATE: Ok, I wanted this to hang out there a while, and NOBODY came up with the answer I was looking for as to how we solve the problems we have in this country.
So I am going to list the steps here:
1. Repeal Citizens United
2. Repeal Corporate Personhood Status (they are and should be seperate entities from the owner/owners/stockholders, yes, but they should NOT have the same (or greater) rights than Natural Persons.)
3. Restore the Fairness Doctrine.
By the way, I did like the comment about recruiting people to RUN rather than just harass them to VOTE. But we still need to keep up the pressure on getting people to vote. To that end:
4. Repeal all Voter ID laws. Instead, place photo of voter on their Voter Registration card (which comes at no charge) and use that as acceptable ID to vote (any ID requirement where the necessary ID costs money amounts to a Poll Tax, which is outlawed by the 24th Amendment.)
Voters can get photos taken at any DMV office or any Post Office. Those who register by mail will be sent a "camera card" that they can take to any of those locations for a free photo. Both DMV and ost Offices already have the ability to handle Passport Photos, so why not Voter Registration photos?
These four steps would go a VERY LONG WAY towards re-taking our democracy, and leading to a better-informed voting populace.
Last, but not least:
5. Re-institute Government and Civics classes in public schools, and make them a requirement for graduation.