Angry Ranting, Part 2: "If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention"

A neighbor of ours has a bumper sticker on the back of his car, featuring an Obama symbol, and the phrase, "If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention." Whenever I see it I get a little angry. Yes, I'm a democrat, but that's not why. I get angry because I do pay attention, and I try to stay informed about what's going on in the country. (Honestly, I think the guy's racist, but that's just me.) I am paying attention, and I am outraged.

I wasn't interested in politics until the summer of 2001, when the guy I was dating told me he'd joined the National Guard. At the time, I was pretty sure he and I were going to get married eventually, and the idea of being an army wife made my stomach turn. He'd signed up at the persuasion of an ex-girlfriend (which made me even more upset), but it was done and I was going to have to deal with it. His ship-out date for basic training was set. That date was September 11, 2001. Needless to say, he didn't actually fly out that day. He left two days later, to participate in the armed forces during what would become our country's longest war.

At that time I started following politicians, especially George Bush, to stay informed about the war and its repercussions on my young life. Now, I know that all sounds very overdramatic, but it was a big deal. The first boy I loved was now involved and I wanted to know everything. Needless to say, I think George Bush was a fucking idiot. I didn't agree with the war in Iraq. I think the Iraq War was one of Bush's little pet projects, and it would have happened regardless of 9/11, but that gave him an opportunity to take down a guy he and his daddy disliked. And now, with all that's unfolded in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I think it is pretty safe to conclude that we didn't need to go to Iraq. We didn't need to waste countless lives there. But I digress.

In my recent PR class we had to read a section on lobbying, and how lobbyists can "influence" legislation. Now, there are all kinds of codes of ethics with it, but needless to say there are dirty lobbyists just like there are dirty politicians. The dollar speaks, and the dollar tends to be what influences politicians to vote in certain ways. And no, this isn't a conspiracy theory. There are documented stories of corporate lobbyists influencing legislation for their own interests, rather than the interests of the greater good and public. And yesterday we got a taste of how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The Nation, along with the Center for Media and Democracy, exposed the political group ALEC: American Legislative Exchange Council. What is this group? Well, as I explained to Matt last night, it's essentially a corporation/Republican group orgy, which consists of 2,000 politicans and 300 corporate members. This group's priorities include privatizing education, breaking unions, deregulating major industries, and making it harder for people to vote. These policies are designed to make it easier for corporations to influence politics for their own good. A leak of ALEC's "model bills" - their drafted legislation to achieve their goals, has hit mainstream and it is not pretty. The website ALEC Exposed has made these model bills available to be read. I'm scared to read these, but I will, in an attempt to seek out information and educate myself. And don't worry, I'll report about it here.

No, I'm not going to be a lobbyist. I don't want to be a politician. I just want to be informed. I am paying attention, and I am outraged. I am also outraged because there are so many uninformed, uneducated people out there, regurgitating the shit they see on Fox News, and not digging into the nitty gritty of the real world to see what the hell is actually happening. In calling these things out I've been unfriended on Facebook by family members... which I find to be incredibly interesting, and I'm not offended by it, but my thoughts are that if you aren't going to do the research you don't have a right to be upset. And yes, I understand that the research aspect is biased as well. As a democrat I'm going to interpret information differently. But I'm researching it. I'm digging in and getting down and dirty.

I understand it's a little hypocritical that I'm getting a business degree, and yet I'm so vehemently opposed to corporations and their seemingly unending ability to sway politics to their desires. We actually talked at length about this in my PR class, about how you reconcile your personal beliefs with your employers'. For me, I have a few directions and ideas about where I'd like to end up, and I know that I will do everything in my power to work for a group that I believe in. I've mulled over working for a local theater group, or the Avalanche, or a non-profit group. I won't be able to work for a large corporation... it'll be like Opera Shop all over again. I have to work for a group that I agree with and believe in... maybe I should consider the DNC?

I've been saying for months now that everything in life comes down to greed. We are all greedy fucking people, and common care and concern for fellow persons is all but gone. Everyone wants, everyone desires, and it seems that people are willing to do anything to get what they want. Corporations raise their prices for their products or services because they don't want to lose their money, but in doing so their consumers can no longer afford those products. I mean, look at the Big Oil companies. They roll around in billions of dollars in pure profit, lay off thousands of employees every year, and yet somehow magically gas prices continue to climb. Other corporations, and the Republican mice-in-their-pockets, proclaim that if they lose their tax breaks that the sky will fall, that they will have to raise prices and kill the middle class. What's sad about that is the corporations WILL raise their prices and they WILL kill the middle class. They are greedy bastards who don't want to take a profit cut. In order to further their company and pad their pockets they will rape and pillage me, my family, and my friends. All in the name of the dollar.

And just to tie to current events, this debt ceiling thing is pissing me the hell off. During the Bush administration Mitch Daniels, who was the budget director, called raising the debt ceiling a "housekeeping matter". When Reagan was president the debt ceiling was raised countless times, and when Bush was president it was done without thought. Now that a BLACK DEMOCRAT (yes, I wholeheartedly believe race has a big part of this, whether anyone wants to admit it or not) wants to do this "housekeeping matter" it is no longer an option. I'm sick and tired of Republicans playing bullshit cards in order to stonewall progress and I'm sick of Democrats being too pussy-footed to do anything. Look at the recent Minnesota government shutdown: instead of compromising (which, when you think about it, isn't compromise something a politician should be good at?) politicians on both sides stamped their feet and had a little fucking temper tantrum, and in doing so cost the state thousands in revenue. I'm so ready to move out of this country... if I could afford it, I would in a heartbeat. You look at surveys about the "happiest" places on earth and you know, most of them have universal healthcare and pay well over half their income into taxes. But they don't have to worry about working for a living. They don't have to worry about medical expenses bankrupting their families. And no, nowhere is perfect. But America is falling to pieces and no one wants to do a damn thing about it because they're too fucking lazy and greedy.

Matt once told me a theory he has about how everyone believes they are special, that they are most important and that they are #1. Everything from speeding/merging in traffic (i.e., the need to be FIRST in line, to be #1) to major entitlement issues dealing with careers. The truth of the matter is that NO one is special. No one is #1. We are all in this together, and it's that social schism that drives such a major wedge between people, and between Republicans and Democrats. Now I know that we can't lump everyone into a group together, that there are exceptions, but when you think about the focus of the parties it's easy for me to see it: Republicans believe in the private sector and corporations. Democrats believe in the public sector and social programs. Honestly, that's why I identify as a Democrat. Because, despite my growing pessimism and anger, I still believe we are all in "this" together, that we are all suffering and we are all miserable, that we are all people on this earth and should act that way. Yes, we have our differences. Sometimes they are huge differences, and sometimes they are life-altering. But we are all humans, we are all in this global community and we should start thinking that way, we should start behaving like we need each other. Because, in the grand scheme of things, we do.

So, if any of you are still reading and are still interested, I figured I'd lay it all out on the table. I may not be the smartest person, and I may be a little "head in the clouds" sometimes, but I have some pretty basic core beliefs that have solidified as I've gotten older. So, like all those silly political campaigns, here's my stance on "The Issues:"

EDUCATION

Is there a reason why education is always the first thing cut in a recession? Without education, without teachers and well-funded schools our country is getting stupider and the country is suffering. And not only in the "useful" shit like math and science. We need to study theater and the arts, we need music, we need physical education, because these are the things that make us well-rounded human beings. Education, especially in studies like Humanities, is essential. It allows us to understand one another, to act on the global stage. STOP FUCKING CUTTING EDUCATION. It's just stupid, it's the wrong thing to cut.

FOREIGN POLICY/IMMIGRATION

Enact the DREAM Act. Allow illegal immigrants living here currently to be "grandfathered" into citizenship; this will bring in more revenue (more taxpayers = more taxpayer $).

America has, for a long time, acted on a "nation building" policy. This policy is bullshit. We need to worry about what's going on at home, not abroad. Yes, we need to have a global presence, but we need to stop spending so much money in our actions outside our country. We need to reinvest that money in our social programs and build OUR nation.

THE WARS

Yes, I am very anti-war. It's expensive, it's destructive, it's disgusting. On that note, I understand the need for it at times. Would I have opposed WWII? Possibly parts of it, but I understand the backbone of that war. The wars we are involved in now are mind-boggling. We went into Iraq under false pretenses. We need to start coming home, because being there is doing more harm than good. Am I happy Osama bin Laden is dead? Yeah, I am. Do I think that invading Iraq was an effort to find him and kill him? Absolutely not. I believe we went to Iraq because Baby Bush wanted to prove something to his Daddy. We need to bring our soldiers home. We need to repair our relations with these countries before we breed another generation of American-haters.

THE ECONOMY

I am not an economist. I can balance my checkbook, and I can set a budget and most of the time I am able to live within it. I don't claim to have any answers because I don't know anything about economy, but I do believe in a balanced budget, I believe that spending needs to be controlled, but I believe the spending cuts should not be taken from education, social security, medicare, medicaid, etc. I believe that a tax rate should be flat across the board, that everyone should pay a percentage of their income. If I make $10,000/year I should pay, say, 30%. And if my neighbor makes $1,000,000/year, he should pay 30% too. How does it make any sense that those of us making less should pay more in taxes? How does it make sense that those fortunate enough to make so much every year should pay less in taxes? Is it because they "deserve" their money, because they worked hard for it, because they are somehow better? Or is it because they are fucking greedy?

JOBS

With a 10% unemployment rate companies, especially manufacturing companies, need to establish factories in America and employ Americans. Yes, I know this is expensive and that Americans desire a certain wage and benefits, and I know that's why jobs go overseas, but people want to work. I went back into retail because I had to, because I needed the money, and sometimes I loathe it, but I needed to work and I did it because I had to. In the last 12 months the private sector added just a handful of jobs (do more with fewer people = more profits!), while the public sector laid off employees. Get Americans back to work and bring the jobs back.

ENERGY REFORM

Here's a quick and easy thought about energy reform: Big Oil = Big Oil Spills. What would Big Solar do? Cause a supernova? What about Big Wind? Well, those wind turbines ARE pretty ugly. What about Big Biofuel? Gosh darn it, we'd need to build more biofuel manufacturing facilities and hire more people. But since Big Oil is the largest corporation in the world they will have their money in every single pocket in order to keep their product on top. This needs to stop. We need to focus on alternative sources and think about the good of the planet, not just the good of the corporation.

DRUGS

This is totally out of left field, but I wholeheartedly believe that "soft" drugs like marijuana should be legal. No, I'm not a pot head. I don't smoke the stuff. In fact, I hate the stuff and hate how it makes people act. I think marijuana makes people stupid. But, if it were legal (which it technically is here in Colorado) it can be regulated and we can tax the mother-loving shit out of it. Treat it like cigarettes. Tax it high and soak up some revenue from it. No, I don't think drugs like meth or heroin should be legal, but marijuana is widespread and many, MANY people use it. So legalize it, regulate it, and tax it.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Stolen from my friend Manuel: "Don't like gay marriages? Don't get one. Don't like cigarettes? Don't smoke them. Don't like abortions? Don't get one. Don't like sex? Don't have it. Don't like drugs? Don't do them. Don't like porn? Don't watch it. Don't like alcohol? Don't drink it. Don't like guns? Don't buy one. Don't like your options taken away??? Don't take away someone else's." I am pro-choice (there is a difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion). I am pro-gay rights and GLBT rights. Just be kind to one another. Respect one another. Do that whole "Jesus" thing and love one another, despite our differences.

And now I'm sure I'll get counter-arguments about these beliefs, but this is what I think.

So, neighbor, I am paying attention, and I am outraged. And I'm pessimistic enough to believe this will never improve, and that we are going to continue down this spiral until the country is in ruin. Hopefully by then I'll be elsewhere.