Surveys show Americans are overwhelmingly angry with the direction of their country, and with what seems to be a never-ending list of of examples of corruption, cronyism and general criminality in both intent and neglect:
— An IRS that not only puts its thumb on the scale of national elections, but knowingly seizes the savings of innocent people then refuses to give it back.
— An incoherent policy on Ebola that lets medical volunteers return to the country and roam free, but requires military troops ordered to West Africa to be quarantined for three weeks — despite assurances they aren’t supposed to be working directly with patients there. (Oh, and Italy is none-too-happy that this quarantine is done in their country, not ours). Add to that, the State Department apparently has (or is, despite denials) considered importing non-citizen patients to the U.S. for treatment.
— An electoral process that increasingly is being shown to be nothing more than a sham to prop up a semblence of legitimacy for a government that seems anything but.
— A well-entrenched “deep surveillance state” that apparently not only pokes into any electronic space it cares to, with no accountability, but has the ability–and does–plant documents that can later be used to discredit critics.
— A fundamental restructuring of health care delivery in this nation passed on a strictly partisan vote, with little debate or discussion of the details, and to this day a stonewalling on information about how it is being implemented.
And none of this includes many still-unanswered questions about Benghazi, Fast and Furious, or the size, scope and real beneficiaries of “Quantitative Easing” and other Federal Reserve interventions in the economy since 2008, etc, etc, ad infinitum.
At this point, can any American outside the well-connected Beltway elite say they are served by this government?
At this point, given the structural rigging of the system on multiple levels, can any American believe a mere election — even one projected as a “wave event” — is really going to change anything? The roots of the IRS foreiture programs were passed in 2000, under a Democratic administration (Clinton). The massive assaults on the Bill of Rights known as the Patriot Act debuted under a Republican (Bush the Younger). And many of the current administration’s critics are fellow Democrats who feel betrayed that in reality nothing has changed under “the One” — if anything, the abuses have only gotten worse.
So the question is this: if Americans are so angry, where IS it? What the pollsters are calling ‘anger’ comes across in reality as frustrated resignation. If I’m wrong, America, prove it. Where are the protests? Where are the crowds descending on Capitol Hill and City Hall?
Refuse to comply with unconstitutional and arbitrary abuses of power. Go confront the officials who perpitrate them. Now is the time for action, not words. We seem to forget that we outnumber them. The reason the criminals in office are flooring the accelerator on their various schemes is that the nation has given them no reason to think there will be pushback or consequences.
Show them they’re wrong. Or shut the hell up the next time a pollster asks you if you’re angry. We were founded as a nation on the belief that “when any government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, establishing new government…” Either alter or abolish this trainwreck, or admit to yourself you accept it, however grudgingly. Just remember that such acceptance makes you an accomplice. People have resisted far more entrenched tyrannies. So what’s your excuse?
A True Progressive 