Don’t Come If You’re Tired and Poor

Anyone who is concerned about the balance of power in the States and other parts of the world knows that the once quietly muttered complaints of political corruption on the political platforms has grown into an extremely loud battle cry. We have been witnessing it in the Middle East as the domino-effect of pent-up frustration and anger against dictators and faux pro-Democracy leaders continues to ripple through the sand causing those sneeze-inducing sandstorms.

The U.S. also continues to experience hiccups of protests against slippery hammers of injustice whacking at the working class, unemployed, elderly, and anyone else who doesn’t have the Koch brothers as their personal bankers/backers/owners. Okay. We have been down this Koch road before at TDFB. What more can be said or written? A lot -- apparently.

More mainstream media outlets are lifting the once-tight lid on who the brothers are and where their treasure chest of gold and silver dablooms go when one of them growls “Argh” at what is not on their political and financial agendas, and dips into the glowing, glistening stash to pay for additional lobbyists and governors and senators and past and possible future presidents.

Although many will bark at the link, I’d like to bring to your attention the facts of how very far those Kochy arms reach and why people like them are at the root of the US of A’s grossly disproportionate “class system” that manage's to slip around the Constitution’s edict that does not allow nobility/titles within the democracy. If the U.S. could have Kings and Lords, men like the Koch brothers would certainly be among the uber-titled few.

Read this and steep:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/06/koch-industries-web-of-influence_n_845306.html

My concern is not that extremely wealthy people in America should not freely spend their fortunes as they “see fit” by enjoying grand homes, etc. -- it is what they do with their money to change the balance of power in their favour based on greed in a country founded on equality and a non-class system. In fairness, the Kennedy clan has been considered the image “royalty” of the U.S. for many years. While father Joseph Kennedy was a wealthy man via questionable means, the Kennedy’s are not and have never been a match for the quiet Kings who have been building empires for decades.

It is becoming clearer how corrupt the political system is in America, and with such realizations an apathy has grown into an almost collective sleep. The recent wakeup calls in Wisconsin and elsewhere have brought the blister of truth to the surface, unearthing the extreme polarization of political and philosophical beliefs; thus lifting it to a painful infected festering head.

Elections appear to be the only way in which to even attempt to fight back against what feels and is “unfair” about the new order of things following last years’ elections where the march of class warfare can now be seen in a harsher light with newly elected officials ready to tear down the Statue of Liberty under the guise of “liberty” with no justice for all.

Isn’t that iconic beacon of freedom in New York waters there to welcome the “tired and poor”? Indeed those words are etched into the stone pedestal of the statue. The latter part of Emma Lazarus’ famous poem is this:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Unfortunately, she no longer holds the lamp high enough for those with their noses and heads in the air to see or read. The U.S. barely takes care of its existing “tired and poor” –  especially now that the Kings and other untitled American nobility want to kick everyone else to the dirty curbs and call them names such as “lazy” if they dare to accept promised help from a government “of the people.”

What people? Only the rich and powerful, it seems.

I’ll end this mild rant by admitting that I do not have a solution to such complex and ingrained practices in politics and industry…which is really one and the same. I’ll also admit that constant complaining gets one absolutely nowhere other than temporary relief from a potential ulcer.

The best I can do is to shed my own light on this growing blight on democracy, and suggest that although our politicians are bought and sold on both sides of the aisle, there is still a shred of optimism in many who take action to dampen the influence of those who seek to only reap while others weep.