Back in 2016, there was a fever, almost a euphoria over the intangible and utterly impossible promises of Bernie Sanders. They were in stark contrast to the promises on the right, but in many ways, just as insanely irresponsible. Both sides; both axis let's say, were looking for ways to spend all our money on a few programs. On one side, we had the GOP, pushing the age old trickle down economics debacle and on the left, a distorted form of socialism, where we pretend 240 years of capitalism doesn't exist. So what happened? We destroyed Hillary Clinton, with a little help from Russia and much more help from our media, which we ironically mislabel as "liberal."
We know the GOP, especially Donald Trump wants to make the rich richer at the expense of the middle class, essentially creating a two class system of the haves and the have nots. The democrats want all these programs we're running out of money for and to add a few more. Liberals want this utopia, where it literally does take a village. Neither works, because of one little problem and no, it's not immigration, religion, class, health care or any other political talking point. It's population.
When my grandmother, who lived to be 100 years old, was born, there were roughly 80 million Americans. An enormous number were immigrants and many more would enter in the next few years. So many, that by the time she reached her teens, the total population had grown 25%. By her 50th birthday, two world wars had been completed and the US population had doubled to 160 million. I was born in 1970 and there were 205 million people. That is over 250% more than when my grandmother was born. There are now four times as many Americans than when my grandmother was born. Let's put this in perspective. The current population is roughly 325 million Americans and if that were the case in 1903, we would have accounted for 20% of the world. We currently account for about 4%. Think about that. We're less than 5% of the world's population and we hold 42% of the world's personal wealth and we're in a class war? The rich aren't about to give it away and the poor have absolutely no way of getting it. Conservatives are brainwashed to believe hard work will attain it, but we all know that's a fallacy being sold to people since times long before The Bible was written. As Gordon Gekko said, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Every society throughout time has believed this. So socialism will never work. Yet, we now know capitalism can not work with a fluctuating and always increasing population.
Let's pretend we all have health care, causing us all to live happier and healthier lives, increasing the population more than it is now. Technology will advance and leave the under-educated in the dust and make the over-educated tons of money. Communication will allow for global markets to prosper, meaning less people making more money and more people spending the little they have. It will cause bigger carbon imprints and despite all the "nice" stories of sustainable energy, it looks as if our simple habits of eating, driving and manufacturing will end the Earth sooner than later. So let's be honest about what the GOP is really selling us. "Time is limited, so let's create a vacuum where, if there is a chance to save a few, the opportunity can be bartered for." So here's my question for liberals.
The Earth has anywhere from 100-300 years left at this rate. That's most likely less than doubling America's lifespan. So, knowing the population of the world alone will be our demise, what, other than mass genocide and "starting over," can we do for everyone, that will really make a difference/ I know slowing down climate change is essential, but there is some truth to the thought that it's irreversible. Eating meat alone, is the greatest emission problem we have. Livestock will end up killing us and the deforestation to provide our food will end us faster than any amount of cars, but that's all science and it's confusing.
So here's my questions for liberals. Trump is out. Pence is out. Ryan is out. It's 2020 and the president is democrat, the house and senate are democrat and 56% of the country is happier than they were in 2017.
What do we do to our current system, knowing we've been indoctrinated by this capitalistic dream? One which ignores equality, health, education and society as a whole, in exchange for enough to get buy, for a shorter amount of time, with the basic education to function in one's own little community, within a state of larger communities, which make up our country. What do we do differently than has been done for the last 241 years, so that we may have a chance for 241 more?
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
We know the GOP, especially Donald Trump wants to make the rich richer at the expense of the middle class, essentially creating a two class system of the haves and the have nots. The democrats want all these programs we're running out of money for and to add a few more. Liberals want this utopia, where it literally does take a village. Neither works, because of one little problem and no, it's not immigration, religion, class, health care or any other political talking point. It's population.
When my grandmother, who lived to be 100 years old, was born, there were roughly 80 million Americans. An enormous number were immigrants and many more would enter in the next few years. So many, that by the time she reached her teens, the total population had grown 25%. By her 50th birthday, two world wars had been completed and the US population had doubled to 160 million. I was born in 1970 and there were 205 million people. That is over 250% more than when my grandmother was born. There are now four times as many Americans than when my grandmother was born. Let's put this in perspective. The current population is roughly 325 million Americans and if that were the case in 1903, we would have accounted for 20% of the world. We currently account for about 4%. Think about that. We're less than 5% of the world's population and we hold 42% of the world's personal wealth and we're in a class war? The rich aren't about to give it away and the poor have absolutely no way of getting it. Conservatives are brainwashed to believe hard work will attain it, but we all know that's a fallacy being sold to people since times long before The Bible was written. As Gordon Gekko said, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Every society throughout time has believed this. So socialism will never work. Yet, we now know capitalism can not work with a fluctuating and always increasing population.
Let's pretend we all have health care, causing us all to live happier and healthier lives, increasing the population more than it is now. Technology will advance and leave the under-educated in the dust and make the over-educated tons of money. Communication will allow for global markets to prosper, meaning less people making more money and more people spending the little they have. It will cause bigger carbon imprints and despite all the "nice" stories of sustainable energy, it looks as if our simple habits of eating, driving and manufacturing will end the Earth sooner than later. So let's be honest about what the GOP is really selling us. "Time is limited, so let's create a vacuum where, if there is a chance to save a few, the opportunity can be bartered for." So here's my question for liberals.
The Earth has anywhere from 100-300 years left at this rate. That's most likely less than doubling America's lifespan. So, knowing the population of the world alone will be our demise, what, other than mass genocide and "starting over," can we do for everyone, that will really make a difference/ I know slowing down climate change is essential, but there is some truth to the thought that it's irreversible. Eating meat alone, is the greatest emission problem we have. Livestock will end up killing us and the deforestation to provide our food will end us faster than any amount of cars, but that's all science and it's confusing.
So here's my questions for liberals. Trump is out. Pence is out. Ryan is out. It's 2020 and the president is democrat, the house and senate are democrat and 56% of the country is happier than they were in 2017.
What do we do to our current system, knowing we've been indoctrinated by this capitalistic dream? One which ignores equality, health, education and society as a whole, in exchange for enough to get buy, for a shorter amount of time, with the basic education to function in one's own little community, within a state of larger communities, which make up our country. What do we do differently than has been done for the last 241 years, so that we may have a chance for 241 more?
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
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ReplyDeleteSorry jhop I didn't answer the question on my first two attempts, still trying to process todays damage bought to us by DT ... finding a moderate with an intact brain would be a good place to start ... and doesn't seem as possible as one might think... you're assuming we make it to 20/20 I'm not entirely convinced we will ... the hope is fading
ReplyDeleteTo quote Kimberlee Humphrey " You know that analogy about watching a train wreck and not being able to look away? This is like that. Except all of us are on the train, not just watching it happen. The train is actually speeding up instead of trying to avoid the crash, and it's wearing a big red Make America Great Again hat on top of the engine. The engineer has locked himself in the lead car, and is pushing down the accelerator, brushing his combover, and cackling with glee. There are signs on the track saying things like "Equality", "Integrity", "Climate Change", "Checks and Balances", "Compassion", and "Honesty" - and the train just runs over them, smashing them to bits while the engineer claps his tiny hands in childlike delight. Meanwhile the rest of us have our heads sticking out the windows getting wind blown and stuck with splinters with every new sign we run over, but we're desperate to see just where we are headed. We are afraid if we close our eyes then we might crash into a 1000mile long wall at the US/Mexico border. Is this ride going to end in a fiery crash? Will sanity finally prevail? Or will Spider-Man save us? There's no way to know. So we just cross our fingers, throw away all the orange spray tan, and hope for the best....
I think the biggest takeaway I got was the remark "childlike delight." Not only is that a perfect description of our tweeter-in-chief, but of my conservative friends. The arguments are so childish, most liberals, dems and moderates have stopped having them. The children think they have won, but much like parents who get frustrated and start to ignore their children's bad behavior, I'm not so sure they haven't.
DeleteOh yeah and one other thing about the train analogy....it's moving backwards and I worry that if we lose sight of it, we'll become complacent and simply wait for the next one or for it to return. Scary how little has actually happened in the last five months in terms of passed bills, real policy and change, but how vastly different it feels.