COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE LIBERALS
Needless to say, the United States has become so "ultra-sized" that rational thinking is considered outlandish. Both liberals and conservatives in the U.S. bear almost no resemblance to those with similar labels two generations ago. Yes, I believe that the conservatives have gone farther off the deep end than liberals, but both groups' abnormalities are so extreme as to make it a moot point.
It seems that people holding elective office today feel they have to swear allegiance to an extreme version or a distorted version of liberal or conservative in order to function. This is the sad state of affairs in the U.S. today. What has evolved is an America that is far, far removed from both equality and liberty. At one time equality was more closely associated with liberal thought, and critics felt that carrying it to extreme would mean socialism or communism. On the other hand, critics of extreme conservatism felt that left unregulated, it would result in fascism/Nazism. HOWEVER what has actually developed is a cadre of liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, who are in the hip-pocket of influence buyers. And this has worked to the detriment of the majority of American citizens. Our elected officials --our servants-- no longer serve us, but serve the buyers.
This is not always caused by greedy politicians, though greed need not only be described in money or income terms, but rather by politicians, no matter how purely intentioned in the beginning, who succumb to the rigidity of the particular political party. Survival in office is the only goal, but sometimes it takes on illegal pay-outs. And those extend beyond the time in office, as we have seen many ex-politicians leave office to take well-paying positions for some corporation or cause that they dutifully supported while in office. The pay-off system is sickening.
America never had a strong political voice from the left, though many conservatives would beg to differ with me. But compared to the successful social democracies of Europe, we are definitely a right-wing nation. And ONE reason for our failure to expand our democracy and wealth to all Americans is because liberals can be purchased also. We are now on the brink of disaster as a stable society because of the immense gap between rich and poor that has evolved. Our potential as a democratic beacon never truly developed, and now we are left with something akin to fascism-light. This is as much the fault of lousy liberals as it is of greedy conservatives.
So we now are forced to see our ship sinking. We have been programmed to spend like drunken sailors to fuel a ever-hungry capitalism. We were told that our huge corporate conglomerates were what was making all this possible. But the bottomless greed of capitalism decided to maximize its profits by moving operations to overseas locations where labor was cheaper. The result was a population that could no longer afford to buy the products being sold by these corporate behemoths. So, Wal-Mart type businesses evolved. And the poor got poorer and the rich got richer, but the major portion of Americans are seeing their society and their social order collapsing. And new financial shenanigans developed in which things were bundled and sold, losing their original composition and became unrecognizable to those who purchased the "bundles" ...and the bottom fell out.
Simmering among the majority of Americans is a hostility that may explode into a revolution of sorts. This would be unfortunate but inevitable unless a major change in course is taken. That is what many were pinning their hopes on in voting for Obama. But his task in this regard is an impossible one. Who can he turn to for the help he needs from the populace? There is no pure liberal or conservative who puts altruistic service to America first. America has been put on sale to politicians who are spineless and greedy themselves. The growing anger in America is dangerous, especially since Americans are blaming the messenger. Americans are now poised to be led by a tyrant, a scenario that was present in Italy and Germany just before Mussolini and Hitler took advantage of it.
