FAIR WARNING: RANT IMMINENT... I somehow got roped into a discussion this morning that left me reeling from the willful and staggering stupidity being unabashedly expressed by a few others on the thread. From their own responses to a friend’s post about the inconsistencies, even hypocrisy, that certain conservative “Christians” espouse, I gathered they were of that club themselves, sanctimonious, bible quoting pharisees who wear their belief like a suit of teflon to which compassion will never stick. They will go so far as to claim they know what they’re talking about because they have the empirical evidence granted by personal observation. They know of or maybe even have see lazy people demanding handouts, and that’s the incontrovertible proof that social safety nets like medicaid and welfare don’t work. It just encourages more laziness among greedy ne’er-do-wells. That’s empirical evidence for you. Good when you can get it (and get it in sufficient, scientifically collected quantities), not so good when you don’t, and most of us mostly don’t. Empirical or, let’s call it by its true name, ANECDOTAL evidence notwithstanding, there are alarming statistics that demonstrate ours has been a policy of favoring corporations rather than individuals of every demographic, a policy that has held sway for decades, having found its footing during the Reagan years with a catchy label, “Reaganomics,” and a slick set of searing images about “lazy, greedy welfare recipients.” Conservative lawmakers have made the most of these simplified and misleading tropes to create a great and growing divide between the abject poor and the appallingly wealthy. The middle class is shrinking, the number of those falling below the poverty line grows, and the poor get ever poorer, all while the obscene wealth at the top of the economic graph swells, and the wealthy, like bloated ticks, ride on the backs of everyone below them. Its ridiculous to think the wealthy will not be motivated to make money if certain constraints are imposed, as one bible thumper asserted. The wealthys prime directive is wealth, and their behavior over generations disproves that legislation to control the growth of that wealth will weaken their drive for more. I dont care a fig if a policy we as a nation devise allows a few layabouts to get a pittance of trickle-down dollars to which they arent entitled. I very much care about the children and all those less fortunate who have been misrepresented, falsely accused and reviled by conservatives who are willing to build their political campaigns on a lie. I am also deeply troubled that so many voters, roughly 48 percent, have bought into that lie and blame the poverty stricken. The finger-pointing makes me ill, especially since I have throughout much of my career been required to work both sides of the aisle politically and still have sufficient memory to recall the manner in which Congress over the years has gradually tilted toward corporate interests and away from individual citizens. The fault lies, not with the poor, but within the conservative movement itself. The fault also lies with voters who are too *lazy* to think for themselves but simply buy, hook, line and sinker, the misleading and false stories told by those in power for whatever reasons of personal prejudice or ideology motivate them to cultivate a visceral disregard for others. At times, their hatred born of ignorance is palpable. Republicans have shown an uncanny -- some might say diabolical -- ability to twist the truth and otherwise convince people to vote against their own best interests and well-intentioned instincts by raising the specter of a lazy and undeserving populace that wants a handout. Its a mirage, a falsehood, a masterfully crafted piece of propaganda, and the evil has spread from politics to pulpit. Lets think on that, why dont we.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 15:47:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015