When I was a realtor, I worked for my clients. I was fiercely loyal. Occasionally, I found myself in a position where the other client's realtor made an error on a contract and I took advantage of that for my client's benefit. Oh, yeah, I knew what the other realtor meant to do and I knew what was routine in those situations, but this was a contract and those were my clients so I was unyielding. No, I did not privately go to the other realtor and warn them. I just realized their error and took it to my client and pointed out our advantage. I was ruthless.
I questioned myself on these decisions, and each time, my answer was: I am working for my client. They have trusted me to support their interests and that is what I must do. Even if the contract was a dual agency - even if my own office was representing both sides of the contract, I fought tooth and nail against an associate, if necessary, for my client's legal rights.
Ok, so, yeah. I did not win any popularity contests in my office or with other agents for this stance. But I did what I thought was right - considering the circumstance. It was not pretty, but it was the choice I made.
In the same vein, I believe the congressional GOP are holding firm for what they believe is right; I think they even believe their actions are moral. Their actions in the last four years, and especially in the last two years, have been appalling to those of us who want to see America grow and prosper - who want to build up our infrastructure, to honor and support our veterans, who wish for equality for all Americans. We have watched in dismay as America took an unprecedented economic blow when the GOP refused to "write the check" to pay for the debt that two wars and inconceivably low taxes for the wealthy had caused. The price to America of not paying that bill on time is immeasurable.
Why do I feel they have been doing what they feel is morally and legally right? Because I am afraid the GOP and the rest of this country do not agree on who their client is. To me, it would seem that, this being a country that professes to have a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", it would follow that our congress would be working for all Americans. It seems, however, that the GOP congress, who, like the Dem congress, are mostly comprised of America's elite upper class, believe they are working for their own peers - working to hold that balance of power. They are not just holding it, mind you, but even as I fiercely and ruthlessly fought for my clients' interests at every turn, so the GOP is ruthlessly and fiercely fighting for "their own", and balance has been trampled and lost in the fray. Congressional Democrats, altho also comprised of mainly the very wealthy, do not share this view to the same extent because the very nature of their party's platform is to be more socially conscious.
The GOP perceive Democrats as the enemy. No longer are Dems their associates, working together in the same agency, for the same client. The Dems are working for the American people. The GOP are working to control the American people for their client, the mega wealthy. And even though they work in the same agency with the dems, they will never back down on any issue as long as their perceived client does not want them to. To be fair, now Dems perceive the GOP as the enemy. Where once the two parties were merely "esteemed adversaries", the battle line is now drawn and no one is having any fun here.
Certainly, the American people are not having any fun. This is no longer "how politics work". This is a system turned in on itself. America is on a collision course and we must stop the madness.
I hope that, should Obama be re-elected, and he will, unless the GOP manages to commit fraud at the polls, some sort of sanity can be restored in our political system. Yes, I did say I believe they are doing what they feel is morally right for their client. Yes, I believe they are committing fraud. I think that the GOP feels that lying, cheating, stealing for their client, the mega wealthy, is justified "for the greater good". Something about their belief system seems to give them the perceived moral grounds to justify their actions. Once they put themselves in a place of being more worthy than the average American, the disparity follows.
In Romney's "47%" speech, the one where he was speaking to his peers, he made it clear who he would be working for. Bush (W) gave a similar speech to an elite group when he was campaigning and he spoke mockingly of the growing rich/poor ratio and assured his audience laughingly that they were gonna keep things moving that way. And they did. Wow, did they ever.
The GOP got the bit in their teeth when Bush was in office. The massive surge of America's wealth into the coffers of the elite was intoxicating. The turbo-charged power of the government! Oh, yeah, I know the GOP screams small government - but they do this whilst wielding a mighty fist, controlling the American public, rendering us at the mercy of the corporate powers, usurping our civil rights. Ok, so that was amazing. A little trickle down theory BS, a couple of ill-conceived and tragic wars, taking the 9-11 tragedy and using it as fear-driven leverage and yeah. That was a huge coup. What a mess. When the dust settled, here we were with less environmental protections than in 30 years, a massive disparity in wealth, and a new loss of personal freedom in the name of security. And we were on the brink of total economic collapse.
Then along came Obama. He was determined to be a president for all the people. Now, this is where we are gonna talk about race and bigotry. America electing a Black president really stirred that shit up. Oh, yeah, it did. Look I know we all "only drank two beers" but somehow, America got drunk and stupid on the backlash of that situation. Whether openly hostile, downright monstrously nasty, mildly bothered, thrilled, proud, or astonished, Americans noticed.
To be fair, I will say that most (ok, about half of) Americans work at being unprejudiced. But the very fact we work at it shows it is an issue. Check out another situation: A recent study shows that a woman working in the field of science, applying for a job will be turned down in favor of a man with less qualification. That woman, while a student in that field will be graded one full grade lower for the same work as a man. That is, unless her professor is a woman, in which case, she will be graded even more harshly. Now, if you ask people "do you feel men are more qualified in science than women, based on gender alone?" The answer will usually be "Certainly not. Why, that is preposterous". And yet, those are the facts. So yeah, we try to be unprejudiced - but we've got a long way to go, baby.
From the moment Obama was elected, people started attacking him in a way I have never seen before. Yeah, I have seen it get ugly. And crazy. The way the GOP went after Clinton was mind boggling. First we had Whitewater.... it was never ending. But the way "hip and cool" people attacked Obama was just astonishing. And the ones who did not attack him just looked away.
Whether at the front of the pack, leading the attack or whether swept along in the pack fever, or whether politely averting our eyes whilst our president, a good man, a wise man (a lot wiser now, I dare say), a brave man, an intelligent man, a great man, was treated in really a horrid manner, we are all complicit. If we did not stand up and say "Hey, that just ain't reasonable or fair or cool", we took part. I remember when Hillary announced her candidacy and a good friend came to visit. This man prides himself on respecting the Native American values. He is generous. I had always respected him. And I still do on some levels. But he came to visit us and sat in my home, scorching Hillary, roasting her on the spit of his hatred and prejudice. He even called her the "C" word. My husband joined in (altho he would not go to that "C" place, for heaven's sake) and I left the room, appalled. I did not speak up. I utterly failed her, I failed my gender. I failed at human decency.
Later, when a woman I have known for 30 years spoke of her scorn and contempt for Hillary, I did speak up. She went on at length about how unqualified Clinton was. I asked her if she had in fact, ever listened to Hillary speak. The answer was no. I asked her if she was aware of Hillary's actual positions. She said no. As it turned out she hated Hillary for the same reasons many Americans did: 1) Bill cheated on her and she did not leave him 2) She was not thin or young and 3) She lacked a penis.
Ok, I threw that last one, the elephant in the room, in there. Yeah, we have a pecking order in America. If you are a woman and not young and thin, or a man and not White, or if you dare to be caught DIF (Doing anything but hiding under your bed If Fat) then you, let's face it, are gonna get pecked. Our apathy, our disdain, our contempt, our attitude toward anyone "different" who reaches out and does something exceptional is tangible.
In the same way that we turned on Hillary, Americans stood back and allowed the ugly specter of bigotry to rear it's head and weaken our country after the 2008 election. We did not bother to hear what the man really said. We did not question the accusations. In fact, we left the room - and allowed our government to be taken over by the Tea Party-infiltrated GOP in 2010 - No qualification necessary to be elected to Congress that term other than bigotry and hatred. Our leaders had a new goal -"taking back America" (from that Black guy) and if they had to take down America to get him, then so be it.
Obama is pretty darn resilient, and this brave pioneer, the veritable Jackie Robinson of American politics is still standing. Now, if the GOP will just get out of the way, then he can continue to do the things this country needs.
That, though, getting the GOP to get out of the way is a tall order. The power and glory the GOP felt in the Bush years, the insane greed that has swept over the one percent. Yeah, that is tough to turn around. But Obama did that. And the backlash has been terrifying.
You guessed it: Here I go on another comparison. Ever cut down a locust tree? That thing immediately sends out suckers for 35-40 feet in every direction. Those things grow like the vines in a nightmare fairy tale. You have to keep rooting them out, tearing them out, hacking them out. They just keep on coming. For years. But eventually, if you keep at it, they subside.
We need to stop averting our eyes while people attack our leader. We need to stop drifting into the fray as a result of pack fever. We need to start helping him hack out the roots of corruption in our system and make America stronger, better, safer, more prosperous, healthier - for all of the American people. And for the sake of the world.
No, I do not think Democrats are blameless in the current mess. But as Barney Frank says about the two parties and the current situation, "We're not perfect, but they're nuts".
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