While in conversation with some friends at my favorite, Friday night watering hole (The River Club in Nyack, NY), enjoying my favorite cocktail (a CC Manhattan), made by my favorite bartender (Pete), and not having been raptured (again!), I found the topic of Occupy Wall St. once again to be the most popular. It has become a movement that just won't go away. To the contrary, it, in fact, seems to be growing in influence daily. Despite the fact that right wing extremists deride the protesters as left wing extremists who can't, or won't, hold down a job, more and more so-called Main St. Americans are hearing their message.
During the course of our discussion the questions were asked, "what is the message" and "what do they ultimately hope to accomplish"? Comments like "if they are not part of the solution, then they are part of the problem" were made. My response to these inquiries and comments is direct, and, yes, somewhat crass. In my mind, their message is a simple as it is universal. They are telling BIG BUSINESS (which IMHO happens to be the root of most of, if not ALL, evil in this country):
STOP PISSING ON OUR HEADS AND TELLING US IT'S RAINING!
For far too long in this country, and around the world, government has been in bed with BIG BUSINESS. Why? Because the MONEY from BIG BUSINESS is what gets the politicians elected! It's a known fact; the politicians with the biggest "War Chests" almost invariably get elected. Where do you think they get the money from - mom and pops beloved?! Shit, no they don't. They get it from BIG BUSINESS. And this creates a vicious cycle, a sort of Catch 22. If you play ball with BIG BUSINESS, you get the money. If you get the money, you win the election. If you don't, you're fucked - never heard from again. This scenario always reminds of the steroid issue in the sport of Bodybuilding. The sad part about steroids is that they can be effective. The WILL make you bigger and stronger. So, with that in mind, a bodybuilder uses steroids. The other competitors do not. He gets to be the biggest and strongest and, so, wins the competition. The losers are left scratching their heads and wondering, "how'd he do that"? They find out the winner was doing steroids. Now they know that, to stay competitive, they must do steroids, too. Otherwise, they will lose and never be heard from again. And the point is to WIN. The pressure to remain at the top only increases. This creates a vicious cycle that has become almost impossible to break. It is the same in politics; those who play ball with BIG BUSINESS get the money to run their campaigns. It doesn't matter what that business is or how they conduct themselves. The money is all that matters. And, let me ask you this, do you think that those BIG BUSINESSES are giving a politician all that money out of the goodness of their hearts? If you believe that I have a few bridges to sell you!! No, they do it out of self-interest. They do it to make the politicians more sympathetic to their needs. This requires some return on that "investment", usually involving the creation of some legislation that rewards that business with some contract that allows them to make more money to buy more politicians to make them more money. Get it? Catch 22. BIG BUSINESS only gets BIGGER while the rest of us get screwed! Those politicians who attempt to get elected without the help of BIG BUSINESS get mauled in the elections and are never heard of again. Play with us and your in. If you don't, you're gone.
This creates a culture of greed, self-interest, and corruption. And it has gone on for far too long. I don't care if you are a Republican, a Democrat, a Tea Partier, or an Independent, we ALL must stand up to end this culture of entitlement based on wealth. I've said it before and I'm saying it again, don't fall for the line of shit being offered by BIG BUSINESS and the cronies that support them. They DON'T have your best interests at heart. They have their own self-interest to worry about. And that interest is MAKING MONEY ABOVE ALL ELSE. If it serves their interest to create jobs, they'll create jobs. If it serves their interest to cut jobs, then "goodbye" jobs.
When is everyone going to stop mocking Occupy Wall St. and understand this? This is their message and their mantra. WAKE UP people and take the bull by the balls and end this vicious and immoral cycle. Stop being afraid of these people just because many of them are different!! Ultimately, we all want the same thing: a chance to succeed on a level playing field. We've been given the opportunity and it's up to us to take full advantage of it. If you don't, you'd better get a big umbrella to avoid the piss that is sure to continue to rain down on your head.
No comments:
Post a Comment