Americans Must Stop Begging and Start Demanding

[TexasTowelie]

By Carol Morgan

Before 2008, I rarely paid attention to politics and governance, at least, not in any depth. Since then, my Captain Ahab-like obsession with capitalists’ abuse of the poor and middle class has taken over my life.

Now, I’m merely tired. And supremely frustrated.

I’m tired of making phone calls to legislators; writing and emailing lawmakers, lobbyists, and political organizations whose publicly-stated purpose is to be working for me.

I’m tired of working for various movements whose supposed incendiary purpose is to light a fire under government. It’s a huge investment of time and passion that’s yielding no appreciable return.

For those in Austin and Washington, dollars and cents for the perpetuation of their privileged positions speaks loudest.

Life in 21st century America should not be this hard.

I'm not only tired of efforts and entreaties to my representatives, but I’m tired of working seven days a week, 14 hours per day and having a full one-third of my income go to health insurance, house insurance and car insurance, and then another one-third go for the enrichment of America's corporate bandits, so that entitled little snits like Jeb Bush can be obnoxiously cavalier and declare "Americans need to work harder".

Those who keep harping about American Exceptionalism are seriously deluded. We’re swiftly becoming a third world nation with first world weapons. All flash and no substance; basic sustenance for Americans is nil.

We’re the only developed nation that lacks a nationalized health care system, sick leave, family or emergency leave (so much for family values, eh?), minimum wage, subsidized child care, or a free (or partially free) college education.

These are all basic needs that other nations provide for their citizens, but not America.

The fourth estate fails us. Instead of writing about reality and educating readers about the economy and education, we get sports and multiple repetitive stories about peas in guacamole or the color of a stupid ugly dress. Or some Jade-Helm-for-Dummies articles that fuel more redneck ignorance.

Priorities...priorities, not trivial pursuit.

So many incidents in the last eight weeks point to a frightening turn-of-the-wheel to additional misery for the poor and middle class. Those insurance companies who benefitted handsomely from Obamacare? They just announced a big rate hike (some hikes will be 60%) last month. Apparently, the previously uninsured they picked up through $800 a month premiums with a $17,000 deductible apparently didn’t offset how sick they were.

And the big four behemoth insurance companies? They’re merging to create a monopoly on healthcare like you’ve never seen before.

You’re a fool if you didn’t see this coming. ACA may have benefitted a few Americans, but the insurance industry has benefitted far more than America’s citizens. ACA merely opened the door to a boom for insurance companies, nothing more.

Greece’s financial problems and China’s shaky stock market? It’s coming soon to a city near you. And it has nothing to do with socialism, and everything to do with the austere economic policies promoted by American conservatives.

If the Wisconsin GOP has its way, workers will no longer have weekends; a new law will do away with that.

Out of the 20 or so GOP candidates running for the nomination, every single one wants to do away with, privatize, or cut social security. Bernie Sanders is the only single candidate who wishes to expand it.

I'm not sure Americans realize the importance of the 2016 election. This is our LAST chance to repossess our country. If we elect a corporate fascist Republican or another bait-and-switch corporate Democrat who caves to each and every corporate whim, we’ll be hopelessly trapped under the dark boot of oligarchic rule with no hope whatsoever of saving ourselves.

Americans are angry, but we’re still acting within the mother-may-I-mode.

We’re far too timid.

We need to stop begging and start demanding. There needs to be some substantial disruptive activity behind our anger, because our leaders have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to us all.

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Carol Morgan is a career/college counselor, a freelance writer, and former Democratic candidate for the Texas House. She is the award-winning author of two books: Of Tapestry, Time and Tears and Liberal in Lubbock. Email Carol at [e-mail] , follow her on Twitter and on Facebook or visit her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/carol-morgan/2015-07-12/americans-must-stop-begging-and-start-demanding#.VaNZxfkT91M

Permission granted to post Ms. Morgan's blog in its entirety.

[Skittles]

1. "You’re a fool if you didn’t see this coming."

hoo boy, there are a lot of fools

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

7. Well, and a lot of people who've been fooled.

The people in power have gotten really good at propaganda over the decades.

[99th_Monkey]

2. I'm speechless .. an amazing and illuminating piece of writing

I nominate Carol Morgan to be on Bernie Sanders' speechwriting team.

Oh wait. He probably writes his own, but still .. in case he's too busy
or whatever, Carol's "feeling the Bern" big-time. and it shines through
crystal clear as to exactly why Bernie is in this Democratic Primary.

I especially liked this rather pointed insight: "We’re swiftly becoming
a third world nation with first world weapons."

[dreamnightwind]

3. Thanks, I'm also tired of being timid about it, no more

Excellent piece. I too feel like it's now or never. Out here I sometimes see a bumpr sticker that says something like Well behaved women seldom make history. I'm male, but I agree with its sentiment, I would substitute Democrats or even Citizens for the Women in the slogan, playing nice with the monied elite and their hand-picked candidates is not going to get it done.

[pansypoo53219]

4. exceptional countries do not treat the underclass like shit. they PAY for stuff & not put it on

credit.

[Enthusiast]

5. Thanks for that! Excellent! nt

[Scuba]

6. K&R