Empathy
Empathy,
a word seldom used in our daily conversations, the meaning of which is understood
even less by many of us, is defined in Wikipedia as “the capacity to recognize
emotions that are being experienced by another…. being”, i.e. putting one’s
self in another’s shoes—to feel another’s pain. Obviously, it is very difficult
for one to feel another’s hunger when one’s stomach is full. It is very
difficult, when one’s belly is full of expensive wine and luxurious dinners,
when his baths are furnished with $4,000.00 shower curtains, when he lives in
large and expensive homes, and when he drives expensive automobiles, perhaps
even chauffer driven, to comprehend the needs of the poor for basic food,
clothing, and shelter. After all, you worked hard for yours, and they can do
the same for themselves. Doesn’t everyone have equal opportunity? Think about
it. Do we? Do we really? How many of you who read this have ever known hunger?
How many know the absolute fear in the pit of one’s stomach when losing his
job, with neither food in the closet, or money to pay the rent. How many have
been out of work for a year or more with no job in sight and absolutely
clueless as to where to turn? How many have had that feeling of being all alone
with nowhere to turn—homeless perhaps? I dare say, not many.
I
suggest this to you, to everyone who reads this. The good old days are over;
and, for most of us, they aren’t coming back—not in our lifetime anyway. We need all the empathy we can get—especially from government. If you
think I’m nuts, you haven’t been keeping abreast of the news in the papers, on
television, and/or on the internet. Our economy is in recession, our demand for
product and services, the real producer of jobs in our economy, is down, and we
as well as our government are in debt “up to our necks”. To exacerbate our
problems as a nation even further, we are in a pseudo civil war with our
government which has been overthrown by an oligarchy of the Corporatocracy and Power Elite within.
If you and I
entered into a conspiracy to overthrow our government, we would be arrested,
thrown in jail and, perhaps even shot. Our Corporatocracy and Power Elite, on
the other hand, have taken over without firing a shot (that we know of), and
not one of them have gone to jail. All that has happened to them is that some
of them have been forced to pay huge fines, the money for which has come on the
backs of their stockholders. They have usurped the power and authority to run
this country from the three branches of our government which are supposed to be
in authority.
You don’t
believe me. Tell me. Who said corporations have the rights of free speech when
they aren’t people. For that matter, who said they are people? I’ll tell you,
but you already know. Our Supreme Court of the United States of America did. Not
only did they do it once; but, also, they did so more than once. Now that doesn’t
come close to being in our Constitution, does it? But they did it anyway. Was
it cause or effect? I’ll leave that to you, but one thing is obvious, we are no
longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Our
government, our Shadow Government, an
oligarchy of the Corporatocracy and Power
Elite, has their money in the pockets of a significant number of the
elected members of our government; and they are pulling the string—running the
show. They have effectively usurped our vote. Our underclass is growing, our middleclass is rapidly disappearing, and
we are melting into the status of serfdom, not unlike Nero, fiddling while Rome
burns.
What should you
do about it? There is much we should do about it and it begins at the ballot
box. Vote for a party of the people. Stay away from any candidate whom you
think may follow the money and turn from the people when the going gets tough.
Stay away from those candidates who follow the money. Stay away from any
candidate who votes for the oligarchy of the Corporatocracy and Power Elite—especially those corporations which
don’t pay income taxes and/or move their companies overseas. Vote for high
tariffs on all products of those companies that move overseas and sell their products
back here, especially those using slave labor abroad (If their wages and
standard of living is less than ours and they work under sweatshop conditions,
they are slave labor—a rose is a rose by any other name). Let’s adopt an
amendment to our Constitution that takes private money out of politics and pay for elections from a surtax on corporate income (this would be a good time for
a comprehensive reform on voting and elections as well as taxes).
This is just a
beginning but we should begin with the election coming up in November. Let us
shed our bumper sticker mentalities. Let’s really take back our country. Let’s
get the Corporatocracy and Power Elite out of our government and out of our
affairs. They exist to serve us—not us to serve them. Jobs? They’ll come. They’ll
come when we start spending again—when our demand for product and service comes
(Perhaps we should start with our infrastructure and go from there).
Ronald Miller
Email your comments to me at:
mtss86@comcast.net
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