The Trouble with PEOPLE

So a few weeks ago, I was chatting with my friend about politics.  While bemoaning the impending doom that was surely facing the Democrats on election day, Silas, ever the optimist, opined that, "People are pretty smart, and on election day, they'll do the right thing."

I snorted derisively, and exclaimed, "No, they're not!  People are sheep!  People are dumb, stupid, easily manipulated, and will do what they're told to do.  They'll believe what they're told to believe, and they will vote the way they're told to vote!  Just you watch!"

Silas, being a great deal nicer than me, seemed hurt by my callous summation of the American condition.  So I felt the need to clarify.


A person is smart enough to look at the facts, and come to a logical decision.  I mean, honestly... anyone who can make it through high school, college, carry on an adult relationship, successfully hold a job, care for a family, and do all the myriad other things millions of people do every day, can surely follow the nuances of something as important as national elections.  If you get two people together, even two people who disagree entirely, then you will likely see an engaging and intellectually stimulating  conversation.  An individual is fine.  Two individuals is still a pair of individuals.

But once that number grows to three...

Three becomes "PEOPLE".  And PEOPLE are terrified.  PEOPLE want leadership.  PEOPLE don't know what to do, and want someone, anyone, to tell them.  It is in the nature of PEOPLE to think the worst.  Everyone is out to get them.  Things will NOT be okay.  If you're not with them, you're against them.  Anybody different can't be trusted. PEOPLE are absolutely certain that the very worst is about to happen, and only by surrendering to the very worst in all of us can certain and total disaster be averted.  PEOPLE are driven by fear, and that fear makes them lose the ability to think for themselves.  And because of all that, they are easily duped into doing things that are absolutely not in their own best interests.

The proof of all that is the fact that, after driving the country off a cliff using unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy over and over, PEOPLE have handed control of the United States House of Representatives back to the very folks that made the mess!  And despite all the things the Obama Administration has accomplished in under two years, PEOPLE think that this presidency has been largely ineffectual.  Why?  Because that's what they're being told by the Republicans and the Tea Partiers.

Why else would anyone who doesn't have health insurance complain about Health Care Reform?  Why would anyone who is unemployed applaud a governor trying to refuse millions of dollars in aid that would directly help the unemployed?!  Why would someone with no wealthy relatives, who will never inherit a dime, scream about ending the inheritance tax??!!

I'll tell you why... because that's what they've been told.  If you ask any one of these PEOPLE about these issues, you'd hear a person speaking common sense:

• Continuing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy will add $700 billion to the deficit, and that strategy has already been declared a proven failure. And tax cuts of any kind generate only about 35 cents of economic stimulus for every dollar it costs.  However, "entitlement benefits" like Unemployment Insurance generate about $1.25 for every dollar they cost. So of course the tax cuts should be allowed to expire. Of course the states should accept money from the Stimulus.
• A civilized society has an obligation to care for the sick, no matter what their economic situation.  It's not right to let people die just because they're poor.  So health care reform is the right thing to do.
• The inheritance tax affects less than 1/2 of  1% of all Americans.  Very few of the PEOPLE screaming for its head are in any position to benefit from its repeal. But they would admit to enjoying the benefits of more revenue to an already cash-strapped government.  You know, cops, teachers, firefighters, nice roads, safe food, and other stuff like that that this ideology will prevent.  Besides, when he died, all my daddy left me was alone.  

But put any one of these people together with any two others, and you get PEOPLE.  And, apparently, at that point, they lose their damned minds.

A person can think for himself.  A person understands the difference between acting in his own best interests and facilitating his own demise.  But PEOPLE... PEOPLE let mob mentality take over.  They get caught up in the sublime pleasure of subjugating their own decision-making to someone else, someone who is certainly smarter, and knows what's best.  They DO know best, don't they?

The Republicans understand this phenomenon all too well.  They wield it like a weapon, swinging it madly over the heads of the PEOPLE, bending and shaping the will of uninformed many to service the needs of the privileged few.  Their method is brilliantly simple.  Just say whatever they want, as loudly as possible, over and over, until it becomes accepted as fact.  By the PEOPLE.

About a Beach

So I live here in sunny Florida.  Just this past weekend, we went to the beach.  The beautiful, white-sandy, pristine, Pass-A-Grille Beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida.  To look out at the gentle surf, smell that fresh sea air, and feel the warm sand on my skin, makes me wonder, how can anyone in his right mind be willing to risk that for the sake of offshore drilling?  It's easy for Louisiana to say they want the drilling.  They don't have beaches.  Not like this:

 

Or this:

 

OK, to be fair, Louisiana does have some sandy beaches.  Here's one:

 

That's Grand Isle.  While it is beautiful, it's important to remember... Louisiana is not known for that.  Louisiana is known for wildlife, hunting, fishing, Mardi Gras, insanely good food, the Superdome, friendly people, bayous, the Bayou Classic, agriculture, and so much more.  It is not well known for its beaches.  I had to search quite a bit to find a picture like that of a Louisiana beach.  Most searches of "Louisiana Beaches" turned up pictures like this: 

 

That's not oil.  That's just how the water looks.  Here is that same beach after the spill:

 

 

Well, Florida is known for its beaches.  World-class beaches.  That, plus sunshine, good times, bathing suits, and theme parks.  We manufacture memories.  Our only export is magic.  We have lots of retirees, and their grandkids can't wait to visit.  We love being a tourist state.   Nobody saves all year for that big family vacation to Louisiana.  When I moved from Louisiana to Florida, my friends were all jealous.  No one envies someone who moves from Florida to Louisiana.  Then, the only question is, "Why?"  

We live in heaven.  I don't want want to keep inviting that hell into my backyard.  It's time to end the threat.  Let's get off fossil fuels now!

Why Are We So Angry?

We, the United States of America, are pretty angry.  Not upset... angry.  What's the difference?  'Upset' is a temporary condition.  Angry is chronic.  It's like the difference between 'weather' and 'climate'.  Florida can get a cold snap.  Alaska can see a heat wave.  Both are temporary.  Things will get back to normal.

But that's not happening here.  So many people are so angry, and won't accept reality.  Instead, they're shouting about it.  Raising their fists to the heavens, and vowing to wrest back control.  Promising to deliver some unnamed doom to the protagonists who illegally stole the power from those to whom it rightfully belongs:  them.

I saw a story about a morbidly obese man who died on a flight to the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in Las Vegas.  The comments, left by readers, were overwhelmingly along the lines of, "Fat bastard... he deserved it!"  When did we get so mean?  A man died. Can't we contain the vitriol for a moment to even consider that?

I made a thoughtless comment about young black men to a friend of mine.  I'm black, and my son is a young black man.  The comment was about hip-hop ring tones, and how, when looking for a job, it sounds unprofessional.  My point was driven by the fact that the massive unemployment we are seeing has hit blacks disproportionately, and one needs to avoid every possible disadvantage to get a job.  But I never got to make that point.  Another friend of mine, who is also black, overheard, and took issue with my views.  Now, if he'd gotten upset, I'd feel that that was probably warranted.  But he got incredibly angry, and even threatened me with physical violence.  And he's still angry.  I am not saying that he, or anyone else, doesn't have a right to be angry.  I'm just trying to understand, where is all this coming from?

I look back through some of my posts, and I guess I seem angry as well.  But I know I'm not angry about everything... I do feel passionately about some of the items on the national agenda.  However, out of the context of these items, life is pretty good, and I'm overall very happy.  Perhaps that's the case for what I'm seeing.  Maybe people are angry about a specific thing, but okay with everything else. Or maybe, we've simply lost the art of debate.  We've forgotten how to talk about things with each other. 

I was morbidly obese a year ago.  I had Lap Band surgery and so far, I've lost about 95 pounds.  I still have a way to go. And, I know that there is additional risk of dying, so I try to control my blood pressure.  I also know that internalized anger is poison.  So I've learned to let things go.  I get upset.  But then I ask myself... is this worth me actually dying for?  The lives of my friends and family have never been at risk, so the answer is always, "Hell no!"  So I Let Sh*t Go.  LSG.  Many folks in America should try that.  They'll live longer, better lives.

Just a thought.

We Need To Get Off Oil

It is just that simple.  We need to get off oil.   It's a 19th century solution to 21st century energy problems.  Look, it's dirty.  It's unsafe. It's inefficient.  When things go wrong, innocent coastlines get hurt.  Right, Alaska, Louisiana, Texas, and, soon, Florida?  I live in Florida, and in Florida, we sell sunshine and good times.  If that oil washes up on our beaches, our economy will COLLAPSE.  Period.  Anyone who supports drilling off our coast is a bloody idiot.  And that list now includes you, President Obama.  We are the Sunshine state.  Let's develop solar, as well as wind, and nuclear.  Yes, nuclear.  Much better track record than petroleum, lately.  So, as I said, we need to get off oil!

Listen, Senator dumb-ass, and President clueless... grow a sac and force the United States, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.  We are still on petroleum only because YOUR corrupt asses are clearly in the pockets of big oil.  If I burnt down a building, my black ass would be in jail faster than I can say Johnny Cochran.  These rich, white bastards are turning the entire Gulf of Mexico into a pool of sludge, while you're sitting here with your thumb up your ass, waiting for them to "try" and clean it up?!  Are you KIDDING ME, Obama??!!

And you goddamn tea-bagging redneck republican ass-wipes, with your "Drill Baby, Drill", where are you now?  Why aren't you out there helping?  And how in hell did you get Obama to support lifting the drilling moratorium?  What... you have pictures of him skull-f%^$#ing a golden retriever?  And, after all this, Obama, you won't back off that idiotic decision?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??!!

Get off oil.  We could do it.  All we lack is the political will.  And a set of balls.

ARE. YOU. F#@%*ING. KIDDING. ME?!

The Tea Bag Party.  Every one of them that I've ever seen is white.  They universally hate President Obama.  Not just his policies.  No, they hate everything about him.  They even hate his wife.  HIS WIFE?! What the f?!  George W. Bush was a certifiably awful President, but nobody said anything about his wife.  What did Michelle do??!! But they're not racists.

They are armed, and their 'leaders' delight in pushing the envelope, egging these people on to violence, and  then blame the opposition for passing laws that they don't like.  Therefore, any violence that erupts is the fault of the Democrats, who are surely coming to take their guns and throw them all into concentration camps while they hook their grannies up to life support machines for the sole purpose of pulling the damned plug!  But they're not crazy. 

I've been politically correct for too long.  No more.  The Tea Party Movement is the the party for angry white people.  When they say they want their country back, they mean they want a white guy in charge.  When they say that Obama is taking their freedom, what they really mean is that they want the freedom to live in a country where there is a white guy in charge.  When they say Obama is a Socialist, what they really mean is, they want a white guy in charge.  When they say that they've been Taxed Enough Already, they mean that they want a white guy in charge.  When they are reminded that their personal taxes went down, and they dismiss that fact as utter nonsense, it's nonsense because they want a white guy to lower their taxes.  They believe that everything that's wrong with this country will be fixed as soon as we get a white guy back in charge.  But they are not racist... they just want someone else in charge.  Anyone.  As long as he's white.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone who disagrees with Barack Obama is a racist.  Not at all.  But for most people, disagreement with the President is based on the words he says, and the ideas that he espouses.  Hell, that's even true of the Republicans in Congress who are attempting to thwart him at every turn.  It's purely political.  But for the 'Tea Partiers', the disagreement stems from the fact that the ideas that he espouses and the words that he says, are coming from someone other than a white guy.  His ideas wouldn't be so radical if they maybe came from a different President.  You know, maybe a white one.

So, here and now, I'm sick to death of the lot of 'em.  They're racist, bigoted, small-minded, easily duped, utterly stupid, and so ready to believe that the country is doomed because we elected a black guy.  Never mind the fact that, by all accounts, the brotha' is doing a fantastic job.  So what that the unemployment free-fall has been stemmed, and  job growth is beginning.  The hell with the fact that the financial sector has been brought back from the brink of a collapse that would have crippled the entire world.  Who cares that GM and Chrysler were rescued from oblivion.  The DOW closed at 11,000.  Iraq is winding down.  Educational benefits for college students have been increased.  We signed a nuclear treaty with Russia to reduce the world's nukes by a third. He passed a health care reform bill that eluded every President for two generations!  None of that matters.  We are all doomed!!  It must be true... Glen Beck told them so.

So, Mr. & Mrs. Tea Party Conservative, I have only one question:

ARE.  YOU.  F#@%ING.  KIDDING.  ME?!

Cartoon Villains

The Griffin Perspective is about politics.  Here's some politics for you.  I make about a third of what I made only a year ago.  A good friend of mine makes a little more than half of what he used to.  And we're lucky because we could find work.  I'm a renter, but the house I live in is in foreclosure, so I'm about to move.  In my job, I talk to people every day who've been out of work for over a year.  I think that the current statistic for applicants per job opening is about 6:1.  In some places, it's better, but in many places, it's much worse.   It is no secret that the current economic environment is quite challenging.

Meanwhile, politicians on the right are standing in the way of any real progress.  They fought Health Care Reform, bitterly, and while they were not able to stop it, their influence caused the bill to end up being less effective than it otherwise would have been.  But the left finally showed some spine and passed it.  The right is fighting Financial Reform.  They are fighting efforts to help protect the environment.  They want to protect only the richest, largest, and most powerful among us.  And if that means that everyday folks get trampled, their attitude seems to be, "Yeah... So?"  These people are "cartoon villains."

In most cartoons, there is some really evil bad guy who wants to rule the world.  He wants to rule by fear, intimidation, and absolute power, with him and his few faithful followers resting at the seat of that power.  So what if the rest of the world is a dark, joyless place filled with fear and terror?  What if ordinary people lack even the basic necessities of everyday life?  As long as he and his minions are in charge of that awful place, then, well, that'd be just fine.

Coal is cheaper than clean energy.  ("But it's destroying the planet." "There's no proof of that!" "Here's the proof here!"  "Leave me alone...I'm rich!")

Everyone deserves access to health care. ("That's socialism!" "Every other industrialized country on earth has figured that out."  "They're all socialists!  Leave me alone... I'm rich!")

We have to better regulate Wall Street and the financial sector  ("Let the free market work... it'll take care of itself."  "That's what got us in this mess!"  "There's no proof of that!" "Here's the proof here!"  "Leave me alone...I'm rich!")

"Your Highness, the people don't have bread to eat"  "Then let them eat cake!"

We are in a battle for the soul of this country.  The left is trying to bring the country back to greatness, for everyone.  The right is trying to bring this country back to 1953.  And the minute I begin the think that, as a people, we're too smart to take a bus ride back to the social dark ages, some cartoon villain shouts "Sarah Palin in 2012... MWAHAAHAAHAAHAA!"

Happy New Year

It's just a little past midnight on 1/1/10.  2010!  Who the hell would'a thunk it?!  When I was a little boy, I thought that by the year 2010, we'd be vacationing on Mars, and everybody would have flying cars.

Well, Earth is still the only place humans live, and flying cars are still not readily available.  But it's still a pretty cool world.  And at this special time of year, when the whole world stops its breakneck pace for just the slightest part of a moment to catch its collective breath, we can take a moment to wonder, "What's next?"  Back in 1993, AT&T made a few guesses, and they seemed to have either a very high-quality crystal ball, or a spy in the U.S. Patent office.  Either way, from their vantage point in 1993, they gave an eerily accurate description of the high-tech, interconnected world we live in today.  Take a look, and have a great New Year's Day.  Oh, and my resolution?  You're reading it!  Thanks!