April 3, 2011

Blog for April 2, 2011

Wisconsin – is it the beginning of the end for America? Is it representative of what America has become? Is it the final slide toward naked banana republicanism? Will anyone in the mainstream media make any effort to confront the right and their naked assault on the American worker? Why has such a thing come to pass in America?
What will the children and grandchildren of today’s adults ruining running America have to say about their parents and grandparents who allowed this to happen on their watch? How will it be at all possible for the offspring of Republicans to in any sensible, sane manner accost their elders and demand to know why they led the fight to destroy their own country in every way imaginable? What will the future leaders of this once great nation be able to do to stem the tide of such benighted ignorance and rancour?
I have no earthly idea. The Republican Party and all right wing zealots have decided that no matter what happens they will do everything legal and otherwise to defeat the Democrats and ensure that the great divide between the rich and the poor widen as quickly and painfully as possible. What this will eventually do to America as a civilization and super power one can only speculate, but what is certain is that America is profoundly changing before our eyes; it truly is becoming a gigantic, powerful banana republic. All the Hollywood movies ever made about the end of earth kind of features is being played out dramatically and in reality as these words are being typed.
America is going to hell in a hand basket and no one, with the small exception of bloggers, is bothering to notice or care. I find it absolutely amazing that a country that has done so much for the world as well as, alas, to the world is rapidly, inexorably heading for certain disaster and doom. I think of John Steinbeck’s magnificent The Grapes of Wrath as the forerunner of what may happen to all of America, not just California, in my limited lifetime. Given its penchant for violence, and its love of guns, the Republic will no doubt implode within the next 20 years, if not sooner. The banksters will all be taken out and shot in some public square, their estates and that of all their rich cronies will be razed and burnt to the ground. Chaos and violence will reign for decades. It will not be pretty.
I can see the very rich already contracting Blackwater (or whatever they are called now) to protect their billions. I can see your regular cop on the beat having to contend with the massive firepower Blackwater will bring to the confrontation. It will be vicious and ugly. America’s naked greed and grasping for power will be on display for the whole world to see. However, I’m sure the media will remain securely in the pocket of the rich. After all, the people who sign the cheques for the ‘journalists’ and newscasters are a part of the super rich. They will not allow their minions to ever cast aspersions upon them. It will be a nasty, drawn out war that will leave many bloodied and damaged beyond repair. I have no idea how it will turn out, but I know what side I’ll be cheering for.
I read an interesting blog post this week discussing what would America look like if the Republicans get their way on everything. It was not pretty. But I would like to return to what Republicans tell their children and grandchildren about what America will be like for them. The reason I say this is that since we were blessed, truly blessed with our first grandchild on January 4, 2010, I’ve completely altered the way I think about everything. I now wonder daily what my grandson’s world will look like. What will his aspirations be? What will his economic prospects be? What direction should his parents try to guide him educationally? Will he have as much a chance as my daughter and I had as we grew up? Will he be able to enjoy the relatively safe and pristine wilderness environment I have come to relish and cherish?