750 Words - Day 10
Today is the tenth day of the 750 words per day challenge. I'm back at it this morning, having just woke up and drank my hemp protein shake. The more i do it, the more automatic it becomes and the easier it is to accomplish.
We got our first paychecks of the new year. Mine was nearly $30 less because of the tax cut that expired due to Congress failing to act on the "Fiscal Cliff" fiasco. I didn't really want to discuss politics on this blog but here i am and i'm not going to restrain myself. Why do the American people think that the people in Washington DC can spend our hard-earned money better than we can? That's basically what we're doing. Here, Washington, we aren't responsible enough to decide where to spend this money so we should just give it to you all and let you decide what to do with it. It's bullshit. I bet if you put it to a vote, most people wouldn't want 25% of everything they give to the government going to the department of defense so we can use drones to blow up Pakistani children.
Politics in America is a fucking joke. The republicans try to pretend they are all about individual prosperity and less taxes but that's bullshit. Those people in Washington making the policies want our money on both sides of the aisle. We need to realize that these "representatives" are merely acting in the best interest of themselves. Usually, what's best for themselves is to try to get re-elected. How do you get re-elected? Raise more money than your opponent. Not a guaranteed method but for the most part that's what it takes. How do you raise the most money? Please those with the deepest pockets. Who has the deepest pockets? Generally it's the corporations and super PACs. Please tell me how that's representative of the people.
Then i feel like when i say these things i'm going to get in trouble or be put on some kind of watch list. I'm probably just paranoid as i'm obviously not that important. What troubles me is that the people who the FBI go after and what not are generally not a threat to the the American people, but a threat to the established power system. I'm all for the American people and all that, but as far as the power structure is concerned, i could do without. A system that only benefits 1% of the population is not a system i want to be a part of.
I used to talk a lot of shit about capitalism because even by the definition, it rewards one for taking risks. Well, using that vague definition, i take a risk when i break into your house and steal all your shit. I took the risk, i should reap the rewards, correct? I feel like it puts ethics, morality and all that fun stuff on the back burner for the pursuit of profit. It's me vs you and only one of us can win. I don't like that.
But, as i studied capitalism a little more (and got even more confused) i realized that what we have in our country is not capitalism. John Stossell says that the biggest threat to capitalism are existing capitalists. Those people are the ones using their influence (money) in Washington to make sure that it's not as easy for the next guy. Think about how many laws we have. Do ethical people need laws to act properly? Aren't criminals and unethical people going to break laws anyway? Who does legislation really affect? I find that oftentimes when Washington tries to fix a problem through legislation, not only do they fail, but they create other issues that they didn't even think about in the first place.
So in reality, i put the blame on the people using their deep pockets to carry out their will using the American government. It's also each and every citizens' fault for not paying closer attention to what the fuck is going on in our country. People know who pop stars and athletes are but have no clue what's happening in our country.
It makes me want to be selfish and only look out for myself but i know that isn't what the Buddha or Jesus would do. They would fight for the people who don't even know they are being shit on. They wouldn't be afraid to stand up for justice. Be more like the Buddha.
