My Letter to the Editor

I've got a job now. As with most jobs though, there is some down time to be found. I tend to devote much of my time reading through the Opinion section of whatever newspapers I can think of at the time. I came across one letter to the editor in the Washington Post today from someone in Sterling, Virginia that said, essentially, that the rich should consider their impending tax hikes an implicit "thank you" to all the middle-class workers on whose backs such fortunes were made.

Oh my.

This assumes, of course, that all wealthy (and, by implication, successful) people have somehow exploited the working man. Sure, there are some who fall into that category, but I'd wager that most of the truly wealthy are either the beneficiaries of Old Money or sound investments. Does a person really need a yacht, seven cars, or a third home? Arguably not, but that doesn't change the fact that people have all these things. Those people made those buying decisions because they had the funds to do so. Those people have expenses to maintain all those things. Why should any of that money go to bail out people who lose their shirts because they get stuck under a house they should never have had in the first place? Where does that supposed obligation come from?

The purpose of taxes is to pay the government for the services it offers. Such things include, education, Social Security, MediCare, welfare, and dozens of others. Excepting the first in the list, who uses these services? Not the rich. Why should the onus for these services rest solely on the shoulders of those who have escaped needing them?

I admit that I'm pretty insulated from such things. Also, I'm in a really sour mood. Seems to me that this is selfishness and jealousy at work. "We want all the perks, but none of the burden." Maybe that's what will come to replace the American Dream once we complete our changeover to socialism.

Right now we have an incredibly well-educated president who is using his superior speaking skills to convince the public to ignore all the problems with our current course:
* We still have no plan to save the banks (not that I necessarily think we should).

* We've been told that the DalaiBama will wage a war of sorts on pork-filled bills just after he signed more than $700,000,000,000 dollars of pork into law.

* We are at the beginning of a global depression.

* Global tensions are only going to rise as resources become scarce.

* Our president is closing Guantanamo Bay because of violations to the Geneva Convention...terrorists weren't at the Convention and non-citizens don't get Constitutional rights. Closing the camp is a publicity move to help Americans feel more warm and fuzzy inside. Obama's plan for Iraq is the same fucking thing Bush said, but it's okay because Obama's so very cute...and black...not that it matters.


What's the solution?
1. Stop messing with other countries

2. Acknowledge those in the military as the heroes they are; fund them, maintain military strength even in times of peace

3. Improve our education system. Civics isn't even taught in most places. Only successful schools get money. "No Child Left Behind" is a nice sentiment, but only hamstrings those who are actually able to excel. The Standards of Learning make it impossible for learning to be fun because teachers are penalized for deviating from the "necessary" material. Football teams get new jerseys every year, but bands and orchestras are forced to practice in asbestos-laced closets due to a "lack of funds." Why is it that every other industrialized nation can learn at least two languages to fluency and we are proud with mediocrity in English?

4. Practice what we preach. We are so anxious to go into other countries and show them how democracy is done. It's a good year when 35% of the population leaves their homes to vote for the next "Leader of the Free World." la-tee-fucking-da

5. Choose an official language. Wah, we'll be mean to all those illegal aliens. Oh well. If people want to retain their language and culture in their new neighborhood, fine, but English should be necessary to get around. What possible good reason could there be for translating the driving test into so many different languages?

6. Adopt American babies. I know those commercials can be tempting, but there are a lot of lost souls in foster care here. Help them. Other countries have their problems, it sucks, but our first obligation should be to help as much as possible at home and then look elsewhere.

7. We are not the world's police officer. Genocide is a terrible thing, but it's not our problem. We like to claim the moral high ground for such things, but let's not forget where this very land came from. Maybe we feel the need to atone for the sins of previous generations by trying to prevent all bad things happening, but a government cannot be a person. A government's exclusive purpose is to preserve itself and the people under its umbrella. Anyone outside that boundary, however desperate their situation, is simply extra.

8. Elect me as King. Seriously. You wanted change, right?

9. Understand that disagreeing does not mean partisan politics, it means disagreeing. When normal people don't see eye-to-eye, it sends them back to the negotiating table to try and find some middle-ground. When politicians don't see eye-to-eye they dig in their heels and scream "partisanship!" I hate politics. I hate politicians. The root of all evil on the planet is the politician. Disagree? Start proving me wrong.

10. Ban "reality" shows. This madness has to stop. There is no more efficient way of killing braincells than believing any of that is real. I wish I was kidding.

11. Last, but certainly not least, GET OVER YOURSELVES! "We're the best country on the planet," "We have the best form of government," "Capitalism is better than everything else," any of these sound familiar? I'm not gonna be the one to say any of these are wrong, but there is no place for such statements in rational conversation. "Best" is not a real measurement and, thus, can't be used as an accurate point of comparison. There's also a lot of bias because, y'know, we live here. Plenty of other countries get along just fine. Maybe it's ignorance on their part, but it's arrogance on ours. Which is worse?

I still have my hope, but it's a fragile light right now.