Thursday, March 3, 2016

The unprotected......

Apparently the after effects of large amounts of novacane are long daytime naps, because that essentially sums up the last two days for me.  Once again I did not do anything but rest all day long, however, one side benefit of this is I am doing a lot of reading.  Really, that was the essence of our day.....  

Something has been on my mind for over a year that I have discussed with friends on several occasions, and have alluded to here in my blog.  Back in my workaday life I was pretty heavily invested in political outcomes.....I spent hours reading political opinions, following closely one election cycle after another.  Then 3 years ago after being on the road just about a year I decided that neither political party really cared about anyone outside the Washington D.C. Beltway.  They gave great speeches promising change, but when they got elected it was difficult to tell to which party they really belonged.  They both spend too much money.....they both keep increasing the size of government.....they are all inveterate liars.  I began to realize they, the politicians, are part of the protected class in this country......they excuse themselves from the laws they pass and policies they enact, and from the effect of those laws and policies.  Also part the protected class are the bankers, the mega rich, the Wall Street types, the talking heads, the network executives, the anointed network news anchors, etc.  They all profess their concern for the plight of the middle class, but everything they do makes our lives worse......they don't really think of us as the 'middle class'.....to them we are the underclass........the unwashed........the 'unprotected'.

Now we find ourselves in the middle of another election cycle.......one side alleges the other side's candidates are either criminals, or communists..... and the other side is accused of being sexist, racist, homophobic......it is all a big B.S. dance they put on for our benefit trying to get us to choose one side, or the other.  They profess to 'CARE' so much about us.....baloney.....all they care about is their own power, and protected status.  They all belong to the protected class, and they want to continue to belong to that club, so they all go along to get along......they all take millions from corporations.....they are all bought and paid for......they claim the millions they receive have no effect on their policies, but secretly, deep down inside we all know the truth.

Now we have someone who has come along and pointed out what I have been saying........he talks about the plight of the unprotected, he is brash, and unapologetic.....he admits he is part of the protected class because he is rich, but he is talking about doing something about it.  He doesn't care what their opinion of him is......he seems to scare the hell out of both parties because he doesn't follow any of their rules.  He is accused by both sides of being a racist, a bully, a Hitler, of being sexist.  Political pundits write voluminous articles about we should be afraid of his 'authoritarian' rhetoric......they beg us to ignore him....to disavow him.  

I have no idea who I am going to vote for in the next general election.......I don't even know if I will vote.........what's the point?  In the end we get the same old same old......I think we are witnessing the beginnings of the demise of the two party system.  This is why this outsider is drawing so much enthusiasm.....is he the answer?  I have no idea, but his angry rhetoric mirrors the frustration of millions of the middle class......the unprotected......and that is why they are listening to him.  This moment in history reminds me of a famous line from the movie 'Network' starring Peter Finch as the disillusioned fictional network anchor, Howard Beale, who stands up on the set of his nightly news broadcast and yells to the world......"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!".  That's where I think we are right now.....people are as mad as hell, and they are not going to take it anymore.....that is why Donald Trump is resonating.....he is articulating what a large part of the middle class has been thinking as they sit in their living rooms each night watching the circus we call Washington D.C.....and, frankly, I think it scares the hell out of the 'protected'.  We are told he appeals to fear.....baloney....they're not afraid, they are MAD!


The famous "I'm mad as hell" scene from the movie 'Network'

Are you part of the unprotected?  Are you fed up with the protected class? Are you sick and tired of both parties?  What got me thinking and writing about this?  I read an article by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago entitled 'The Rise of the Unprotected'.....it totally articulates what I have been feeling and saying.  Take a minute to read that article......I am sure it will resonate with many of you. 

Thanks for stopping by!

3 comments:

  1. Clarke, the WSJ article is behind a paywall. I'm not a subscriber, but the article can be found free here, although cannot verify it is complete--

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/227774/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Your link works! That is the whole article. Originally when Peggy first linked the article on Facebook you could read the entire article. Thanks for pointing out the problem!

      Delete
  2. Clarke, our 2 party system will never go away. Like single issues, it's used to divide us. In this pseudo-democracy we are presented with choices. They're not our choices. Who would choose a career politician? But since we have choices, we're told it's a democracy. Voters actually buy into the propaganda machine and the hate grows. So much more I could say...

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.