“Easy-Hit” role hides unavoidable economic truths.
(EUGENE, Ore.) - Ever wonder why millions of hardworking Americans and faithful school teachers are constant targets of neocon attack, always accused of strong union-stance vs “honest taxpayers”?
These continued charges “falsely vilify working people” and “stem from a superficial understanding” of the realities involved, a number of national authorities now contend.
Simple reason: those two groups have always been among the most dedicated, solidly-contributing, child-rearing/occupied; and, always, most cooperative; of ALL American citizens.
That is, after all, the true “American Way.” It is their life-style, achieved only by hard, continuing effort, that has proven the potent power of our democracy. The very characteristics which guarantee that kind of true American life-style --contributing first to family and to community, AND CLEARLY THUS to country-- are what makes them most vulnerable.
That’s simple fact --well known to those manifold malign forces seeking to secure for themselves entirely unwarranted financial and power-position gains.
Those power-seeking actions --now well known efforts to take over and control governance at every level-- are clearly dependent upon continued apathy, bringing on lack of citizen understandings for democratic responsibilities.
It is demanding effort --and resulting stress-and strain-- that makes those millions so easily vulnerable, due to apathy and inattention, unavoidably generated.
That’s why control of mainstream media, primarily print-press and major broadcast-channels, is among the most powerfully potent objectives of these malign forces.
All seeking rapid ways to build democratically damaging, consensus-destroying manipulation start first and foremost with our ostensible “free press”, chipping away relentlessly at its Constitutional responsibilities conferred by protection and profit proliferation.
That was why Thomas Jefferson warned us early on: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
He’d surely recall the “Boston Tea Party” and its participating living, breathing (and otherwise-human!) patriot-purveyors, provoked by selfish British-corporate contempt for the principle of “consent of the governed”.
“Tax our tea? NOT HARDLY!”, they said, and dumped the damned tea -- long before my favorite Western gun-slinger, but clearly in his dialectic. Jefferson would surely look askance today at “corporate campaign contributions” masquerading as “the humans-only right of free speech on political principles.”
Pragmatic is as pragmatic does. Jefferson would unhesitatingly apply obvious humans-only physical characteristics as demanded proof of right-to-speak politically. He’d then substitute the highly-familiar English concept of the corporation as ONLY “legal fiction, created and closely controlled by State-charter.”
Second solid reason: services to the working middle class, by far the largest group in our nation, stand alone as the largest expenditure “tax-paid costs” in our social, cultural
working compact at the heart of American society. Among those larger-costs is that of the traditional common-school experience, long serving its intended function of unifying and strengthening every citizen.
That principle of shared early-learnings -- so fundamental to the true American Way --was well recognized from early Colonial days.
The Founders, in their prescient provision of our patterns, processes and protocol for truly democratic governance, emphasized that understanding in multiple ways, in both the Constitution and its essential Bill of Rights.
The same unification-and-strengthening affect is now immeasurably broadened and easily accessible to us all via Internet at home and digital-delivery to every school and every classroom. (Note this a-spelled “affect” differentiation! NOT a typo!)
Those malign forces, banding together from the early days of American history, have ALWAYS and systematically opposed each and every forward step in the unavoidable growth of function and force for our American way of governance.
“If it costs more, no matter the necessity, we will not allow it to happen” has been their operational objective now for decades --flying straight into the facts and the face of all modern economic, social and cultural research and development.
That stance is what substantially labels and unmistakably identifies the neocon fight-to-death political pattern --never fully developed with the demanding characteristics of all other modern political philosophies.
Depth and determination to “ALWAYS WIN, no matter WHAT the MEANS !!”, is what characterizes their constant, consummately-destructive demands.
THAT truth --now so surely seen as extremely consequential in our current credit and other financial areas so ferociously impacted-- is what has driven so many-more American millions to insightful understandings of what is truly at issue here-and-now: no less than the true “American Way” in this world.
That’s WHY the Bush-cabal and its few surrounding remnants of the GOP have sighted-in their giveaway guns against the UAW and teacher-union members --again!
These spasmatic neocons now can no longer ignore the clear progress of potent and powerful forces forced into the equation by their own failed consternations.
Those many malicious events have come home to roost right on the White House and Capitol entablature. Before those billions are even on-the-way, many malign voices are already joining in new demands to “kill the UAW” and “cut-again those too-powerful teachers’ unions”, free-riding on the taxpayer.
Those same malignant forces that formed the false values version of Reaganomics --now understood by a large and growing consensus of informed persons to be the beginnings of our current catastrophes-- have been constantly at work over the past thirty years.
It is the combination of “supply-side” theory; first written (perhaps “upside-down”?) on a cabal dinner napkin, with union-smashing “kill all opposition” action which has reduced the American middle class to its frustrating current fury.
The original attack on growing union strength was the death --by President Reagan’s rapid smashing-- of the air-traffic/controllers’ union. That was both key-and-signal for the corporate onslaughts begun then and still continuing today. (See previous Op Eds for details, citations, quotes, examples and further documentation.)
The facts of that fallacious set of foolishly oversimplified failed dogmas and truisms, tailored cannily to seem sensible “new economics” propositions, have become more and eeirily clear in continuing years.
The largest, most painful impacts are imposed on our shrinking conscience via new consequences nearly every day, in ways becoming widely known by millions as never before.
That’s WHAT is now driving and protecting the incoming Obama Administration until up to force, with time-and-patience as its weapons. He understands and appreciates the true democratic principle of “Only ONE President at any time.”
So he has been at work for more than a year, we now learn, readying this peaceful, democratic transition, with solid, sensible, sensitive and rational/reasonable action-plans for the very first 100 days of his still incoming Administration.
That’s WHY all thinking and sensitive Americans -- now better informed of the realities explicit in our current unmistakable “on the edge” economy and culture-- are “not only willing, but eager and strong in demanding transformative change-now.”
That’s WHY President-Elect Obama won with large mandate muscle/power presented to him by American voters in our “transformative Nov. 4 choice for change national election.”
Watch closely for what will follow. But don’t stop there, either: What CAN happen demands your thinking participation, as well as your time-and-patience tolerance.
Let your voice be heard: In public, in private, with Congress, with your elected representatives in our own Legislature.
DIY is a damned good American tradition, now surely applying in our formative opportunity for fundamental change NOW.
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Reader’s Note: More than 30 Internet, national-source, other references and writer’s files were consulted for this Op-Ed. Quotes are shortened, condensed, summarized for space restrictions here. Source-and-references list and quotes-verbatim are available on request to Editor with full ID, street and e-mail address.
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Henry Clay Ruark is the one of, if not the most experienced, working reporter in the state of Oregon, and possibly the entire Northwest. Hank has been at it since the 1930's, working as a newspaper staff writer, reporter and photographer for organizations on the east coast like the Bangor Maine Daily News.Today he writes Op-Ed's for Salem-News.com with words that deliver his message with much consideration for the youngest, underprivileged and otherwise unrepresented people.
Op Ed: Why Willing Workers,Salem-News.com