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BS ‘n’ About…
The Democratic Party
The Democratic Party seems to have lost its way in America. Gone are the days when it was the undisputed champion of the working man, the proud voice of the little guy. It legislated workplace rights and social security, civil rights and educational opportunities. It was the voice of peace in times of war, the voice of restraint in times of passion. It dared to make a stand.
FDR, JFK, and LBJ gave us the New Deal, Camelot, and the Great Society. They believed in us: America would be strong if we were made strong. By the ‘70’s we were working at union jobs with all the benefits that entails. Healthcare wasn’t an issue because it was part of the deal. We could afford to buy a house and a car or two. Our pensions, social security, and mortgage made our retirements look secure. We had enough left over to send the kids to college.
Over the past twenty-five years, the Republicans have spun-doctored the issues of tax cuts, Wall Street incentives, abortion, gun control, morality, and xenophobia into an effectively marketed platform, trumpeted it with taglines like ‘family values’, and used it to amass the wealth of America in the hands of a few. The worst part is they told us they were going to take our money and we let them anyway. It was supposed to ‘trickle-down’. Remember?
For decades we’ve gone to the polls and essentially voted away a lot of what we used to take for granted. The profit on our houses is now the money the Fastows and Stewarts lie, cheat, and steal to get. Our kids education fund now pays for better ballplayers through chemistry. Our secure retirements are now regularly dropped out of the skies over uppity third world countries.
Where was the Democratic Party during this twenty year shift to the right? Usually back on its heels, apologizing for the very things which used to be its foundation: reacting to the Republican Platform rather than having any real platform of its own.
The Republicans busted the unions while the Democrats stood by and let them. The GOP poured trillions into a no-returns war machine while the Dems fended off big-government labels for wanting to buy schoolbooks and give us healthcare. The Republicans gave corporations the power to ‘downsize’ our lives, turn the stock market into a roulette wheel, and be the driving force in international politics. Again, the Democrats stood by and let them.
Perhaps this is too harsh a judgment in these times of Republican congresses and rampant right wing sentiments. But maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe people haven’t changed as much as the choices being given them. We don’t, and never did, want to be in Iraq. You know we didn’t. We believe education, healthcare, and social security ought to be #1 priorities. You know we do. We’re tired of pinching pennies so the bigshots can live Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. You know we are.
We like to think of ourselves as a free people. But free is only as free as the choices it entails. For the longest time now, We, the People haven’t had anyone speaking for us. The Democrats used to. The great Democratic presidencies of the 20th Century worked to make our lives better. In return, we worked hard, educated our kids, and turned America into the Superpower it is today.
It is time for the Democrats to get back to their roots. Rather than take the reins of the nightmare likely to be left them by the current administration and reacting to each individual mess, they ought to take this opportunity to think outside the box…way outside the box.
We, the People aren’t nearly as proud to be Americans as we used to be. We liked it when people cheered as our navy steamed into their harbor. We liked it when we didn’t have to choose between food and medicine. We liked it when our retirements were secure. We liked it when our jobs had meaning.
The Democratic Party seems to have lost its way in America. The great Democratic presidencies of the 20th Century were forged on the anvil of interesting times. These days qualify. Wouldn’t you agree?
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