Pamen et Circenses

 

Pamen et Circenses

 

 

Part of me hoped that we’d learn from the past; our past and the history of the world in general. I’m not disappointed, that would indicate anticipation of change. I knew we wouldn’t. In the past 16 years, we have not made a single step closer to being a stronger country, we traveled further apart. There are any number instances I could cite, but the biggest is our treatment of each other. We become more whiny and bitchy and entitled and self-centered. This country is all about self. Oh, sure… We throw a few dollars in fund to help earth quake or hurricane victims. That money eases our conscience. See… We helped!

Here we are on the 16th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil. Our elected leaders, I hesitate to call them leadership since their activities are opposite this description. In true government style, they attacked the wrong country. They sanctioned the wrong country. Evidence shows that the terrorists were from Egypt, Lebanon, The United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. We could figure that out, but we attacked Iran and Iraq, then get mired in Afghanistan. The countries that figure prominently in these attacks still enjoy our foreign aid money and monumental arms deals to keep them fighting-fit and ready to defend themselves against… each other???

Even a casual observer can see that the Military Industrial Complex and the media are the real winners here. Hundreds of billions in revenue result from these US State Department brokered deals and billions of dollars in advertising revenue for the media: a key partner in the Military Industrial Complex. Do we the citizens of this country gain anything?

We sure do. We get the low wage jobs to manufacture these weapons of mass destruction and war. We answer our countries’ call of duty for our honor and for Democracy. And… we get to pay for it with our taxes. Our governmental compromise made billions in profit for the arms dealers who, by the way, pay very little tax on their earning. It doesn’t seem right, does it?

I wonder who put these assholes in charge? Any guesses?

We’ve been fighting in the Middle East for 15 years. Russia got their ass kicked over there and out of there, but America the Great would never lose. They’ll never defeat us… We’re AMERICA! Well guess what?

How many more lives will it take before we demand a change? How much longer will be fodder for the MIC? When will we wake up and see how we’re being used? My best guess… Never! It hasn’t happened in the past 50 years. It hasn’t happened since September 11th, 2001. We’re happy as long as there is Monday and Thursday Night Football, plenty of beer, and snacks. Don’t FUCK with my football games!

We are individuals and demand our individual rights. There is no community. There is little national pride. We still relive an election over 10 months ago. There are claims that foreign countries interfered and through the tally off balance.

There are several new factions competing for space and our attention in the media. These seem to center on the latest government debacle to remove anything that remotely reminds the overly sensitive and entitled about the Civil War that ended over 152 years ago. They cannot tell you the dates or the real reason for this war but the Confederate Flag and a statue of Jeff Davis bring back the horrors they suffered as slaves and the atrocities of the War of Northern Aggression.

There are also foreign nationals and illegal aliens that believe birth in this country guarantees citizenship and all the associated rights. Once they arrive, the demands and feel the entitlement. We must accommodate them… Please dial 1 to hear this message in English… BOHICA!

There is an acronym soup of new groups that insist on their Constitutional Rights. Everyone from Neo-Nazi to anti-fascists. I didn’t know America was a fascist country, but here they are demanding the overthrow of our government. That’s actually not a bad idea. What scars the shit out of me is who and what would replace it.

There is still blatant racism and gender inequality. There is a gap in salaries between men and women. There is a glass ceiling that limits upward mobility. There is age and reverse discrimination, and the new move to increase the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. They claim that even at this level it’s not possible to survive. Here’s a tidy little tidbit. Welfare payments put you in the top 20% of all income earners in the US. Our government’s brain trust, the economic geniuses that came up with this idea insist that the increase to the new minimum wage will not affect retail prices and will not impact the job market.

What is important here is that we are still at odds with each other and no closer to any resolutions. We continue to create new and more insipid reasons to fight further separating us from everyone else becoming more individual. We demand our rights to hate anyone and everyone. This is America god damn it. I don’t have to take this shit!

We lost our sense of community and our desire to create a place where everyone is welcome to his/her opinion and where we ca agree to disagree. We used to celebrate this. We called it diversity.

Here we are 16 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Still fighting and hating and demanding to be individuals. He only reason to come together is to protest, join an altercation, and run from the authorities.

I’m saddened by our refusal to work through these problems. We have the best opportunities on the planet and we squander them on self-interest. Our schools are a disgrace, our government is bent toward the ultra-rich and obviously racist, homophobic, misogynistic, male biased, and pro homogeneity.

So, 16 years after we were attacked by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates we still blame Iran and Iraq for their part in this terrorist attack.

Look into the mirror. Do you see that person looking at you? You should recognize him or her. That is the person at fault for everything going wrong in this country. That is the person that reelects the morons and assholes and corrupt politicians that make our laws. It our fault and that makes it our responsibility.

We were horrified as a country when the 11 attackers leveled the World Tarde Center. We rallied behind our government to attack the wrong country without provocation on sketchy and non-existent evidence for all the wrong reasons. We put hundreds of billions of dollars in the pockets of their friends in the Military Industrial Complex and killed tens of thousands of innocent people in two countries that had no involvement. And, we continue to send billions of dollars in aid and military hardware to the countries that sponsored these terrorists.

Can you honestly say that you aren’t responsible? Who elected these representatives to our DC? Who keeps putting and those like them into these offices?

In 100 AD, the poet Juvenal wrote that the people of Rome were no longer concerned about their birthright of Political involvement as long as they were fed and entertained. He coined the phrase “Panem et Circenses.” Latin for bread and circuses.

We have the same situation right here in America. Ain’t history a bitch?