Kati, Kati, Kati, my only
constant companion, my little feline friend with the cutest face in all of cat
kingdom, I was really worried about you this morning. I know you are subject to
occasional psychotic breaks (or something like that) but you really had a
“doozy” this morning. First you refused to leave the kitchen even after having
been Fed, you were underfoot constantly while I was working on our more
complicated breakfast. You continued this uncooperative behavior even after I
gave you another snack. Then you were on the table where you know you were not
supposed to be, then you were behind the refrigerator in the paper bags where
you also know you were not supposed to be, then you were under the kitchen sink
and refused to come out, and then you had the audacity to jump up on the
kitchen counter, a real “no-no,” and, finally, you jumped up on the buffet
where you also definitely know you are not supposed to be. You were so bad I
finally had to put you out. Why you were so bad I do not know. Perhaps it was
because you caught and ate the mouse that Spencer brought in that got away, the
innards of which I found this morning? Perhaps that is why you threw up and
made a terrible mess. I don’t know but you truly ruined my morning.
Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was about Oscar Wilde and the Republicans. Yes, I know, there is no real connection between the two, but you must be aware of the weird free associations we humans sometimes experience. When Oscar Wilde visited the United States and went through customs, he reportedly announced, “I have nothing to declare but my genius.” This, unaccountably, made me wonder, what would Republicans declare if they had to declare anything? I immediately came to the conclusion they would say, “We have nothing to declare but our idiocy.” Why did this come to me so quickly? I’m not sure, but I guess it is because they somehow believe they are going to win in the coming elections. Given that the term idiocy includes “notably stupid or foolish behavior” I do not think I am wrong in coming to this conclusion.
Assuming Republicans want to maintain control of the House of Representatives and take over the Senate in 2014, and assuming they also want to win the Presidency in 2016, their behavior appears to be notably stupid or foolish. They are opposed to everything the American public is in favor of: they oppose the minimum wage, oppose abortion, oppose equal pay for equal work, oppose unemployment insurance, unions, Planned Parenthood, Obamacare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the EPA, public education, contraception, and just about everything else that might benefit anyone other than billionaires, including, of course government itself. They are opposed to taxes on even the obscenely wealthy, preferring instead to tax the struggling 99%, they want de-regulations to benefit corporations and the wealthy so they can make even more money, they refuse to even consider reducing our totally ridiculous military budgets, and more or less seem to prefer more wars. All of these things would seem to place them directly opposed to the general public.
And Kati, on top of all that, their obvious racism, sexism, homophobia, and fear of immigrants, should certainly work against them, except perhaps for their relatively uneducated White voters that seem to be their only remaining base. In spite of all this they still seem to believe they have an excellent chance of reaching their goals. Kati, I don’t understand it, and it certainly appears idiotic behavior to me. Even their blatant attempts to keep democratic voters from voting may well backfire and cost them as many votes as they hope to gain by their devious attempts. But this is the United States where many are brainwashed to vote against their own interests. The criminally partisan Supreme Court and a few billionaires, along with a few Republican governors, are doing everything possible to stack the deck in their favor. It will all come down to just who actually votes and how many. Wouldn’t it be ironic, Kati, even idiotic, if in fact the Republicans somehow managed to win?
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment