Politics As Usual

Reading various analyses of the president's State Of The Union (SOTU) speech, I began to notice something. It was hard to see it in the murk and fog that such speeches create but it was there. What I noticed was what I think is indicative of the schism that exists in my country...

Those on the left believe that the wealthy control the country while those on the right think it is the poor (or, more accurately, those catering to the poor) who runs the country... The vast majority seem to wonder if anyone is running the country.

Examples...

the Republicans and Democrats may be ready to join hands, once again, and come up with more of their devious, deceptive strategies, tactics, techniques and procedures for favoring Wall Street and the top 1%, while successfully, once again, scr*wing the middle class, the American people and our nation for another 30 + years. [Comment in the Washington Post]

But on Main Street large numbers of Americans have dropped from the job market, middle-class wages are stagnant, and even larger numbers of Americans are now dependent on some form of government subsidy for disability, jobless benefits or food stamps. [Another comment in the WaPo]

I would quote something by the vast and muddled majority but they do not seem to leave comments. I am conservative now but I was once liberal and, for a number of years, tried being middle-of-the-road. Unfortunately, that meant getting run over fairly often. I got tired of laying there crumpled, bruised, and bloody.

There was a lot of talk about the "middle class" in the president's SOTU speech and got to wondering just who that is. I was born into a lower middle class family, I believe, with parents who aspired to move up a little. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Not because they didn't work hard but because, as my mother often said, "Life isn't fair, get over it." She dreamt of riches and often tried various schemes to get them but which never worked out.


And, so, I wait patiently for Faye to win the Lotto...