Thoughts Influenced by The Assault on Reason

Since my partner in crime has brought up the subject of Al Gore, I guess I will stick to the theme. I recently finished his new book The Assault on Reason and found it to be an inspiring read that has personally rung very true to me. The current administrations complete and intentional manipulation of the American public is not only startling, but very scary. Citizens in America these days don't have the opportunity to find out the truth, and the truth they are told is often simply a lie. It amazes me that the document President Bush used to show proof of Iraq purchasing materials for WMD's and launching us into a 600 billion dollar war was proven to be a forgery, and no one did anything about it. The document wasn't just unreliable, it was forged! If I were to lie to the police department about a detail pertaining to something as safe as say, marijuana, I could be charged with obstruction of justice and sent to jail. When the president lies to the entire nation in hopes of manufacturing support for a war, no charges are pressed. The true criminals in our culture lie in the highest ranks of society.

Especially in regards to the Bush administration, policy is influenced not by public good but rather by money. Corrupt corporations and an elite group of millionaire friends seem to have more influence on our president then the millions of middle-class Americans that make up the majority of the population. I think this is essentially human nature, but it is also something that our democracy is supposed to rise above.

There are two statistics in my head that I think bring home the point of how the few rich are beginning to create a lob-sided nation. The first is the amount of money the average American CEO makes in comparison to his lowest paid worker. Currently, the American CEO is bringing in 411 times the income of his blue collar counterparts. How is this not frowned upon or at least investigated in our country? Because America is the Father of Capitalism? I think that argument is bullshit. You can be a successful entrepreneur, follow all the laws of economics, and still pay your employees a decent salary (If Ben And Jerry's could do it, anyone could do it!). In addition, you can make sure you redistribute profits when your company prospers, rather than keeping a disproportionate piece of the pie that was created by the group as a whole to yourself. Greed is an inherent human quality, but I think rationale is equally and can be overridingly inherent. This is evident in European cultures, where the average CEO makes no more than 15 times that of his lowest paid employee. I am a firm believer in the free-market, and also believe government regulation should be used only when absolutely necessary. The root of this specific issue is not necessarily where our government has gone wrong, but rather the unethical and obviously greedy actions that the rich of our country are taking. This is a personal, moral issue that will not be solved by governmental action, but only through a transformation of the values we and the rich as individuals choose to live by. I find it very disturbing that profits produced through the private sector are not being distributed in a manner that is both logical and fair in our nation.

It is common knowledge that the longer a society can maintain the balance between the rich and poor, the longer it will survive. America is falling away from this principle at an alarming rate. As wealth and corruption grow in the top piers of our society, and they have, the lower class that is being left behind is much more motivated to turn to a world of crime itself. I believe that the more crime caused by the upper class creates not only a larger lower class, but more crime within this class. The only way to balance this equation is to shrink the difference between the haves and the have nots. I believe that if America were to wake up, rid itself of the corruption taking place in its highest levels of government, do what is right for the public good, and allow for a free flow of public discourse unregulated by the opinions and manipulative strategies of the federal government, America would find itself a much safer place.

Oh yea, and Al Gore's son smokes marijuana. What a horrible father. Maybe he should stop trying to save the world and save his son from the evils of the Devil's Weed.

Until next time,

Nate