Who Are WE?

Patrick's Note: When I was a child, it was expected the younger generation who would follow in our parents' footsteps; those who fought and lived through World War II and the Great Depression, supporting our country via some type of service greater than which served our own needs. Today, we seem to have devolved into a phone-stoned universe of "me first, to hell with the rest of you". Our parents and grandparents' dreams have all but disappeared into the ether we now know.

I know you readers are of often differing political views, and I embrace that. My own are subject to change as this soul feels the heartbeat of my city, our beloved nation. Right now, my heart is about to full STOP. We are poised on the precipice of another Civil War. One which knows no borders or intelligently-based set of ideals. And it threatens to tear the very fabric of our nation's soul into tatters none will be able to sew back together. Unless we act NOW to once again embrace a common goal, that of decency and respect toward one another, amongst ALL living humans, we are doomed as a society. Leave religion and previous political beliefs aside; in 2022 we should have grown away from the mistakes of the past. However, we haven't learned and are hell-bent upon making them happen again.

I just watched a documentary on Ethel Kennedy, the wife of the late Senator Robert Kennedy. While the Kennedy's were either hit-or-miss on your political scale, they were of an era where public service was honored. You could disagree with their politics while also admiring their ideals of an American's responsibility to serve those less fortunate than ourselves. Even though their murders and misfortunes  wounded our national psyche, their desire for a better America should become a beacon for future times, rather than a reminiscence of what once was.

Recently, I read a piece which foretold the downfall of American society by 2035. I fear this will happen much sooner, given the temperature of current scene. As a bus operator, my fingers constantly remain upon the pulse of our commonality. What I see is a bunch of working class people constantly clawing to remain atop an increasingly-slippery slope. Wages have risen, but the cost of living has been double, no TRIPLE that. Rents and housing prices have increased so much very few of us can afford to keep that precious roof above our heads, let alone keep up with the utilities, car payments, student loans, credit cards and FOOD. Good Lord, the price of feeding us alone has skyrocketed along with the COVID-induced labor shortages. 

There is no more "middle class". Only those of us who can work enough hours to keep ahead of foreclosure or other such financial disaster are the lucky. The rest are being made homeless and apparently hopeless by the greed of the upper crust. Compared to the richest of the rich, we have been meant to scratch our way "up" for centuries, and our masters are not likely to allow us much more. 

We pay taxes up the ying-yang. Not just federal or state taxes, but the little ones that add up to a great chunk of our incomes. They squeeze our paychecks just to give us that faint glimmer of hope that we'll get there someday. Get a bonus? Cut it by 40%, because the government knows best what to do with our money. Buy a tank of gas? Yep, a third of it is taxes. Have a small business on the side? Hey, Uncle Sam and Oregon MUST get their cut. Get a new job and a substantial pay hike? Get ready to bend over because you're now in a new "tax bracket" the richest don't have to worry about because they have highly-paid accountants to protect them from such windfall penalties. Reach retirement age and start collecting the Social Security you've paid into your entire working life? Yep, even THAT is taxed, and your Medicare will soak a good chunk of it. 

So much for the "American Dream". It's become a national nightmare. Those of us in or approaching retirement age are faced with even more depressing facts it's a wonder we're able to wake up every morning with meaningful purpose. It's disgusting how we're taxed every waking moment without the benefit of these dollars being spent to our constant benefit.

Yet still, at least half of us agreeing with the status quo, the other half fighting it. We end up fighting one another, but those at the top simply laugh at our socio-ridiculous tearing each other apart to their benefit. It's a game they created, and it's centuries old. Today's far upper crust have tons of dough they pour into political campaigns to pit us against one another. Still, we're all in the same boat. It's so obvious, yet nearly impossible to change. We're so entrenched in hating "the other guy" that we forget that money-sucking hose is stuck right up our collective ass. And Jesus, folks, has NOTHING to do with it. I'm sure He's sad we haven't figured it all out yet.

"If you would be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven," Jesus is said to have told a rich man asking how he could attain holiness.

Today, we see the poorest of the poor supporting the richest of the rich, who routinely sell us down the river as commodities rather than the souls God endowed us with. They also evade the myriad of taxes we pay, even when we die. It's a horrendous irony I doubt most people give much thought. And THAT, folks, is what threatens the very fabric of the society our Founding Fathers dreamed of.

Not guns. Not abortion. Not racial tension. Not Democrat vs. Republican. It's a master race, yes, of MONIED people over the working folks. Ancient yet simple. Not elegant. Something we haven't overcome en masse for centuries. Content to be led to the slaughter rather than RISING UP. We fear the latter, bow to the former.

They're LAUGHING at us. Uncontrollable glee as they roll in trillions earned in human sex trafficking, hard drugs, money laundering and political bribery on a scale this country was founded upon to render illegal and frowned upon forevermore.

WE are being rendered obsolete. The workforce as we know it will likely disappear in a few decades, to be replaced by technology. Many of you are embracing it, not knowing you're paying for your own obsolescence. "Smart" cars, bitcoin, robotic factories.

What happens when WE don't have jobs any longer? We become expendable, of course. Those now who glory upon the suffering of the least will ultimately become victims of their own stupidity. All that remains is the method of our extinction: firing squads or gas chambers, or duels with the few lions left alive after the monied elite have killed the rest on "safari".                                                 

"Please sir, can I have more?" was the meek utterance of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, an orphan who dared asked for just a dabble more of worm-infested gruel. If we keep supporting the upper crust, there will be no "more" for us to ask for.

It's time to ask yourself whether "Democrat or Republican" means anything today. Neither party fully honors our constant efforts to pull ourselves UP. It's time we re-think who we vote for. Either you support your life's work, or you continue to enable the few to reign supreme over US. The most gullible tend to follow those who demand YOU to follow THEM or be outcasts from your own party. Do you support those who only seek to enrich themselves and allow their ego to control their destiny, or the people who speak to your working souls? 

This is who we are now. Many don't get it, and it is painful to watch. Some are content to waste our nation's "great experiment" upon that which our ancestors fought the American Revolution to avoid. Please, stop supporting the RICH, and turn it back on US. WE make America WORK, not the rich bastards. You know it's true.

* * * * *

Today, my Beloved and I celebrate 28 years of wedded bliss together. Without her, I could not bear the turmoil I face as a transit operator. She brings me unparalleled peace, and the joy of raising three wonderfully successful, beautiful children together. We are soon to welcome a new grandchild. I am so happy with our union these nearly three decades I cannot fathom life without my Beloved. 

Today, I wax a bit nostalgic while hoping for an equally-happy future. My life has been a constant struggle uphill, but I keep flooring the accelerator. Failure has never been an option, only happiness.

If you have read this far, please respond with a note. That way, I'll know you actually READ what I write. Meanwhile, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY STACEY!!! I adore you, and always will, my bestest.