Subject: [Homestead] . . . and the Home of the Complacent
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 2005 08:45:53 -0700
The reason why these laws are so easy to pass is that almost no one gives a
damn. The very concept of personal freedom is fast passing away.
Most voters get excited every four years, some every two, but in between
focus near-sightedly almost entirely on short-term personal interests. We
are the land of the vanishing voters. In 1960, 63 percent of us voted; in
1996, only 49 percent. We frogs in pots of rising water temperature but
feel no need for alarm.
Citizens don't have time or expertise to deal with national matters, so
hire those who claim they do. Lobbyists provide the dollars for proven vote
getters. Congressional whores return favors. While lobbyists are dining
senators, citizens are dining at McDonald's.
Keep their bellies full, manipulate the media, have top campaign managers
and money gatherers, and the winners can do almost anything with the
complacent masses. Polls give guidance.
I don't believe there is an answer to our eroding freedoms short of
eventual revolution. Aware parents could be the answer but they are largely
caught in the consumer quagmire. Parents teaching children history and
civics would help, but the impact would likely be felt on the national
stage no stronger than a shoulder bump on a crowded New York City subway
platform.