State of the Union: Two Big Parties & You're Not Invited

1/28/2008

In the past 7 years our nation has become less and less free. Our government no longer values the right to privacy, has abandoned habeas corpus, has embraced torture and continues to justify unjust military invasions and occupations.

More than a year ago, Americans went to the polls (well 48% of eligible voters anyway) and registered their disapproval of the current path our country is on. They did the one sensible thing in a two party democracy- they voted for the other party!

Thank goodness the Democrats, who work so hard to represent the working class, refused to fund the war and our troops are now home. All of those billions (trillions?) of tax dollars are now being used to repair our neglected infrastructure. Our new national health system is being built as we speak. The jobs created by these work programs have done wonders for the economy! The new fuel emissions standards that require all cars to get 50mpg by 2012 will help us all breath a little easier. As will the fact that the U.S. has signed on to a national treaty, like Kyoto, to start fighting global warming for real….

Okay, I could keep going on but I’m sure you get the point.

It is very easy for us to place the blame squarely on Mr. Bush and his thuggish administration for their blatantly criminal activities, but that does not get to the real meat and potatoes (or gluten or tofu for my fellow vegetarians) of these issues. Granted, it has only been one year and the majority in the Senate is slim… but it still begs the question: were things really so much better under Clinton? The democrat who brought us NAFTA, increased military spending in a time of peace and supported his own illegal military operations that left thousands dead and injured? I guess the answer to that depends on your station in society and maybe your job (ie; if you work in the defense industry).

Regardless of your political leaning, these three points are irrefutable: 1. The Democrats have started and supported as many illegal foreign military adventures as the Republicans. 2. Global warming has been a known problem for more than two decades and neither party has done squat to fight it’s causes. 3. The root cause of policies that lead to the two previous points is the influence of corporate capitalists on our representatives. The only systemic goal of capitalism as a system is the accumulation of capital, which triggers the pursuit of endless profits at everyone else’s expense.

Both Democrats and Republicans represent these big business interests today. Just look at their campaign contributors and lobbying gift lists to verify. While the two parties may have differing views on specific social issues and slight nuances of foreign policy, they both are 100% committed to representing American business interests, aka capitalism as a system.

Here is where that system has brought us to in 2008:

- Our economy is heading into it’s next recession (part of a regular capitalist cycle every 10-15 years). Property taxes… sky high. Homeowners are losing their homes at levels unseen since the great depression. The middle class has been steadily eroding for 25 plus years. Manufacturing jobs? Outsourced and replaced by low paying and part-time service jobs (due to pro-business trade deals).

- Our education system is slowly being privatized. Our children and public school teachers being hung out to dry (due to the desires of the for-profit education industry and it’s incredibly flawed NCLB policy).

- Our roads, bridges, schools and other collectively owned assets are in complete disrepair due to never ending budget cuts. This conscious neglect will likely lead our congress to determine that this infrastructure should also be privatized.

- Our most basic ideals about law and justice have been tossed out and the two parties continue to pass bills that further erode our civil liberties.

- We are still illegally occupying Iraq – a war built on lies and manipulated intelligence.

- Millions of Americans live without health care.

The time is ripe for the people to stand up and undue the havoc wrought by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, the Republicans and the Democrats. We must seriously engage the tremendous threat of global warming. We must be the leader in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and implementation of renewable energy. We must bring the citizens of this, the richest nation on earth, into the 20^th century and provide a high-quality health system for all. We must also hold the current administration responsible for it’s war crimes and lies. They have left hundreds of thousands dead or tortured and they must be impeached and prosecuted for these crimes against humanity.

My fellow human beings, it is time to come to terms with this fact: market ideology is directly responsible for many of the problems we face as a world today. That is why now, more than ever, we need to vote our conscience! Vote for the candidates who are interested in the well being of all humankind, not just the property owning enterprise class. We need to vote for a sustainable future for our children. The Socialist Party does what Democrats don’t and Republicans won’t. We Need To Vote Socialist!