Democracy thrives when debate lives. A governmental system which allows for give and take, conjecture to be replaced with consensus, and dialogue to dissuade bias and bigotry is a system which rewards difficult decisions and dilutes dangerous diatribes.
I am glad there are a group of people who reminisce about the days when the colonies wanted their independence from Great Britain. (No unnecessary taxation without cause and representation is fair). I am pleased that for any cause a grass roots organization arises, gains strength to have their issues be hard, and fights forward stressing their objections. (However grass roots used to mean actual real people gathering, not corporate types encouraging and inciting them). I am impressed when people who disagree take a stand and press for the truth, listening and not just speaking. (Not trying to drown out anyone who might differ, or demonize differences).
I am disappointed however in those who now identify as the Tea Bag Movement, who seem to be un-bipartisan, uninterested in the common good, unable to delineate personal bias from selfish principle, and unintelligent in understanding both sides to a question. They seem eager to do the UN thing, but reluctant to be inclusive, engaging, and involved in finding out the facts or seeking any form of cooperation.
The hoo-ha’s and haranguing regarding how bad health care reform MIGHT BE are always loud and clear, along with photos of the President in various cartoonish like poses on posters. The yelling is loud, but the argument is never clear nor based on fact, but laden with fictitious fallacy fostered by the likes of FOX News, Dick Army, and a coalition of self serving lobbyists from the Health Insurance Cartel and Pharma-conglomorates. (The success of any riotous rally is to insight the fear, deny the truth, and show pictures of “other kinds of people”, who will supposedly gain more than you and your family are owed).
It seems the rebellious acts to deny the passage of health reform are counter intuitive to the protesters unless; all of the Tea Baggers are satisfied with the cost of their premiums? Do all of the Tea Baggers have no pre-existing conditions, do all of their employers pay 100% of the monthly bill, do none of them use Medicare, have they not been involved with the constant price increase of premiums, have none of them been ejected from a premium due to some perceived expensive procedure?
Why haven’t these “grass root” self proclaimed spokes people for Middle America taken their posters, and bull horns to the offices of the Health Insurance Cartel offices? Why have they not chanted their God Bless America slogans in front of the Pharmaceutical companies begging them to bring down the cost of drugs? And why haven’t the Tea Baggers, bagged about the big question of why should health insurers remain a for profit industry, when what they do should not be about turning a profit for share holders, but to change a life for the patient?
Why is there no hue and cry from these good Americans as to the outrageous proliferation of profits that percentage wise are spent on CEO salaries and marketing. Why is it that the Tea Baggers are so angry at a Government which is trying to help the helpless, the hopeless, and the harried, and not one word of anger or distrust is uttered for the businesses which have little compassion for those they are suppose to serve?
I enjoy debate, but as I learned how debate works, it is based on fact first, emotion and delivery second, and the need to understand the opposition, third. There is no debate, there is no grass roots movement, and there is only selfish bigotry encouraged by a patronizing rogue of politicians who polarize the public. And all of the angst, the agonizing arguments, the paralysis of doing nothing are paid for by the lobbyists of huge corporations who delight in the delirium of lemmings who end protesting their own conditions.
Democracy is as strong as it weakest link. I sometimes hear the shrill sound of steel rusting and links breaking every time a Tea Bagger bags!
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