The narrative out of Washington these days is amazingly arrogant even for a town full of career politicians.
The ruling class is blaming all of the nation's ills on the fact Americans have gone soft. They even say we don't have enough sense to be trusted with democracy suggesting that we should just leave them alone on Mt. Olympus and allow them to rule by decree.
They might be right about the latter. After all, we did elect the self-serving parasites on both sides of the aisle that elevate mega-corporate America to god-like status while dissing anyone who wasn't rich enough, smart enough, or snobby enough to grace the halls of an Ivy League school.
As for Americans being too soft don't confuse the rest of us with whining CEOs piqued about criticism of their compensation for their "hard work" of merging and collapse companies to wipe out jobs while pocketing millions for sitting behind desks
Don't you dare tell retired American who have had their retirements depleted by reckless acts on Wall Street after they spent their lives fighting in wars and spending blood and sweet to build America that they are soft.
Don't call the small businessman soft for sacrificing his standard of living because he can't bring himself to let loyal and hardworking employees with families go. He tightens his belt with shrinking revenue. That's unlike those who lecture him that simply find more ways to tax "soft Americans" when the economy goes south and they can't keep pumping billions into pet government programs.
Don't ever call the soldier or veteran soft. It might be a big surprise to people in the White house and Congress but unlike their immediate workforce, close to one in 10 of "soft Americans" volunteered - or were drafted - as citizen soldiers. They labored for one heck of a lot less money and put their life on the line for a lot less than a $175,000 year federal appointee who has been getting pay raises courtesy of the taxpayers who most have faced stagnant wages, pay cuts or loss of jobs.
Don't infer that the farmer is soft. I'd like to see someone in the ruling class work 15-hour days, seven days a week for much of the year and have their entire livelihood ride on one or two paydays a year.
Don't brand truck drivers as soft. As much as the political power structure fawns over the titans of cutting edge technology America wouldn't be anywhere without truckers since virtually everything you have you have because it eventually made its way to you on a truck.
Don't imply that teachers are soft. Most have always gone far beyond the call to help give kids a chance in life. Now that the economy has forced local and state governments - but not the federal government - to cutback including on the number of teachers, those teachers still on the job have stepped up even more. They may not be the one-room school teachers of yesteryear but then again our politicians aren't the Abraham Lincolns of yesteryear either.
Don't call the cannery worker soft because they fret about feeding, housing, and clothing their families. Even in good times it is a struggle for them to make a living. Until the ruling class stops eating they have incredible audacity to grumble that anyone in the agricultural field has gone soft.
Don't call working class and middle class taxpayers - what's left of their thinning ranks anyway - soft for balking at tax increases. Unlike CEOs and federal government workers inhabiting the Beltway they haven't seen their income rise over the past five years yet they still help their neighbors and support charities that help others that are less fortunate. And almost all of those with jobs paid significantly more than General Electric did in taxes last year which was a big fat zero.
Don't claim that firefighters or police officers are soft. They make real life and death decisions every day. They don't have the luxury of posturing for cameras, offering no-comment, or taking the Fifth when they go to work.
If Americans are so soft and can't be trusted with democracy, the ruling class might be more comfortable taking the riches they've amassed and fleeing to Switzerland or Bolivia like the tin cup dictators they apparently admire who robbed their people of wealth and made a mockery out of the democratic process.
There is indeed a cultural war in America.
But it isn't between the haves and have nots as politicians who can't put more words together than a sound bite want us to believe.
It is between the ruling class - politicians included - and the rest of us.
The ruling class is blaming all of the nation's ills on the fact Americans have gone soft. They even say we don't have enough sense to be trusted with democracy suggesting that we should just leave them alone on Mt. Olympus and allow them to rule by decree.
They might be right about the latter. After all, we did elect the self-serving parasites on both sides of the aisle that elevate mega-corporate America to god-like status while dissing anyone who wasn't rich enough, smart enough, or snobby enough to grace the halls of an Ivy League school.
As for Americans being too soft don't confuse the rest of us with whining CEOs piqued about criticism of their compensation for their "hard work" of merging and collapse companies to wipe out jobs while pocketing millions for sitting behind desks
Don't you dare tell retired American who have had their retirements depleted by reckless acts on Wall Street after they spent their lives fighting in wars and spending blood and sweet to build America that they are soft.
Don't call the small businessman soft for sacrificing his standard of living because he can't bring himself to let loyal and hardworking employees with families go. He tightens his belt with shrinking revenue. That's unlike those who lecture him that simply find more ways to tax "soft Americans" when the economy goes south and they can't keep pumping billions into pet government programs.
Don't ever call the soldier or veteran soft. It might be a big surprise to people in the White house and Congress but unlike their immediate workforce, close to one in 10 of "soft Americans" volunteered - or were drafted - as citizen soldiers. They labored for one heck of a lot less money and put their life on the line for a lot less than a $175,000 year federal appointee who has been getting pay raises courtesy of the taxpayers who most have faced stagnant wages, pay cuts or loss of jobs.
Don't infer that the farmer is soft. I'd like to see someone in the ruling class work 15-hour days, seven days a week for much of the year and have their entire livelihood ride on one or two paydays a year.
Don't brand truck drivers as soft. As much as the political power structure fawns over the titans of cutting edge technology America wouldn't be anywhere without truckers since virtually everything you have you have because it eventually made its way to you on a truck.
Don't imply that teachers are soft. Most have always gone far beyond the call to help give kids a chance in life. Now that the economy has forced local and state governments - but not the federal government - to cutback including on the number of teachers, those teachers still on the job have stepped up even more. They may not be the one-room school teachers of yesteryear but then again our politicians aren't the Abraham Lincolns of yesteryear either.
Don't call the cannery worker soft because they fret about feeding, housing, and clothing their families. Even in good times it is a struggle for them to make a living. Until the ruling class stops eating they have incredible audacity to grumble that anyone in the agricultural field has gone soft.
Don't call working class and middle class taxpayers - what's left of their thinning ranks anyway - soft for balking at tax increases. Unlike CEOs and federal government workers inhabiting the Beltway they haven't seen their income rise over the past five years yet they still help their neighbors and support charities that help others that are less fortunate. And almost all of those with jobs paid significantly more than General Electric did in taxes last year which was a big fat zero.
Don't claim that firefighters or police officers are soft. They make real life and death decisions every day. They don't have the luxury of posturing for cameras, offering no-comment, or taking the Fifth when they go to work.
If Americans are so soft and can't be trusted with democracy, the ruling class might be more comfortable taking the riches they've amassed and fleeing to Switzerland or Bolivia like the tin cup dictators they apparently admire who robbed their people of wealth and made a mockery out of the democratic process.
There is indeed a cultural war in America.
But it isn't between the haves and have nots as politicians who can't put more words together than a sound bite want us to believe.
It is between the ruling class - politicians included - and the rest of us.
