The Abject Wisdom and Grotesquery of Thomas Jefferson and us all

Upon reviewing a PBS documentary illuminating the life and time of Thomas Jefferson, it became clear at almost the speed of light that Jefferson was in every way an enlightened visionary writing the high-minded and the most pure form of government-then or now-to be a beckon for the ages (or until party politics and narrow, lobby interests circumvent the foundations of the republic). 

"We hold these truths that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  These words of hope cascade through the ages greeting new generation after new generation of Americans to the perversely virtuous declarations of pre-America.  Having seen one of the original copies of the Declaration, one can attest to the truly seminal work of Jefferson and his fellow patriots.   If Jefferson were alive today, would he be able to rise above petty party politics and all the mundane that divides this country to guide us in the pursuit of the better angels of our nature?  Would the hatemongers and warmongers of today strangle that idyllic message from ever seeing the dawn of day?

While Jefferson's pen was more might than a bunker-busting bomb, his positions on race relations, sine qua non for his time, were equally destructive.  He was openly and unabashedly backwards in his thinking and position on slavery.  African Americans, 20% of the population at the time, were not included in the "all men are created equal" clause due to strong opposition from the Southern political forces based on the prevailing economic system of the South.  Jefferson actually spent time to compose a piece on the inferiority of the African American race.  What an abject miscarriage of time!  While Jefferson was more of a moderate on this issue compared to his contemporaries, he still was not part what should have been the original Coalition of the Willing.  The self-evident truth of the Declaration would not be fully realized until Lincoln, and later, King would compel the nation to afford ALL citizens the right to pursue happiness.

In this juxtaposition that is Jefferson, there is hope.  We, the people, can rise above their carnal and beastly predilections to contribute something great, serving as a foundation for the brotherhood of humanity.

Angst, Indigestion and injustice

Yesterday was not a day for the foolish of heart or mind.  Two quintessential American capitalist institutions-stock market and the Yankees-went down in a torrent of fear and ineptitude so great it recoils the mind.  October 19, 2010, was not a day of infamy; moreover, it was one of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Gnashing of teeth, by the way, is only experience outside of Biblical times by those that are aroused by the legalized betting that is the buying and selling stocks in these uncertain economic times, and it is empirically felt by those true followers of the Yankee dynasty when decision after decision ends in abysmal failure, fear and loathing.  Ah, but that was yesterday and today is a new day.  Is it, or is this “new day” an elaborate hoax of the senses.  That is a story for another day.

The politics of hope died an obscene death with the 2008 election.  The truism is readily confirmed in the perversion of that used to be good and true in the national character exemplified by a Boy Scout Chili cook off.  Backroom politics, greed, and masochism has now enveloped this once pure event and besieged it on all sides.  I regret to inform you the fix is in, and we, the people, have lost again!

For, a chili of such great taste and value, a chili without peer, was rated by the so-called impartial judges to be of 2^nd place merit.  This is a grotesque and deranged display of absolute power corrupting absolutely.  This perversion of justice may only be rivaled by the 2000 presidential election in which a boy president was elected to the highest office in the man.  Eh gads, what has happened in this country when beasts permeate even the most fundamental elements of the American dream!  However, given the back-alley, crude mentality of those in charge, it is now clear, in retrospect, to even the fools of this county (and we are chock full of them) that the chili of the gods was simply too pure and too good for the pallets of those that seek out a high quality meal at Applebee’s, which would be the preferred restaurant of the state had the German’s won the war.

My good friend, the esteemed Dr. Viola-PHD in Jenga Strategies, reminded us of the inherent lunacy pervasive in the American populace with the following philosophical mind massage: “My next thought is my best thought and I knew what it was going to be”.  If one does not become dizzy upon reading and pondering, the government has won the war of mental attrition.  As a retort, I was compelled to remind Dr. Viola of the profound words of Dr. Johnson, “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man”.

American Plutocracy & Cliff Lee: Mutuant Alien

Sports fans, we must begin with a visit from our friendly guardian angel, caveat emptor.  I am a charter member of the Sandyriver New York Yankees fan club in the middle of red-stated, Royals country.  The location in relation to being a Yankees fan has never been a beast a tame; this town has not seen a winner since Nixon won in 1968 (a dubious history of wins for sure but a discussion for another time). 

The cause for pause and vexation today is the close encounter of the…whatever…with that mutant alien, swine beast currently pitching for the Texas Rangers-Cliff Lee.  I am 61.5% (sixty-one point five percent) certain he is mostly comprised of very low grade microprocessors that would not have passed QA for a Commodore 64 OS and produced in a galaxy that apparently uses its technological prowess on sending pitching specimens with weird soul patches to this planet to recoil my front lobes in horror.  The alien Lee reduced the mighty Yankees (the last representation of true capitalism in this lost country) to a collection of bemused little leaguers with a prime directive of getting candy from Mom after the game. 

Get a grip, man!  This alien exchange program has gone too far, and it is starting to hit me too close to home.  Well, the Ranger’s cannot pitch the mutant every night or the gig would be up and Nolan Ryan would be hung out in a town square of very modest appearance for collaborating with another, potentially hostile, galaxy.  There is no need for vibrations of panic yet, providing game 4 tonight ends up being a win for all that is right and true of traditional capitalism and the national character for that matter. If the Ranger’s win the series, it will be a resounding rebuke of our capitalist ways, when the payroll of the two teams are compared ($55 million to $206 million). The Ranger’s would make a good case for limiting the hand of the free market economics. Selah.

Speaking of capitalism but from a perspective of going awry, Brett Arends, financial columnist for marketwatch.com, wrote the following article on the Supreme Court’s decision to allow corporations to donate unlimited funds to candidates DURING an election cycle through non-profit intermediaries.  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/death-of-a-democracy-2010-10-19.  Yesterday, I wrote that the perpetrators (reads Republicans) of our current economic malaise are asking the electorate to vote them back into power in order to rescue us from the evil doing socialist Democrats, and they, in their penchant for twisting reality in a manner which is almost indiscernible to the average voter, will probably succeed. 

If you believe Mr. Arends article, the ante has been upped substantially.  This may be the last time we, the people, can actually contribute, in a meaningful manner, to a campaign with either our dollars or our votes and still make a difference in the outcome.  In the coming elections, the Supreme Court’s ruling will shift the power of democracy into the hands of the corporate chieftains to influence the election process in the most self-serving manner.  I regret to inform you dear reader that our democracy is now a plutocracy.  The American electoral process, the underpinnings of a once great democratic process, has been swept away in an opinion from the Supreme Court most likely made to protect the artificial citizens the high court considers corporations to be.  Jefferson, upon hearing of the court’s opinion, has been committed to a sanitarium, wherever he made be.

I leave you today with these words of exhortation.  Prepare yourself to make an informed vote, get to your polling place, and cast what may well be your last meaningful vote in our lifetime.

Cheers,

OH

Fear and Loathing in Overland Park

You can sense it coming like an earthquake traveling down a fault line.  The results will stupefy those of relative sound mind and induce madness in every possible direction.  The general suspension of common sense will stagger the senses, recoil the mind and shutter the middle brain-disconnecting the front lobes from the medulla in a searing, beast-like pain not readily known by most in the modern world. 

The absence of common sense may be the second most astounding of all time (the first was George McGovern nominating an electroshock patience at his VP candidate in the '72 presidential election).  What is this retardation of the senses you may ask?  It is the pending mid-term elections.  The very beasts that accelerated the downward slide of this countries social, economic and political footing are now seeking to be thrust back into power by the body politic, and we the people may allow it to happen.

This is the sort of realization that most likely caused Picasso to chop off his own ear in a fit of rage, angst, and maybe even narcolepsy.  In 2006 and still living in the cradle of capitalism (NY), I lead the charge of those within my sphere of influence to vote the bums out of power in the '06 mid-terms.  AH, THAT WAS TRULY GLORIOUS.  Bush even had to suspend his I'm not fooling anyone spin and admit the GOP caught a beatin like a red-headed step child.  Now, four years latter and these awful swine are poised to take back the House and possibly the Senate. 

Am I and the small cadre of cohorts I associate with (also known as the coalition of free thinkers since there are not many of us bastards left on this planet) the only people on this planet that get the utter stupidity of allowing these creeps to come back to power on their regurgitated "Contract with America" platform.  Get a grip man.  Their failed policies of complete laissez faire economic policies, corruption, greed, and fooling the voters using divisive social issues to actually vote against their own economic interests are now back to save us from Wall Street reform, improved coverage of health care, and improved infrastructure.  Thank God.  The Democrats were out of control.  They almost gave the middle class a helping hand.  HOW DARE THEY!  In the pure outrage of our collective discourse, we will punish them for this and, I fear, let the bums back into office.

If the GOP swine is voted back into office, we deserve whatever shifty little plans that greasy, former latex salesman John Boehner will lay on us.  Due to the subject matter of this post, I am most likely having an aneurysm, and I need to remedy it post haste.

Till next time,
OH