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Edited on Sat May-29-10 03:19 PM by Phoebe Loosinhouse
I think that's the essential problem in our society and in our politics.
This question is the major cause of my own malaise. It's appears that Everything I Learned in Kindergarten Was a Crock.
Good doesn't always triumph Truth doesn't always out Virtue doesn't trump evil Ignoring bullies doesn't make them go away Justice doesn't always win in the end
Rules or laws make for an orderly game of life. But a rule is supposed to be evenly applied to all participants. Justice is supposed to be blind. Modern American life teaches us that Justice is not just blind, it is deaf and mute and paralyzed as well.
Drilling regulations are made to be ignored. Geneva Conventions are to be flouted. The Constitution is just for reference. Patients are to be gouged. Mortgage and credit card holders are to be fleeced. Habeas Corpus is folklore from the Middle Ages. Torture is no longer uncivilized. Altering the political process with corporate dough is fine. The 4th Amendment is another myth. Private property ownership is a polite convention.
It's a lot to absorb in a relatively short time.I feel like I have a chronic inner ear disorder and that the universe has become tilted and out of kilter.
My problem, in short, is that I can no longer easily separate the good guys from the bad guys. I now realize how truly silly I was for even believing that there were such divisions. I blame childhood westerns. The rustlers rode into town, stole the horses, the Sheriff got together a posse and then locked them up. A modern movie would have the rustlers riding into town, stealing the horses, and the Sheriff saying to the posse that has assembled "Look, let's just move past this."
If evil or corruption is apparent and it goes unpunished then it becomes accepted, does it not? If there is no consequence for bad behavior, what limits bad behavior? The corporations laugh at the idea of social responsibility. What mechanism exists to stop their chortling?
We lived through a truly criminal administration. No consequences. We have seen wrongdoing that rises to a criminal level in the financial industry. No consequences. We have seen moral culpability when insurance companies kill through rescission. No consequences. Now we see an industry killing vast swathes of ocean life, shore life, livelihoods, and habitat due to corporate greed and shortcuts and lack of government oversight. What will be the consequences?
The most accurate label for our current times is The Age of Impunity. I think this accounts for the great undercurrent of anger that ripples throughout the country and crosses political parties. This is why we have the "throw the bums out" mentality. Who are the bums is always subject for debate, but the people as a whole realize that they, regardless of political persuasion, are always getting the short end of the stick. It is leading to an almost incurable cynicism about our political system.
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