Nader Or Nadir?

Let me begin by saying that I have always had the deepest respect for Ralph Nader. His significance as a crusader for the American consumer is a matter of historical fact. BUT, you must be old enough to actually remember why and how he became so important. Any investigation into the history of American car companies, drug companies, insurance companies, and the quality of American produced consumer goods in the early 1960s will readily document the many ways in which Ralph Nader has proven his noble intentions and benefit.

However, he would easily make the world’s worst poker player because of his habit of showing his hand, thereby allowing everyone else in the game to change strategies, hedge their bets, and cut their losses. Sadly, this remains the case today! He has (once again) declared himself to be a candidate for president, setting the stage for the right wing to split the democratic populace and end up further empowering the very people and groups doing the most damage to this society.

Ever since his emergence on the American scene I have wondered why he has never run for congress, which he surely could have done successfully. Congress is where the laws are made, not the White House where they are merely “enforced” -- effectively or not! Now, with his announcement that he is once again making an attempt to change America by appealing to the common sense of the lower socio-economic half of the population, he is making the same mistakes as before.

To get right to the point, Nader recognizes all too well that the military-industrial complex and their megolithic lobbying “machine” is a gargantuan impediment to ever alleviating class injustices as they currently exist. But he is putting his hopes for success in that very same dispirited, under educated, poorly motivated, and culturally deprived underclass. This is the same subgroup that watches professional wrestling on saturday mornings, believes that “reality television” is reality, dotes on Brittany Spears, and remains largely uneducated. These are the very same people who rarely vote or write their legislators. In the last two presidential elections this segment of the population stayed away in droves out of ignorance and despair.

Sadly, I do not expect this to end well unless the democratic candidate has the insight to meet immediately with Mr. Nader, assure him that his concerns will be included in a new democratic administration, and openly offers him a cabinet level position or other position of significant influence and power. Of course, it may all be for naught anyway since we “seem” to be living in the age of easily manipulated digital voting machines with no paper trails.

It certainly does make Aldous Huxley, Marshall MacLuhan, and George Orwell appear to be prophets of the highest order -- but then again, most of America doesn’t even have a clue who those guys were!

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Campaign Promises

One of the surest ways to stimulate my gag reflex during campaign season, which seems to be getting longer and longer, is when candidates begin making campaign promises. Hearing such things always closes up my throat and forces me to swallow hard. So, for those of you out there who have forgotten what you were taught in high school, let me refresh your memory a bit.

The president leads the executive branch of government! That is the one entrusted with enforcing the laws of our nation — not making them. It is the congress that is supposed to originate new legislation. (You remember, don't you?) They're that huge two chambered social club with hundreds of greedy, ambitious, amoral, and predatory political parasites that spend their time (and our money) arguing over what is "best" for us, and then usually end up doing either nothing, or (worse) the opposite of what we want and need.

Remember the 2006 elections when virtually everyone wanted our troops OUT of that oil-rich sand pile we invaded? Well, all the pretenders seeking memberships as new representatives and senators began echoing what the public was screaming. Yet, once elected, they were all (quietly) castrated by the military-industrial lobbyists who have been having an eight year picnic courtesy of our chief executive!

The simple fact is that even if our next grand poo-bah at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue tries to fulfill campaign promises, those two warring gangs on the hill probably will represent the interests of the nice folks (read "lobbyists") who provide dinners (evening meetings), club memberships (conferences), plane rides (inspection tours), and physical therapy sessions (figure this one out yourselves).

So you see, it doesn't really matter what aspiring chief executives promise, or even attempt to implement! Ultimately, it is all up to the two warring street gangs on the hill - the REPS and the SENS who decide what "gets done;" and they will ultimately follow tho$e who$e influence i$ $tronge$t! Get it?

Extra Credit

Every fall, during the last decade of my teaching career, I offered my college students a two point bonus option about two weeks prior to every election -- local, state, and national. College students just love bonus points, and many would sell their parents into slavery for any chance to raise their grade without additional studying, so as you can imagine, interest was immediately piqued. "What do we need to do for the bonus points?"
Well, I responded, all you need to do is show me your voter's registration card as you leave class today and those two extra points are yours. Guaranteed!
Their response has always been truly educational. Less than 10% have been able to produce the card that most members of my generation carry in their wallets or purses. AND, it has been extremely common to hear someone say: "What is a voter's registration card?"
And yet, they wonder why politicians just don't seem to pay attention to their issues and opinions! Sad but true. As an addendum, let me add that I do NOT blame my students. I blame their parents!
When I was just a child my father began taking me into the voting booth with him each time he went to the polls. And not one poll worker ever objected. In fact, most complimented him on his actions.
Food for thought - eh?
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