A LIBERAL VIEW OF THINGS: ‘Not because they are easy … ‘

In a speech President John F. Kennedy gave in May 1961 announcing our goal of putting men on the moon “and returning them safely to the Earth," he said he wanted to do this “and the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

What, exactly, did he mean by that?

It now is 50 years since he made that speech and the challenge to do the hard things has never been greater than today. In the 1960s, the political will was supported by the people because true leadership was at the helm of the United States. Kennedy portrayed greatness in leadership no president has since exhibited.

Why not?

Kennedy challenged us to do something great. Today, it’s about getting elected and making your opponent look the fool or worse. Today, it’s about raising so much money for elections that it would fund one of the moon missions. Today, it’s about the divisions of political ideologies that would make those elder statesmen hang their heads in sadness and disgust. Nobody is out there challenging the American people to do something great.

Why not?

I say again: It is about getting elected. Then, it is about getting re-elected. The takeover of the media by corporate moguls who want to slant the “news” toward their best interests is normal for today’s capitalists. That’s what they do no matter if it’s the media or making ashtrays. It’s their best interests that matter most. The people of America have come to expect nothing more from their representatives. When a bold leader appears, he or she is shredded by the other party or parties such that their message becomes part of the background noise associated with selling papers, magazines and air time. We are, therefore, strangling our own voices of hope, change and leadership by constant sniping and arrogance that says the other side can’t possibly be right.  We create complex lies to justify our positions. When somebody does tell the truth, nobody seems to have a basis for understanding it.

President George H.W. Bush collected Karl Rove, Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes to his bosom in the 1970s. He used them during his political career because they advanced not only his career, but those of other Texans who joined this cabal: Dick Armey, Phil Gramm and Tom DeLay. I use the term Texas Mafia for these guys. As a group, this lot has had plenty to do with driving wedges between political ideologies.

I left out the elder Bush’s son President George W. Bush because he was merely the final experiment in political demagoguery by this group of miscreants. You’ll notice once his strings were cut in 2008, he disappeared into the back of the closet of discarded puppets.

What we have today is as daunting a challenge as we had in 1961. We are tasked with “binding up our wounds” from 30-plus years of divisiveness and fomented anger at one another. We must do it, of course, because if we don’t we are certain to enter a period of anarchy, rebellion and spiritual rending the likes of which we haven’t seen since the beginning of the 20th century.

Corporate/banking America cannot be allowed to wag the dog of our governments any longer. They are literally fighting us, the ordinary citizens, for the heart and soul of our country. The desire to deregulate and reduce government controls is not the economic bogeyman they want us to think it is. They just want more profit. That’s what capitalists do. I’m not slighting them for that.

My concerns are for the working class in this country which will be either the fodder for a new wave of indentured servitude or bypassed altogether as jobs, careers and the rest of our manufacturing base are shipped to places with the cheapest labor and the fewest safety and environmental controls.

We must stop this trend not because it is easy, but because it is hard.

Turner is a retired teacher and industrial engineer who lives near Marble Falls. He is an independent columnist, not a staff member, and his views do not necessarily reflect those of The Tribune or its parent company. "The Voter’s Guide to National Salvation" is a newly published e-book from Turner. You can find it at www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks. He can be reached by e-mail at vtgolf@zeecon.com.