A LIBERAL VIEW OF THINGS: Perpetuating the lie machine
I had one of those “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” moments today. I read a column that said President Bill Clinton got a “free pass” for his affair with Monica Lewinski while the media jumped all over Herman Cain and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for their “alleged” misdeeds with women and sexual harassment. If I’m not mistaken, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives. Incredibly, even with a significant majority, the Senate couldn’t get enough votes to convict Clinton of perjury…or anything else.
Another piece of whining disinformation was about how nearly 50 percent of residents are not paying any taxes while living off the government dole. Well, the facts are that 90 percent of that 50 percent don’t make enough money to show up on the tax tables, are working only part time or are unemployed. The other 10 percent are paying accountants and lawyers to help them avoid paying taxes at all. Oh, and those poor, scruffy, ne’er-do-wells out there expressing their First Amendment rights in the Occupy movements should be banned from private property because they are disrupting business. Oh dear. But in video images one sees there are no businesses being disrupted because the buildings on Wall Street are locked. The protesters are not interrupting those businesses from plundering the middle class.
Another disjointed comment: “Power to the people often translates into more power to the government." This is almost true. The problem is that if the government in the United States was allowed to function as it was intended – a government of, by and for the people – we would have nothing to worry about. Instead, beginning in 1971, Lewis Powell, a future Supreme Court justice appointed by Richard Nixon, called capitalist America to arms. He rallied big business to create political action committees, think tanks and lobbyists to buy the government. Since then, lobbying has become as normal to Washington as pigeons on the Mall. This set-up used to be called “influence peddling." Now, we call it government by investment.
I’m against a government operated like it is run by the stooges of plutocracy. I’m especially prickly about our government being operated similar to the one in Tehran. They have a board of directors — mullahs — who pull the strings of a “head of state.”
Our individual freedom begins with believing in a representative government, not scorning government. Our faith in our nation results from our expecting those we elect to do the bidding of the majority, not the monetarily endowed few. To scorn and sneer at those who are doing what they can to make things right peacefully is to identify with elitist principles of an oligarchy that wants to rule instead of govern.
Knowing and understanding history tends to prevent us from repeating the mistakes that made us less great.
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 email at vtgolf@zeecon.com.