11/17
Journal entry three is on the comical notion that there is a standard of integrity upon which our elected officials conduct themselves. They are more akin to the shadows on the wall of Plato's cave then they are to actual governing, sensible, responsible citizens. Until we address their failures as individuals and as a collective we will continue to falter together; Democrat, Republican and Independent alike.
The issues plaguing our American Society aren’t easy to diagnose because they are so intrinsically disguised by our perception of reality itself. This is fundamentally by design. American citizens, every day, must wade through an ocean of lies, half-truths, and disinformation presented to them as news and facts by a cast of characters that include ‘News’ pundits, political celebrities and talk show hosts. All of America's pop culture comes out in unison daily to reinforce the ‘truth’ of the political narrative. Divisions carved along racial, sexual and economic lines are constantly exploited and redefined to pit citizen against citizen as the machinations of all of it are hidden from public view.
The greatest misconception that has been glaringly obvious over the past few weeks is that there is any morality in U.S. politics at all. While Democrats and Republicans castigate a candidate for Senate over alleged sordid behavior, we were repeatedly reminded about the ethics and morality that *should* come along with such a high office. Unfortunately, this type of stone throwing is coming from a collection of political animals that throw ALL OF US under the bus every day for nothing more than money and power.
Every sitting congressman and senator (along with the unelected bureaucrats) in Washington D.C., that have spent more time over the last year pontificating and preaching about good ethics while subsequently obstructing any type of policy change that might benefit the American people, have their hands dirty. Our government is failing the people, not just because we are falling behind in areas like healthcare and wage equality, not just because our educational standards have been so greatly diminished, but because even with all the statistics in the world that could highlight a litany of problems, nothing EVER gets done in a bold and expedient way that greatly improves the functionality of our nation. That is the role of Congress and Senate; to legislate and to govern and frankly going back to pre-9/11 our institutions have failed us.
The collection of politicians that fancy themselves more celebrity than public servant has spent their careers using their public office for personal enrichment. With bribery essentially legalized and corruption so blatantly ignored for so long, most US politicians enter an office and end up increasing their net worth by magnitudes by the time they leave their seats behind to make the jump to lobbying themselves. The system isn’t working for the people, not because it is broken, but because it was designed to work for the political actors. The puppets, most of them with less intelligence than the average joe and all of them with less dignity and integrity, run this show and they are running it into the ground with enthusiasm.
It’s a sad state of affairs when the American people have been so thoroughly brainwashed by this system of decay that the election of one more possibly seedy and sexually perturbed man is the end all be all of the political climate, rather than addressing the fact that our House and Senate is comprised of a collection of rapists, thieves, murderers, war-criminals, imbeciles, pedophiles, and liars. There may be a handful of decent men and women who have maintained their integrity even while navigating through a minefield of potential political blackmail and scandal, but it's a drop in the bucket when you consider how many of these people only run for office so they can engage in the culture of debauchery that always infects political institutions of stagnating nations. So, forgive me for not having Trump high on my priority list when the villains have been the same in our country for decades.
Be well,
Sal Biase