Deceit
Put an old lady in a perfectly good car, and have her go to, say 10 auto repair shops and ask for a checkup. How many of the 10 do you think will give her estimates for needed repairs? $100? $200? $500? What do you think?
Someone at work by accident deletes some important data. He or she isn't detected but is in a position to explain where the data went. Do you think the truth would be told?
A father has been preaching to his kids about values, yet he went out and lost money gambling and drinking. Will he tell them the truth?
The common thread here is deceit. OK, these are examples of the experiences of common folk, but what about the deceit that has more severe consequences? What about the deceit that affects millions of people? What about the deceit that contributes to death and human suffering?
In a democracy where people have an opportunity to look out for their own interests, their families and neighbors, and the common good, deceit is employed to manipulate voters to do otherwise. People in fact end up voting for those who do them harm.
People who have railed against taxes were really extremely wealthy and didn't want to pay their share. They deceived working class people into voting for their puppets who merely cut taxes for the rich.
People who screamed about regulation were in fact those who would dump poison in the water for money. Who would expose workers to industrial levels of asbestos fibers without protective equipment. Who would lie about the ingredients in their products. Who would sell drugs not tested for safety. And so on. So they deceived "average joes" into thinking that deregulation was good.
There is a symbiotic relationship between deceit and ignorance. It is harder to deceive the informed. In a democracy, it is critical that those who participate are alert and informed. Turn off your TV and radio and go to a library. Take night classes. Get information from highly-educated people--not from know-it-all blabbermouths. Beware of so-called conservative TV pundits and radio talking heads. They are merely a part of the deceit machinery
John McCain has clearly been using deceit in this presidential campaign, but that's not surprising. It is a Republican proven method for winning elections. Nixon did it. Reagan did it. Bush did it. Deceit has always worked. Why should it not work this time?
Oh, and to those who know better, be a guardian of your polling place. Elections can and have been rigged. Bring your video camera or camera phone and make videos if people are turned away from the polls because the polling place couldn't accommodate the long lines of people who arrived on time. Report any false mailings with misinformation about changes to polling locations. Demand paper trails where electronic voting machines are used. And don't be afraid to scream for recounts in obviously suspicious situations. The "system" won't do anything. It's we the people who have to.
There are hundreds of billions of dollars in war contracts, big oil profits, and tax breaks for the rich at stake. They will do anything to win. BE READY TO FIGHT FOR OUR DEMOCRACY!!!
posted by randy @ 2:17 PM
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