If it's not one thing, it's another. Am I right? This time it's Ukraine.
"Impeach Trump!" the liberals cry.
"Prosecute Biden!" the conservatives reply.
"Wait...prosecute Pelosi, too!" conservatives continue.
Allegations of corruption dominate social media and network news as representatives of all political ideologies defend their side and decry the opposition. Meanwhile, average Americans debate back and forth without really knowing what the heck is going on because, after all, peons like us can never really be confident that we know what's going on.
What I find surprising is how many people seem to be surprised by these endless revelations of corruption, nepotism, and maneuvering that are coming out of Washington.
How is this surprising? How are people just figuring this out?
Were people really unaware that this country, the so-called land of the free and the home of the brave, has always been at the behest of old dudes (and dudettes--corruption is an equal opportunity gig) in back rooms smoking cigars and sipping brandy? That's how it is and that's how it has always been. How many Kennedys have held positions of political power in this country? Bushes? Clintons?
That's just how it works. I'm not saying it's right, but it's reality.
We like to think that we're different here in the States, but underneath this facade we like to call a Democratic Republic, we have an elitist ruling class just like everybody else. People in positions of power use that power to enrich themselves and their friends. If you want to get into a position of power, you have to make powerful friends. To make powerful friends you have to compromise any ethical standards you might claim to have. Whistleblowers are swiftly discredited and offered as an oblation to the masses to perpetuate the myth of accountability and justice.
Call me a cynic, if you will, but I'm a realist. It's immoral and unpleasant, but, to quote the incomparable Phil Collins, that's just the way it is (incidentally, this song from '90 seems to imply that the optimistic revolutionary from '86's Land of Confusion had been disillusioned). That's just the way Washington works. That's just the way the world works, and it's not likely to change anytime soon.
"But," you might be thinking, "our generation has had enough! Vive la revolution!"
What happens inevitably after a revolution? From the grassroots emerges a new elitist class to replace the one that has so recently been supplanted. Read up on the French Revolution or the Cuban Revolution if you doubt that. The American Revolution is no exception. Societies slide inevitably towards totalitarianism because men have an inherent desire to dominate their fellow men, whether overtly through force, or secretly through bureaucracies and constitutions.
Politicians play by a different set of rules. The higher up you are, the more friends you have, the more loosely the rules apply, and the lower the chance that the media will report your crimes or that anyone would dare to prosecute you for them.
This is reality. You don't have to like it, but you should probably get used to it.
"Impeach Trump!" the liberals cry.
"Prosecute Biden!" the conservatives reply.
"Wait...prosecute Pelosi, too!" conservatives continue.
Allegations of corruption dominate social media and network news as representatives of all political ideologies defend their side and decry the opposition. Meanwhile, average Americans debate back and forth without really knowing what the heck is going on because, after all, peons like us can never really be confident that we know what's going on.
What I find surprising is how many people seem to be surprised by these endless revelations of corruption, nepotism, and maneuvering that are coming out of Washington.
How is this surprising? How are people just figuring this out?
Were people really unaware that this country, the so-called land of the free and the home of the brave, has always been at the behest of old dudes (and dudettes--corruption is an equal opportunity gig) in back rooms smoking cigars and sipping brandy? That's how it is and that's how it has always been. How many Kennedys have held positions of political power in this country? Bushes? Clintons?
That's just how it works. I'm not saying it's right, but it's reality.
We like to think that we're different here in the States, but underneath this facade we like to call a Democratic Republic, we have an elitist ruling class just like everybody else. People in positions of power use that power to enrich themselves and their friends. If you want to get into a position of power, you have to make powerful friends. To make powerful friends you have to compromise any ethical standards you might claim to have. Whistleblowers are swiftly discredited and offered as an oblation to the masses to perpetuate the myth of accountability and justice.
Call me a cynic, if you will, but I'm a realist. It's immoral and unpleasant, but, to quote the incomparable Phil Collins, that's just the way it is (incidentally, this song from '90 seems to imply that the optimistic revolutionary from '86's Land of Confusion had been disillusioned). That's just the way Washington works. That's just the way the world works, and it's not likely to change anytime soon.
"But," you might be thinking, "our generation has had enough! Vive la revolution!"
What happens inevitably after a revolution? From the grassroots emerges a new elitist class to replace the one that has so recently been supplanted. Read up on the French Revolution or the Cuban Revolution if you doubt that. The American Revolution is no exception. Societies slide inevitably towards totalitarianism because men have an inherent desire to dominate their fellow men, whether overtly through force, or secretly through bureaucracies and constitutions.
Politicians play by a different set of rules. The higher up you are, the more friends you have, the more loosely the rules apply, and the lower the chance that the media will report your crimes or that anyone would dare to prosecute you for them.
This is reality. You don't have to like it, but you should probably get used to it.
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