Rants and Raves

Saturday, Oct 08, 2011 5:51 pm

by John Persinos

The Great Meltdown of 2008 stripped bare all of the lies and pretense of what our society is really all about, and showed that we’re a system fueled by unbridled avarice. A country of private affluence and public squalor. A country where “conservative” ideology is really a rationalization for cruelty, bigotry and selfishness — a self-defeating selfishness, because in its extremism, it could bring down the whole capitalist system.

The Meltdown of 2008 parted the curtain so everyone could see, in stark and brutal terms, that our economy is being run by gangsters with no conscience. The cynical bastards on Wall Street blew up the economy with their reckless greed — and no one went to jail. And in a masterful stroke of public relations and mass manipulation, the pressed-upon middle class is being brainwashed into blaming the poor, the dispossessed, and immigrants for the sorry state of the economy and for their declining standard of living. It’s not the fault of CEOs who lay off thousands of workers, outsource jobs, buy off Congressmen, and make tens of millions of dollars every year, regardless of their performance as managers. It’s the fault of…those damned Mexicans. And those lazy unemployed people. And those evil liberals, who have the gall to try to extend health insurance to those who don’t have it. But the discussion never turns to the defense firms that reap hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer’s money every year, much of it to build weapons we don’t need. Most Americans know the names of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars or American Idol; almost no one can name the CEO of Lockheed Martin, or General Dynamics, or Raytheon. Those guys are the real welfare queens.

Meanwhile, Christianity is used as a means of social control. If you’re not in favor of laws that benefit corporations, you’re in league with Satan.

Instead of focusing their anger on the real villains — obscenely rich bankers and high-level executives — the middle class is brainwashed by the corporate owned media to vilify programs that actually benefit the middle class. Instead of demanding economic justice, these Tea Party morons are holding up signs that read: “Government — Keep Your Hands Off My Medicare”, or braying nonsense about death panels.

A global movement is underway, by the owners of transnational corporate wealth, to reduce the expectations of people everywhere — to get people accustomed to less. Accustomed to less wealth, less opportunity, and less democracy. So the tiny minority at the top of the social pyramid can accumulate more, and more, and more…

Meanwhile, it is with satisfaction that I observe the “Occupy Wall Street” protests. I can only say, “It’s about time.” When financial behemoths such as Bank of America receive huge taxpayer bailouts, and then turn around to gouge average customers with a $5 a month fee for debit cards, it’s no wonder citizens are angered enough to take it to the streets.

A hard rain is gonna fall.

John Persinos is a freelance writer who addresses social, cultural and political topics. He attended Boston University and lives in Barrington, Rhode Island. You can reach him at: persinos@yahoo.com

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