My Last Hurrah (at least for a while)

By Saje Williams


We hear over and over again that "DU doesn't reflect America." Well, no shit. Too damn bad, that is. For the most part, anyway. Too much of America is too wound up wondering who's going to win that night's competition on "Dancing with the Stars" or some such crap, or glued to their couch with a beer in hand watching the latest "big game."

Fucking sports. What an example of pointless mental masturbation spectator sports are.

Hell, there are some people here who seem pretty fucking clueless too. And I don't mean just those who support candidates other than mine. I can accept that different people see things differently. But those who can't or won't understand how important JE's populist message actually is really confuse me. "I'm not really much of a populist."

To me that more or less translates as "I don't give a FUCK about anyone who's not like me."

Do I sound like a judgmental ass? Perhaps.

People accuse Johnny of being "too slick" or "a snake-oil salesman." Well, in this particular case, that so-called "snake oil" is a wonder drug. Because we NEED someone out in front who's willing to take on the corporate control of our country and bust the monopolies we've allowed to form since Teddy took them on back at the beginning of the LAST century.

Even a President can't do it alone. But Johnny's right. The President has a bully pulpit and it would be nice to have one sitting in the White House who was willing to use it for something other than attacking Social Security, the idea of universal healthcare, and trumpeting the (usually bullshit) case for war with anyone he can.

I've said it before that I think any one of our candidates would do all right, and be a damn sight better than what we've had, or what the Repugs have lining up on the other side of the great divide. But the simple fact is that only ONE of the candidates who even has any kind of a shot seems willing to take on the power players directly.

Is he angry? I sure as hell hope so. Because turning the other cheek is a damn stupid thing to do when your adversary is trying to carve you up like a Christmas ham. And make no mistake, that's what's being done to us RIGHT NOW. Every single thing that remains good about America is being chopped apart and passed out to all the "right" people and they're sitting there with their napkins tucked into their shirts and their knives and forks at the ready to dig in and eat America's heart in a couple of big gulps.

In one breath we condemn Congress for rolling over again and again, and in the other we (some of us, at least) condemn Edwards for being "too angry."

I don't think the other candidates are angry enough by a LONG shot. While the big wigs are fighting over the few remaining scraps of meat left on our bones, the last thing we need is a Democratic candidate who's trying to sweet talk them away from the table.

What is it about this that some people just don't get? "I'm not much of a populist?" What, you LIKE seeing people pushed into a corner and eaten by the corporate scavengers because they have no way to fight back? You find that amusing, do you? Or do you just turn away because it has nothing to do with you?

I don't get it. We should ALL be concerned about the invisible and forgotten folks in this country--the homeless vets, the working poor, the kids who are on the edge of death because what they need doesn't do anything to help the bottom line of those who make the decisions. All the people who have no voice because they have no money.

And don't tell me that the preservation of the middle class isn't a major part of this fight. It is. A strong and vibrant middle class is a necessity to help bring people up out of poverty. Without an expanding middle class, there is simply no place for them to go. A shrinking middle class indicates people falling INTO poverty. It's really that simple.

His is a message America desperately needs to hear. "WE ARE BEING EATEN ALIVE." Because we are. This isn't hyperbole. America is being consumed by vast corporate entities so powerful they are like nations unto themselves, though far more diverse in terms of territory. Americans are losing the ability to pass a better life to their children, and entirely too many of us are blissfully unaware of it.

I LIKE Obama's message of hope. I truly do. I think that's necessary too. Doom and gloom isn't going to get us anywhere in the end. But hope without a real dedication to fight isn't going to solve our problems. The cannibals aren't going to set their knives and forks aside because we ask them nicely. We may have to flip a few tables, scatter the place-settings, and chase them from the room for a while.

This is a battle that needs to be waged, and it needs to be waged RIGHT NOW. We cannot timidly edge into it, hoping we can appeal to the conscience of those who aren't fully invested in the gruesome meal they're all set to share.

What really strikes me funny is to see the occasional poster here mention the "class war" in almost Republican terms, as if it isn't being waged whether we participate or not, as if the powerful didn't fire the first shots and aren't busy parceling the rest of us out to consume at their leisure. The class war is here whether we like it or not. This leaves us with only a few choices. We can stand back and hope to ride it out unscathed (unlikely), try to join the currently winning side (possible for some, but hardly a perspective worth of consideration or respect), or take off the gloves, roll up our sleeves, and get ready to do battle.

The way I see it, the last option is the only one worthy of us.


Something needs to change. Desperately. There comes a time when it's time to make a choice and that time is now. We can either choose to fight back, or play dead while they sink their knives into our unprotected flesh.

I know what I mean to do. I aim to misbehave.

In the end it doesn't matter if you believe Edwards means what he's saying. We all know the message is true. He's been in the belly of the beast and he's come out to tell us about it. You can assume that he's just spitting a line--saying what he thinks we want to hear.

That's fine. But we damn well better be listening to the message. He's not crying wolf. Or, if he is, it's because there's a big slavering monster outside looking for the next available snack.

Step lively, or be its next meal. That's the choice we all face.

Deny it at your peril. At ALL our peril.


Posted in full with author's permission.

Originally posted at democraticunderground.com: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Mythsaje/237