Damnit Charlie Brown! I will NOT sink if you take it out!
The title above is the caption from an old Charlie Brown cartoon someone faked up years ago. Charlie Brown and Lucy are standing facing each other in water up to their shoulders. Charlie has a rather sheepish look on his face, and of course Lucy is screaming at the top of her lungs at him.
Strangely enough, this cartoon reminds me of the way we (the American people) are treated by our government, and Corporate America, on a regular basis. We’re getting screwed, and they are still trying to convince us that they are doing the right thing.
Here are some noteworthy examples:
What will happen to us if we pull out of Iraq? We can barely take care of our own people, why are we still trying to take care of the rest of the world? Shouldn’t we clean up ourselves before we step into someone else’s pool?
Is the Company really going to orgasm into complete chaos if you take that vacation this year instead of staying and making yet another million for them?
What happens if we withdraw our support and tax money from government subsidized Corporate Programs? Something like 75% of all SBA loans now go to subsidizing franchises that will fail within the first year. Guess who pays the government loan back when they file bankruptcy?
What if we abstained from giving our business to large department stores who refuse to allow unions to protect their workers? I understand a Walmart in Canada recently closed its doors rather than allowing a union. Unions aren’t always a good idea, but isn’t Walmart’s action borderline illegal?
What if we demanded the protection written in our laws against discrimination, and refused to be prodded into accepting less? When a coworker is being discriminated against… how often does anyone stand up for them?
Personally, I think we have allowed them to bend us over a barrel. It’s become easier for them to slip it to us because we’re so busy trying to survive that we can’t take the time to stop them. It’s become a vicious circle-jerk that is beginning to eat us all alive.
We’re getting screwed… and the politicians and corporate lobby’s provide the lubrication. We could at least get a kiss occasionally.
(Oh… if anyone has a copy of this cartoon I’d love to include it here 
)
DB