THE COMMON FOE – THE COMMON ENDEAVOR
We are done being divided by the elites. We are done being distracted into hating one another. – – Nation of Change
My family, my wife and I, our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren over the age of 18, essentially canceled one another’s presidential votes this past election. Some voted for Clinton, some for Trump, and at least one voted for Jill Stein of the Green Party. These are all intelligent people, they all have formal education beyond high school, and they all have the same concerns. They want a better life and a brighter future for themselves and their families. When Bernie Sanders – who to my knowledge most of my family supported – lost in the primaries, the presidential race seemed to lose its meaning. No matter which candidate took the prize, the oligarchy, the wealthy, would win the election. So we all voted for the loss of our choice.
I am thankful there is no rancor or anger in my family over political issues. We all know we want the same things and we all care about one another. Sadly, this is not the case across our nation. Hatred and bitterness abound. We have all become victims of a terrible “divide and conquer” and the oligarchic, plutocratic perpetrators of this calculated madness watch in privileged comfort from on high. They watch as we blame food stamp recipients, immigrants, gays, blacks, Latinos, Muslims, “liberals,” “conservatives,” and our next door neighbor for the problems. They watch – and they know they have won. The masses have no clue and the money continues to flow upward.
How long will it be before we understand the food stamp recipient, the person different from us, our neighbor, our fellow struggling soul, is not the problem? How long will it be before we understand that the help these people receive isn’t even pocket change compared to the welfare we have showered on Wall Street, on billionaire bankers, and on parasitic financial manipulators over the past several decades? How long will it be before we understand the terms “liberal,” “conservative,” “socialist,” “illegal immigrant,” and even “republican” and “democrat” are but tools to divide. How long will it be before we understand that our diverse neighbors, the people who look different from us, the people who need help, the fellow struggling souls, are the only friends we have?
There is a common foe. It is called gross inequality. There is a common endeavor. It is called “We the People.”