Being one of the few who actually loved school and who couldn't get enough information about history and culture, perhaps my understanding of our current economic state will surprise the average reader. However, let not your own prejudice color my words. They are chosen without malice or hate, but for the love of all who wish to continue to live free in a society of rules and of justice, for those who value liberty and recognize the responsibilites that come with that trust. In my understanding, we have never had the democracy that we were told to love. In teaching our children to love heir country, we have to model that country in a way that can first be respected, then it will follow naturally that it will be loved.
I often ask my children to describe their teachers. Their responses are a source of great joy and occasional consternation. Early on, they reflected on the ability of some teachers to command respect while others had to demand it. Similarly, our Nation used to command respect around the world. We were the country where rationality and humanitarianism came together in such a unique way as to light the world with hope and trust that one day freedom would reign supreme. As we come into the present day, these moral underpinnings have become decoupled from policies and practices that are perpetrated around the world in the name of "American" interests. Oddly enough, none of us ever voted for them. Many were shocked and horrified as they learned about them and as we continue to uncover, layer by layer, the indefenseable actions that have led much of the world to hate us, we must seriously question the direction our leaders have taken us over the years.
The most recent case in point is that of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Right off the bat, before even taking office, he put the kybosh on high speed rail that had been worked for for over thirty years. Finally, it was funded and stood on the threshold of realization. Mr. Walker's biggest concern was that once built, the line that was to connect the state's largest city with the capital would cost money to operate. Anyone who has been to the East Coast realizes that, although rail transport costs money, folks served by the line gladly pay to use it, because it saves them money that would be squandered out of state if they were to have to purchase a private automobile and keep it maintained and fueled. After generations of savings, most folks living along the Main Line in Philiadelphia are wealthier than their neighbors, just a few miles in any direction. Ironically, providing a cost effective way to get citizens between the power center of the state and the largest single population center seems to have scared our new Governor enough that he stopped it cold. Now, the largest concentration of the poorest folks in Wisconsin will never be able to afford to go to Madison to rally and demonstrate. Those who can afford cars and the gas to feed them will still have access, but to many of those people he has turned a deaf ear.
The Republicans have once again proven their teflon nature. nothing seems to stick to them and though they walk through a forest of crap, they seem to be able to patchouli up and carry on as if they smelled like roses. It was due to their rhetoric that many fell for the fallacy of trickle down economics. Their boondoggles such as "No Child Left Behind" and sidling up to the "Moral Majority", which was neither are well documented. Now, they want to continue to perpetrate their methods on another generation of even poorer and even less educated people than they did last time. I can't remember a single candidate that refused to say what he would do, specifically, if elected. running as a mystery candidate seems to have worked however. Only after the election are we able to see what this governor has in store for our people. Sadly, he cares more about certain others than the good people of our state.
The corporate interests that Mr. Walker works for are only beginning to be unraveled. With further investigation, we will all see exactly where this guy is comong from. It helps to put things in perspective if you realize that the Calvinist ideas that should have been left in the past are alive and well within our culture. Many believe that good people do well in our system and that bad people make bad choices which lead to worsening of their condition. In other words, they get what they deserve. Although I have not heard Scott Walker say it himself, his actions speak louder than words. With one fell swoop, trying to make collective bargaining illegal for public workers, except police, fire and rescue services, he has ignored the history and tradition of our state in fair treatment of workers. This immediately trickled down to my own work. The day we first heard of this illegal attempt to legislate out of existence any power left in unions, we were informed of illegal changes to our disciplinary actions at my job. Management dictated who would be allowed to represent us in any disciplinary action, a direct assault on our rights as workers. By law, union workers are allowed to choos who they want to represent them in job related actions against them.
The thousands of people who died for and protested against unfair treatment at the hands of those paying their wages have not sacrificed in vain. We must all stand in league with the public sector employees who have given much for our quality of life. To allow the powers of evil and greed to control our state is just insane. Standing up might be as easy as writing a letter to the Governor, or your local representatives. It may cost as little as a tank of gas. The future of all workers in the State of wisconsin as well as the entire nation may de[pend on it. Get active, stay active and don't give up until your rights are ensured. The fight needs to be focused on retaining the right to collectively bargain for all people, not just teachers or public employees. The working man has not gotten us into the current economic crisis, it was the bankers and Wall street executives that raped our nation. don't make our civil servants pay the price of the wealthiest amongst us fleecing our nation.
anecdotally, the three states with the smallest budget deficit have collective bargaining agreements in place with state workers. The three states with the biggest budget shortfalls do not. I'm sure that there are other factors involved, but we have to ask ourselves, "What motivated our Governor?" when we answer that question we can better decide if we want to keep him or reject him, the damage he has done already has put us at a decided disadvantage for at least the next fifty years, what he wants to do could sety us back another hundred.
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