{"id":59030,"date":"2012-07-07T05:03:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-07T09:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=59030"},"modified":"2012-07-07T10:14:34","modified_gmt":"2012-07-07T14:14:34","slug":"one-for-the-money-two-for-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/by-judith-gayle-2\/one-for-the-money-two-for-the-show\/","title":{"rendered":"One For The Money, Two For The Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Where did it all go wrong, I wonder? When did our parents become hard-nosed bigots and religious freaks? Did we simply refuse to notice which All In The Family<\/em> jokes made them laugh loudest, secret admirers of Archie Bunker’s candor? Did we fail to note their growing interest in televised evangelical promises to double and triple their income with regular tithing to the likes of Jim and Tammy Fay, Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart, who fleeced the rubes in the name of Gawd? Were they social and political closet cases long before The Times\u2122 swung that door wide, allowing a lifetime’s collection of racial bias, insecurity and fear to come tumbling out? Oh, I know — I’m generalizing — but seriously, what exactly WERE they discussing during those Friday night card parties, and why didn’t we know about it earlier?<\/p>\n

\"Political And how did so many of our kids turn into Alex P. Keaton? Did we watch one too many episodes of \u201cLifestyles of the Rich and Famous\u201d with them, activating errant DNA that overrode their ability to put perspective on how much is TOO much? Did we cater to their wants and misinterpret their needs? Did we give them too much stuff without understanding it to be the gateway drug to a lifetime addiction to rogue capitalism? Did the Gordon Geckoes of the world take on all the luster and sparkle of baseball heroes, morphing greed and hubris into a new brand of ‘cool’ that even the Fonz couldn’t compete with? As for the many who did not measure up to an almost-mythical blend of cut-throat competition and cold-hearted calculation, why are we surprised they’re now living in our basement?<\/p>\n

A fine generation we Boomers turned out to be. We started out working for the Peace Corps and ended up retiring from Morgan Stanley. We marched in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in union strikes and anti-war protests and ended up more envious of Mitt Romney’s 100 million dollar IRA than distressed that union membership is in the crosshairs, or that political protests are being relegated to appropriate ‘zones,’ out of sight and mind of those who should be subjected to them. And even now, with the nation in tatters and the future dicey, the Pluto in Leo generation is more concerned about “looking good” in their retirement than making sure the whole of us have a roof over our heads and a meal in our bellies. We started out a “we” generation and ended up concerned about “me.” We devolved.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I don’t want this to be a Boomer-bash, that’s not my intent, and in fact I still have high hopes for us. I had anticipated writing a piece on Romney and what’s so egregiously unthinkable about installing this passionless know-nothing in the Oval Office, but I stepped off the edge of the reality-cliff pretty quickly when I studied the candidates’ poll numbers. Obama is ahead of Mitt this week by five points, some say as a direct result of the lift he got from Robert’s decision on Obamacare. By Monday that should all be behind, with today’s unemployment report indicating dismal numbers and painfully slow growth. Yet given that the majority of the country is eager for the policies that the GOP has pledged against — oversight of the banksters, taxing the rich, putting an end to war and its expense in blood and treasure, overturning Citizens United<\/em>, ending income inequality — how is it that the Republican candidate is still so close?<\/p>\n

A recent headline told us that the winner of this election will be challenged by job numbers well into the future. Big duh! Like we didn’t see this coming, but, remarkably, at least some didn’t, and still don’t. Obama has been in the legislature and on the stump, trying to put forward some stimulus to break the deadlock. Meanwhile, criticized for lack of details — not to mention leadership — Mitt has revealed that he has a 59-point plan for our economy. He let us in on the first point: push through the Keystone pipeline so we can offer all the energy possible to business. Really? Is that it? Is that the CEO’s answer to everything, just an echo of George W. Bush? Can’t wait for the other 58!<\/p>\n

The mantra that the free market will take care of all these problems if allowed to function without oversight or restriction, is the prayer of the conservative American faithful, drinking from the communal cup of manifest destiny and the Republican surety that they, and only they, have been ordained by Almighty Gawd to lead the worthy into a profit-driven future. The unworthy? Well, there’s 99% of them, including most of the faithful themselves, but that’s what faith is good for, right? We shall march steadily forward — led by the clergy and the politicos, the think-tanks, the corporations represented by canny PR firms — awaiting the next big bubble, sure to be “trickled” unto, amen and amen (either that or Armageddon, whichever improbability comes first.)<\/p>\n

This is, without doubt, the mantra of plutocracy, our 21st century religion of take-the-money-and-run, and nothing in our broken system has been fixed precisely because they do not want it fixed. It’s high times for the 1%, profit has never been so good, and if Romney is a wild card, they aren’t showing it so far. In their world, money wins and presidents are disposable.<\/p>\n

If life is truly all about exploring the many options available — throwing ourselves headlong at experience to discover not only what love isn’t, but what it is; what God isn’t, but what It might be — we Boomers have done a damned fine job of it. And while we have to fight against our human penchant for small minded self-interest, we’re not unfamiliar with the greater good. We knew about it, once upon a time, flush with altruism and egalitarian truth. We’ve had all the experience we need to draw some conclusions now, and I think it’s time to write that term paper: What I Learned About Life While Busy With Other Plans<\/em>. It would be helpful now to distill some of that experience into wisdom. Good to give it away, not continue to take notes well into our dotage about the pros and cons of face lifts or the art of gracious assisted living. In that spirit, here’s a couple of points I’ll share.<\/p>\n

1. Money Does Not Buy Happiness<\/strong><\/p>\n

It does not, but there are a lot of other things it will buy. Rich people are certainly more comfortable than the masses, they have more options. But their life of privilege allows them a level of comfort that too often invites them to look away from others in need, deflecting any residual guilt over excess by deciding others are undeserving of plenty. It’s a good thing that only 1% of us are so terribly rich as to be so cavalier; unfortunately, another 49% or more wish they were and are willing to let go of ethics to achieve it.<\/p>\n

Money buys convenience, just ask someone who has to make everything from scratch or recreate the wheel on a consistent basis. Here in the Pea Patch, folks know how to do all those time-intensive things that their forefathers did, but they also know it takes all their energy to do it. There’s a reason convenience sells and “quality time” looks so attractive. On the other hand, there is quality time to be found in real accomplishment, not just the collecting of a paycheck. We too often forget what “satisfaction” feels like, and it is seldom found in the convenient choice.<\/p>\n

Money buys favor and access: just ask the billionaires who are stuffing Republican SuperPACs with gigantic checks the way eager ladies stuff dollar bills into the G-strings of hotties in the new chick-flick, Magic Mike<\/em>. The ladies are looking for proximity, and so are the billionaires, although they expect their influence to last a good deal longer. Using our checkbooks to buy favor and access may be the Ol’ Boy way forward but it reminds me of the lyrics to Billie Holiday’s God Bless The Child<\/em>:<\/p>\n

And when you got money,<\/p>\n

You got a lots of friends<\/p>\n

Crowdin’ ’round your door<\/p>\n

When the money’s gone<\/p>\n

And all your spendin’ ends<\/p>\n

They won’t be ’round any more<\/p>\n

No, no, no more<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course it would take a good bit of doing to divest the Billionaires Club of their ill-gotten gains. The Kochs and others like them<\/a> have “stupid money,” and their only intention seems to be to bulldoze anything in the way of getting more of it. We shall see in short order if all their money can buy them a flailing superpower and install a lackluster president. I’m betting they can’t, but not that they won’t continue to try.<\/p>\n

Money can buy a sense of security, although we can’t count on that lasting, especially in an economy vulnerable to what Matt Taibbi calls the \u201cHoly Fucking Shit!\u201d factor (which we are experiencing now<\/a>, on the down-low). My advice during these shaky times? Keep the batteries in your emergency kit fresh and a bit of cash under the mattress. You never know what’s going to happen next, but you can sure smell the smoke in the air, can’t you? Something’s on fire besides the West.<\/p>\n

Although we fancy that the planets revolve around the US of A, international monetary issues hold more sway than we think. Here’s where we see Tom Friedman’s flat earth concept, a free market certainly not free nor in any way fair, its twisted and incestuous hedge funds and investments spreading tentacles across the globe. And we can see the tell-tale signs of epic failure in this nation, as well. Scranton, PA, just announced that all of its public workers are now being paid minimum wage, since the city fathers pronounced themselves broke. If fireman or cops — necessary to the workings of the community — can’t consider their jobs secure, who can?<\/p>\n

The love of money, the Bible tells us, is the root of all evil, but the love of happiness is without apparent pitfall, unless we misunderstand that real happiness is a wholly harmless prospect. If we have a purpose in life, if we have friends and family that we are able to give to, we’ve got the essential ingredients for happiness with or without a big bank balance. And if we can’t seem to find that glimmer of purpose within ourselves, we need to go find a place to give ourselves away. We must volunteer to do something that will make a difference in someone else’s life if we want to make a difference in our own. Call this human capital, if you like: we cannot fail when we invest in one another<\/p>\n

2. All [Wo]Men Are Created Equal But Choices Make The Difference<\/strong><\/p>\n

I never understood how the Pubs could call Obama “an empty suit” until I carefully examined Mitt Romney, and now that I know what an empty suit looks like, I still don’t understand. I suppose this is one of those differences in how we see the world, defined by those we admire. If money is the whole of our desire, then Romney’s our man. Forget how unAmerican betting against US funds by depositing in a Swiss account is. Ignore how many jobs were dissolved in pursuit of those riches, how many were outsourced and sent overseas. Forget how many of the ‘little people’ lost their livelihoods, investments and pensions so that Mitt could add to his IRA, or how much of his gain has found its way to an off-shore account.<\/p>\n

As well, not politically correct but certainly pertinent, let’s not forget that Mitt’s religion requires him to put his church — NOT his faith — first in any circumstance, and that should he, as suspected, select a woman VP, she will never be more than window dressing as are all women in both Romney’s religion and political persuasion. I don’t think religion should play a role in an election unless it supersedes a candidate’s loyalty to the nation, but in Mitt’s case, I can’t be sure. He’s no JFK, no matter how many speeches he makes, and the Mormon model puts more emphasis on the next life than this one, while strict adherence to Mormon principle in this one defines the next.<\/p>\n

When the separation of church and state presented a hard line in politics, a candidate’s personal faith was less an issue. We no longer have that luxury. How we live our lives is a choice. What we think is a choice, as is — to cut fine — what we believe. Who we are is a choice. We are, each of us, connected to the Cosmos by invisible threads of Light, spirit inhabiting a human body for a time, creating reality with one another in a divine experiment that bets we won’t forget, ultimately, who we really are. As Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” And — oh! — I wish we’d get on with it.<\/p>\n

Yes, you, me — part of one another. You, me and Mitt, the same; and when I look at him I can FEEL his unhappiness, despite all that money, his big family devoted to the campaign, a church of supporters thrilled to see their End Time prophecy coming to life. I’m not sure who Mitt Romney actually is, but I think it’s a safe bet that he hasn’t got a clue either. Etch-a-Sketch? A damning word-picture for a man who wishes to assume the power of the free world.<\/p>\n

I can feel Romney’s soul confusion, if not his political aspiration, and his party feels it, too. One Pub politico<\/a>, concerned about Mitt’s slow and bumbling response and lack of passion, asked, \u201cI mean, what the hell does Mitt care about? What does he want to do? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Romney’s excess of wealth — the $250-million fortune we know about, and his various overseas accounts, reminding all but the most privileged Americans that such an excess of riches almost never comes without the victimization of others — he has doggedly tried for the presidency for eight years, and spent millions on the attempts. But when you look into his eyes, you don’t get a sense of why he wants this — you have to wonder if his heart is in it.<\/p>\n

The Boomers are retiring now, they’re becoming the village elders. Old passions cannot help but activate again in this Pluto\/Uranus square, kicking up potent memory and deep feeling, and I wonder how we’ll do, meeting the challenge of this moment after a lifetime of chasing our personal dreams. We once had a common vision, brief though it lasted. We once had each other’s backs.<\/p>\n

While Mitt was chopping off the hair of an unlucky classmate, some of us were marching with the Panthers, burning our draft cards; some were learning about war in the jungles of Southeast Asia, or stuffing demands for the release of MIAs into envelopes to Hanoi. As we hearken back to those earlier times and the visions that drove us, the desires that animated our choices, we’ll have to examine our lives to see what skills and values we brought with us into this new century.<\/p>\n

I can’t help but think Mitt brought all that money and all that dogma with him, waiting for a chance to make them work for him. And I can’t shake the feeling that he’s still that school bully, deep down, wanting to prove himself worthy of a famous father but unsure how (Dubby echoes, all around!).<\/p>\n

And me? What can I bring to the awakening of 2012? I remember it all, every remarkable moment, and I’ve got the human capital to prove it. I’m ready to spend myself in service to the whole of us, to help lift up our anguished nation and planet, and I’ll bet you are too!<\/p>\n

It’s time for the Boomers to give ourselves away, to offer up some gratitude for such an amazing life and adventure, to break an old paradigm of ancient mythologies with our passion and purpose! Time, again, to be “we, the people,” and get on with a more perfect union, here, and across the face of our beloved planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves Where did it all go wrong, I wonder? When did our parents become hard-nosed bigots and religious freaks? Did we simply refuse to notice which All In The Family jokes made them laugh loudest, secret admirers of Archie Bunker’s candor? Did we fail to note their growing interest in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1744],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59030"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}