America – Land of Plenty

Ted Folkert

April 5, 2016

This has to be one of the most mind-boggling election years that I can remember. What to do? Who to support? How to avoid disaster? What about foreign policy? What about the economy? What about un-indicted known criminals? What about rebuilding the infrastructure of our country? What about our educational system and the massive student debt? – All critical questions for our future here in this land of plenty.

This is the land of plenty you know – plenty of ignored problems, plenty of inequality, plenty of ineffective leaders, plenty of underfunded essential programs, plenty of dishonest financiers, plenty of self-serving politicians, plenty of misguided governors, senators, and representatives, plenty of military hawks financed by the defense contractors, plenty of undemocratic election laws – yes, this is definitely the land of plenty.

Maybe this inspired the Porgy and Bess song: I Got Plenty of Nothing. Remember the line: “I got plenty of nothing and nothing’s plenty for me”.

There are probably thousands of people in this country capable of being very effective as president. But, none of them want the job or are capable of mounting a campaign in a country where the leaders can easily be elected by the highest bidder. So, all of these capable potential leaders choose to stay home and suffer the anguish of watching four or eight years of pathetic performance from the oval office. (Merely a prediction after consideration of the likely potential choices among the offerings as espoused by the self-appointed political prognosticators)

So, what are we left with? What are our choices this time around?

We have an arrogant, super-egotistical, economically challenged, foreign policy numbskull, a coward who walks around with his body guards as he insults women, Hispanics, Muslims, and everyone else that he abhors – the Grump. Did you ever see the guy smile? This is the loose-lipped, smartest-guy-in-the-world who has an unfavorable rating of 57%.

We have a mentally warped Texan who would take us back a century with his attitude regarding human rights, economic policy, education, health care, carpet bombing, or any other governmental responsibility – Texas Crude.

We have the wife of a president who took us down the path of financial disaster while he was convincing us how great everything was, while he embarrassed the nation by feeding his sexual appetite at the expense of a naïve young intern and trashed the meaning of marital fidelity in an egregious manner – whose candidate-wife touts his financial and economic acumen as her guide to financial prosperity. It seems the financial prosperity they are good at is their own, having amassed a fortune of tens or hundreds of millions in the last few years from the generosity of the same crooks that took us down the tube as a nation and have the table set to serve us more of the same for years to come. Yes, former Goldwater supporter, Hillary “I’m liberal just like Bernie” Clinton. Although she has now adopted many of Bernie’s popular beliefs she still has an unfavorable rating of 52% and is found by many as lacking honesty and trustworthiness.

Wait till the Republicans start displaying all of the hundreds of millions that the Clinton Foundation has amassed from foreign governments during her reign as Secretary of State. There may be nothing illegal there but it might not pass the smell test with the voters as they use the favorite lead-in of the Grump – “people are saying.”

And then we have the guy from Vermont – the Bern – who, throughout his political career of decades, always got involved in critical political challenges for the under privileged while ignoring making any money for himself. The guy the media has ignored because the former philanderer-president’s-candidate-wife is proclaimed to have the race all sewed up, as she gets angrier and angrier when asked embarrassing questions that she prefers not to answer. Sanders has a higher approval rating on honesty and trustworthiness than any of the above mentioned candidates. His disapproval rating was reported as 37%.

Sanders’ critics, primarily the prognosticators who yearn to sound insightful in their offerings, say that he can’t do all of the progressive goals that he proposes. Well, of course not, but you certainly can’t do them if you don’t get started. You certainly can’t do them if the people don’t believe that they should be done and can be done. You certainly can’t do them if the people don’t rise up and elect a congress that will support meaningful change for the benefit of the nation and not just for the benefit of a handful of the politically connected. Sanders wants all of us to be politically connected, and I like that idea.

If the prognosticators are correct, that Sanders doesn’t have a chance, then what are we left with? What we are left with is the pathetic challenge of electing the least of the evils we have to choose from, the hold your nose and vote candidate, the candidate with the least baggage to carry-on, the candidate that might do the least damage, the candidate that might keep us out of foreign wars, the candidate furthest removed from corporate and financial control, the candidate who might improve the plight of all the people instead of just the “chosen ones.”

Beyond Sanders, that choice will be a tough one. A choice that may not improve our land of plenty.

Think about it!

Think about our Land of Plenty!