Blue

Blue

Is there a lesson to learn from the swing of the House of Reps from Democratic to Republican last night? Did Obama fail to "connect" to the voters? Did the Tea Party Patriots sway the voters with good, sound anti-government argument? Had Pelosi and the Dems just been too socialist and ambitious?

Of course not. For one thing, there is no tea party. It doesn't exist. There are only corporation financed capitalists who know how to get the voters stirred up over meaningless terms like socialism and big government. There are so many ignorant, uninformed, easily misled, dare I say, stupid people in the "greatest nation on Earth," that candidates who have no interest in helping the middle class, much less the poor, the old, the sick, or the needy of the country, can win political contests on appearance and advertisement alone. Our Supreme Court has made it easier than ever for corporations, including those in other countries, to finance our elections, presenting false and manipulative ads more sophisticated than any on "Madmen."

Fortunately, the statewide electorates managed to keep the Democrats in power in the Senate. There will be no outrageous, right-wing bills from Congress that Obama must veto. But there is likely to be virtually no cooperation either. The House may even go so far as to "investigate" the Obama administration with impeachment on their minds.

Which brings me back to last night's lesson: Democracy does not work. It is not the best form of government. Besides, what we have is not democracy at all, but oligarchy, with millionaire candidates, and billion dollar campaigns.  Even with that setup, where voters choose which oligarchs to elect, an uninformed electorate repeatedly vote for the person least likely to support their interests, or worse, to work for private interests that bring them harm. Given that the sort of Republic for which Plato advocated is virtually impossible, and that malevolent dictatorship may be inevitable, I fall back and urge myself and friends to the fragrance of the Garden of Epicurus- a nice garden without debris blowers and with a fine variety of blooms. Today,  I can't help recalling the splendid rose garden in Portland, Oregon, and the uplifting view of snow covered Mount Hood.

Jack

11/3/10