America’s Difficult Adolescence

Nothing shows the immaturity of our nation more than the way we select our leaders. The majority of our power rests on this simple act of citizenship yet we permit it to be treated like an episode of American Idol.

We allow entrenched power to narrow our choices and even determine which qualities the men and women we allow the power to make decisions over our lives are important.

In the sixties and seventies, populist leaders were assassinated outright. Today their careers are destroyed by a White House spy network that would have been the envy of the Kremlin. Their commandos in the media hypocritically fan the fires of outrage of a 15th century morality, destroying the careers of dedicated public servants.

Americans may be great innovators but we do not produce many great leaders. In the decades since the assasinations of the Kennedy’s and King, there has been a dearth. Can we really afford to throw away those those rare individuals that can inspire and act effectively because they do not live up to a moral code that at its heart is at odds with human biology; a code that most of us at some point in lives fail to live up to.


The same right wing tarts that preach an America as a Christian nation experience amnesia of when confronted with living Christian values; love, tolerance and forgiveness.
These people do not deserve our trust. Their concerns are not spiritual but rather the pursuit of personal power. They take an unholy pleasure in destroying anyone who stands in their way.
No one but a naïve child, mesmerized by their frightening single mindedness, would surrender their future to them.

The US Constitution makes no mention of political Parties yet today they wield far more power than any group should in a true representative democracy. They are private corporations who operate corrupt machines that shut out voters, steal elections and stand between us and the candidates we need and deserve. Yet we continue to give them our money, our energy even though they betray us time and again.

War is an anathema to ordinary citizens. Our children, our brothers and sisters are stolen from us and their lives thrown away on useless military adventures decade after decade. We pay crippling taxes to fund these debacles and endure ruinous inflation. We still haven’t learned to turn our backs on those who would lead us toward disaster. We listen when the client press laughs at Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich’s Department of Peace.

A just society cannot exist unless there is economic justice. We allow a system of legal bribery to buy the services of our representatives. We shake our heads at the personal indiscretion of men like Eliot Spitzer and allow him to be driven out of office while the real evil doers who they are pursuing; the men and women who abused their power, profited from the housing bubble and left tax payers footing the bill, go free.

We have to stop thinking that the gross injustices that exist in our society are not our problem. They are our problem and to the extent we don’t act, our fault.

We are settling for a child’s bargain. Everyone is bigger and powerful than we are. We sell them our vote for the promise of safety and security that is never delivered. And why should it be, the powerful only retain their privilege by keeping us fearful of each other and our global neighbors; by insisting the way to solve our problems is to annihilate anyone that stands in our way.

We cannot continue to let to wander in a perpetual spring of childhood and hope to live our lives in dignity. If we do not grow up and take on our adult responsibilities right now, the lives of our children and grandchildren will be unspeakable.

Carol DW