ALPERN AT LARGE-Although there is some controversy as to whether it was the Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke who once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing," there is no controversy as to whether it's true. Unfortunately, we're still likely going to do nothing, and most folks reading this are about ready to stop and read something else ... like the latest about Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian.
After all, would you rather read about ...
… Democratic Party outrage at the latest on the President Obama-backed $1.1 trillion Continuing Resolution/Omnibus ("Cromnibus") Bill that allowed financial reforms and campaign finance reform to be trashed?
... or Republican outrage that historical midterm election wins were followed up by House Speaker Boehner-backed long-term funding for the ACA and for "amnesty for illegal immigrants"?
... or Miley Cyrus making out with Paris Hilton in front of her new boyfriend Patrick Schwarzeneggar?
So which link(s) did YOU link on, hmmm?
It's not like there's an easy, boring life for the average American, and that things aren't happening of importance. As aforementioned, the Cromnibus has established that Wall Street and large donors to both parties (but then again, I repeat myself) expanded the ability of banks to use taxpayer-insured funds from depositors for risky derivatives, and big donors can now contribute millions of dollars.
While it's easy to understand that a spending bill to get us through the holidays and avoid a distracting Washington budget showdown might make Americans happy, the shoving through of this "must-pass bill" by both parties' leadership will probably be responded to with a shrug and a "that's Washington for ya'!"
So whether it's Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats complaining about the slipped-through reform-shredders or Ted Cruz and other Republicans complaining about the funding of the increasingly unpopular Affordable Care Act and immigration decrees the average American has less representation than ever.
Pretty neat how Republican/conservative leaders and media trashed the Occupy Movement, and pretty neat how Democratic/liberal leaders and media trashed the Tea Party Movement...does this mean that "grassroots activism" is dead?
And although Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer may be correct that incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Cruz are in a battle for the soul of the party, it's less likely that Schumer's predictions about the battle being less among Democrats (i.e., Elizabeth Warren versus Hillary Clinton) are accurate.
Unless, of course, the jacking up of the political donation limits is meant to destroy Democratic outsiders' chances as well as those of Republican outsiders ...
... but hey, WHO CARES? Didya' SEE Kim Kardashian's latest nude photos And didya' HEAR about how Kanye West won't let his brother in-law around his baby daughter Because there's nobody like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to exemplify American Family Values!
But there's some hope amidst the cynicism and foolishness:
--More Americans are on to both the doublespeak and detachment of our President, as well as a media that has been too AWOL for too long.
--More Americans (of all political persuasions) are fed up with police overreach and shootings (and not just to black males), and are in agreement on the need for outside investigations for police shootings.
--More Americans came together over the choking death of Eric Garner in New York than over the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, because despite the disgusting race-hustling of Al Sharpton it's evident that while black lives DO matter, the same could certainly be said for police officers--particularly police officers interesting in building bridges and protecting the lives of all Americans (including black Americans).
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{module [662]}
There's hope in that Americans are coming together and finding consensus, but while it's a easy to conclude and respect that Americans want a pleasant holiday season to escape the political and cultural wars, it's also easy to conclude (but less easy to respect) that Americans are going to focus their attention on finally fixing our nation's problems.
Or maybe, after feeling betrayed by both political parties, there are enough good people in this nation who WILL do nothing, throw up their hands, and let the bad guys win...because it's a lot easier, and perhaps a lot more fun, to focus instead on the latest irrelevant silliness and irrelevant actions of our cultural and pop star personalities than to focus on the evil trends that really, truly, actually do threaten the future of this nation.
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] He also does regular commentary on the MarkIsler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 101
Pub: Dec 16, 2014
