Wednesday, June 29, 2011

They Are Not Patriots

 They claim to be patriots, but are they?  The definition of patriot is a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.  A defender of individual rights, and presumed intereference by the federal government.
We see rich people funding groups like The Heritage Foundation, ALEC, and other far right leaning entities.  And, members of these groups, some of whom are Tea Party members, claim that they are sick and tired of government control and high taxes.  Yet, much of the legislation they are enacting, actually reduces individual rights and increases government control.  And taxes are the lowest they have been in 60 years.  So what is their real motive, and why are these self-proclaimed patriots not willing to defend their country and it's interests with devotion, but rather their own self interests instead?
After WWII, we saw patriotism at it's best.  We had businesses that were more concerned about keeping people working than they were about beating Wall St. expectations.  We had executives who were satisfied with wages just above what their workers made,  and didn't feel the need to make as much money as their bank could hold.  Soldiers returning from war were considered heroes and not burdens on the taxpayers.  Businesses and workers alike knew that only together could we as a country reduce our deficit, which at the time was 120% of GDP, and become an even better nation than we were prior to the depression.  A lot of wealthy people understood that it was the patriotic thing to do, by paying more in taxes because they were more fortunate than most.
Today, we have corporations that are only concerned about beating Wall St. expectations, with executives making 100's of times more than their average workers.  We have wealthy people and corporations that do whatever they can to pay as little in taxes and they possibly can.  Is that in the country's best interest, or is it in the corporations and weatlhy people's best interest?
Because of the inequalities in wages and taxes ever expanding, we see a greater division amongst the people in this country.  Is that serving the country's best interests?  Instead, the backers and defenders of the corporations and the rich are asking for more sacrifice from the middle and lower class.  Those who have sacrificed enough already, and those who have been asked to help bail out big corporations and banks.  Is that what a true patriot would do?