WE ARE NERO

I am not old enough to remember ancient Rome. Maybe in a past life, who really knows? While American History and I get along pretty well, I don't know that much about Rome except it crashed and burned. It lost it's status in the ancient world. The story goes that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. I don't think he actually played a stringed instrument while the city burned. I believe that is what you call metaphor.

We are all playing a fiddle. La-di-da, the country is broke, la-di-da, our leaders are all ego maniacal, unreasonable talking heads, la-di-da, the middle class is disappearing. La-di-da, we are basically owned by another country. La-di-da, here we go again, election year. La-di-da, I will vote my party. La-di-da, oh, it's too much trouble to vote.

Then suddenly everyone is angry because D.C. does nothing. They are all tied to special interest and the party base. DAMN IT, they should change themselves, we say. Why can't they get anything done? It is because we let them get away with doing nothing. We love to complain, (hello, Queen Complainer), but we sit on our sofas and whine to the television.

We, the people, that Mr. Jefferson spoke of, we need to demand better. We, the people, should demand the old, "government of the people, by the people, for the people", right now. Before another election cycle. Otherwise we are going to be here in 2 years for the mid-terms, and two after that for the BIG election, the Presidential election. Same people in Congress. Whatever party in the White House. People complaining.

If we all lift our voices. Not for one single candidate  or party. Not frothing at the mouth about the other guys. If we lift our voices to say, "we want the system changed", if we all wrote our representatives and demanded change, if we called their offices, something might happen. What if we demanded a national referendum on term limits? WE, the people, decide. You elected officials are limited in the numbers of terms and years you may serve.

It costs BILLIONS of dollars in total to campaign. That is ridiculous. A nation in debt can raise private funds in the hundreds of millions per candidate in the big elections. Citizens pay thousands of dollars for Fund Raising Dinners. Poor people eat in soup kitchens. Private jets and HUGE "buses", rock stars call this luxury RV traveling, to meet the people. Tell them what they want to hear. Grab that photo op. Talk about saving natural resources and how we shouldn't have to pay such high prices at the pump. Then they hop back in their gas guzzlers, smiling and drive to the next stump.

I know I am a one note screamer this election cycle. TERM LIMITS. We have to stand up and demand them. If not we will be that nation people read about in history. The citizens who fiddled while the government burned the nation to the ground.

As a body, Congress has proven over and over that they cannot accomplish anything. The same old dogs with the same old tricks making no progress. They have POWER and relationships with lobbyists. Not how I want my government run. I want my government to care about me. To care about the people. To actually let us enjoy the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Not to make the wealthy wealthier, not to make it easier for Corporate America to line their coffers and fire workers so wall street is happier with the bottom line. That is the territory of people with money.

The very poor among us, who qualify, can survive with various government programs. We pay for that. Big business passes all their higher operating costs on to us. We are the middle class. We won't be here much longer. We pay a higher percentage of taxes, we qualify for no government programs other than the ones we have paid in to for our entire working lives, we support society up and down the ladder. We get squat.

The middle class, that is the status my parents wanted to achieve, was supposed to be Cleaver territory. Nice house, two cars, a dog. Dad worked, mom stayed home. The kids played outside and did homework.

Then to achieve middle class status dad and mom had to work. Day care became a staple, raising the costs for the middle class. Kids began being raised in an institutional setting and mommy and daddy make up for that by enrolling their kids in every conceivable sport and activity. That costs money too, making the kids happy.

College was what my parents saved for. Now you figure out how to borrow the money for your middle class children. They get an education and lots of debt. This won't last much longer as one of the parents in a middle class family loses their job. The are no jobs available for college grads. There goes higher education for the middle class. At this point the job market is so bad many kids have a degree, debt and no income. Bad formula.

We are a dying breed, the middle class. Everything is getting so expensive. You want to own a home? Good luck on merely getting a mortgage. Then pray that nothing ever goes wrong with your house. I know. Just spent more money on a bathroom than my car. Wasn't expecting that slab leak, the jackhammers, the rebuild. Oops, just didn't have $35,000 in my savings account. Damn, back in debt.

I was looking forward, again, this year to a vacation. Just wasn't in the budget. We don't go in debt to have fun. Maybe we should. I know people who count their credit cards as money. I learned a long time ago, that doesn't work. Congress is on their five week recess. We pay for that. And their health care. And their pensions for life. Did we vote for that? Was that ever on a ballot? Did we give them the OK to vote themselves raises?

Jefferson himself was not a fan of totalitarian government. Even he thought the government should be overturned every 20 years. But we have allowed professional politicians, not public servants. They believe they are better than and above the laws and rules that apply to citizens. Hello? everything-gate, corruption, naked penis pictures, drunken behavior, money in representatives home freezers, cover ups, page molesting, intern humping. THESE ARE LEADERS?  No, these are morons.

Let's try, please? Demand better. Hold our leaders responsible and demand they are limited to no more than 2 terms per office. 20 years total government service. Then, thank you! Here is a  nice severance package and you too can live on medicare and social security. Like citizens as intended.

I hear an entire string section warming up. Please care more than Nero.

Yes, I know, I've been told!
LBB