The Land of Make Believe

" I am about to make an announcement. Can we help you, King Friday? Of course. What can we do? You can listen."

Politics and in particular a Presidential campaign bring out a range of emotions in me. As a person who loves America, the American dream and the American potential, I see this peaceful exchange of power as a beacon to the world. What warlord, king, or emperor of any time would ever be able to give up the power of world history's greatest war machine, strongest economy, and the virtual leadership of the world? On the other hand, I see an electorate continuing to be fed pablum on domestic policy and fear in foreign policy in national defense as they make a decision on who will govern this country for the next 4-8 years.
Of course, this shell game doesn't just exist for our top Constitutional offices, it is a large part of Congressional races, state legislature races and probably on down to the dog catcher. It is part of the big sell, "no money down", "get rich quick", "bill gates will pay you money to forward this", mentality that we have. As I have said in the past, Americans are also terrified of getting screwed, they always think that someone's taking something that's there's whether it be immigrants, the fat cats in Washington, the taxman, the Panamanians, bankers, whatever. At the same time we feel very entitled, "I paid into social security my whole life, I should golf for 35 years", "I want schools to raise my kids", "I'm suing because I didn't know the coffee was hot", etc.
The best way to make this sale is "guns and butter" and the smallest cost to you. Americans want the easy solutions. Push the cost forward to a different generation. Fight two wars simultaneously in addition to a Global War on Terror and hand back money to the taxpayers simultaneously. Hand out huge farm bill subsidies to the largest corporations, money for roads and schools on the state level without any real accountability (and God forbid if you try), one man's pork is another man's livelihood.

One of the hardest things to teach high school kids is the concept of fairness. Often they will equate fairness with anything that requires a lack of their physical or mental behavior, this is learned behavior that later becomes pervasive in adulthood. How do I get by, how do I skip this step and the snakeoil salesman will quickly come and make it right for you, redstate, blue state or purple state. So as part of a continuing albeit itinerant series, I bring you AMERICAN SNAKEOIL. The platitudes and misinformation of that every replicating American politician.

AH, RETIREMENT
The American dream, all of ours, a comfortable retirement where work is an option, good healthcare is available and the only real necessities are going to the post office, playing with your grandchildren and order a filet o' fish/no sauce and a black coffee.

In the "good old days" retirement was rare, often you would either die young due to overwork or disease, die at your desk or machine or field, live with your kids or die in poverty. It's only recently with Social Security, medicare, and poorly planned pension systems have given the elderly a shot at a life of leisure. We now see this retirement as an entitlement. But now those baby boomers who have been paying those FICA taxes will need to be supported, the most spoiled generation in world history is going to get theres and of course as the largest group of voters, it's unlikely Congress will use such ideas as means tests or higher retirement ages to protect the Social Security trust fund.

FDR's dream to give the elderly dignity has grown into the snowbird generation and filled casinos from Mohegan to Vegas. And people who've worked hard deserve this part of the American dream but who's going to pay for it? Uh, younger people. It is difficult for politicians to say "I'm going to take more of your money" but that's what's going to happen, as the demographics become older, that's where the voters are. Add to this an 8.8 trillion dollar deficit and you are talking across the board tax hikes, because the boomers didn't feel like paying when they were in the workplace and thin-skinned, weak politicians were afraid to tell the truth. They manage to end up at the top of the Ponzi scheme. The rest of us play the lottery. Now I am the king of the sweeping generalization, but the squeeze is on. For more non-partisan, honest to goodness, real info go to Facing Up to the Future.

TIE A YELLOW RIBBON
Since the end of Vietnam there has been a concerted effort by media, government and the American people to show open support for soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen in the field. The guilt of the non-support of Vietnam soldiers and veterans, both real and perceived sticks in the craw of the American psyche as the defeat was put at the hands of those who served. This was not to ever happen again. Iraq, Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror are being fought by the few. A couple of hundred thousand, half a million at most of the 300 million Americans have actually served in "harms way" whether it be as a trigger puller or in support. Compare this to the tens of millions of young men (and many women) who served in uniform in World War II, the last time that America came under attack.

This has created a strange dynamic, the few doing the work for the many particularly when many of these young men and women, particularly the enlisted folks may be from poor backgrounds or be marginalized in other ways, by the workforce or educational establishment. So outside families and close friends, there are many for who the war is an abstraction, some kind of geopolitical game that they can take or leave depending on "what the score" is, many tire of it and just wish it would disappear. For others it is very emotional, on either end, overdoing it with multiple yellow ribbons or accusations of non-patriotism for no physical intonation to your stand on the troops, on loony liberal side, the egregious actions at Abu Ghraib become the stand of all soldiers and troopers on the ground.

So it becomes a political football, with a solid 99.9% of people likely supporting soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, the pro-war group has managed to keep saying if "you don't support the war you don't support the troops" or the "Democrats want to keep supplies from going to the troops". (like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are going stop the C-17 at Pope Airfield from delivering needed body armor and ammunition) The Democrats particularly in the shadow of 9/11, have a fear of weakness, and a fear of showing no backbone and by doing it ironically show no backbone. The addition of people like Jim Webb provide a certain undeniable expertise and skin in the game for Democrats that the Saxby Chambliss' of the world can't assail.

Charlie Rangel, a man who knows a little something about combat, has introduced a draft bill most Americans are not in favor of the draft and even the military finds it does not fit its current needs although they seem to be very happy to keep those that are already there through stop loss procedures. But can a democracy in a war for it's own survival continue to rely on the few through many deployments to "save us". Or is this simply another foreign adventure?

Candidates will continue to speak in the prosaic, superficial phrases of supporting the troops but how much is being done for their actual welfare, to bring them home, to help them to actually have an accomplishable mission, to give them the appropriate rest and training between deployments and for the sake of the nation, to prevent the hemorrhaging of young, experienced NCO's and officers from the horror of endless war.

Next week, barring huge political news, I look at public employee and teacher unions and the farm bill, one thing I know a bunch about and the other I know nothing about, not that it matters. For a great read , see Jonathan Alter's article in Newsweek on Norman Borlaug it's what started me on this rant.