“People should not fear their governments. Governments should fear their people.”
—“V”, V for Vendetta
—“V”, V for Vendetta
"He has shown strength with his arm;He has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts.He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,And lifted up the lowly;He has filled the hungry with good things,And sent the rich away empty."
—Mary, the mother of Jesus, Luke 2
—Mary, the mother of Jesus, Luke 2
Today the US congress turned down a bill that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to above $7.00. According to calculations done by those within the US, that means that those who make minimum wage, who work 40 hours a week, bring home just under $8,000 a year. Well below the poverty line. Congress turned down the bill, while just months ago they gave themselves a raise. In fact, they have given themselves a raise eight times in the last ten years, while the minimum wage has stayed the same for those ten years. The reason for this rejected bill, like so many others, has to do with corporate lobbying. It is sad, but it is becoming more and more apparent that multi-national corporations actually run America (and Canada by extension). Large, multi-national corporatations do not want the wages to be raised—because they would be forced to pay higher wages to their workforce—these corporate structures "buy politicians" on both sides of the aisle of Congress, and influence them through their so-called “support”. Not even partisanship can change this. Democrats, who took the House and Congress this past November, are the ones who posed the bill and could not even get it passed—though they had a majority vote (over 50%)—they needed sixty percent to pass the bill though not fifty.
This is injustice. And I would venture to say, as Christian, that God is not happy with such policies. And this is not about being against one political party or another: both parties (as if two can represent the opinions of the people, or even three like in Canada!) are corrupted by the influences of the corporate agenda, and will thus continue to keep their people poor and working three jobs, while saying things like the President said a few months ago: to keep the economy going, he said “I would encourage you to shop more.” Shop more! Are you crazy? We are the most materialistic, consumeristic generation that has ever walked the face of planet earth. We face all kinds of economic injustices in the world because of our over-indulgent bodies and minds and the solution from the highest office in the world—the most influential pulpit in history is “Buy more stuff”—buy more cheap and useless consumer goods! How are people supposed to do so, with no money in their pockets—which is not even to mention the debt that our generation is accumulating due to high prices of real estate, etc.
I am convinced that "democracy"—you know that thing the terrorist supposedly hate us for, or was that "freedom"—has been flipped upside down at every level. The majority of the American people (85% polled) say that they are in support of raising the minimum wage. In a “democracy” who, theoretically, holds the power? The people. We are beginning to realize one sad thing about that concept. It is a façade--a lie—to make the people think they hold power. They really hold very little but a vote once every two years, and every four years that actually makes a difference. And that vote is between two parties that are two sides of the same coin. The rhetoric between Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democrat—is really just a front, just that "rhetoric" that does not trasnlate into reality—there is little difference on the ground between the two parties. The difference is solely symbolmythical if you will--perpetually perpetrated on the watching public, by TV debates and broadcasts that show two aisles. The reality however is far different and scarier: the policies are not worlds apart, but the same. As someone has said recently: “It’s the difference between Pepsi and Coke.” Such is “democracy” I guess.
This is injustice. And I would venture to say, as Christian, that God is not happy with such policies. And this is not about being against one political party or another: both parties (as if two can represent the opinions of the people, or even three like in Canada!) are corrupted by the influences of the corporate agenda, and will thus continue to keep their people poor and working three jobs, while saying things like the President said a few months ago: to keep the economy going, he said “I would encourage you to shop more.” Shop more! Are you crazy? We are the most materialistic, consumeristic generation that has ever walked the face of planet earth. We face all kinds of economic injustices in the world because of our over-indulgent bodies and minds and the solution from the highest office in the world—the most influential pulpit in history is “Buy more stuff”—buy more cheap and useless consumer goods! How are people supposed to do so, with no money in their pockets—which is not even to mention the debt that our generation is accumulating due to high prices of real estate, etc.
I am convinced that "democracy"—you know that thing the terrorist supposedly hate us for, or was that "freedom"—has been flipped upside down at every level. The majority of the American people (85% polled) say that they are in support of raising the minimum wage. In a “democracy” who, theoretically, holds the power? The people. We are beginning to realize one sad thing about that concept. It is a façade--a lie—to make the people think they hold power. They really hold very little but a vote once every two years, and every four years that actually makes a difference. And that vote is between two parties that are two sides of the same coin. The rhetoric between Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democrat—is really just a front, just that "rhetoric" that does not trasnlate into reality—there is little difference on the ground between the two parties. The difference is solely symbolmythical if you will--perpetually perpetrated on the watching public, by TV debates and broadcasts that show two aisles. The reality however is far different and scarier: the policies are not worlds apart, but the same. As someone has said recently: “It’s the difference between Pepsi and Coke.” Such is “democracy” I guess.
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