There is a television show
called The New Yankee Workshop starring Norm Abram, which can be seen on
the PBS website and probably other venues, where Norm takes you through the
steps of building beautiful pieces of furniture and other wood décor. Even if
you know that you could never build as expertly as Norm can, you still love
watching the show because you can appreciate the handiwork of someone who is
creative and experienced, and seeing it all come together is a marvelous thing.
If it is possible, I think that Bernie should consider producing a video which
details step-by-step how he will build America in to a nation that will care
for its people and promote the positive changes for us that we can only have if
more of us understand the steps necessary to build that from the ground (Which
we are sitting at. I would really hate
to believe that we can sink any lower.) up.
I live in a part of the
country that is called a “Red State”, which means that the majority of our
citizens vote Republican. This is a real
head-scratcher when you consider that a large portion of the people here live
at or below what is considered to be “poverty level.” So many of the people
here may have their smart phones and computers and even toddlers are tech savvy
(How these people afford them is even more of a head-scratcher!) but when it
comes to recognizing when they are being cheated and lied to by bureaucrats and
the affluent, they have a gigantic mental block as big as the Great Wall Of
China. Why this is so can possibly be explained by taking a look at a society in
the television series Star Trek.
There is a race of humanoid
type beings in the Star Trek world called Ferengi, from the planet
Ferenginar. They are racist, sexist, and practiced rampant capitalism for
centuries. They did not recognize where this would eventually lead them until
the entire society collapsed. Their
thinking was that monied interests and those who prospered in that were the
highest level of beings. It was never
questioned as being wrong when they all aspired to be exactly like that. It is
this same mentality that I think drives so many Americans to vote against their
own best interests and follow the Pied Piper of wealth because they cannot
believe that there is any reason for human existence other than to strive for
the American Dream. Those who have
already achieved it are the gods that we worship. Life is hard. And it is damn
hard when you live in the rural south. Those who have made it to wealth and
recognition must be the only people capable of running the country. Add in to this a belief in that “old time
religion” which deplores anything that is not in the gospels, and a general
fear of anything that you don’t understand (as in words like Socialism) and you
have a society that will choose to hate change every time, because they are not
learning not to. This is where we need to insert a YouTube or Netflix video
called The New Yankee Socialist.
I can only use the word
Socialist here in this blog in my own home because it can get you into serious trouble
if you say it publicly anywhere else.
The word has a long association with societies that will take away all
of your freedoms and give a forum to all of those people who dare to believe in
something different and difficult to understand. So, I didn’t say it. You didn’t read it here. Only someone like Bernie Sanders can get away
with it, sort of.
The thing that I find most
troubling when Senator Sanders talks about the plan he has for making the
United States a better place is that he hesitates when he is asked about how he
will bring about the necessary changes that will give Americans a better
standard of living and take us in to a new era of prosperity and more equality
for all. I can understand why he does
this. Just mention the words “new taxes”
and people start freezing up and tuning out. Say the word “Socialism” and they
think that you intend to send the military to their house and take away their
belongings. Mind closed, case closed.
Reaching these people is a tough order because they can walk away and recover
from the bad words by tuning in to the prophets of doom tv networks and
internet social sites that are all too happy to keep supporting the myths that
they are comfortable with. It is
difficult to show your blueprints for the future when you can only preach to
the choir in short speeches made in a grueling schedule of touring quickly
through many American cities. You will not reach enough of the Ferengi and the
“Red State wonders” until you put your plans on paper and show the building
process to them step by step.
A video in
a place like YouTube is more likely to capture the attention of these types
because anyone that is capable of hearing will share it with others in a way
that your speech in South Carolina will not reach. This is nothing that you don’t already know,
but there are many others who have taken your ideas and are promoting them as
their own now. I do not see any of them
trying to reach out to those whom they believe are not going to listen in the
first place. The only ones who are really listening are those who already
believe in your philosophy. Like on the New
Yankee Workshop, show the finished product first, then show the blueprints
for making it a reality. You will have
to explain that you join this piece with another piece and you glue this piece
with taxes which you collect by exchanging money now being spent on something
that you will not have to pay again once you put your program into place. Senator Sanders, I have been a supporter of
yours since the first time that I saw you speak about equality and inequality
on MSNBC many years ago and even though I understand where you are coming from
and how your vision for America would make an incredible difference, I do not
see how these changes are truly possible in a country that doesn’t want to know
about anything that might require them to get off their backsides and view the
world differently.
I am familiar with
the philosophy of Marx, and Engels, and others who have tried to champion a
more balanced world for everyone. I want
to see you succeed where so many others have failed but I have to tell you that
unless and until you can give the ones who don’t really have a clue how it can
benefit them from where they sit, the “Red State” voters will keep turning a
blind eye. I believe that you need to reach those who cannot yet see but may be
able to hear that you have a plan that truly is for all of us. Right now, they are content to hear that no
one other than they deserve to do well.
They cannot see that this mentality is what is causing them to pay
higher prices for basic human necessities and keeps them in a constant state of
fear about losing what they have. We need to see the video because too many
will not read the book. If their
children and neighbors and co-workers see the film and share the experience
online it may spark an interest in hearing for themselves. Even those of us who
already believe would love to see how you will put everything together. I have
seen staunch Republicans admit that they would gladly pay more taxes and give
up something that they have so people that they care about can afford to buy
food and medicines and see a doctor when they are sick. In groups, you never hear this, but one on
one it does happen. Just like deciding
to watch an episode of the New Yankee Workshop because you have nothing
pressing to do, you are probably very sure that you could never make a china
cabinet or a sideboard, you might tune in and watch an episode just to pass the
time. You might see or hear something
from Norm that would make you believe that the project is possible.
It is also
likely that you, Senator Sanders, will show a step in the process that can make
someone believe that your plan for the future can work. If I were a filmmaker,
I would volunteer to do the work of getting this project out to the
people. Your ideas for building a better
country are the best that I have seen. I
believe from preparing your birth chart that you have the ability to make a
miracle in America, but you need to help us help you. Once we see the blueprints and can visualize
the finished product, it is possible that even the “Red State” people, fearful
as they are, could believe in the project coming together. We just need to see
someone else do it first, like Norm Abram shows us. Independence Day is proof positive that
change can happen when people decide that they have had enough of tyranny. I
write on this blog and send it out there in hopes that it will inspire someone
to discover their god given potential and make a difference through behavior
true to what they were born to be. You
can show us what a society that aspires to be better and more inclusive looks
like, and how you can lead us to that ultimate goal.
And for the record, the
Ferengi were able to put their society back together by implementing Socialist
ideals.
