Peaceful Revolution

After reading a Huffington Post blog I got to thinking: How does a wealthy country have a revolution?

No, I'm not talking crazy here. We don't need violence, or guns, or a forcible overthrow of the government. Overall, things aren't bad. However, the overall system is broken and if the American people want the best for their country they need to understand this.

I feel most of the Tea Party people are idiots (sorry, but while some of the ideas they espouse seem nice, think critically on them.... i'll take socialism over a plutocracy if it comes to it) but they at least have the guts to admit that the Republican party isn't going to do anything to help move their ideas forward.

The progressives haven't realized this yet. They seem to think that the Democratic party is going to pull itself away from the corporate trough and actually be, well progressive. It isn't going to happen.

The reason is this. Politicians are in politics to be in politics. Oh sure, they believe they know best and can help, but right now the argument shouldn't be over "big" government or "small" government. It needs to be over SMART government.

Efficiency is not the goal, but it IS part of the overall solution. We need to merge many of the various governmental agencies into powerful watchdogs over whatever sector they watch. This includes the government itself in my mind.

NPR had a story a month or so back about how part of the problem with the derivatives is that 2 different agencies thought the other agency was watching the banks. It "slipped" through the cracks.

One congressman attempted to merge the two agencies, but it failed because that meant one of the committee chairmen would lose an agency to oversee.

Political power once again trumps the greater good.

This sort of thing is RAMPANT in all levels of government, but most noticeable, and concerning at the national level.

Merging agencies, giving them real power and authority, and, good lord, possibly voluntarily limiting certain rights, would be steps in the correct direction.

It will not happen until we change the overall political system, and I'm sorry, that is going to take a peaceful revolution which I think we as a nation are too rich and lazy to partake in.

Accountability

Reading this, you'll probably think I read all the gossip columns and watch TMZ all the time. I don't. But, if you follow almost ANY news source, you'll see things like young celebrities dying with no evidence of "foul play."

I believe drug overdose is going to become a "natural cause" in California. Michael Jackson, Brittney Murphy, The Rev (drummer for Avenged Sevenfold), and now Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson is dead too. I'm suspecting a pile of prescription drugs is going to be found at her house, just like at Jackson's and Murphy's. The Rev liked his booze and coke, so, who knows if anything else was involved.

I guess the point I'm making is this: If you want to do drugs, you can always get drugs. However, far too many doctors have merely become drug dispensers for the rich & famous. The pile of legal (prescription) drugs that Murphy had at her house would have done most people in.

Why has it become ok to pop pills just because a doctor gives them to you? These drugs aren't tested against possible interactions with EVERYTHING possible you could take.

YOU are responsible for what you put into your body. BUT, if we're going to hold drug dealers accountable for a product that kills, are we going to hold some of these joke doctors responsible too?