Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Smell the Coffee




We have established that the world is round, and it revolves around the sun.
We have established that there were dinosaurs, and the world is millions and millions of years old.
We have established that mental illness is caused by chemical imbalance, and not by evil spirits.
We have established that Negroes are human beings, and that people who are not white are not necessarily inferior.

Yet today some of us are still struggling with the misconception that the way to deal with poverty is to give more money to the rich.
Can you say, "Duh"?
Now seriously, Folks, let's get our brains in gear. The "trickle-down" theory does not work. To overflow a glass that is already full does not fill an empty glass. This shouldn't be too hard to comprehend.

Mitt Romney wants to rob our senior citizens of  Medicare and Social Security benefits in order to give tax breaks to the millionaires who can already afford things as they are. Now I ask you, does this make sense? What kind of president wants to rob from the poor and give to the rich?

So now you're probably wondering what this has to do with the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. I will get to that, I promise. Let me explain.

Since childhood, my fictional heroes have been the ones who rob from the rich and give to the poor. Such heroes include Zorro, Robin Hood, the Scarecrow, (of course) and, more recently, V for Vendetta. I was an especially big fan of Zorro when I was a little boy. (Yeah! That's what I want to be when I grow up!) The gallant defenders of the poor and oppressed have always scored the biggest points in my book.

Masked bandits do not win the approval of everyone, and many tend to frown on those who break the law, even for very good reasons. But during the 1960s, most parents seemed to think it was okay to let their children watch anything endorsed by Walt Disney. This I am glad of. (It was shown on the Wonderful World of Color.)

But how many of us baby-boomers remember when this show was on TV? About a month ago I posted the above video on my Facebook wall, asking how many of us remember it. I never got a response. I'm hoping that was because it wasn't showing up on News Feed, where most of us go when we sign in to FB. Among my neighbors, only one person I have asked remembers. (better than I do, even!)

It is debated whether this story is true or fiction, or maybe a fictional story based on a real person. (like Zorro) Legendary heroes often appear in times of oppression, and Walt Disney himself seemed to believe the Scarecrow was a true story.

So why am I seeing the opposite today? Since when did it become acceptable to rob from the poor? I keep on wondering when the Republicans will wake up and smell the coffee.

President Obama, on July 19 of this year, in Jacksonville FL, said;
"It's wrong to ask seniors to pay more for Medicare just so millionaires and billionaires can pay less in taxes."
That's what the man said. Won't you listen what the man said?

This Halloween, let there be more scarecrows to haunt those who haven't been awakened yet.
Remember to vote, and remember that the road to Hell is paved with Republicans.
Take care!
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"Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men."
-- T.H. Huxley