Friday, October 28, 2011

Powah

I'm not a Power to the People kind of guy. Frankly, I think that most people, including me, don't have a clue about how to resolve problems whose scope is far beyond their lives. That's what we have politicians and NGOs for. What people bring - and what the Occupy efforts are bringing - is pressure on the politicians to do something to resolve the problems. As the Governor said in Blazing Saddles, they have to protect their phoney-balony jobs. (I don't think that most politicians are phoney, but a lot of them are a hell of a lot more concerned about their future than about mine.)

Consequently, I tend to find the rhetoric at STFU Conservatives to be a little too intense for my tastes. Their articles tend to include phrases like shit just got real and pictures of scowling people and eager young strikers displaying flagant disregard for the niceties of an ordered society. But I read it, because most of the time, what they're saying is: Nobody's paying attention to the vast majority of the country, and that's got to change.

And that, I believe in. I don't believe in it at the fringes, where the crazy people live and the crazy politicians feed, but the general thrust of it, I like.

4 comments:

Tabor said...

Just because things are complicated and difficult to solve does not mean we cannot all use our common sense. The angry are the first to respond. But, do you want to wait until we all get angry?

Cerulean Bill said...

I agree with you. But == I'm not at all sure that common sense alone will cut it. I think of that scene in Dave, where the pseudo-president sits down with his pal and together they figure out how to fix the budget. It's not that simple (as of course you know!)

But common sense coupled with specialized knowledge and fueled by intense focus -- yes, that'd work.

Wendster said...

I think that was well put.

I agree. Change is needed. In whose hands we can trust that process? That's a tough one.

Cerulean Bill said...

Power Corrupts.

Politicians Lie.

We Can't Handle The Truth.