MADISONIAN DEMOCRACY

I have been wondering when, if ever, Americans were going to wake up and take to the streets in defense of their lives and communities, and now it seems to be happening, at least in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Tea Party and its minions have been full of passionate intensity with brown shirt style attacks on reason, on the poor, on civil society. The lack of conviction of ordinary people has been glaring. They seem to be so absorbed in their 82” flat panel televisions they don’t realize there’s a bowl of dog food on the dinner table. But of course, that’s not true. People are sensitive to their own pain!

I do believe most people see themselves as consumers of wealth, not as producers of wealth, so they are much more concerned with the prices they pay than the wages they earn, and with the wages and benefits of other people. Getting people to resent and envy the advantages of their neighbors is easy. Putting them to sleep with helplessness is easy too. But it isn’t sleep, it’s stupor. Long hours, low pay, fake fatty food, degrading entertainment and politicians who lie, pander and serve the interests of the few rich people, debilitate us. What is the point of protest? I scream and a squeak comes out. No one hears, not even the guy two stools down. And the nation goes to sleep at night to the sound of scattered, anonymous squeaks.

If Egyptians and Tunisians can rid themselves of long-standing dictators, why can’t we?

Tens of thousands are taking to the streets of Madison. A state is in revolt. Middle class people, teachers, firefighters, clerks, Administrative Assistants…and high school students. The teachers have shut down the schools! Is this America?

I don’t dare hope that it will spread, but I don’t see how it can end here. The one thing the right wing never counted on was opposition from the middle class. Fighting academic leftists is like shooting rats in a dumpster. But it is much harder to demonize a cop, or a clerk who lives next door.

The governor claims he is trying to bring union worker benefits in line with the private sector. This only points up the need to bring private sector worker’s compensation up to the level of union workers. It points out the need for single payer health care, increased social security benefits and a progressive income tax.

Before bringing the current bill to the floor the Wisconsin legislature passed tax cuts. Which cup is the ball under?

I suspect there are a lot of single term governors and state reps out there. But maybe I’m dreaming. Maybe I should have drunk a little less coffee this morning. For now though I will bask in the glow of Madisonian Democracy.