I Want it NOW!

Trey Smith

This hate in our country — egged on by fervid ideologues and profiteering fearmongers — is palpable, stirred by years of irresponsible invective against public officials and agencies. Gun sales are going through the roof. In a sense, so much anger and so much disillusionment are understandable in a country where the gap between rich and poor is so vast that an environment is created in which brooding resentment is easily hatched. Sure, there is corruption in government and business — crony capitalism is the offspring of it — and when the public sees plutocrats who regard politicians as the hired help, and Washington as the feeding trough, it’s natural to fear that we are becoming vassals; subjects rather than citizens.

But a violent uprising, with all the bloodshed and chaos that would follow? Armed revolt is when people are so desperate they kill and are killed. Who would wash the blood from the streets, restore order after the chaos and bury the dead? Have we lost our minds?

There is an alternative to force, blood, and suffering. It’s called democracy. Yes, there is plenty of injustice, greed and sheer wickedness. But don’t mourn the fact — organize. Stop wringing your hands and berating real and imaginary foes. Join up with others, stand up to the exploiters, throw the rascals out. If Congress and the White House are crooked and out of touch, come Election Day, you make sure they lose. And on all the other days, when you can, you work for change and demand a say.

It’s not easy, but slow, hard and demanding – it takes long and patient activism to make democracy work.
~ from Don't Shoot -- Organize! by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship ~

Let's face it. By and large, Americans are spoiled brats. We have no impulse control. When we want something, we want it now. We don't want to wait and we certainly don't want to work to get what we want. If we can't get what we want the moment we want it, we behave like a two year old having a major tantrum. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Our society has conditioned us to be this way. Week after week we see thorny problems solved in the allotted 30 or 60 minute time slots on TV. When we're hungry, we pop our meal in the microwave and, in no time at all, dinner is served! We have a growing obesity problem because we can't keep crap food out of our mouths. And, when life becomes too much, we're urged to medicate ourselves like there's no tomorrow.

I am frequently amused that the people who scream about freedom and democracy the loudest are the very same people who don't appear to have the patience needed really to implement either. True democracy is a messy and often frustrating process. It can also be a very slow process. You need to listen to ALL sides and then form coalitions. You need to be able to compromise from time to time. Most importantly, you have to understand that you will win some and lose some.

What most ideologues mean by the word, democracy, is that they get what they want when they want it. Screw anyone who might disagree. What they fail to understand is that this is not democracy. It is called authoritarianism!