Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Cradle of Democracy

Greece's Parliament has voted in more austerity measures, so that the workers may pay off the loans the ruling class took out. Greeks are striking and rioting, while their police attack them.

The US has multiple cities with Wall St. protesters occupying public spaces. Some are allowed to stay, while police attack others. With no trace of embarrassment, Hilary Clinton lectures Syria on the importance of allowing free speech and public assembly.

Meanwhile, the corporate media desperately tries to interest people in next year's election, giving endless airtime to the Republican candidates for the Presidential race in 2012. Just who will get the Chief Puppet position nomination? How exciting!

And Hilary Clinton gives a press conference sternly lecturing the Libyan people on how to have a democracy, while warning that some voices will not be tolerated.

The majority of Americans want out of Iraq and Afghanistan, want to raise taxes on the rich, want to keep Social Security and Medicare, want to more on education and less on war, want a single payer health care system, and more.

What do we get, in this shining example of democracy?

War, homeland repression, unemployment, evictions and bank bailouts.

It is now obvious that millions of Americans don't believe that pushing a button every 2 years has anything to do with democracy, defined as self-rule.

Apparently, neither do the Greeks, the British, the Portuguese, or many others.

Poor Libyans. After going from the poorest country in Africa to the richest, raising their life expectancy, having food, housing and education readily available, they now get "democracy". No, not the people's councils that Qaddafi pushed, the purple-fingered variety that they get until they are all properly processed, fingerprints and DNA collected for their IDs. Then they can show their papers before they vote for NATO approved candidates, and their democracy will be complete.

On to Iran!