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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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April 13th, 2009 AMERICA: THE DO NOTHING COUNTRY No one should be surprised that thousands of Americans will waste their entire Wednesday this week to do absolutely nothing to stop tax increases on everything from cigarettes to energy to income and call it a “tea party.” After all, this is the strongest nation on Earth who has stood idly by for 5 days while one of its own free, legitimate, businessmen was held hostage by a gang of four men from a nation with no government. We have become, not just to the world, but to each other, feckless; a cartoon of ourselves. America is almost now, quite literally, the laughing stock of the world. We are a nation that threatens big things, waves our fists in the air and then does nothing. Zip, zero, nada. When North Korea launched a test missile two weeks ago with hopes of one day being able to hit San Francisco, America threatened “dire consequences,” prior to the launch. 12 days and counting later, not even a stern letter has been mailed to the Koreans. When Somali pirates seized, (for the first time ever since 1802), an American flagged freighter in the seas near the Horn of Africa, the American crew (unlike all of the other pirated foreign crews before them) fought back, holding and saving their ship and its cargo (cargo, by the way, that was actually food aide destined for starving desperate people in Rwanda, Uganda and…wait for it…yes, you guessed it, Somalia!). The captain of the American ship was taken hostage as a result and held on a dingy, yes a dingy, for a ransom. America dispatched warships and even an aircraft carrier to the region to do…absolutely nothing for 5 days. Only after it was clear that Americans were growing intolerant was our military allowed to do the job they’re better at than anyone. The damage to our nation’s image, however, was done. Justice delayed is justice denied; we have shown the world that our spine is not as stiff as it once was. Imagine; a rogue band of nobodies from a nation of nothing holding a citizen of America hostage on the seas, surrounded by enough fire power to obliterate Neptune (both the planet and the water god) and we do nothing. America waits, shows restraint, and in the process, lets the rest of the world know that the waters of the globe which have been owned militarily by the United States of America since World War II are now a free-for-all and America, apparently, will have no part of the fight. So it comes as no surprise that as America’s annual tax day approaches, and citizens are stunned by the level and amount at which they are being taxed by and from all sides, that they will vent their frustration and display their anger by…doing nothing. Once again in America, threats and symbolism have triumphed over substance and results. Bravo. No wonder we can’t find a cure for AIDS, everyone is too busy trying to tie their red ribbons so we all know how much they care about finding a cure instead. On Wednesday, April 15, 2009, Tea Parties are planned across America; a gathering of a totality of tens of thousands of Americans to express their alleged disgust and fatigue at and with their state, local and federal governments and taxation. That’s right; the collective fists of angry Americans are shaking in the air and their next step is to throw bags of tea into water and onto Capitol lawns (the bags are then retrieved later, of course, so that there is no littering). Wow. That should show ‘em. In other words, a bunch of cowards are going to take off of work Wednesday so they can hang out with each other, talk about how horrible their government is, throw some tea, carry dopey signs and then go home, watch for themselves on the nightly news, forget about it and wake up the next morning with no intention of actually doing anything noteworthy or constructive to solve the very thing that is angering them so much. This whole notion of gathering in groups of like minded people being akin to solving problems must stop. In politics, as in sports, as in business, as in life, meetings only matter if they produce results. Throwing tea results in nothing. I beg of you not to hide behind silly clichés like “awareness,” or “getting politicians’ attention,” as neither of these things happen or matter. The only way you make a politician aware is to formulate a legitimate challenge against him or her. Threaten, with legitimate force, to publicly smear his voting record and challenge his re-election. That is the only way they care. We know this because nothing is changing right now. In 2005, Americans were up-in-arms over an immigration reform bill that both sides were vehemently against, and only a very small group of people willing to compromise on everything was in favor of. While many people took to the streets, those folks accomplished nothing. It was the literally millions of phone calls, emails, letters and messages that politicians received across the nation that showed them overwhelmingly there would be repercussions of an angry nation if the bill passed. It died almost instantly. Activism works, symbolism doesn’t. Today we threaten our politicians with litter, which is why they are not paying attention. They are not taking the anger seriously because it isn’t serious anger. Taxes are continuing to be raised at all levels, with new ideas to float everything from salt to sugar to electricity every day, thus showing they aren’t very afraid of your big bad bag of tea. Enjoy your day of tea throwing, knowing that nothing will change and no one will care. After all, we’ve told the pirates we’re unprepared, unresolved and afraid. Next time they take an American hostage, we’re going to throw tea at them.
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