Y'all better raise those hands!
Everybody likes compliments. They're the reason we spend a few extra minutes in front of the mirror in the morning, or wear clothes that are perfectly tailored instead of dirty sackcloth. Our egos need to be stroked by our friends, our family and our mates, or we become very unhappy.
Unfortunately, we are now looking for that same thing from politicians.
"The American worker is the most innovative and most productive in the world..."
John McCain said something like that recently. Granted, he was trying to weasel out of his "fundamentals of the economy" gaffe, but he still made that statement with a straight face and without drawing any questioning from the media.
Seriously?
I don't about in y'all's house, but in the Lunatic Casa most of our lovely items say "made in China." And from what I've gathered from "the Google", Japanese residents tend to have far more advanced gadgets then we do in here in the home of the red, white and blue.
So I'm wondering, if we're clearly losing to those two nations as far as goods produced and innovations made, how did McCain get away with making that cockamamie statement? And I don't want to pile on the old guy because Barack Obama has been known to spew a whole bunch of platitudes about the glory of the American worker. Both candidates take any opportunity they can find to praise workers, particularly those who vote.
It's silly. Yes, many folks in America work hard. So do folks everywhere. Yes, we have a better lifestyle than many other countries. We're also up to our necks in debt. Sure, we're living high on the hog, but we're also ducking the bill collectors and only answering our phone at certain times of the day.
It's nice that Obama and McCain want to laud the accomplishments of American workers, but just once I'd like to hear some real talk from somebody seeking political office. Working hard is not enough. Just working hard does not guarantee you the American Dream. You have to work smarter, you have to work longer, you have to work faster. But, nobody is telling the American people that because they are too busy telling us how wonderful our new muscles look.
And we have a beer gut!
I'm not writing this because I'm the ultimate worker bee. I'm not. Yet, I'm honest with myself about what I do and what I don't do. I believe that too many people are not honest. They truly believe that Americans are the greatest employees in the world, and as long as politicians keep validating that opinion, there will no incentive for workers to improve.
I want a politician who lays the facts bare. Who doesn't pull punches about anyone or anything. A politician that tells black people we need to step it up in our homes and communities. A politician that tells white people that it doesn't matter when their ancestors came to America, they benefited from slavery and discrimination. I want a president that says that our nation is filled with borrowing bastards and that's a recipe for disaster.
I don't need my ego stroked, I'm straight.
11 comments:
Wasn't that and incredibly deceptive and twist of logic ever spoken by a politician?
Speak that truth. As a disillusioned Gen X-er who works hard every day and has a mountain of student loan debt (they always tell us education pays, um...not always)plus other debts and I still drive an 11 year old rust bucket. I too wish we could hear some real straight talk from politicians. Hard work alone no longer guarantees entry into the middle class or the American dream.
Another great post!
KIT
John McCain is rapidly proving himself to be on the least honorable people in America. Rapidly.
BGM
Man, I'm glad you liked the post. I want a politician who just lays it on the line and tells me the truth about what he can and cannot do, and what I can and cannot do. I got really disillusioned yesterday watching the news and watching some stuff near my house and all the phony compliments are starting to wear on me. We need real talk about what's going on in this country. And not just blaming the usual suspects.
gaffe - u being nice, he had phil gramm as his econ advisor - lol
Riddle me this, don’t you think McCain or Obama should tell us who will be their Treasury Secretary? Just a query. I mean with almost a trillion dollars on the line.
Right On, Big Man, WRITE on!
Oh, by the way, America is already a third world country. We just don't have the traditional "look" of the third world.
This is how communist revolutions start isn't it? The capitalists go too far, completely fuck the people, who in turn rise up and string up the crooks and take over the government.
Gawd, this Palin woman scares the living hell out of me. If this absurd ticket wins... I'm moving to France. ugh.
Big Man, To qote Jack Nickleson in that movie "you can't handle the truth" and I'm afraid he's right.
We don't want to hear the truth about our uneducated, racist, homophobic asses. We rather go to bed at night snug and comfortable in our ignorance.
Telling the whole truth will not get you elected. The masses don't need to know about classism and concentration of wealth and power, better they remain ignorant.
To his credit the "Straight talk Express" told a bunch of auto workers about a year ago, their jobs were not coming back. The press jumped all over his ass. Ever since the straight talk express has been sitting in a garage on milk crates.
OTOH I don't need politicians to tell me the state of our country or economy. From where I sit, we're F**K-up!
Imohotep
A friend of mind told me the same thing you wrote when she checked out the blog before I posted it. I didn't disagree with her, but I did note that I was writing more about what I wanted then what most people wanted.
She compared politicians telling the truth, to guys being totally honest with women they're dating. She said that usually the honesty doens't come until after "the do" has been done.
I pointed out to her that's probably why I didn't get any nookie until I was quite old. So, you're probably right, honesty doesn't play with the ladies or with voters.
And we keep getting the leaders we deserve.
As of Feb, 2007, the US was the most productive country on the planet per capita.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/worldbusiness/04output.html
"And we keep getting the leaders we deserve."
Now, that's REALLY scary!
True, but scary!
Thanks for the link Anon. I checked it out. Seeems they only measure productivity by hours worked in industrial businesses. That seems a weird way to measure it, since poorer nations don't have as much industry,but still have people working hard. However, it does seem like we're beating out china.
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