Generalizations: Politics is Science and we are all Test Subjects.

Mitt Romney, “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” —Mitt Romney, January 2012.  

  “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. … My job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” -Mitt Romney, in leaked comments from a fundraiser in May 2012.
I am so tired of seeing these clips played over and over countless times a day …

Poor Mitt, all his umbilical cords were never cut.  Mitt is still hopelessly tied to the American Corporate Oligarchy (aka Tea Party).  In Mitt’s pandering, the Oligarchs heard what they wanted to hear. But, did they want to hear about the causes for someone being disadvantaged?  Isn’t it ironic that America’s founding fathers came to this continent to escape OLIGARCHY!

Extreme Political Wings in American politics are guilty of making generalizations, to advance whatever agenda has already been decided by their campaign donors.  But, the extreme Right Wing, that calls itself Republican, takes the cake and drops it in the gutter.  The “Safety Net” Mitt refers to, has been badly damaged by the Tea Party (proxy for American Corporate Oligarchs).

Because humans are driven by irrational emotions and unconscious desires ( hidden fears, instincts and desires), they can be easily swayed by using Crowd Psychology. 

Politics is science and we are all test subjects!  Thank you Edward Bernays, (nephew of Sigmund Freud) for teaching that manipulation was necessary in society.

Generalization (describes anything to less-specific criteria), is the key to grabbing the emotions of voters who want a neat and tidy description of the issues.  The elections in 2012 are all about manufactured demons in America, brought to you by corporate power and the science of deception.  Can you find any Republican agenda that addresses actual causes for someone being disadvantaged?!

Republicans, using the “politics of fear“, with well funded propaganda campaigns, are empowered to make wide changes to how America thinks and what America will endorse.  Republicans create monsters and blights to sway voters … voters who have already been prepared to accept the opinions fed to them by “paid performers” hired by marketers.  Republicans, using the “politics of anger and revenge“, whip up pre-election frenzy in their followers.   Politicians and Evangelical Domionists have become fronts for corporate interests.  These manipulators have hijacked religion and made it their tool, to expand their base.

 Unfortunately, Mitt Romney has a view bought and paid for by his fundraisers, who are the extreme Right Wing. This Right Wing has definite rules that define “the least of us”. They will generalize, and use the “lowest common denominator” to describe the “disadvantaged” as lazy bums and bloodsuckers and crooks.  If they really believe that the elderly, disabled, retirees, disabled veterans and victims of Wall Street Bankers are all bloodsuckers, we are in real trouble.  They threaten us with a “Nanny State” like ” Socialism and Communism“.  Scary, huh? They don’t ever address “Populism“, except to criticize it. 

All religions have rules how people should treat the “least of us”, that sounds a lot like Populism. See for yourself if you are:

 Jewish  <<  Lev. 23:22, Lev. 19:9-10, Deut. 24:21, Deut. 14:28-29, Deut. 26:12, Deut. 15:7-8, Lev. 25:35-36, Deut. 15:11, Ex. 22:26, Gen. 18:19, Isaiah 1:27 >>

Christian  << Matthew 25:40 >>.

Muslim, “He who sleeps on a full stomach whilst his neighbour goes hungry is not one of us.” (Prophet Muhammad) and “The best of you is he (or she) who is of most benefit to others.” (Prophet Muhammad). 

Buddha says, “ There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the weak and small continue to be trodden by the mighty and powerful “. 

(Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures, p.1159 ) “The poor and the rich are both “brothers”. This is Lord’s immutable design.”

All religions have definite Altruistic rules, without demeaning the less fortunate, long before someone invented Socialism or Communism.

Republican Generalization:

The problem is that there will always be a segment of the population that will “game” the system.  Republicans do not target the crooks, they target the whole segment of the population that needs assistance … is your grandparent or returning veteran receiving any government assistance? 

Today Republicans want to,  paint ALL of America’s poor and disadvantaged as system gamers and crooks.  They want to dump on the whole lot, of disadvantaged and disabled and elderly, as bums that have to pick themselves up and get back to work … if there was work, if they are able to work.  Their attitude is typical arrogance, that honestly believes the wealthy work harder for their money than the middle class.  They even appeal to religions to support their efforts, even though most religions are more sympathetic toward the disadvantaged.  Republicans are forgetting that thousands of Baby Boomers are retiring daily, for a myriad of reasons.

Republicans conveniently forget that Inspectors, Regulators and oversight Monitors that could reduce crooked “gaming of the system”, have been emasculated by Republican Anti-Regulation agenda.  By eliminating or reducing funding for those agencies responsible for policing government payouts.

The bottom line shows that Republican efforts to deregulate industry has increased America’s disabled population.  Through work related injury or exposure to toxic materials, many American workers have been reduced to changing the kind of work they are capable of performing.  Republican generalizations are blind to all the reasons that put people in the poverty level.  Too many middle class have suffered job loss, reduced ability to get wages similar to their previous job, left dangling with inflated mortgage rates, over extended credit, a family to support.

Republicans also forget that it takes a well rounded education to enable anyone to improve their prospects for work, regardless if its is blue or white collar.  So, why are we losing so many teachers? Why is higher education so dependent on how wealthy your family is?

These are the same good, church goin’ Republican citizens who give ultimatums to Volunteer Firefighters to quit their volunteering or lose their job.  In Texas, Rick Perry must have heard that God and Jeeezus don’t want any breaks for volunteer firefighters. For instance,  In Rick Perry’s Texas, Firefighters Forced To Pay For Gear, Engine Fuel ,  Perry, signed off on millions in firefighting cuts as part of the state’s most recent budget legislation. The Texas Forest Service’s funding has gone from $117.7 million in the 2010-2011 budget years to $83 million in the 2012-2013 budget years. Right before the worst wildfires in Texas history. 

So remember the line, “they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives”, but forget about the middle class crushed by Wall Street and Shady Banks and the Right Wing virtue of Profiteering at any cost.

WIKI: Altruism ( /ˈæltruːɪzəm/) is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of ‘others’ toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness.

WIKI: Selfishness is placing concern with oneself or one’s own interests above the well-being or interests of others.^[1][2]. Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness.

Republicans dream of the day when everyone can take care of themselves; fight their own fires or hire firefighters out of their own pockets, heal themselves with the help from their own church, teach their own children how to read, write and learn arithmetic.  Higher Education will be reserved for whoever can afford private schools. 

Mitt Romney, through his own idea, or by parroting the Republican Committee Agenda attempted to assign blame, for the Colorado fires, on the Obama administration, despite votes by Colorado Republican congressman to cut federal firefighting budgets by hundreds of millions of dollars–and after Romney himself disparaged Obama’s plans to hire “more firefighters.”

Using their preconceived ideas, Republicans are empowered to punish a whole category of disadvantaged citizens, without looking or caring to see who they really are or who really gets hurt.  Republicans want to slash public services across the country, including all kinds of first responders, teachers, health care and public service.  So, yes, the Oligarchs heard what they wanted to hear. But, they did not want to hear about the causes for someone being disadvantaged? Education, health support the ability for the next generation to take care of itself and be a productive member of American Society (the ideal).  But, the disadvantage, is lack of all those ingredients required to raise a healthy child, in mind, body and spirit. The oligarchs want to cut all of that! Altruism is irritating to the Tea Party Oligarchs … fortunately, not all wealthy are so selfish and self absorbed.

Isn’t it ironic that America’s founding fathers came to this continent to escape OLIGARCHY!

The extreme Left Wing is guilty of making generalizations about the wealthy in America. They insist the wealthy must contribute to America at the same rate that the middle class is required to. And follow the same rules as everyone else and pay the same dues as everyone else.

WIKI: In ethical philosophy, rational egoism (also called rational selfishness or egotism) is the principle that an action is rational if and only if it maximizes one’s self-interest.^[1] The view is a normative form of egoism. However, it is different from other forms of egoism, such as ethical egoism and psychological egoism.^[2] While psychological egoism is about motivation and ethical egoism is about morality, rational egoism is a view about rationality (where rationality may or may not be tied to morality). Ethical egoism is also different from amoralism.

…rational egoism/self-interest is the shadow wound of American culture, the one from which we are bleeding to death. A society built on me-first self-interest – the kind of crap espoused by Ayn Rand and her followers (who have an enormous and unexamined influence in American economics) – is doomed to fail. And so it has..