It's been several weeks since I've last posted an opinion article. Please forgive me, but I've been very busy lately. I've actually found some work that pays me and I've been taking care of that rather than writing which hasn't been paying the rent for me. I do enjoy eating. One of my jobs is being a guinea pig in a research study. The other day, while waiting for them to poke, prod or stick me, I was watching daytime TV, something I hardly ever do. I was watching a show called "The View" which involves several famous lady television personalities discussing "issues" of the day. They started talking about Barack Obama's accomplishments and said some things that really struck me as not very well thought out, to put it politely. The more I listened, the more I felt as if my intelligence had been greatly insulted. I'd like to opine about just a few of them.
Let me preface this by stating that I think words are very important. I think that we oft times misuse and abuse words. Words are especially important in the media and with media personalities who many people look up to. Sometimes words are not to be taken literally, but they are by some people. Subconsciously people may take words to heart and believe them as literal without really thinking about it. In this way, public opinion can be manipulated. I am also guilty of doing this, though I do try to be specific with my writings.
One statement made by at least one of the ladies on "The View" was that Barack Obama "saved" GM. Barack Obama has never "saved" anyone or anything as far as I know. What Barack Obama may have done is support legislation that forced American taxpayers to pay for the operations of General Motors and other American automobile manufacturers. In other words, he supported a bailout to a very wealthy corporation that has mismanaged its business. Barack Obama is not some superman that can fly in on his own and "save" a multi-billion dollar international corporation, he needs help from other politicians and bureaucrats willing to spend other people's money. Media personalities should stop implying one man has such power.
To speak to the issue, however, perhaps this legislation did save GM, that is what is seen. What is not seen are the companies that would have been created had GM gone out of business. What is not seen is the millions of jobs that may have been created as GM's assets were bought up by smaller, more agile, more viable auto companies and put to better use. What is not seen are the more innovative products that may have been created had free markets been allowed to operate as they are supposed to. What is not seen are the dreams and ambitions that have been squashed not because GM went out of business, but because they stayed in business. You might say that this is speculation, and you'd be correct, but keep in mind that small businesses employ more people than big businesses (who seem to continuously try to cut costs by cutting labor expenses) and historically when nations are prospering they are implementing free market principles and when they are failing they are nationalizing companies and implementing collectivist principles.
Another claim made on "The View" was that Barack Obama "gave" us healthcare. Barack Obama has given no one healthcare, with the exception of his kids or family maybe, who he might have administered some aspirin or applied a bandage to. If I'm wrong and he has given someone healthcare, he may have committed the crime of practicing medicine without a license. For the most part, only doctors are allowed to provide healthcare in this nation. Doctors are supposedly some of the most intelligent, best educated people in our nation, but when they are forced to give service to people for free then they are suffering a subtle form of slavery.
What Barack Obama did do was support legislation that requires every individual in this nation to purchase a product known as healthcare insurance or face fines and penalties to be paid to the federal government. He supported legislation which removes choice. He supported a bill so huge and convoluted it may take decades before its ramifications are truly known. He, and those who helped him, forced through legislation using coercive or at least ethically questionable methods. He used his bully pulpit as the newly elected head administrator to help pass legislation as if it was a mandate from the voters though it had not been one of the major issues during the campaign. To make the statement that he "gave" us healthcare is extremely misleading.
One of the ladies made the statement that now people with pre-existing conditions have to be covered. This might be true. This has been a contention in this nation. I agree that the costs of healthcare has gone way up and that people with pre-existing conditions should be taken care of, but I believe there are better, more efficient ways to do this than through federal mandate. At the very least, the government could have written a short, to the point law to take care of this problem. Here's an example, "Insurance coverage will not be denied to those with pre-existing conditions by any company who wishes to provide healthcare insurance to people residing within the United States of America." They needn't write a thousand pages of law to accomplish that.
At one point, one of the women asked if I (as one of many viewers of "The View" on that particular day) thought that these things would have been accomplished if John McCain had been elected to the head administrative position in these United States of America. To be honest, I think that John McCain and Barack Obama answer to the same powers that be. But that really doesn't matter. The implication is that there are only two parties, Democrat and Republican, and only two platforms, and only two choices in this nation which are basically the same coin with two sides. We don't select the candidates, they are selected for us to make sure we have no real choice. I haven't voted for a Republican or Democrat as head administrator to this nation for decades, with the exception of Ron Paul. I think that they are all as a rule corrupt liars, with Ron Paul the exception.
But the above issues are not really what this article is meant to be about. The point I want to make is the presentation of what I would refer to as the Santa Claus mentality. These women are supposed to be some of the most intelligent, most respected women in our nation, yet look how they framed their praise of Barack Obama. He "saved" something for us. He "gave" us something. They imply that he is some sort of super hero, some sort of Santa Claus. Unfortunately, it is likely that many people just accept these notions and will parrot these opinions without further thought.
There are a number of conclusions I can draw from watching this show. These women may actually believe what they say about Mr. Obama. Perhaps they need some form of hero to cling to. Perhaps they long for a Santa Claus to take care of some need they have within them that hasn't been met in the real world. Perhaps they feel the need to have someone take care of them from cradle to grave rather than taking personal responsibility for their own lives. There are many people in the world that seem to engage in this kind of wishful thinking. There are many who seem to have this psychological makeup. Somehow, I doubt this is true of most successful people, and the women on "The View" are certainly successful.
These women may simply be repeating certain things they are told to repeat. They may have to express certain points of view or the powers that be that own the network they work at will fire them. Certainly there is evidence of this when we consider that Rosie O'Donnell once co-hosted that show until she took a controversial position on the 9/11 attacks and she was fired and effectively shut up. Hmm, that could make some people wonder. Still, judging from the sincerity with which these women present their opinions, this doesn't seem very likely to me.
What I feel is the most likely explanation for what I heard is that these women are in denial. They are subconsciously blocking out ideas and opinions that cross over their comfort zones. They have trouble when thinking outside the box. They continue to draw upon their indoctrination and refuse to see the corruption and the unfairness inherent in the system that has treated them so well. They are now looking down from their personal ivory towers and really don't wish to recognize that these towers are built upon faulty foundations. Personally, I think that every time they are offered a choice they take the blue pill instead of the red one. Fortunately, I believe that more and more people are taking the red pill and seeing through the illusions that have been built up around us and sold to us as reality.
It is time to reframe the debate. It is time to start using the language as it should be used rather than to create impressions of reality that simply don't hold up to scrutiny. It is time to be rid of the Santa Claus mentality. There is no Superman. There is no Santa Claus. Each one of us should be making our own decisions that we feel are best for our own lives. We should stop expecting any one man, or the government as a whole, to save us as a collective. We should stop expecting any one man, or the government as a whole, to give us stuff as if every day was Christmas. What the federal government was supposed to be set up for was to protect our individual rights against state governments that might try to abuse them. What it was supposed to do was protect opportunity so that every person in this nation could gain wealth and affluence through hard work and effort. It failed to adhere to its original mandates. I think that at the core, both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street were about re-establishing the liberty principles this nation was created upon. I hope that those individuals involved with either one of these organizations will keep them alive and help them grow in that direction.
My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there and make a donation to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.
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