There’s an old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”  I can remember the campaign of Ronald Reagan as if it happened yesterday.  Jimmy Carter had reduced the budget deficit of Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford essentially in half – to something like $40 BILLION (as I remember off the top of my head) and Mr. Reagan came along with the “I’m going to reduce taxes and balance the budget” pledge. It sounded great (to all those people who don’t think rationally) and it turned out to be what the “people” in 1980 “wished for.”

Well, if you’re as old as I am and you’re honest about the REALITY of American politics (that is, not a Reagan worshiper) then you know we’ve been suffering from unsustainable DEFICIT spending and – thanks to the “reduced taxes” (mine, and probably yours haven’t been reduced) along with “privatization” of every thing the republicans can squander – a burgeoning issue with income inequality and mounting debt since the day Reagan took the oath of office.  Labor unions have been marginalized almost to extinction and those patriots who were supposed to “trickle down” their tax savings to us commoners are growing richer and richer at the expense of what was, at the time, the world’s greatest middle class.  We’ve minimized WELFARE to “the least of these” (in the words of Jesus Christ) and maximized it to the corporate interests who’ve bought our legislators all across America.  Yikes!

Now, the democrats (whom I consider, for the most part, spineless and timid) are not without blame in the scenario that we find ourselves in.  For example, while – at the time – I applauded the budget surplus of the Clinton administration (there was much about President Clinton I didn’t applaud) the harsh reality is that under his “watch” the trade deals, NAFTA and GATT, along with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 AND the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act all became a sad reality of the right wing PUSH to make the New Deal nothing more than a memory.  These “deals” all were the result of a democratic president attempting to make “the grand bargain” with a republican congress.  (sound familiar?)  And, they play a HUGE role in the mess we find ourselves in today – from climate crisis to the “too big to fail” crisis to the “where’s my liberal media?” crisis!

Back to the Reagan “revolution:” Along with the “trickle down economics” (which republicans are STILL attempting to cram down our collective throats) we got a push to end collective bargaining for working class folks, a push to eliminate environmental protections, and the push to privatize everything from our prison system to our military.  And, on top of all of that, the push to expand our “military industrial complex” has, in my view, led to the right wing philosophy of pushing for perpetual WAR.  That seems all too apparent as the present day republicans would rather “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” (in the words of John McCain) than attempt to “negotiate” with what GW Bush so adroitly referred to as “The Evil Empire.”  (have you ever wondered how they (Iranians) view America?  You know, the nation that overthrew their democratically elected president in favor of the “Shah of Iran” (circa 1953) – all in the name of protecting our access to their OIL? – if you don’t remember the Shah – he could probably be compared to Saddam Hussein)

The Reagan administration funded Osama bin Laden as the Mujaheddin fought to repel the Russians from Afghanistan in the 1980’s, (yes, the very place WE’VE been imbedded since 9/11 – almost 14 years) they funded the infamous Saddam Hussein as Iraq and Iran were at war for a decade, (all the while secretly involved with Iran in the “Iran/Contra” affair – look it up – which was simply a continuation of America’s bullying of governments in our Southern Hemisphere), and they pushed our military budget to astronomically high levels as they attempted to “break” the Soviet Union (which would have collapsed under its own “weight”) – so, in other words, the Reagan administration laid the foundation for America’s seeming plunge into perpetual WAR – with the same “military industrial complex” that Dwight Eisenhower so presciently warned us about in the late 50’s.  This “military industrial complex” seemingly is now the bedrock of America’s economy.

Additionally, it was during the Reagan years that the sophisticated propaganda (brainwashing) strategy of the present day (right wing) republican party was born (or advanced – maybe I should give more credit to Richard Nixon for this malady) – that is, Rush Limbaugh and all the “talking heads” who’ve followed – people willing to say “whatever” if the money’s right.  In fact, I’m convinced that people who’ve been at it as long as or close to as long as Limbaugh (like the Fox “news” talkers, or others on the right wing airwaves) actually have evolved to the place that they believe the lies that are coming out of their mouths as they’re saying them.  They’ve twisted so many facts over the years that facts are no longer relevant.  It is simply results that matter. (Google Joseph Goebbels’ “big lie theory”)

In fact, this mentality (that only results matter) pretty much now permeates the entire spectrum of American society.  Workers are no longer the backbone of corporations – it is the stockholders and the executives that hold value.  As I started saying at the time of Reagan’s election – America changed from a “we” society to a “me” society during his time in office.  And, sadly, (to me, at least) I see many of my Christian friends as going along with this ultra capitalist trend.  (when, clearly, Jesus Christ was a socialist!)

Instead of cherishing the institutions which have, over the years, been “constructed” via the “commons” – that is, the common need via the common investment – since the days of Reagan these institutions have been under CONSTANT assault.  For example, we have a great system of highways and bridges, etc. that is declining and in need of significant repair along with a populace that needs an infusion of jobs – yet, our (republican) “leaders” in Congress seem to be fine with letting that part of our infrastructure crumble. Evidently, to them, this is not an investment worth making.  (those of us who are considered “mature” have reaped the benefit of this infrastructure for the past 50 years – don’t we have more of an obligation to our children and grand children than we’re showing?)

Our schools are in desperate need of upgrade in many parts of America.  Many of our inner cities present the opportunity to be rebuilt – both the infrastructure of the buildings and the lives of the people – yet, our leaders seem to be turning a “blind eye.”  We don’t want to deal with these issues because, to pay for it, we’d need to raise taxes on those at the top.  It’s almost as if they (our “leaders”) are saying, I’ve got mine – screw you!

And, the privatization:  Are you kidding me?  I could go on and on with this one.  For example, when our government is paying private contractors to pump the gas or cook the food for our troops who are in combat zones – please!  That makes no sense (especially when the contractors are being paid multiples of what the same job would be for military personnel).  Can you imagine being a “grunt” in Iraq getting paid “squat” while risking your life in the battle and having a $100/hr. contractor pumping your gas?   But the one that really BUGS me (OK, there’s a long list showing the stupidity of “privatization”), and I honestly DON’T understand how people can accept this, is the privatization of the PRISONS!  Think about that one.  If you – or a friend or relative – somehow found yourself in prison – would you want the incentive of the prison to keep you there INDEFINITELY?  There are people who committed the “crime” of smoking pot who are in prisons they may never get out of because the prison MAKES MONEY keeping them there.  Our penal system is in terrible need of “repair” but privatizing prisons is NOT the answer.

Lastly, I believe the divisiveness in America these days is largely the result of the mentality that went along with the “Reagan revolution.”  Ronald Reagan was the master at pitting one group against another for his (and the republicans) political advantage.  I will never forget him PUBLICLY reneging on a promise to the Air Traffic Controller’s Union and, on national TV no less, showing the rest of the business (and political) world how you BREAK a union.  He not only went after unions, he very surreptitiously made his case against Civil Rights (he was a master with the racist “code”), and he derided those in the “women’s movement.”  I bring all this up because the republican party is STILL full of remnants of the Reagan revolution and they’re using “wedge issues” to turn one American against another – all the while they are stealing us all blind.

I remember all the “young republicans” in the colleges back then (the 1980’s) who are now the backbone of the party.  A lot of rhetoric about “my money” when discussing taxes and “my rights” and my this and my that.  And, of course, the republican party has swung so far to the right of Reagan in today’s America that even Reagan himself would be considered liberal today.  However, they (republican politicians) continue to use his name to keep those republican voters who simply rely on Fox or other right wing propaganda outlets for their “information” “in line.”

It’s a sorry state of affairs in America these days and we’re close to being put into what I always thought would be and would remain “uncharted territory.”  If the republicans succeed with their “permanent republican majority” in 2016 – that is, control of the congress, the courts, the White House, and the press – it will simply be a matter of time until “all hell breaks loose.”  I keep thinking to myself that “we the people” get what we deserve when we vote in our leaders.  However, the corporate interests which have corrupted our government to unimaginable levels over the last 30+ years and have already committed BILLIONS to the 2016 election are so out of control, that it’s just a matter of time until there is a populist backlash.  It’s just that the more control “we the people” give to the monied interests who are behind “Citizens United,” the assault on Voting Rights, trickle UP economics, perpetual WAR, privatization, the “liberal media,” and “religious freedom,”  the more difficult it will be to overcome.  (and I haven’t even mentioned Climate denial – which will be a more serious issue EVERY year going forward)  I keep wondering: “Will it take another Great Depression for America to wake up to the folly of this republican push to the “right?”

Maybe if they nominate someone like Ted Cruz for the White House, that will be enough to get people’s attention.  I’ve been predicting for years, almost since President Obama took office, that they will nominate Jeb Bush.  I hope I’m wrong, because he would simply be a more covert “water carrier” for those with the money who are “pulling the strings.”   I’ll end by saying it would be helpful if Democrats would stop throwing their weight behind corporate minions and give “we the people” an actual CHOICE when we go to the polls!  Find some LIBERALS with BACKBONE to run for the open Senate seats and the White House.  That just might get the attention of MILLIONS of discouraged American voters!