"A four-course meal for the mind, served through the drive-up window."
"This writer is spot on . . . making him one of the biggest dreamers in America at the present time. His writing is eloquent and concise."
". . . every American not currently in the 1% should read this book and think hard about the ideas."
The Essays for the 99% are the voice of the speechless, the dream of the hopeless, and the passion of the true Patriots who love this great nation enough to want to save it.
This is The Auction, and The Choice. Our government is for sale to the highest bidder, and there will be no "winner" for the American people.
There is a word for those who sell something that they do not "own," and that word is "criminal."
I invite you to preview the next two essays in the series, Plan B, and Reconstruction. They are the next steps in the "healing process" that our great nation so badly needs. Agree or disagree, THINK before you vote.
You can listen to the free author's read of Reconstruction here: johndavidauthor.com.
Look for the Essays for the 99% - The Collection, (Parts I-VI) including Part VII Class Warfare, available now at a special price!
Essays for the 99%
The Auction
The Choice
By John David
Illustrated by Christine Ticali
Copyright © 2012 John David
johndavidauthor.com
All Rights Reserved
EPUB ISBN: 9781300073765
V. 2 of a series
081012
Part III
The Auction
In Part II, I left you with “A Call to Action,” regarding the upcoming “election” we are about to have. In that election, if nothing changes, we will once again elect either “heads” (the incumbent Democrat) or “tails” (the “winner” of the nomination process), or as I like to say, the “highest bidder” amongst the field of Republican candidates.
The title of this essay is The Auction, and I chose that name because that is effectively what our electoral process has become. The player names will change, but the game remains the same.
This time around, a Republican will be nominated to oppose a Democrat, as if it really matters which face the millionaire wears. A, B, C, or D, they all have one very important trait in common, that is, they are nothing like you and me, the 99%.
As I write, literally hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, are being spent in pursuit of being anointed the “winning” candidate. How odd is this “democratic” system of “government” that we now have, whereby whoever has the most gold, wins? How much farther from the founder’s intentions can this process possibly be?
The saddest, most terrible part of this whole dog and pony show is that, in the end, there will be no “winner” for the American people, the 99% of this Nation who are the heart, the soul, and the backbone of our society.
There will be only losers, and they will be us.
We will all be losers, as yet another millionaire buys the crown, and therefore the right to “lead” us even farther down the path of destruction. More jobs will be sent overseas, more foreign wars enacted, more homes foreclosed upon, and more families torn apart, simply so that we can say we let this so-called “democratic process” work again.
Would it not be so much more effective, honest, and beneficial for the nation, for us all, if we simply held one huge, final “Auction” the night before the election in November, whereby each candidate simply “bid” as much as they and their puppeteers were willing to pay each of us for our vote?
Instead of spending those hundreds of millions, and billions, on attack and smear ads, stupid campaign posters, flyers, and other political refuse, we simply allowed our masters to pay us directly for the office of President, and for all political offices?
The other day I actually heard one of those simpleton commentators employed by a “news” network actually say as much, regarding the Republican nomination process.
“Candidate A is spending umpty dollars per vote received, whereas Candidate B has spent umpty dollars plus ten!” she enthused, never once opining that there could not possibly be a clearer picture of the fatal virus that infects our electoral process, than the statement she had just made.
As I said, if this is how we are to determine our rulers and leaders, then let them give us the money directly. I for one can certainly use the cash. We as voters should be able to simply go online, register to “vote,” and list our vote for sale to the highest bidder, eBay style. The more conscientious of us would of course set a high reserve, because God forbid that we sell our right of self-determination too cheaply.
Candidates could then login to the “Auction,” and instantly determine how much will be needed to buy the current election, with all of the proceeds actually going to the “voters,” instead of the pundits, commentators, spin doctors, and other non-essential election service providers. If we ran our elections this way, at least the process would be “honest,” without the “candidates” needing to maintain the pretense of having any desire to become a “public servant,” thereby interfering with the transaction we are enacting.
We “the people” would also be spared the charade of pretending that “heads” actually was better than “tails,” and that was why we “voted” for them. Realistically, in the last few auctions, er, elections, we have really not voted for the “better” candidate, we have voted against the more awful one.
Imagine this more perfect political climate. There would be no campaign signs mucking up the landscape, no ads blaring “heads is worse than tails, by far!” cluttering up our airwaves, our minds, and polluting our eyeballs, forcing us to engage in fruitless water-cooler chats over whether “heads” or “tails” is the better choice this time around.
You see, “The Auction” really is the best policy, isn’t it? What better sign of commitment can a millionaire or billionaire possibly make to the 99%, besides demonstrating the willingness to spend a sizeable portion of their largesse to buy the right to lead you?
Are you not entertained by this circus?
But now, you say, I am offending you.
“How dare you imply that I would simply ‘sell’ my vote to the highest bidder? I am an educated, honorable American citizen!”
Are you really?
What makes you believe that? What have you done to demonstrate that you have any actual principles that have not been “force-fed” to you by the overlords of our society? Politically speaking, have you ever taken a real stand for anything?
Be honest.
You are afraid to.
You have listened to those who have warned you against “wasting your vote,” by actually using it for its intended purpose, that is, to reflect your political will, and the will of the people of this great nation.
Instead, every election, you actually have wasted that vote, by refusing to even consider that someone who has not spent umpty million dollars might actually be the most worthy, and the best leader we could ever possibly find.
Don’t you know that this great nation was founded in defiance of the “Divine Right” of kings? That the founders specifically repudiated the idea that money and power should have anything to do with determining the right to rule the people?
Have you ever actually read the Declaration of Independence?
Why not?
Maybe you should.
I’ll help you out a little. Here we go:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, (that means, “So blatantly obvious that further explanation is unnecessary”).
That ALL men (and women, emphasis and paraphrase mine) are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, (that means you have agreed to this!).
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government . . .
Does this ring any bells? Have you “consented” to this? If so, please stop reading now, because this essay is not for you. You already have what you have paid for.
If not, by all means, continue reading.
This essay is for you, the 99%, the heart, the soul, and the backbone of this great Nation.
The gal who pours your coffee every morning, the guy who dumps your trash every week, the flat-footed cop on the beat, the teacher of your children, all of whom do what they do every day, never expecting that they will receive anything that they do not deserve, that they have not worked for, and earned, they are the ones that I write this essay for.
I care not for the millionaires and billionaires, the 1% who are the “owners” of this nation.
I will not mourn their passing, nor should you.
They have had their reward, and their chance to do what was right.
They simply chose not to do it.
Regarding the 1%, I have only this to say:
You will be held accountable.
For every job you sent overseas, so you could get another million in your annual bonus, for the blood money you took for your disloyalty and betrayal of our nation, our people, of our way of life.
“Free Trade.” What a cruel joke. What did you trade our way of life for?
Money, and nothing else. Certainly not idealism, or patriotism.
For every “Joe Sixpack” trying to explain to his children that “We have to move now, because we can’t afford our house anymore,” as he died a little inside, that is also on you.
For every broken man or woman, lying in some ditch somewhere, mumbling to themselves, remembering what they used to have, or do, their misery is upon you.
You put them there. Are you proud? Are you fulfilled?
This was your neighbor, your friend, the guy you went to high school with, the gal at your senior prom.
The proud men and women of this great Nation, who built a fledgling democracy from the ground up, who planted our flag on the Moon, and built roads, bridges, and monuments to Democracy, because they believed in the “American Dream,” who now despair because they cannot provide for their children, their misery is also upon you.
You should be ashamed.
You have everything that you need, plus more. They have nothing, not even dreams. You took those away from them too, you sold them to the highest bidder, overseas, to some foreigner who, like you, delighted in their despair.
Are you happy now? Are you a “success?”
Are you a “patriot?”
I think not.
Do you feel pride in the misery you have created? Will your money comfort you in the next life, as it has in this one? Consider that question most carefully, for “the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous,” and most certainly that is not you.
The price of your betrayal will be paid.
For the rest of us, the 99%, we must also accept some responsibility for letting this happen, because we stood by and watched, and did nothing, even though many of us knew we were being led down a path of destruction. We have watched for years as political offices were bought and sold to the highest bidder. We watched those leaders dance on the strings of their masters, as we let “quarters,” and “dimes” rule us.
I for one would rather have a new, clean, “Liberty” dollar leading this nation. Someone nobody has ever heard of. A person who has spent their whole life in the service of those around them, as they quietly and efficiently did the right thing, without ever being asked or paid to do so. Perhaps that person is reading this essay right now, and humbly thinking to themselves, “He’s right! We really do need someone just like that person, whoever they are!”
The goal of this essay was to provide you with some clarity—to help you see things as they actually are. The choice really is very simple.
This November, you will be asked to “give” away your vote, to “heads” or “tails,” without payment. Or, you will be told repeatedly, by pundits and perhaps even by your “friends,” you can “waste” your vote, and use it to actually express your democratic will.
Which will you choose?
Remember, you will not be paid, for “giving” your vote to heads or tails.
Ask yourself this question:
If I “win” this election (that is, my candidate spends more to “buy” it), what will I, my family, my friends, and my neighbors have “won?”
Anything?
When I wake up, the “morning after,” will I feel regret? Will I want to chew my arm off for casting that “vote?”
Or will I feel pride?
Pride because I took the path less traveled by?
The one that has made “all the difference?”
Choose wisely.
Part IV
The Choice
In Part III, I asked you to “choose wisely” in the upcoming election cycle. I also talked about some of the reasons why we would want to “waste” our votes, or at the very least, honestly sell them at a fair price.
Keep in mind, my purpose is, and always will be, what is best for us, and for the Nation. The selfish focus on the individual, on profit, and on largesse has been our downfall, and it is what has brought us to this point in the first place.
I am not promoting Socialism, or any sort of “revolution” to that purpose. My goal is the reformation of our culture and our society, so that it is forced to evolve into something more closely resembling what the founders intended it to be.
To do that, we must first find that common ground, a place from which legitimate discussion can begin. We must accept the truth.
Very few will disagree with the idea that the system we have in place to establish and lead our government is broken and dysfunctional. Even the 1% will tell you that, as they gleefully work to overcome the few remaining obstacles to their perfect corruption of our society.
They seek what is essentially a return to feudalism and serfdom for us all, whereby the fruits of our daily labors are barely sufficient to sustain us, and any surplus created by that labor accrues solely and entirely to them.
In their more perfect world, they will own everything, from the ground we stand on, to the water we drink, and indeed the very air we breathe. Rest assured, they will find a way to sell you that air, once they have polluted the “free” air to the point that it is no longer safe enough to breathe.
When you wake up one day, and begin to write out your check to the local “Air Company,” remember that I told you so.
Remember also how you laughed in disbelief at the very thought of that coming to pass, as your parents did at the idea that we would one day pay for the water we drink—yet here we are.
It is said that one of the definitions of “insanity” is the mindless repetition of the same fruitless act, over and over again, hoping and predicting that the outcome will somehow, one day, magically be different from the thousand days before it.
Are we then, insane?
Is not our continued vain attempt at finding leadership and reformation from amongst the ranks of the same two failed parties who now own and run the political structure of this country, by this definition, insane? Isn’t more than fifty years of this enough to prove to you that it is in fact, impossible, unlikely, and indeed madness to expect any real deviation from the path of failure we are on now, if we do not ever choose to depart from it?
Think about that for one moment. How can we continue to be “surprised” by the Sun’s continued insistence on rising in the east, and setting in the west, merely because every morning we stare and predict with certainty that it will not? That this morning will be different, this time the sun will rise in the north, and set in the south, and all will be well, and different.
But we know that will not happen.
We know that it is dark at night, and light in the day. We know that we breathe air, and not water. So simple are these facts of existence that to even debate them invites ridicule, yet somehow, vehement discussions of the superiority of “heads” over “tails” take place every day, throughout this land, by “educated” and “informed” individuals, not just by children and idiots, from whom we might expect this kind of babbling disillusionment.
Indeed, we often find ourselves engaged in these types of lame discussions, as if no viable alternatives to this predictable “insanity” even existed.
My fellow Americans, my friends, the 99% of you who are the heart, the soul, and the backbone of this great Nation, I assure you, such a path away from madness, towards the light at the end of the tunnel, does indeed exist.
I have seen it.
It is a world designed with digital evolution, not analog decay and stagnation. It is a country filled with dreams, and dreamers, artists, musicians, athletes, scientists, and builders of all the things that have made this nation greater than any other in the history of the world. I feel so strongly about that phrase, that I will repeat it for you.
“A nation greater than any other in the history of the world.”
How long has it been since you felt the natural pride that you should feel from being a part and party to that greatness? Since you looked around you, at your neighbors, your friends, your family, and said to yourself, “we are the envy of all the world, they hate us for our beauty and our art, for our compassion and great works, which stand as shining beacons of righteousness to every land?”
It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
You see, the 1% have taken even what little we had left from us, that is, our pride.
The products of our minds and hands slip into obscurity amongst those of other nations, as we fall from our lofty perch of eminence to second, and ultimately third-class status amongst our peers.
This is the greatest crime of all. The greatest theft of all.
The loss of our dreams, our passion, our pride at the fruits of our labors, such that we hate the very work we do, and those we do it with. We no longer love our neighbors, we do not rely on them, or trust them, and in fact many of us cannot even name the people who live on either side of us.
Why might that be?
Do you think that this is a normal human condition, or the right way to live, in any society? Remember back to your childhood. I for one could name the folks across and down the street from me, as well as those who lived beside us. I knew and cared that they were safe and secure in their homes, and that their children were as well.
Yet look at us now, we stare and glare at our neighbors for parking in “our” spot, for mowing 4” of our lawn, for allowing their delinquent children to toss a ball into our yards. God forbid that any of them should take from us what little we have left.
As I said, there is a way back from this condition, a return to “sanity,” if you will. But we have to want to get better, and if indeed we do, the rest will be easy. Once we make and accept the choice of taking a different path, clearly and obviously the destination we arrive at will also be different, and in this case, we already know, with utmost certainty, that the road to “more of the same,” leads to nowhere that we have not already been before, and nowhere that we actually want to go.
This is the hardest part of our “recovery.” Acknowledging that we have a problem, and then choosing to get better. Once we make that choice, the rest will be easy. If we know with utter certainty that Plan “A” is a fail plan, knowledge we have gained from years of attempting and failing at it, why on earth would any rational person choose to take that same path yet again?
Once we all have decided that we will no longer attempt Plan A, but are willing and devoted to implementing Plan “B,” we will have taken that first giant step back towards sanity and reform.
My friends, Plan B will lead us to a brighter future, for it most certainly will not be more of the same. Very simply, if each and every one of us merely votes for something other than “heads” or “tails,” actually votes their conscience, then no matter what the outcome, there are two things we can be sure of.
One, that we will have left the known path of destruction, and two, we will have set out upon a path to a different destination, and that our leaders, whoever they may be, will not be beholden to any particular interest, but our own.
They will not have been bought and paid for, to such an extent that they are powerless to act in any way that is beneficial to us. Indeed, our current leaders no longer even remember how to be “public servants.” We the people will have to learn who our new leaders are, and what they represent, and they will not have to unlearn treachery and corruption. They will be “blank slates” upon which we can write our will, the will of the people, not of the few, that the political needs of the many should be met.
The 1% can, and will always be able to take care of themselves. It is for ourselves only that we should be concerned at this point, nothing and no one else.
Not foreign affairs, or wars on foreign shores.
Not how quickly we can ship ever more of our jobs overseas, but how quickly we can bring them back home. Our focus should be on putting Americans to work fixing our problems, rather than on paying the people of other nations to exacerbate them.
Once we have chosen and enacted Plan B, we can begin the path to reformation and reform of our society and culture, and regain our rightful, preeminent place amongst the nations of the world.
We cannot ask other nations to respect us, if we do not respect ourselves.
My friends, my brothers and sisters, the night after election day, sleep peacefully.
Wake up to a brighter future.
Look into the mirror and be proud to say . . .
“I made the right choice.”
Thanks for listening.
You can hear the free author’s read of Part VI, Reconstruction at the website:
johndavidauthor.com
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