Thursday, August 4, 2011

Trickle-Down

Trickle-down economics, trickle-down politics, two failed ideas, yet the two driving forces behind American domestic policies. The Federal Government is the top of the food chain, with money trickling down to the states and the people. But just as the wealthy hoard their money, so does the government hoard its power. When little or nothing is reaching the citizenry, we have to accept that the Federal Government no longer serves a purpose in our lives. We can longer expect it to be there for us, to lend a hand when needed, or to provide even the basic services our civilization demands. So what do we do?

I have been toying with the idea of a silent revolution. We do not need to take up arms, it is most likely impossible that we can reform anything from the top down, so we need to rebuild from the bottom up. For one moment, imagine the United States does not exist. Imagine the city, county and state you live in provide the only forms of governance in your life. Even then the state is pretty far removed from your daily life. So take your county, your city, your neighborhood. The people, places and things you interact with on a daily basis. Now imagine what life could be like if We the People focused on the small issues in front of our face, if we didn't rely on some Big Government to provide solutions and answers. If we want clean energy, health care, healthy food, etc. maybe it is time we provided it for ourselves. Maybe it is time we banded together in our neighborhoods and our cities and fought for our own common good.

Why should someone in Seattle have to suffer the decisions made in DC? Why should the vast majority of Americans suffer at the hands of a few. If our government is going to promote a system of vast inequality, then we can no longer believe in or rely on our government. We must take it back, piece by piece, step by step. Changing the faces at the top of the ladder and expecting prosperity to trickle-down to us, is a strategy of defeat. But taking governance in to our own hands, while risky, difficult and dangerous, may be our only path to victory.

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