I’ll never understand the right’s obsession, nay fear, of socialism “sneaking” in to our lives. It’s readily apparent that America has been picking and choosing chunks of governance philosophy for most of its existence. They fear this socialist uprising, yet bat no eyelash to the bulldozing of separation of church and state. For some reason, to top all of this off is the mystifying, stymieing, protection of the wealthy that most of the right is embracing with open arms.
Unfortunately, our media is helping push this bologna along with the objective eye that news has two sides. Typically, an opinion piece in the paper will be festooned with a writers affiliations (if there are any). It’s a great way to tell a buzzword, dog whistle laden, think tank hit piece from your neighbor down the street’s Fox News, buzzword, dog whistle laden bile explosion. Problem is, not that many newspapers or websites will run these credits with the words, and just lay them out there as fact. Hence, we get the old fashioned “Well I heard, that in the one place, they do (insert evil Liberal overreach)” or the fast belief that Sharia law is somehow invading our court system. You know, that silly tin foil hat bullshit that somehow is given credence because it’s run nonstop of 24 hour “news” networks, then picked up by major networks as a “B-Side” to the other side of a story.
Rebekah Rast, from The Americans for Limited Government (is there really any other?), writes about how a school in Detroit is doing the socialist bricklaying by allowing ALL children to get free lunch. This is done as to not shame the poor kids, who “…would skip important meals to avoid being identified as low income”. She goes on to further twist that this would then lead to the rich believing they should be privy to welfare checks, food stamps and government assisted housing.
It’s bullshit to assume that “rich” people would just start taking government subsidies, when wealth provides you with the hubris to turn your nose up at those who are living below you. There’s a pride in it, and you can see it every day if you look hard enough. Even those with barely a leg up over their more impoverished neighbors still cast a dejecting eye at those perceived below them.
As a child, I consumed a fair amount of free and reduced meals. I was never shamed of it, as I was a growing boy and constantly hungry. I was not ill care for at home, however. But my parents, who worked full time, did not have the time to brown bag me a frou-frou bagged lunch. Did I feel like a got the short of the stick sometimes, especially when friends would pull out warm wishing little notes with their sandwiches and puddings? Of course. But I was being fed and taken care of, with the tax dollars my parents put in to make sure of it.
Ms. Rast also mistakes, as I assume she NEVER ate a free lunch, that the stigma is wrought from consumption of free lunch. If you are poor, people know it. Kids are insanely keen and harsely judge, from an early age and probably learned from their parents, on appearance and in the rough and tumble world they roam, eating a free lunch is the least of your worries. It’s not like you can hide your ratty clothes, or lack of general hygiene.
To top this all of the “Healthy-Hunger Free Kids Act” will not even be put in place until 2014! It’s not even set in stone, yet we have groups like The Americans for Limited Government up in arms about it’s societal implosion and road paving to Russia fear baiting horseshit. It’s the same with “Obamacare” most of what that bill does doesn’t even come in to real action until 2014 and already it’s safe to say its impact will be negligible, in fact I’m sure the health care companies, who run on and for profit are so saddened by the sudden influx of new cash cows! The horror, America!
While the newspaper I found this appalling garbage in rightfully credited it to a writer from the very think tank she represented, many will not. They will post this up in the opinion section as if it were written by someone from town, or just another side of a story that’s patently false in every sense of the word. Even more disgusting is the fact that Ms. Rast quotes the president of the very think tank she’s writing for. Are you rewarded with head pats for a job well done Ms. Rast?
It’s been proven that a well fed child performs better in school, is more alert, and functions better in the classroom. It is also entire reason that the school provides food for children, and expanded it to include breakfast. There is a general societal/cultural awareness to make sure we take care of our children, as it a cornerstone for the supposed “future” these right wing buffoons are always going on about.
Most discouraging of all is this backhanded methodology in dealing with any of the societal woes facing American today. That if we took this twisted think tank logic and applied it elsewhere the kind of howls would erupt from the right wingers. For example, what about farm subsidies? Why should taxpayers have to prop up farmers when they lose their crops to drought, malfeasance or lack of forethought? Doesn’t that create a stigma when a poor farmer needs government assistance to help replenish his drought ridden farmland. Or the copious tax breaks to Agriculture monoliths like Monsanto, who are continually punitive to small farmers who will not use their products?
There’s always going to be an element of selfishness cloaked in piety, it’s (mostly) the American way for the upper class of this society. Ms. Rast is one of many think tank stooges that continues to fan the flame of class warfare in this country that has been brewing for some time. Though it is disguised as the classic “oh no they’re trying to get socialism in our America” nonsense, it is indeed a dog whistle for those among the right wing to avoid doing their part to help their neighbors and communities. Because what is not told is that these “lesser” people if they cave and fall, they take everything with it. The crime rate explodes, house values already at precarious levels fall even further. Look no further than the fanciful fever dream Detroit Ms. Rast and her think tank provided in her column. It’s STILL being ravaged by this recession and it’s decline didn’t start nearly three years ago when Obama became president as you are lead to believe.
It’s going to be a sad day when using our taxpayer dollars to repair and propel our great societal net is viewed as anything less as the least we can do for those less fortunate than the rest of us. I personally am perfectly fine in paying more taxes to keep every child who hungers fed. This is our future we’re talking about here, do we wish to set a good example, or a poor one? You’d think that the great societies who brought us these programs, who laid out a plan, would be inspiration enough. Sadly, wealthy people out there seem to think you can take it with you when you go, or are more than happy to pour taxpayer money down their corporate whore holes to continue to spread buffoonery much on par with Ms. Rast and her think tank overlords.
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