Legitimate Protest in New York?

Charles Krauthammer’s recent brimstone lecture to those daring to protest the Wall Street greed and subterfuge that led to the present economic crisis is more amusing than it is alarming.  Amusing because it seems to have sprung more from concern that this movement could derail Republican plans for 2012.  Otherwise, wouldn’t Mr. Krauthammer simply ignore it since it is—in his eyes and in the eyes of FOX and a bevy of other conservative pundits—bereft of a specific set of goals, not significant when compared to the Tea Party, and full of privileged ipad carrying liberal kids who are just spoiled?

That Herman Cain spoke of these protesters in equally derisive terms was not surprising.  That his comments—and a cavalcade of similar comments—are meant to be applied to the middle class unemployed as a whole is more alarming.  The message:  if you’re out of work and struggling, it’s your fault.   If you’re not rich, it’s your fault.  Wall Street, according to these pundits, earned their fat bank accounts, water view mansions, and heated leather-seat luxury cars the old-fashioned way.
So who’s at fault?  If we believe the Tea Party Express, the Obama Administration is entirely at fault.  It was Obama, and he alone, that drove up the federal debt to buy his way with Wall Street by throwing money at them and giving them a free ride despite overwhelming evidence that they gamed the system in ways unimaginable.  Do these pundits really think that the average American, even the average college-educated American, could possibly have comprehended the algorithms used to game an already complex financial system stacked against the American worker and the American consumer? 

And yet, of these three participants in the death dance of the American economy—the federal government, Wall Street, and American workers—the only one blameless is the one that had the most to do with it.

As far as the issue of legitimate protest, I’ll let others figure it out.  Tea Party activists put a lot of time and effort into creating racist placards and spent some time harassing and spitting on elected legislators.  Their supporters will deny these facts.   The protesters in New York and elsewhere do not have a cogent message—but they reflect a growing national anger.   If the only result of their protests is the increasing coverage they’re getting  (with even FOX NEWS getting into the mix), then that will have been worth the effort. 

I’m hoping that they coalesce enough to have a profound effect on the next election.  Both parties have participated equally in the debacle we now face, and both deserve to be brought down to size.

THE NEW POLITICAL SEASON

We are entering the 2012 presidential race--as the new media never ceases to remind us--and I don't see any other way to approach it. The campaign season is a coming storm that arrives slowly, almost in slow motion. It sucks the air out of the air. It spins like a giant big wall cyclone. And while the two parties stake out their own camps and plans for battle, they seem relatively the same; cut from the same broadcloth; lacking in imagination.

At recent republican debates, we've been witness to crowd cheers and applause. Tea party activists have applied their purity tests with wild abandon. They've celebrated the number of executions under Texas Governor Rick Perry. They've booed a gay soldier with a heartbreaking story to tell. And they've shown no compassion for those unable to get health care and even those who have died for lack of care and resources. And they're supposed to be representative of the pro-life movement?

But the Obama White House has been equally skilled at honing its recent message to market itself for the election season. The jobs plan tour has taken him to the states he needs to win in 2012 and yet his advisors will say there is no political intent in this action plan. He's just selling jobs.

Meanwhile, millions of Americans are out of work. Sold down the river by political inaction, by 3 decades of increased globalization and a government bailout of the national moneyed class that let their greed get the best of them. The economy we now face, the very one that is sucking the life out of the middle class, was created intentionally by the very greed that was rewarded by both parties.

Republicans denigrate a new class warfare. Democrats try to look like they're doing something useful to help the middle class. The only real class warfare is the one that has been going on since Reagon took office. It's the one that has effectively shrunk the very segment of our population from which has sprung this nation's ingenuity, work ethic, and creation of goods.

A new political season is upon us. But there's no reason to believe that the status quo created by the two parties--working in concert in ways that they may not fully realize--will bring positive change for the vast majority of Americans suffering in these economic times.

TOO MUCH TIME IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER

Writing, for some, is an art form. It is approached from the standpoint of using the English language in new and interesting ways, or taking the novel in a new direction. Some writers have read a lot of Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, or others in the Southern Gothic field and they may find themselves incorporating similar themes and textures into their own works. Others read Pat Conroy's page turners and notice his sales and dream of emulating his success by coming up with the next beach novel. The right mix of social upheaval (within the world of that work of fiction), sex and some violence: it's a like a recipe and it works if the measure used for each ingredient is just right.

Writers like Stephen King may fall into both categories: the novelist who works to hone his craft and the book writer with marketing on his/her mind. In today's world, if one looks across the landscapes that comprise the internet, millions of would-be creative artists are vying for public attention. Right now, I am one of them. But I join the ranks of so many that I have to do something to cut through the crop. Internet advertising ventures are waiting to scoop up newcomers like me who read about others who claim to have made their first million from a new book. And it's debatable whether or not any of these campaigns are any more effective than simple word of mouth and step by step introductions (on forums and in social networks).

But what are the chances? Bad writers have made money. Good writers are still waiting to recoup their costs. And some great writers have been lucky: they've written wonderful books that are selling. The advice that makes sense--advice that I've not yet quite taken--is to take some time to market but avoid getting obsessive about it. Keep your computer time short. Write another book. And make time to get out of the house and enjoy the outside world.

This advice falls into the category of easier said than done, but it's advice that I haven't always followed. When my daughter tells me that I'm spending too much time in front of the computer I realize just one thing: I'm spending too much time in front of the computer.