I was watching “The Colbert Report” recently because at the end of the week, I’d rather get pseudo news with a laugh. Usually I get a healthy dose of humor with Stephen’s show, keeping me from getting too downtrodden with all the doom and gloom in the world; however, one statistic he alerted me to was a definite wake up call. Nearly half of Congress are millionaires.
When you think about it, it’s really no surprise that the majority of people complain that their representatives aren’t pulling for them, politically. They would if it also helped them.
Between these figures and the other huge power-holders in this country, it’s not easy to stay optimistic.
Something else I’ve been thinking a lot about: GMO’s are impossible to avoid. Thanks to corporations like Monsanto (who is responsible for Roundup, plastics, and Coca-Cola’s artificial sweetener), nearly everything we eat (yes, even the “organic” stuff) has been modified and made unnatural. Insurance companies are practically sleeping with these companies, and many of them are also affiliated with the EPA.
When you start looking at who controls what in this country, it turns into a giant loop. Communications are monopolized, too. I bet you didn’t know that ABC News and Lifetime were owned by the same people – Disney. Or that General Electric owns Universal Studios and NBC. Or that PepsiCo is an umbrella over Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay – that means Quaker oatmeal, Tropicana, and Cheetos are all the same deal. Boca Burgers, Nabisco, and Toblerone are all owned by Kraft.
It’s upsetting that American broadcast news likes to point fingers at everyone but the domestic culprits. It’s so much easier to show how other countries have wide gaps in wealth distribution, disparages, and corruption. When it comes to our own downfalls, we’d rather just ignore them and go on pretending that we’re the world’s model for justice, freedom, and practicality. Here’s hoping we all wake up sooner rather than later.
