ON THE USA: NOW A NATION RULED BY A LOUD AND WEALTHY MINORITY

I was born in, grew up in, and defended in war what I thought was a democracy. You know, a place where we debate ideas and values then vote to decide who we want to represent us for the next two, four, or six years?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that ideal no longer exists in the United States of America. Today a rich and loud minority rules our nation.

As an example, let me start with Congress. In the Senate, where Democrats are in the majority, the Republican minority is able to stop legislation that more than half the members wish to approve. It is called "filibuster," from an old Dutch word meaning privateer or pirate.

Do not confuse this type of filibuster with the one portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. No Republican Senator is required to stand talking for hours and hours. This filibuster is procedural only.

Just the other day a bi-partisan energy savings bill was voted down by a vote of 55-36 in the Senate. Yes, you read that right. It was voted down with 55 ayes and only 36 nays. The only way a bill passes now in the Senate is if it can garner at least 60 votes in favor, thus invoking cloture and ending the filibuster. The why of it befuddles me, but it means the majority no longer rules in the United States Senate.

Not to be outdone, the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have the majority, also has a minority that skews the voting. Republicans in the lower house not only have Democrats to contend with, they also have a wing of their party known as the Tea Party.

The Tea Party wing does not care about making our Federal government work efficiently. These so-called Conservatives think the Federal government is an irritant that needs to be shut down.

They are a decidedly anarchistic part of the Republican Party, claiming Conservative ideals are more important than national governance. They are the same portion of the Republican Party that closed the government down last year led by members like Representatives Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).

But, this minority tyranny does not end with Congress. On other issues, the vociferous minority rules. Let me explain.

According to Gallup surveys, 59% of Americans have no gun in their home and only 13% of citizens believe gun regulations should be less restrictive. Yet, states like Georgia, Florida and others keep passing laws that loosen restrictions on gun owners.

The fact that the National Rifle Association has only about 3 million members within a nation of more than 300 million people proves the NRA is a considerable minority, unworthy of the power it yields.

But, with huge sums of money given them by the gun and ammo manufacturers, they hold sway in Congress. The NRA provides direct campaign financing and PAC money to members in vast quantities. Their strong-arm tactics, where they publicly grade politicians as to how they voted on what the NRA wants passed, is legendary. Our weak-willed Congress members dare not stand up for constituent desire and need.

Americans want immigration reform, as does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and most large businesses, but we do not get it.  The Tea Party believes that all persons who live in the United States without proper paperwork should leave the country...all estimated 11 million of them.  And, if they do not, there will be no immigration reform. A small portion of one party holds sway over all Americans.

Who do these Tea Party Americans listen to? They listen to the voices of people looking for ratings on their media shows. Rush Limbaugh screams outrage. Glenn Beck bubbles over with bizarre conjecture. FOX News concocts the same tag lines for all its "newscasters." These are not people elected by voters to govern. These are self-absorbed dilettantes who use controversy to boost ratings and put money into their own pockets.

Now, thanks to the Supreme Court allowing a free flow of corporate dollars into our election process, people like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, another group of self-interested billionaires, can throw money into campaigns like it is confetti. These wealthy men do not care about politics, they care about controlling politicians who will allow their respective businesses to grow without taxation or regulation.

Last February I wrote about our atrocious voting record, especially in non-Presidential candidate years like 2014. [Click Here for Full Blog] In the last four off-year Congressional voting cycles we have just barely averaged 37% of voters going to the polls.  37%!!

So, barely one-third of our citizens elect the characters that only 13.6% of us approve. Do you get the picture? Like idiots, Americans stay away from the polls and expect wonderful things to happen. No wonder nothing gets done!

Until a majority of Americans get off their collective arses and vote none of this will change. Congress will remain a pit of self-absorbed and graft-taking hacks that includes anarchists.

The upper 1% of the wealthy will control what trickles down to each of us at our jobs. People will continue to use semi-automatic, military-style weaponry to kill large numbers of us at the mall, the movie theatre, and at the job site. Screaming idiots will go on spewing hate from our TV and our radio to increase their advertising revenue.

And, most importantly, we will continue to disintegrate into a nation of third-rate schools, deteriorating bridges and roads, and racially-profiled and incarcerated citizens.

Nothing will change in America unless first Americans change.