Recently I wrote about 90- year-old Justice Stevens retiring and how much our nation had changed during his time. He”s a member of what Tom Brokaw described as “The Greatest Generation,” some of whom have been calling out to me more loudly of late. I”ve written about Will Rogers and his love of all Americans, regardless of their politics, the way he used humor instead of hatred to make his point; but there are so many others we owe so much to, both famous and nameless.
Woodie Guthrie wrote songs that inspired us to love this beautiful and bountiful nation and it”s people. John Steinbeck wrote about social injustice in “Grapes of Wrath.” They gave the “little guy” hope that the promise of justice and equality would bear fruit right here. The working man in this country could actually share in the bounty of his labor. No longer could he be exploited cruelly by the bosses or “company men” swinging pipes at the heads of honest, hard-working Americans. “This land was made for you and me!”
My friend, Jack Sams, was a young man organizing labor in the 1930s when he was warned not to attend a rally. The company hired goons to bash his head in if he spoke. He had the courage to ignore the threat; to do what he knew was needed. His union brothers watched his back. It seems like just the other day we were talking about this, but it”s been nearly 10 years since he passed. I”m sure that some of you reading this remember him too. He had that same spirit of love and respect for his fellow Americans regardless of politics. Many times he told me how much he liked and respected Bill Brunetti.
John Wayne was well known as a conservative. When Kennedy was elected he said “I didn”t vote for him, but he”s my president and I hope he does a good job.” Contrast that with Rush Limbaugh saying just days into Obama”s term, “I hope he fails!” I wasn”t shocked that he said it, just that the nation wasn”t disgusted by what he said.
FDR was told that he was hated by the bankers and the wealthy elite. His response was “I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.” Imagine a politician having that kind of inspirational courage today! Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the “military industrial complex” destroying this nation. No one knew them on a more personal level than Ike; he”s been proven right.
No longer do we honor the worker in this country as the multi-national corporations move their operations offshore to avoid paying taxes and workers. Exxon and GE earned billions in profits last year without paying a dime of federal income tax. Corporations have unlimited access and influence over those who are supposed to represent the people, yet the right-wing activists on the Supreme Court gave them carte blanche to trample citizens for profit.
Why are only programs actually benefiting citizens being targeted by Fox watching extremists? Where were they the day before Obama was sworn in, while the debt soared during the terms of both Bushes and Reagan? Why are they only concerned when a Democrat is in office, investing in education, roads, green energy or health care? Why were they not outraged by staggering, unfunded military spending, needless wars and trillion dollar gifts to the wealthiest few who needed it least?
“No!” and “Fire Congress!” aren”t solutions. Millions of heroes sacrificed everything for us. Honoring that sacrifice requires we have the courage to repair the government they sacrificed for, not abandoning it. We have the framework of the world”s greatest government. It”s up to us, the citizens, to follow the money and get it out of our political system, to re-take control for the good of the people. Don”t be misled into firing the wrong people. It won”t be easy to pry corporate dollars from the hands of politicians, but we must. We”re on the verge of forgetting who we are as a people and where we came from to become a great nation. I hope we don”t.
Lowell Grant is a weekly columnist for the Record-Bee. E-mail him at c21vintage@aol.com.
