In his autobiographical book, Born A Crime, Trevor Noah cleverly points out the asinine aspects of apartheid and racism. It is a real eye-opener. The reader has to ask the question, “Why was this so crazy?” Yes, there is an explanation. The history is there.
But behind the history is a constant, motivational force: the lust for power and wealth. We know that. Many religious traditions point that out. Because it is so pervasive, we are blind to it. It is kind of like a building we drive by every day, so familiar we don’t notice it until it is torn down.
Apartheid and racism are like a pain we endure for so long, we cease to notice it until it’s gone.
So the question that confronts us is, why are we keeping the pain?
- Why do we have poverty in the richest Nation on earth?
- Why do we have homelessness, when we have the capacity to build enough homes for everyone?
- Why do we have people suffering from lack of adequate health care, when other Countries, even poor ones, provide health care for everyone?
- Why do our children have huge student loan debts, when other Countries provide free college education?
- Finally, why do we blame our Government, when it is we who elected those who do not have our interests at heart?
Serious students of history realize there have been centuries of emperors, kings, czars, etc. and a nobility, an aristocracy. Supporting their wealth, power, and privilege have been the serfs and slaves. This organization of society is man-made. The rules are made by the wealthy, for the wealthy. Our American experiment of government (rulemaking) “by the people [and] for the people” has collapsed!
The privileged elite maintain control like they have for millennia: divide and conquer. Our society is no different. Blame the immigrants, blame the blacks, blame the Muslims, blame the Jews. Or–we could elect new rule makers! None of our problems are unsolvable; they are all man-made. We need to see through the fallacy of a “free market.” It doesn’t exist and never did. Someone has always made the rules; perhaps the man with the biggest sword or the Nation with the biggest bomb. We need to realize it.
Noah examines the saying, “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Noah points out what is missing from this adage. He needs a fishing rod. You can know how to fish, but if you don’t have anything to fish with, you’re out of luck. Worse, if some SOB poisoned all the fish in the river, because they had regulations changed to put more money into their pocket, you and everyone else is screwed.
We need more than just the knowledge and the right tools to survive. We need the right environment. We need the regulations in order, to protect us from the sociopaths trying to run our society and ruin our environment. We need to think about what kind of society we want for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.
We can have a single-payer health care system. No premiums, no deductibles, no co-pay. If your doctor says you need a treatment, there would be no waiting for an insurance company’s approval. This is House Bill 676 introduced by Congressman John Conyors, Jr. and co-sponsored by 82 other members of Congress. It included dental care, eye care, and mental health. It’s possible. Our State and Local Governments could spend our tax dollars that go to for-profit health insurance companies on something more beneficial. This one shift would help create a healthier, better society.<
Senator Al Franken has introduced a bill in the Senate that would drive down the cost of prescription drugs. It would allow the Government to negotiate the prices and make generic versions available earlier. It would save Medicare $24 billion every year. Its official title is “Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act.” This would end prescription drug price gouging.
President Trump has promised “beautiful” health care for everyone and that he would end prescription drug price gouging. He has not even mentioned these two proposals. Unfortunately, our media, t.v., and newspapers have not kept us informed. That is part of our problem–a lack of vital information. Those who control the media, control the conversation. Think, how many drug ads do you see on t.v.? The plethora of drug ad figures into drug cost.
Part of getting rich and staying rich is having slaves. Slavery in the United States has been ruled out–thankfully–so the next “best” thing is cheap labor costs. Having to pay a living wage means less money in the pockets of the wealthy 1% of of society–those who have garnered all new income growth for decades. So, they argue against higher minimum wage laws; stricter overtime laws, etc.
Ask yourself, what would our society be like, if everyone had a job paying a decent wage?
We could create more jobs by going from a 40-hour work week to a 32-hour work week. In the future we will have to; automation will continue to eliminate jobs.
Ultimately, to create a better society we need to create a better system for distributing the wealth we create. That won’t happen until we change the rule makers. Trevor Noah saw this happen in South Africa. Apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela became President. Their society is better, but it still has a long way to go.
Life for everyone here also can be better. We have to make it happen! But be aware, wealth, power, and privilege do not easily surrender.