The Nature of Protest

The history of union bashing does not begin with Ronald Reagan but he certainly contributed to dissipation of modern day unionism and the general rights and expectations of workers.

Essentially we have been living with a 25 year wage freeze while being asked to contribute more towards health care, retirement and child care. The rich do get richer and the worker becomes more efficient, productive and profitable yet the bosses have rewarded us by adding a hiring freeze to the pay stagnation. What diligent employer wouldn't want to abolish unions, limit wages and benefits and squeeze out product and profit while limiting resources?

Government employers did make the mistake of promising too much and of not engaging unions in serious collective discussions about the economics of public employment. We've got lousy teachers that cannot be fired, cops and firemen who retire in their early 50's at near full pay, forever and legislators that retire on full pension only to become lobbyists and sell influence for the money changers.

As we watch the revolutionary progression in Egypt and elsewhere we see that after just a few weeks the language of protest moves directly from talk of rights and freedom to demands for money. Even the strongarm police boldly ask for a raise. The poor economy of this marginal leader of Arabic Africa is rife with strikes, inactivity and impossible demands. As we have seen the young Egyptians are educated, articulate and energetic but it will take decades to grow a viable economy out of the fiscal Sahara left behind by the centuries of Pharaohism.

Even our own revolution was more a product of farseeing wealthy plantation owners unwilling to share abundant resources with a colonial master than a highminded desire for rights or freedom. Democracy was notihing more than a freewheeling framework for capitalistic expansion and exploitation. As it is today.

Wealthy potentates buy off the mob with subsidies; free bread, cheap gas, social security and medical care. The idiot governor of Wisconsin takes a slash at public employees and gets a riot and if the morons in Washington start tinkering with entitlements all bets are off. For gods sake, the money is out there it's just in the wrong hands. We have an attitude problem, even the poorest of us can't get beyond self interest and we have a serious problem with the distribution not only of wealth but of energies. There's plenty of work to be done in this world but it isn't being addressed in the board rooms or considered in our cubicles, churches or public forums.

I fear an American Revolution that will be petty, low-minded and selfish. We can do bettter than that.