Who Are We?

Patriotism is for sale. Major news sources are now reporting that the military often pays for the patriotic gestures we see at sporting events. That means that you and I, the American taxpayers, are paying major league sports teams to be patriotic.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, an outlandish buffoon of a business man, and Dr. Ben Carson, a famous surgeon that believes gay sex in prison proves that you can choose to be gay, are the front runners for the republican candidate for president.

The college football playoff rankings were released for the first time this year. That's the biggest news story on Yahoo! Election results from Tuesday aren't nearly as important as sports. 

People on Facebook are posting pictures stating that the heroin epidemic is more important than gun control. Thousands of Americans have already died this year, from heroin and from gun violence. A thousand more will die before the end of the year, while we debate which battle is more important.

Some jackass millionaire bought a pharmaceutical company that sold an important AIDS medication. He immediately raised the price of the medicine to astronomical proportions. It's completely legal to do that in America, because you know, capitalism and shit. He promises to lower the price, but he hasn't yet.

The starting quarterback at Ohio State University is suspended for one game because he got a DUI. When the news broke on the assembly line at work, Michigan fans jumped up and down, hollering and celebrating. A 20 year old college student making a terrible decision is cause for jubilation for many. Meanwhile, a freshman punter for the Michigan Wolverines, botched a play that led to an improbable loss, and then received death threats from fans. Yes, we now live in a country, where people take their sports so seriously, they are willing to kill teenagers that play those sports.

In Chicago, a 9 year old boy was gunned down. Police believe the shooting was perpetrated by gang members.

My wife just told me tonight, that folks are bashing Dr. Ben Carson's wife. She does not fit the mold of what an attractive woman is supposed to look like in America. I think the Carsons are fucking nuts, but I don't think it's ever ok to bash a woman because of the way she looks.

America the great? Not even close. Hasn't been great for a long time. I'm not sure that we're even mediocre anymore, and I'm terrified that folks just mindlessly shuffle through their daily life, without giving a second thought to the sickness all around us.

I'm sure that the next meme you post on Facebook will turn it all around though. Maybe clicking like on Donald Trump's next post, or re-tweeting Bernie's tweet will do the trick.

We'll save all of the heroin addicts if we just stop worrying about the fucking guns.

The Pentagon will pay millions to make sure a giant flag is unfurled on Monday Night Football. The NFL will tweet a picture of it, proving they love America and support the troops, while their superstars are trying not to get their heads knocked off, all in the name of entertainment. Yesterday's football hero is driving around lost, because he can't remember where he lives, and the NFL pockets another couple of million dollars. A thousand more young people will enlist in the military, keeping the war dreams of the rich rolling. Gotta fight ISIS. Gotta fight those terrorists. Gotta keep Israel safe. God bless the U.S.A.

College kids will keep doing dumb things, because they're college kids. We'll pray that they don't play for our favorite University. Keep those championship dreams alive, until our kids fuck up, then we'll threaten them with death.

I don't even know who America is anymore. The sickness runs so deep, I don't know if it can ever be changed.

I asked a coworker the other day, "Why aren't any common people a serious candidate for President?" We both agreed it's because of money. The common folk don't have enough of it. I asked him how we could change that. "It has to be burned to the ground, and be started all over," he replied. He and I don't always agree on political issues, but both of us agree, none of the politicians give a fuck about either one of us.

Someone needs to start a fire.