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Many in Baltimore would say No.
When rioters cut the water hoses as firemen struggle to keep a fire from consuming an entire neighbor, you scratch your head.
When violent looters take advantage of the valid protest for color-blind justice, it is sad.
It seems there is a latent underlying sense of powerless in so many.
Our economy and society depend on most people feeling the system is working for them.
But a growing sense of powerlessness in all aspects of our lives
-- as workers, consumers, and voters --
is convincing most people the system is working only for those at the top.
Powerlessness comes from a lack of meaningful choice.
Big institutions don't have to be responsive to us
because we can't penalize them by going to a competitor.
Fifty years ago, a third of private-sector workers belonged to labor unions.
This gave workers bargaining power to get a significant share of the economy's gains along with better working conditions -- and a voice.
Now, fewer than 7 percent of private sector workers are unionized.
The companies we work for,
the businesses we buy from,
and the political system we participate in all seem to have grown less accountable.
I hear it over and over:
They don't care; our voices don't count.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Yeah, the death of unions means the death of protections for average workers. Unions were not perfect, but the correct response was to work to fix unions, not dismantle them altogether. The middle class is being gutted as we watch our tvs and mobile devices and pretend that nothing is wrong.
ReplyDeleteTed:
ReplyDeleteIt is sad: so many died to bring about the birth of unions and then the corrupt labor leaders killed them -- and killed the hope of our nation's workers. You're also right about our TV's and mobile devices being the modern equivalent to BREAD & CIRCUSES. Sigh.
Hi Roland .. I know Baltimore is in crisis - and tonight I'll watch more ... I don't think mob enticement is good for any of us .. and firing an old people's complex is ridiculous ... and cutting water hoses ...
ReplyDeleteBut - treating any human being as badly as Freddie was is totally inhumane ... and someone has to not tolerate that treatment ...
However each side is crossing the line .. it's not going to be easy - Hilary
I meant incitement (for enticement) .. H
DeleteHilary:
ReplyDeleteI know what you meant and mean. :-( I believe that there is a segment in all humans that wait for an excuse to destroy just for the sheer excitement of destroying. You do not save your community by destroying it. :-(
I think this thing is bad for everyone, not just Baltimore. I don't think these people realize what they are starting and they really don't care.
ReplyDeleteThe system IS broken. The government and corporations want more and more control.
Ruth:
ReplyDeleteThe System Is broken, and average citizens feel powerless and unheard. Once a fire is started, it does not care who it burns!
When life was economically better for most Americans in the 50s and 60s (civil rights were not, however), and in the 70s, and now the middle class is being destroyed, then our system is imploding. But those rioters were not trying to take down the top 1%. They were hurting middle and lower class people and businesses. In one case rioters destroyed and looted the small mom-and-pop shop run by an immigrant Chinese family.
ReplyDeleteIf they had gone after the ruthless power brokers, I could have supported them. But they didn't, and the ruthless people are still in charge. So very sad.