What Really Counts?

October 26, 2014

Voices, Politics / Current Events

Rumor has it that Gubernatorial candidate Gary King is traveling around the state on a listening tour, hunkering down in every little burg and hamlet to hear people bitch about their problems. Doesn’t he get it?

These little people with their little issues don’t count anymore. The good and kind folks with the money are the People now. That and the companies are also Human.

If you have fifteen billion dollars, you are a human being. If you don’t have a job, or you are a teacher, or make less than two hunderd thou a year, you are just another member of the hoy polloy, the great unwashed, the ignorant masses, the general public.

We are just beginning a brave new experiment in our country. We have all the trappings of democracy and none of the substance. This, gentle reader, has been tried before throughout history, quite successfully, I might add. It’s called oligarchy. I can scarcely spell this big ol’ word that means essentially, “Let the guys with the dough run things.”  This democracy crap was always overrated anyway, doncha know?

Frankly I’m relieved as hell that I don’t have to think about all these damn policy complexities and candidates any more. I can just see who has the biggest campaign chest, and vote for that chosen one who has all the clams and whose message is the only one to get out anyway. Maybe I just shouldn’t even bother to vote.

I can just go back to Facebook where I spend twenty hours a day and give all my friends the thumbs up telling them all I like whatever it was they said in their post. Our once and future governor, Sus is on Facebook too. Take a good, hard look at Susana on Facebook. Take a good, hard look at Susana during her recent TV debate with whatshisface. Suze always ends her sentences by raising her voice, so there’s a hysterical little edge to everything she says. I like that. She is exceptionally predictable. I like that.   

When she began her time as governor, she abolished the Commission of the Status of Women by asking what the commissioners could possibly do all day long. And now, Susie is asking what teachers do during those months when they are not teaching. If you have a job here in sunland, the gov. knows you should work all the time every day or you are a parasite. Forget about family. You can’t possibly make enough here in New Mexico to support them, so just forget about seeing your kids. They can grow up without you. Chances are you will lose your job in any case, or you never had a job in the first place.  In any case, you just don’t count.

It used to matter if people had no work, or they were starving, or they were insane because there was no opportunity anywhere. Now you can just sit there and do the Facebook thing. If I were you, I wouldn’t even bother to vote. Stay home, eat bon bons, cruise Fb, let the People who are wiser and smarter than you can ever be run the state, run the country, run the world. They were smart enough to make all that money, weren’t they? I’m putting up a post about how capitalism really, really works. Hope you read it and give me a big ol’ “like!”




This piece was written by:

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James Burbank

James Burbank has written and published over 200 articles for regional and national publications such as Reuters International News Service, The World & I Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, Farmer’s Almanac, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, La Opinion, New Mexico Magazine, Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Tribune. He is author of Retirement New Mexico, the best selling book published by New Mexico Magazine Press, now in its third edition. He is also author of Vanishing Lobo: the Mexican Wolf in the Southwest, published by Johnson Books.

As a professional writing consultant, he has written and edited publications, video and radio scripts, annual reports, and investment information for a wide variety of corporate clients. A Lecturer II for the Department of English, Burbank has specialized in teaching technical writing and professional writing. His interests extend from composition and writing theory to environmental and nature writing. He has played a leadership role in developing and implementing the English Department’s teaching mentorship program.


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