The Virtue of Change

Ah, change is in the air. Finally, we are talking about change – real change. Yes, change. No one wants to continue down the road our politicians have laid out for us, so let's vote them in again so they can show us the true way, the better way, the new way. Once again, the same blind guides (though they do seem to know their way to our wallets) will lead the blind down the same path while whispering in our ears, "change, change, change." What they really have in mind is the monetary form of change, as in coins – a little here, a little there. What's another one percent?

Don't be surprised if they raise their fees for the enlightened guidance they offer us. At least a mugger runs away and doesn't continue forcing his way onto the victim, chaining the victim down with rules and regulations for safety and protection (I'll leave it to you to figure out who is really saved and protected). The thief doesn't insult the victim's intelligence with lies: that all is for good, that everything is for the victim's benefit. The robber has honor. Words mean the same for both thief and victim; robbery is robbery; kidnapping is kidnapping; slavery is slavery.

Victim and thief use the same words in the same way, but our kind benevolent all knowing guides who lead us and spend our money on things we don't want and don't need call the forty percent they take from us a tax given for the benefit of society, but it's nothing more than forced labor. And, how is that different from slavery? Don't laugh. Think about it. Up to forty percent of our working life, the government demands. Up to forty percent of our labor, the government takes. That is forced labor; that is slavery. And where does the money go? Who benefits from the government contracts, the monopolies, and the regulations?

Take, for example, the Jones Act. It's a regulation that effectively gives Matson its monopoly on shipping to Hawai'i. Matson, a subsidiary of Alexander and Baldwin, does not want an exemption for Hawai'i. That would cut into business. Who benefits? Well obviously Matson/Alexander and Baldwin benefit, but also the politicians supporting the Jones Act, who receive support and contributions from you know who, and always the Hawai'i consumer pays for it all in higher prices created by a monopoly and taxes. Of course, we could vote them out of office, that would be real change, but we don't. We believe their lies. We continue to put up with the façade they built, ever complaining but never acting. They love our apathy; they thrive on it.

So, I commend Ed Enos, Eliza Talbot and Willis Lee of the Hawai'i GOP for questioning the Democrats' seriousness in calling for change. They must have had the recent Republican convention in mind, an example of change that was no change, that offered no debates, adopted the same platform of 2006, and exhibited a continued lack (or fear?) of ideas and imagination (although they did 'change' the rules quite a bit). Obviously, the GOP has flexibility: sometimes the microphones were on - sometimes they were off. Some people could speak; others could not. Some years, they posted the tally; this year it was no one's business.

I'm glad Mr. Lee wants more Republicans, except, of course, Ron Paul supporters. Senator Hemmings has an interesting way of showing Aloha. I don't know what his idea of "right-wing" is, but the Ron Paul supporters didn't look "right-wing" to me. Maybe he got carried away, and just meant to say "whacko." I mean a lot of them didn't look Republican: there were college students and teachers, business owners and laborers, young and old, short hair and long hair, Aloha shirts and tee shirts, slacks and shorts, and Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. Either way, he showed his contempt for Conservatives, Evangelicals, and Libertarians (I won't comment on his quoting the vice-President in response to a delegate's question – so classy, so charming. Ok, I can't help myself).

Yes, the Republicans and the Democrats want our love, our respect, our property, our labor, our obedience, and of course, our money. They want power, but they don't want our questions. They want the status quo, calling it change, but they don't want us to change the debate. They don't want an upstart doctor and his followers questioning the status quo on tax policy, monetary policy, foreign policy, economic policy, health care, constitutional law, civil rights, and the wars on drugs and terror (and don't forget the Jones Act giving Matson its monopoly on shipping!). No, the Democrats and the Republicans want a meaningless word to inspire us to follow them down the same road that leads nowhere, and always at our expense.

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