99 Reasons To Be Mad As Hell
It’s a dangerous world out there, both outside and within our borders. The enemy within is the political hypocrisy of our leaders and the political surrender of the electorate.
There’s change and then there’s real change.
Every time I hear a politician say the phrase, “what this country needs is change,” as if he or she were the first to utter such a bold new concept, I have to fight the urge to throw something at the TV. The kind of change politicians like to bray about is purely cosmetic, a way to dress up the status quo in new clothes and cheap lipstick so that big government and big business can continue to sap the life out of this great country.
The powerful love it the way it is now. After all, they’ve gotten rich, fat, and happy through our declined system. But most people have had to live with the crumbs from the table. A lot of Americans have simply given up hope for anything better. They’re so busy just trying to survive big inflation, big oil prices, big taxes, big health costs, and big mortgages; they don’t feel like they have the time or the energy to make a difference. And if you think it’s bad today, just hang around for a decade or so. If our government continues on its current path, we can look forward to widespread bankruptcy, depression, and a much lower standard of living. That’s why we can’t wait. That’s why we have to act now, and shake off the political, social, and financial malaise that has been building in this country over many years.
We need change. There’s no doubt about it. But when I talk about change, I don’t mean the kind of namby-pamby “change” politicians like to use in slogans. I don’t care about rhetoric and symbolic gestures. I mean the kind of radical, top-to-bottom change Thomas Jefferson was talking about when he said, “Every generation should have its own revolution.” (By my count, that means we’re about ten generations behind the curve.) If that kind of talk scares you or seems too extreme, please close this book, jump in your SUV, lock the doors of your rolling castle, and floor it back to Disneyland where you can feel safe again. But if you want to hear what both Republicans and Democrats, lack the courage to confront then keep reading. And fasten your seatbelt. You’re gonna need it.
Righteous Indignation is Patriotic
As I researched and wrote about the massive problems facing our nation, I kept asking myself, where is our idealistic rage as a people, our honor, our pride and self-respect as Americans? Sometimes I started to feel like the character of Howard Beale in the old film Network, the news broadcaster turned “mad prophet” who urges his viewers to lean out of their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” That’s when it occurred to me to give the book its title and to break it up into 99 different reasons to be mad as hell.
I don’t necessarily want you to holler anything out your window as you read this. But I do hope it makes you mad as hell. Lord knows, you should be. But I don’t just talk about what’s wrong with America. At the end of every section, I also present my best ideas for how to improve things. So hopefully when you finish reading, you won’t just be angry. You’ll also be motivated, maybe even energized to do something.
One of my favorite phrases is “Acta Non Verba” – deeds not words. All the words I’ve written here won’t be worth a thing if they aren’t followed by action. This is the greatest country in the history of the world. But without active, engaged citizens, it doesn’t stand a chance. There’s only one way we’re ever going to see the kind of change we need – if enough Americans from all walks of life get together and demand it – ASAP. In the 1980’s, Ronald Reagan famously declared it “Morning in America.” Well, it’s late afternoon in America now. The sun is setting and the clock is ticking.
What Happened on Our Watch?
The first step towards revolutionary change is to be honest with ourselves about how we got into such a sorry state. Most importantly, we have to recognize the common culprit for our seemingly unconnected problems – our bloated, broken down, and just plain dysfunctional government.
Think about it. We’re nearly $10 trillion in debt. We’re stuck in an endless war overseas. Millions of Americans can barely afford to fill up their gas tanks or see a doctor. Millions more are being thrown out of their homes because they can’t afford their mortgages. At first glance, these issues might look unconnected. And it’s easy for people to get discouraged and tune out when they think about so many different kinds of dilemmas. But in reality, everything is connected. Our country’s many troubles are locked together as tightly as prisoners in a chain gang. And our rotten political system is at the head of the pack, dragging the rest of them along behind it.
Washington’s corrupt way of doing business is responsible for every other crisis we face as a nation. In this book, I try to demonstrate this fact from many angles. Each of the five chapters branches out into a different challenge our country faces and traces its roots back to our failing political sector. Here’s a glimpse of the issues I cover and the ways they fit together:
- Our Hijacked Government
The terms Democrat and Republican are all but meaningless now. The two parties squabble over silly side issues, but whether they put a “D” or and “R” next to their name, career politicians of all persuasions play the same game – they cling to their offices for life by selling their services to the highest bidders. Meanwhile, the problems that really matter fester and get worse. That’s why our national debt is fast approaching $10 trillion and crucial programs like Social Security and Medicare are on the verge of collapse, but wildly profitable industries get tax breaks and huge, unneeded subsidies every year. - Corporate Rule
There’s a reason why Washington is being run by shortsighted, money grubbing conmen instead of responsible public servants: because the major corporations that fund their campaigns like it that way. Make no mistake, big business and its armies of lawyers, accountants and lobbyists run our country. This shadow government siphons off trillions from our treasury, writes our laws, and dictates foreign and domestic policy. It even owns most of our national media now, so we only hear the news they want us to hear. - Bankrupt Economy
Greedy financial firms are responsible for one financial crisis after another. And every time their bubbles pop, our political leaders are all too willing to bail them out with taxpayer money. Meanwhile, one company after another chases cheaper labor overseas, yet politicians in Washington do nothing as good paying jobs vanish and average workers’ wages drop. Instead, they dupe us with skewed statistics and urge us to spend beyond our means. That way they can keep the sick cycle of our consumer economy spinning. - Oil Junkies
Like every story of addiction and dependence, our country’s addiction to oil is an ugly, shameful tale. For decades, our shortsighted leaders have kept us hooked on petroleum as a way to enrich major U.S. oil companies. Now, America is a junkie hitting rock bottom. Our army is bogged down in the Middle East. We’re stuck with millions of gas-guzzling SUVs. And trillions of our dollars fuel the regimes of dictators in places like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia. We desperately need an intervention. Yet all our politicians do is give big oil companies outrageous tax credits while offering phony “solutions” like corn ethanol. - America, World Boss
For too long, our political leaders have confused what’s good for their sponsors in big business with what’s good for the country. And corporations have grown accustomed to using our military as a taxpayer-funded security force, protecting their profits at any cost. This business-first foreign policy has turned our democratic republic into an empire. Our government now spends half a trillion dollars every year to police the globe. And yet when our soldiers come home from our wars abroad, we treat them like garbage. Worst of all, despite the terrible sacrifices our troops and their families have made, most Americans feel less secure than ever.
This Might Hurt a Little …
It won’t be easy to revolutionize our government. That’s a massive task. Powerful people and powerful interests stand in our way. They’ll tell us we need incremental steps, that we need to compromise. But the infection eating away at our country will not be cured with half-measures. We cannot continue to put band-aids on the cancer of the body politic. What we need is real reform, a real shakeup requiring a total overhaul of the political system.
Make no mistake. Many of the solutions I offer are tough medicine. They require discipline and sacrifice, two things that our leaders have completely abandoned – with our permission. For too long, we’ve let career politicians distract us with petty controversies like flag burning or sex scandals or whether or not someone’s preacher once said something scandalous.
It’s time to say enough is enough. It’s time to wake up and take on the real problems. Just because they’re difficult doesn’t mean we can’t solve them. There is a way out of this mess. It’s called wisdom – which means planning, anticipation and, most of all, honesty.
