I remember being a kid and playing the game Connect the Dots. I think I remember enjoying playing it. Today, I certainly do. I love playing connect the dots when I am in the mood. I am rather good at it. When I am not in the mood, it is a burden. I wind up seeing that fools or Ozes, as I am starting to label them, trying to convince me that one plus one is anything other than two. Mind you, we are playing the game in the base of ten.
In the modern day heroes journey the villain is easily identified and many characters across many genres have identified the primary hubris of the villain as being greed and money. Austin Powers gives us a humorous take in comedic film. Mr Burns does so on prime time TV. Gru follows suit on the big screen in Despicable Me. The Zec does so in a feature action film. And Justin Hammer is the rich villainous entrepreneur in Iron Man 2. As Tom Cruise would say, you want to find the villain in any of these stories, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”
But maybe the world is different. Maybe those with money are not the villians today. Some are obviously trying to do some good but in the end I would argue that, unless I missed the memo, billionaire status in Abrahamic societies should not exist considering the path to God as taught to anyone following a traditional religion. Greed corrupts. Therefore billionaire greed corrupts absolutely. I just don’t see how having that much money helps anyone else other than the capitalist oligarchy that has it.
Which brings me back to the theme of this writing, Connecting the Dots. I don’t understand how anyone, who doesn’t have wool in their eyes, sees Bloomberg running as anything more than the billionaire elite trying to maintain control by maintaining the status quo. I think this point was made clearly in the film Trading PLaces in which two brothers decided to wager what would happen if a rich person suddenly became poor and vice versa. They ultimately didn’t care about the outcome. It is a film so the hero wins but today, we may not be as lucky.
In today’s story we have a Jewish senator from Vermont who is running for president. As far as I can see, he has the support of the young, minorities and those with an ethical and empathetic spine. He is not supported by Israel which is telling. He is not supported by Wall Street which is why they had to back their own horse in the form of Bloomberg. He is not supported by his part as we clearly saw in the Iowa caucus reporting and results. And he is not supported by the media based on the headlines they write, the pictures they post and the stories they run.
Which brings me back to the hero and the villain. You may not like him. He may be an anti-hero in some respects but he is the only candidate willing to fight and destroy the villainous system that has left so many of our brothers and sisters without the access to the Pursuit of Happiness or those who have been discriminated against for pursuing their path to happiness. He wants to change that.
For me personally it is simple. If you are straight, I don’t care unless I am trying to date you. If you are gay, I dont care, unless you are not backing off after I say I am not interested. I don’t care if you believe or don’t believe in God. I do. Don’t judge me and I won’t judge you. And if you have money, great. Do good with it is my advice.
Remember, if we change the measure of success, then only those who meet that measurement are successful. So maybe that is where the shift should be. I would much prefer that success is measured in peace, empathy, hope and kindness and those that demonstrate these traits are viewed in reverence as opposed to someone wearing a $20,000 watch, driving a 5 million dollar car or living in a 100 million dollar house. Me, I don’t care. I look the other way and am not attached to it.
But I don’t care that much. I understand this. I do though think that it is time for systemic change that cannot be answered by “Who paid for this?”. Instead, I think it’s time for a return to a form of government in which the government fulfills its role for its citizens in the form of medical, retirement and education. To think otherwise, to me, is not being American or staying true to the principles that she was founded on. There are problems and you are either part of them or part of the solution. Enough said.
- All works at Observations from the Spectrum written by Dylan Netter
- Observationsfromthespectrum.org
- OFTS.blog
- On? a third point of view – book of Essays
- Marinehippie.com podcast w/ Docstodden.com – dialogue exploring politics and musings of life
- Horizoncoaching.org – English Tutor and Guide
- beehiveplus1.org
Observations From the Spectrum 
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