The Other Reason

The Other Reason

This may not be as dire an issue as relief to ravaged Indian Ocean survivors (in fact, i know it isn't, having been to a couple of those countries, myself) .... but given how Mr. Bush has made a show of bipartisan largesse, today, I want to bring something up.

Another thing that spurred me to start up my blog, again, believe it or not, was something that came to my attention last week via an article in a print edition of The New York Times.

It could be that this matter is being trumpeted far and wide on blogs, already, as it should be, or that it'll become one of the items in Jon Stewart's news summary tonight on The Daily Show, as it should be. I don't have the time to look up where this item is mentioned and, also, write about it with anything resembling competence. I'm not trying to be cool or uncool, here -- this matter really bothers me, however, so please continue.

It appears that the town of Salinas, California, as part of a response to a voter elimination or rejection of a sales tax increase of one half of a cent, is closing all three of its public libraries in the spring, possibly making it, according to the NY Times, the largest city in the U.S. without a public library. There are around 150,000 residents of Salinas, and I think it's fair to speculate who has brainwashed enough of the population that all taxation is bad enough for the town not to be able to afford a public library. This sort of thing is happening, not surprisingly, to libraries all over the United States. Or so says that ruthlessly commie rag newspaper mentioned above.

But what makes this story more laughably grotesque is that it's the town in which John Steinbeck, the internationally famous and widely translated Nobel Prize winning novelist, was born and raised. Not only that, but one of the libraries being closed is named, rather appropriately, The John Steinbeck Public Library. It's entirely possible that Steinbeck, himself, the guy who wrote The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and Of Mice and Men, once used the very library that was eventually named after him.

Let's go ahead and remind ourselves, here, that California is, according to any number of sources, among the top ten economies not simply of the United States but of the entire globe, as well. In other words, California is easily one of the wealthiest human communities ( if I can use that word "communities") that has ever existed in the history of our species. Or is likely to exist, given our present downward trend.

It could be that, simply in order not to become a cultural embarrassment the world over, the fine municipality of Salinas has changed its mind about acquiring the funds to at least keep one of these libraries open for at least , gee, I don't know.... four hours a week, which, I know, might be a tremendous expense for the town. Think of the valuable real estate underneath the libraries -- what a sacrifice that will be not to bulldoze each of these elitist cultural dens of iniquity and literacy to the ground, huh?

But I don't know that it's entirely fair to blame Salinas: the town's health care costs are going up, up, up, most of the people in Salinas are blue collar... why, Doc from Cannery Row, himself, might understand the problem of a choice between A) reading a book, or B) staying alive. Not that the voters were likely presented with a choice in such simple terms as A) you can eliminate that sales tax of half a cent, or B) keep that library system humming along, or at least enough humming to keep one damned library branch open for a few hours a week.

Things are never presented to voters in such easily understood terms. Unless you consider, of course, a lot of the rhetoric of the Democratic party, which often presents things in such simple terms that even an intelligent four year old child ought to be able to understand them.

But, gee, what bedraggled American is able to resist the cries of celebration coming from the corridors of power in D.C.? What's the Good Word? Our very richest got incredible tax relief? Yes! Huzzah! And California has always been a great tax relief leader. Again, Sirs, Huzzah! So, you people of lesser income just might be able to emulate us richer folk by... voting against a sales tax of one half of a cent! Makes sense? Okay!

We're so confident about this being good for America that we'll also have a war... that the richest people don't have to actually pay anything for! Some of us, tee hee, might even make a damned fine profit, and what's wrong with a profit? Don't you rabble like it that someone, somewhere, is at least making... a profit? Sure ya do! You don't want people thinking you're a spoil-sport communist bastard, do ya, Bunky? Right on, Brother!

What other ways can we get the huddled masses to absolutely screw themselves dry and raw? Convince each father in a family to buy a tank to drive around on the streets? Okay, sure. Even while insurgents in Iraq are trying all the time to blow up oil drilling sites, oil processing sites, and oil pipelines, you say? Okay, sure, why not? If we can make them spy on each other, too, here in the States, looking for everything from drugs to adultery to anti-American activities to the using of naughty words on the television and radio, all the time... and if we can also get them running from "Holiday" to "Holiday" soliciting approval from the nastiest alpha male in the family... if we can get the younger adults to hump themselves with advertisements convincing them that an overpriced diamond ring in a small box is really a "mojo box" and that women really ARE whores to be bought and sold courtesy of the wedding industry... if we can constantly convince the older people that they're getting sicker and sicker by repeating lists of maladies and conditions and illnesses to look out for at the end of our prescription drug advertisements... why, they'll be so incredibly frazzled and busy that they'll never know what actually hit them... and even when they find out they won't be able to even write it down because... they can't read or write, anymore!

More Fun, Next Time...