I was trying to explain politics to my son the other night. (Not easy as you might guess.) This is what I eventually came up with:

• No matter what anybody says, the country is run by the rich. And there are rich Democrats and well as rich Republicans. (Of course one has to wonder how a Democrat ever gets rich because that would be wrong.)

• Rich folks donate lots of money to campaign funds and political parties to insure that “their needs are addressed.” (Their need is to get richer.) No matter how much fuss is put up about “campaign finance reform,” nobody with any power really wants to change anything because money is what makes the whole system work. So lots of lips are flapped, but nothing of any substance is ever actually done.

• The politicians use this money to convince the not-so-rich that they are running for office to help them. Just look at what both parties have done for illegal aliens to make sure these people can vote for them as an example. And you never see either party pandering openly to the rich.

• The not-so-rich then vote for and elect the folks that the rich really needed in office anyway - because they were duped by slick advertising. That’s good because there’s simply no way that there are enough rich folks votes to insure that the “right” candidates get elected.

• Once elected, the politicians keep the folks who paid to elect them happy drafting and passing legislation “for the good of the not-so-rich” that actually just further fattens the pockets of the rich. As for the not-so-rich, they just get further and further behind because they’re generally stupid enough to believe the lying sacks of crap we call our political leaders – of both parties.

• The politicians – when they leave office – are then “taken care of” by the rich and become rich themselves. (Why else would one want to become a politician?) And so the cycle continues.

• The whole thing will eventually collapse, but the rich will have their money and won’t really be harmed.

 

Wow, good thing you took the high road and didn't get cynical about it.

 

And so the blaming of the rich continues on for another generation...


In a nutshell, you want your son to realize that all rich people are evil bastages, and that politics is just one big scheme for them to get richer.

Great lesson, dad.

 

In a nutshell, you want your son to realize that all rich people are evil bastages, and that politics is just one big scheme for them to get richer.


In a nutshell, that is the way it works. Politicians help one another. They argue, call each other names, refuse to agree. Then at the end of the day, they all go and have a grand dinner with drinks. "We fooled them again" Is said behind our backs and some fall for it over and over. Washington is run by lawyers, has anyone ever met a lawyer that can be trusted? They are rich, get funded by the rich and work for the rich.
The best bet is to do what you do, keep your business to yourself and don't allow government to peer into your business. Hide what you can and do what politicians do, Lie. Hold on to your belongings and keep them close or the government will figure out a way to relieve you of anything it can.

 

Cynical or just annoyingly realistic?

 

Dave,

I used to be much more idealistic about the whole political process, but then I got older and wiser. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of weathy friends and many of them don't fit the picture I painted. (And they worked their tails off for their money and deserve every cent.) Unfortunately, some of them - and 100% of the politicians I know - do fit the picture. And they've spoiled the whole system.

Look at it this way. Say you took our current crop of politicians, stuffed them in a Time Machine and sent them back to 1775. Do you think for a minute that they would have crafted the documents that our founding fathers did? Not this father. Back to annoyingly realistic.

BTW, when I discuss any issue with my son, I always try to show him both opposing views and let him make his own decisions.

 

Glad to hear it. As I read it, your original lesson sounded more like an explanation of why your son should join Occupy Wall Street.

Hey, I'm plenty cyincal, too, and not terribly optimistic about my children's future. I know they will be burdened with ridiculous debt and unfunded entitlements, thanks to out of control politicians and the electorate who tolerate them.

To make the best of that bad situation, future generations are going to need leaders who will look back to our Constitution. Many of those future leaders will be successful or will come from successful families.

IOTW, just as with past generations, many of the leaders of the future will be rich. Demonizing all the rich as evil will just result in a leadership vacuum, which will be filled by the less competent.

 

Again, absolutley agree. In fact he's closer to Tea Party than OWS - kind of like his dad. If he's going to have any hope of changing things though, he and his generation have got to understand what they're up against.

 

My kids are only 9 and 10.

Hopefully they will be successful.

They have no idea how much of the fruits of their labors the government has already laid claim to. And I don't have the heart to tell them.

 

Mine's 19. He's starting to get a pretty good idea - and he doesn't like it.

 

So, you are like FOX News, fair and balanced. Sounds good to me......

 

I personally believe that if we want to teach anyone of any age about "politics", we should start with the constitution. First go over how our government is supposed to work. Once they understand how it's supposed to work, then highlighting how people, be it career politicians, "the rich", union heads, race baiters, community organizers, ect. exploit our form of government may be appropriate.

I think that what young people should strive for in our government is electing humble servants, who will volunteer to serve as our representatives for a limited time, who then go back to work in the private sector. I think that's a better lesson than to encourage them to resent people, who through ways we largely know nothing about, have become "rich".