Finally. America wakes up.

I guess it's true that you reap what you sow.  After the last elections, I kept asking, "What were they thinking?"  How could voters send so many Republicans and Tea Partiers to Congress and state legislatures, knowing what they were going to do?  So much misinformation is swirling around, and has been for quite some time, yet who, besides Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, has appeared in the popular media to try to set the record straight?  Many Americans have been scared to death by the words "deficit" and "debt", as though Godzilla were breathing down our necks.  Yes, we do have to get a grip on our economy, but fear-mongering is not the way to go about it.

"Why aren't people taking to the streets?" I asked myself.  I remember the 'sixties, and while I don't want to go back to the days of free love and acid trips, I do like to see people stand up for their rights, as we are seeing now across the country and the globe.  It has always been the rich against the poor.  Always.  Sometimes the rich are more-or-less responsible and make sure the middle class is large enough to keep things in order; too often they cling to their wealth and its perquisites as if they alone were the entitled of the earth.  From the ancient Persian kings to feudal lords, French aristocrats, African despots, and today's big corporation CEOs, the rich have never loosened their grip until forced to, often with disastrous consequences.  Of course there are some rich folks who use their wealth wisely and for the good of others, but these are generally individuals, not institutions.  Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Bill Gates turned from money-making to philanthropy once they had enough, but history is replete with men who rape and pillage their populations--or workers--with never a flicker of remorse or responsibility.  As Americans we are not immune to this kind of abuse--obviously.

In light of recent events in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and perhaps other states, I ask:

How many of those demonstrators who are vociferously objecting to budget cuts to education and an end to collective bargaining for government workers voted for Republicans in the last election?

If Republican policies were popular enough to get Republicans elected and Democrats thrown out of office, why aren't we seeing counter-protests defending these cuts and restrictions? 

If the Republican voice is truly "the voice of the American people", why is it we only hear that voice coming out of the mouths of politicians and the extremist fringe?