If you believe that our government serves the American people, you are sorely mistaken. If you believe that the one-percent of Americans, the wealthiest of our nation’s people care about our nation or the majority, you are very misinformed. If you believe that one member of today’s Republican Party in name only serves their constituents, you have chosen to be ignorant.

Plutocrats and capitalists have been separated from the majority since the inception of the United States. The “elite” have experienced a different America than 99 percent of our nation’s people.

The Trump Party and their fascist leader are not interested in 320 million Americans. They are dedicated to their failed party and their personal ambitions. Great and good Republicans from the past have been rejected; they continue to support the most despicable leaders in our most recent future; George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the worst president in history, Donald John Trump.

By the middle of the 20^th century our nation began to mature. The American people experienced an increase in their quality of life. Our nation’s greatest achievements were accomplished under the leadership of Democratic presidents, Franklin Delano, Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Roosevelt improved working conditions and established Social Security. His focus was the working man. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and completed what had begun under a real Republican, Abraham Lincoln.

Today our nation is moving backwards. The biggest mistake in our nation’s history occurred on November 8, 2016. The most unqualified, immoral, and self-serving man in our nation was aided by outside forces and won the Electoral College.

Because politics has become more important to those we elect than our nation’s people, our country is plagued with multiple evils. Those who we send to Washington refuse to learn from the past.

First, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower offered a warning to those who would succeed his presidency. One of the generals who was a central figure in the defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII made a bold statement during his farewell address.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

Every year congress approves an increase in the Pentagon’s budget. Every year Republicans talk about reductions in funding for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Fact; nearly 50 cents out of every dollar allocated to the military goes to waste. Fact not one dollar given to men and women who need Medicare and Medicaid is wasted. Social Security funding is fully paid for by the men and women who receive it and their employers. Sadly, politicians have stolen from the surplus for years to serve their personal ambitions.

It’s important to note here than many of the men and women we send to Washington are heavily invested in the military industrial complex.

The American people are the least informed in the world. More than 80 percent of all Americans learn everything they know from television. If you constantly watch FOX Noise, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, or NBC for everything you need to know, you are choosing to be ignorant. Television media held Trump to the lowest possible standard throughout the 2016 campaign season. Hillary Clinton was constantly discussed in a less than positive manner by every fake-journalist on television.

The truth is that your government is failing you. They are proud of the fact that our nation has only four-percent of the world’s population including 540 billionaires and 10.8 million millionaires. Other facts they would like to hide from the people include that with only four-percent of the world’s population our prisons contain 25 percent of all men and women incarcerated in the free world. Currently more than 46 million Americans live below the poverty line. Approximately 100 million Americans struggle in the low-income bracket; many only a single paycheck from falling into poverty. Adjusting for inflation, the average wage for American workers has been stagnant for about 20 years. America is the only nation in the developed world not to offer universal healthcare for every man, woman, and child. It is also the only nation in the developed world not to offer free or low-cost education to everyone who wants it.

All these facts exist because we have the most corrupt and least efficient government in the world. Capitalism has failed; our politicians are aware of this fact but do nothing to alleviate income inequality. Why? They are all millionaires.

This past November 6^th America elected many younger progressives to the House. Nearly 100 of the 435 men and women in the house will be women. This is proof that Americans want real change. We must continue to rid our government of the old, white men and women who have no interest in serving the 99 percent and have done nothing for 10, 20, 30 years or more. This is our country not theirs.

Plan to vote on November 3, 2020 and encourage everyone you know to go to the polls.

The Truth Lives Here

Op-ed by James Turnage

My six novels are available on the free Amazon Kindle app; click here