Modern Day Slavery

This post will definitely be killing two birds with one stone although that might make it a bit long. Pretty much since the founding of this blog I've been looking for an opportunity to write about welfare and in the past few months I've also wanted to write about taxes and our tax system. I've never really found the right time, the right words, and especially the right hook (no pun intended though now that I've noticed the pun I kind of like it) to make it a genuine Allison post. :D :D :D Which is of course the only reason you all read this.

But finally, FINALLY!, I've found the perfect hook. And it comes from a most unexpected angle and that angle happens to be slavery.

One-hundred and fifty years ago, the Civil War was fought to end slavery in America. About fifty years ago, the civil rights movement worked to help remove the last vestiges of slavery in the form of discrimination. However, there is still slavery among us today and it's more widespread then you'd think.

There are those among us who have found the perfect way to enslave us the vast majority of us. There are evil people in the world, it's as simple as that, and they know exactly how to work the system.

The rich among us, whatever you may feel about them, are in bondage to our current tax system. The government has stifled not only their right to enjoy a capitalistic society, but also their right to be treated as equals. They are in bondage to the taxes that are leveled against them.

Today I'm feeling blunt so I'm just going to throw it out there...I don't care for people who think the rich should be taxed more because they make more. It's not right. They earned that money. This is supposed to be a capitalistic society and there's nothing wrong with making money. When that money is taken and given to others in the name of taxes or welfare or "fairness" that's just another word for socialism. And last time I checked, we live in America.

The poor are also enslaved as much as, if not more than, the rich. Enslaved, in fact, by the very people who claim to be their advocates and protectors. Welfare is nothing more than an elaborate trap. When people have things given to them as handouts it destroys their desire to work for anything. Who among us would choose to work when we could receive things for "free"? With a little nudge from the government, these people have given away their right to the pursuit of happiness.

When the poor give up their desires to better themselves--to become more productive, more educated, more self-reliant--they have given up any potential they had to become better citizens as well. They have become, for the most part, nothing more than a mass of people, no, less than people, a mass of things, of voters, that can be swayed by any politician willing to help them continue their indolent lifestyle.

I know I'm probably being really offensive to some, but I'm tired of people dancing around the answers or trying to be diplomatic. I'd rather have things shown to me the way they really are, not sugarcoated or disguised.

Now, I'm just going to suppose that the vast majority of us are middle class citizens. Most people are. And so you've read this and maybe you're indignant or maybe you're ready to change the world, but you're probably thinking "I'm free!" (well maybe not exactly that but you probably think you've escaped the bondage I'm portraying in this post). Well not to break your hearts of anything but you didn't escape. You've been caught as well in either one of two things (or maybe a combination of both): indifference or apathy. Now not all people have this problem, but I even find myself lapsing from my usual political fieriness (super side note, but can you believe that's actually a word? I totally had to look it up in the dictionary to make sure I wasn't just making up words again).

Most of the people I know who are my age, the rising generation, couldn't care less about politics or anything that's happening and most of them really know next to nothing about our government or how our country is run. My high school government class was a joke and I've never met anyone who really learned anything in theirs either.

Those of an older generation are sick of it. People only care when something drastic happens. It's like the last presidential election. The percentage of voters went up drastically but not because of any political reawakening but merely because of race, because of how "history" would perceive this "historic" event.

Today I have no moral for you, no call to awaken, no call to arms. If you can't figure out what I'm saying then that's that. But I do have a question...I know that I try to tone down my articles with humor and/or sassiness (and for the record that one isn't a real word), but if I was to write an article that was purely factual (it'll be cited and everything!) would you still be interested? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated! :D :D :D