The Psychological Abuse of the Government
There are statements made at various times in life that stay with us sometimes forever.
Remember the first time a friend said, “You’re not my friend anymore”? Maybe it was the first time you heard the word ‘stupid’ launched in your direction. Whatever the phrase or word, it sticks. Like gum to your shoe. Even once you’ve scraped it off, sometimes there is still a mark or dirt collected on the spot. It’s always there.
Barbara Boxer made that sticky, dirty mark on the bottom of my shoe last fall. Amid the frenzy of the government shutdown, Senator Boxer decided to compare the Republicans actions to “domestic abuse”.
This comment struck a chord with many people, as it should. Domestic abuse is a serious topic which should never be mentioned or compared to in such a manner. In most instances the government shutdown affected a minimal amount of citizens. The only effect it had on my family was the inability we had of visiting the Statue of Liberty while in New York City. So to equate something as serious as domestic abuse to a menial government shut down, is ludicrous.
The comment did however cause me to realize our leaders no longer govern. They no longer appear to have the ability to administer the logistics of leading a country. Some have been in office for so long they don’t understand the reality of their constituents. Having lived and worked in their ivory tower for so many terms, they can’t relate to “commoners”. Members of Congress and other governmental positions have been so heavily lobbied they no longer legislate for citizens, but for private interest groups alone.
In the case of the Executive Branch, President Obama has been a pawn of the “educational elite” for his entire tenure in office. If he were to have been elected for political or business experience, he wouldn’t have been qualified to have even appeared on the ballot. He was selected, groomed, and placed by those who want to culturally transform America. Obviously, they are fulfilling their goals.
When those who govern no longer seek the better for their citizens, eventually they must shift from “doing the people’s work” to appearing to do the people’s work. Everything shifts from actions to words.
The words our leaders are using now are illusions and in some instances, lies.
Isn’t lying a form of abuse? In any relationship, isn’t honesty the bedrock of what trust is built? If a coworker or family member lies, the first time we may forgive them depending upon the lie. We put them on notice that we are watching them and may even follow up on things to confirm its validity. When a person begins to perpetually misrepresent (potentially) everything they say, there is a credibility problem. Certainly making statements as factual when they can be proven incorrect is very problematic. The fact that these individuals believe those hearing their words will never investigate the accuracy of the statements presents itself as though the wordsmith believes those hearing his message are stupid.
Do we really want our leaders treating us as though we are stupid? We placed them in their office. Voting for them may have been a mistake, but they are there to do our bidding. Now that we have placed them there, the power and control, both of which, when yielded to the wrong person, are indications of emotional abusers.
Senator Boxer hit on a truth. There is abuse being inflicted upon citizens by the government, and this abuse begins at the top.
Recently, hearings have been held and discussions have been made regarding the potential abuse of power with the President on Constitutional matters, as well as with other leaders of government. So the abuse of power is certainly in question.
What I see as almost equally concerning is the emotional abuse the President and Congress inflicts daily on Americans. We send representatives to Washington in hopes they will “fight it out” with each other to find a greater good for our country. It is almost understood these individuals will struggle with the desire for power and possibly not even be able to keep it in check. In recent years we have seen many Congressional members meet their political doom because the power overtakes them.
In the case of the President, even when power and the abuse of it engulfs them, removal from office isn’t always guaranteed. President Nixon was removed for his abuse, but President Clinton wasn’t for his indiscretions. In both cases it was a matter of abuse of power but with different effects on the country. In historical contexts, people look down on Richard Nixon and use him as the example of “what not to be”. Yet Bill Clinton is now a leader in a variety of initiatives, speaking all over our country and the world and considered a true contributor to society. Perspective plays heavily in the appearance of abuse.
Presently it seems Americans are being emotionally abused by our President and Congress in an almost Stockholm syndrome type of way. We have given away so much of our independence and will to the government and we are sympathetic to their needs and desires of formidably changing our country. We now believe their lies and their pseudo-sincerity of wanting to make America better. We don’t see truth and reality anymore.
When Harry Reid accused Americans of telling “lies” about ObamaCare and the effects it is having on their families, many Americans believed Reid. Major news outlets ignored the story. When Reid tried to “fix” his comments, he laid the blame of the Koch brothers, thus perpetuating the problem, trying to convince us we are stupid and shouldn’t believe those who are telling their stories. We should be sympathetic to the abuse being heaped upon the government, by those who are against the government’s actions of kindness (of creating ObamaCare) and generosity toward us.
We allow Nancy Pelosi to “school” reporters regarding the formal name of ObamaCare. Politicians such as Pelosi believe they are in such control of everything, including our minds, that they can repeat a word (such as affordable) enough times that we will believe them. We will become sympathetic to their plight and fall into place, lockstep, and follow them to the depths of Hell.
Let’s not forget how Nancy Pelosi insisted “But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy”. Again, ‘trust us, we know what’s best for you’.
We need to continue fighting against this psychological abuse by educating ourselves. Stay informed, read things for our own information. Don’t allow Washington to continue spoon-feeding America the abuse it is cooking up on Capitol Hill.
Washington’s goal is a Stockholm syndrome relationship between politicians and their constituents. Knowledge is power. When we relinquish our power and believe politicians are smarter about our life than we are, we become sympathetic to their ideas and we succumb to their will.
