As we look around our culture, cheats are being uncovered everywhere. The current downturn in our financial system is a result of some very "smart" guys turning the whole system into one big casino, except it was the coolest casino ever known to mankind - the suits on Wall Street were able to place bets with money they didn't have. Bets were extended that the house could not cover. And to top it off, after losing all of their money and ours they became recepients of a HUGE mulligan from the Federal Government and they got to stick the tab to you and me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Wall Street cheats are on welfare.
Going back a few years during the run-up to the Iraq War, we were being told that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Years later, the WMDs were never found. President Bush and his men simply lied to the American people so they could have their war. That's cheating. Not to mention the numerous ties to Big Oil companies that many in the Bush Cabinet held, but when you think about how big Exxon Mobil and Shell's profits were during Bush's years, you have to wonder was there any connection to the oil guys and girls in Bush's inner circle? Hmmnn. No bid contracts in the Gulf Region awarded to former employers of Cheney. Not to mention the Enron and WorldCom fiascos.That's cheating.
No sense in beating a dead horse to death, but in retrospect it seems that the steroids scandal in baseball and other sports were just a tip-off or a sign to a much larger problem in the fabric of Americana. In America, we love to win and we love the shortcut. I guess we should not be surprised at what happens when those two obsessions converge.
Good post Gerry. Cheating is oh so necessary in our nation because illusions are the fabric of our reality. From sports to economics, we are the most brainwashed society to date. Goethe said "None are more hopelessly enslaved that those that falsely believe they are free." A song lyric also occurs to me: "Welcome to the Unites Snakes, land of the THIEF, home of the slave..." Courtesy of Brother Ali in Uncle Sam Goddamn You can hear his song on youtube.
ReplyDeletePeace! - Imran
Cheating stretches from the all regions. I just found out the company i work for and another is being sued for 15 billion, for ilegally raising the price on a prescription drug Lipitor. They actually used the need for that drug to its advantage and make revenue off it, but once again as always (Cheating)came back and bit them in the azz. If you get a chance google Mckesson and look for the lawsuit pending against them.
ReplyDeleteImran, I concur. I don't know if I will ever understand the need for illusion as a central tenet of existence. Nothing wrong with suspending belief for the sake of entertainment, because that is supposed to be imaginary because it is produced with the imagination. I would never think of myself as being at the center of all that is moral, but I do wonder how people live with themselves and the results they get from cheating. The results are not really the results, but we are back to square one again, illusion.
ReplyDeleteDaniel (funny for me to call you by your birthname, huh?), I agree with you as well in that cheating comes from all regions and reaches of our society. It seems a lot of people, companies, nations, etc. are all looking for an edge, in other words, an unfair advantage. Its completely heinous to raise the price of a drug just as demand goes up. They turned the law of demand upside down (the more a product is wanted or demanded, the price should go down) They were already making a more than decent profit-margin on the drug, but could not pass up the opportunity to get more. Its this kind of economic practice that has brought our economy to its knees.
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