Spinning My Wheels

The Television show, 24 premiered this week. It’s probably, next to Law and Order, my all-time favorite TV show. Keifer Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer, the main character, is delightfully yummy, and so is Carlos Bernard who has returned this year as his character, Tony Almeida, and he is extra yummy. For those that don’t watch the show, the premise is a 24 hour day, in which Jack Bauer, former Delta Force and former head of the now disbanded US Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) is charged with saving the world from, of course, terrorists. Sometimes it is domestic terrorists and sometimes it’s foreign. All events happen in *real time* usually in a place that the characters can go from one place to another quickly. There are mega fans of the show that enjoy analyzing if the characters really could get from point A to point B in the time allotted during the show. I realize, I am digressing.

My point to all this is that this week’s Spin is about “what if’s?”

“What if, what, you ask?” Well Sprite’s Keeper didn’t give us further instruction. So as I was thinking about my assignment this week, it occured to me to ask the question, “What if life was like 24?” I mean, I get that there are 24 hours in a day, and that our lives occur in real-time and that we all have our own demons to battle daily, but I’m talking about on a more political level.

What if more people were like Jack Bauer? He takes responsibility for his actions, but if it means choosing between being politically correct and getting answers, he’ll get answers. At the beginning of this season he was in front of a Senate committee hearing being charged with war crimes for torturing people in his last 24 hour day from hell. But he saved a bunch of lives while he did it. He says to another person, I don’t mind having the truth out there. If the American people know what went on, they can then make up their own minds.

Which leads me to my next point- what if the media in this country actually reported facts. The Who, What, Where, When, Why? Not an editoral of everything. I dont’ want someone to tell me what to think. No bias. From either side. Just the facts.

What if, instead of hearing all about how ruthless Israel is being in their strikes against Hamas, we actually heard something about how terrible Hamas has been to Israel? Would we tolerate Mexico lobbing rockets into Texas? California? (well maybe Cali! – Just kidding!) Really? Think about that for a minute.

What if the UN wasn’t impotent? I mean are their sanctions against other countries really working? The UN passes this sanction or that sanction but does anyone ever really listen? Really? Hmmmm…

What if we as a country enforced the laws we already have? Like those on gun control, illegal immigration etc? Instead of always creating the need for new legislation. Sometimes I think that Washington doesn’t really want to solve problems, keep our economy safe or protect our borders. If they did would they allow our buracracy to get so large that there are no checks and balances? No accountabilty for dollars spent? No accountability for the damn debt? Under the Freedom of Information Act we should be able to see where that first $350 Billion of this ridiculous bailout went. But Washington, as last I’d checked, had still not released it. Who bails us out when we are irresponsible with our spending? We can hold two Border Patrol Agents responsible for shooting an illegal drug dealer in the ass, because we give that man, who isn’t a citizen the same rights as citizens? Seriously? It might be the libertarian in me, but I really think it’s gotten out of hand.

What if our government was smaller?

What if more people understood that the rules of warfare don’t apply to terrorists? Do terrorists read the Geneva Convention and say, “well Mr. Osama, we can’t do that- see it says so right here.” Does Mr. bin Laden care, really? Jack will make that case this season. What if no matter how nice we are to them it doesn’t matter? When will we realize that they don’t give a damn? What will it take for people to feel that way? Should they?

What if these damn sociologists and other *experts* realized that people make choices. Not guns, not SUVs. That people alone are responsible for their choices. That I am not responsible for your choices. I didn’t make you do it. Plain and simple. Yes, there are some people that are a product of their envrionment- usually poor beget poor, etc, either because education wasn’t/isn’t important (you see some of that here on the Rez- how much of that is a choice?) or because they choose to not better themselves, or because on welfare, you’re stuck just simply staying alive, hand-to-mouth.

What if we provided those on welfare job training, and in order to get their hand-to-mouth check, they had to be in job training? I’m just sayin’.

What if we stopped giving people fish and taught them how to fish? Isn’t that what pell grants are for?

What if we had a government, that instead of holding people down, lifted them up and provided the tools- equally for all mankind- to make the most of their lives? As an aside, I’m pretty sure this would be done better on a state level than a national level. The libertarian in me is rearing its head again. Not everyone would choose to do that, as is evidenced in our society today. We all probably know someone that is just plain lazy and doesn’t mind barely making it. And we all probably know someone that has worked their ass off to become successful and maybe wealthy in the process.

What if lobbyists were taken out of the political process? What then? Again, in this season, as in most of the 24 season, there are ridiculously deep conspiracies; unabated, dark corruption in so many levels of the government. There is something to be gained by making sure the genocide that is being waged in Africa continues.

What if there is something to be gained by making sure terrorists go free?
What if there is something to be gained by making sure the war on drugs continues?
What if there is something to be gained by the feds having their hand in every aspect of our very lives? I’m beginning to think that there is. And I don’t like it.

What if we could say, Fuck You to all of our congressmen and sentators and fire them all? You do realize that they get paid regardless of whether they show up to vote, right? What if they were paid based on their satisifaction rating?

What if Washington were more like the real world we live in daily?
What if Americans put down their Us Weekly, their People, The Enquirer, and other entertainment publications and stopped caring who Matt Damon is dating, or even what he thinks about politically? Is his opinion more important than anyone elses?

What if, instead of reading those, they cared to learn our Constitution and read the Delcaration of Independence?

What if more peopele cared a whit about taking care of their country for future generations and began to pay attention?

What if we were all more like Jack Bauer?

What if?