Un-American

"Taxes, after all, are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society." (Franklin Roosevelt)

As the debate over raising the debt ceiling drones on and on, I've spent the last few days trying to figure out who are more un-American, the wealthy people who search for whatever means they can to not pay taxes or the elected officials who break their backs to enable them. Hmm? Call it a tossup.

I'm also wondering, if the US should default, how all of those multi-millionaires and billionaires who have financed much of this Tea Party madness will feel if their stock and bond investments start to lose value?

I'm reminded of the fable of the frog and the scorpion. A scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a flooding river. The frog replies "how do I know you won't sting me." The scorpion replies "because if I sting you then we both drown." Satisfied, the frog starts across the river with the scorpion on his back. In the middle of the river, the frog feels the sudden, sharp pain of the scorpion's sting. Just before they both slip below the water, the frog asks the scorpion "why?" And the scorpion replies, "it's my nature."

You have to admit that committing yourself to destroying the US and indeed the entire world's economy is the ultimate nihilist act. And to pretend that this is somehow patriotic in the bargain must take some truly astounding ethical gymnastics. But they really don't care. Anything is permitted as long as it makes it harder for Obama.

Then again, maybe this is just some more of that Christian "end times" nonsense that those of us who aren't insane can't understand. "Hey, let's crash the world's economy and maybe Jesus will come back then!"