The Amerikan Kar Revolution

During the election season last year, right-wing pundits were in a constant frenzy, warning the public of what could happen to the country if we were to elect Barack Obama. And ever since November, they have been lamenting what will happen, now that we have elected him. While I personally tend to prefer a more conservative candidate than otherwise, lately I have tried to listen to their rantings with a larger grain of salt.

As a matter of fact, for the past two months I have made a conscious effort to reduce my talk-radio intake, in an attempt to become less cynical. I am actually going a full week now without any WMAL or Fox News. I make this point just to emphasize that what spews forth right now comes from me, completely unclouded by recent conservative media. I mean, for every Sean Hannity, there's a Keith Olbermann, so which side truly has the more enlightened perspective, anyway?

After taking some time to clear my head, I have had to ask myself, is life in the USA really so bleak with Obama in the White House? I still have my family. I still go to church. Following five months of unemployment, I was still able to find a new job. And that extra bump in the unemployment check, as a result of the stimulus bill, wasn't such a bad thing, either.

I think it's unwise to accept what any pundit says at face value. The main objective of a television or radio talk-show host is to entertain and gain ratings, more than educate. That being said, I have recently been wondering whether the Mark Levins of the world might not be completely off base in declaring that we are rapidly heading towards European-style socialism.

In March, when Rick Wagoner resigned from General Motors as CEO at the behest of the White House, I started to become concerned. Could our government really exercise that much blatant influence over a commercial enterprise? What is its motive for doing so? And if the government is willing to go that far, what would they do next?

Well, for starters, it seems the next logical step is to not just pretend to own General Motors, but to actually own it. Hence, as of this week, after laying down another $30 billion to secure 60 percent of the operation, General Motors is the people's car company. The people's government's car company, at any rate.

What makes this situation particularly alarming to me is how left-leaning publications are echoing right-wing sentiment, when reporting on the story. Even Washington Post editorials are stating that, "ideally, the federal government would make GM's job easier by staying out of business decisions." The same article also sadly concludes that, "the political manipulation of the company has probably only just begun." Click on this link for the complete story.

So to my readers I ask the following question. And I realize that many of you have been shy about posting comments in the past, but this time speak up! If, in less than five months into the current Presidential administration, we have one nationalized car company, how many more commercial entities will be nationalized four years from now? [Cue dramatic orchestral music sequence] Buhm, buhm, buhmmmm!!!!

On April Fools Day, I joked with my friends on Facebook, saying that I was in favor of government-run car companies. A friend of mine later joked back, suggesting that GM should now stand for Government Motors. It looks like Despair.com ripped of his idea....