Anger: I Choose It, I Own It

I'm still fuming over "ownership society." Not only is it the height of hypocrisy for anyone in the Bush administration to utter these words after driving our economy into its current level of indebtedness to foreign interests, but it smacks of the same insensitive and out-of-touch attitude displayed by Bush and others in the administration during the early aftermath of Katrina. Remember Michael Chertoff's response about those left behind in New Orleans? "Some people chose not to obey that (the evacuation) order. That was a mistake on their part." "Choice" and "ownership" are hollow terms if one is starting from a position of utter bankruptcy. A true ownership society provides equal opportunity for acquiring the skills required for a family-supporting job. A true ownership society provides universal health care so that unpaid medical bills don't stand in the way of homeownership. A true ownership society provides good schools in EVERY neighborhood and community so that even the most disadvantaged child has an equal opportunity to reap the benefits of a solid education. The 37 million impoverished citizens of our country do not "choose" to live in unsafe neighborhoods, whether threatened by violence, crime or natural disaster. The appeal of right-wing "ownership" and "choice" propaganda language only resonates with those who already own their homes, their chosen careers and carefully select the best schools for their children. For the disadvantaged, these words mean less than nothing.