Good Greed, Bad Greed, and the Grand Old Party of Corporate Greed

The word "greed" is generally used to denote undesirable self-centered behavior or at least behavior that most individuals claim they are not engaged in on a regular basis since they excuse their own greed as necessity. Perhaps we forget that greed is a vital reason for human behavior in certain instances but not for many other reasons.

Billions of humans barely live from day to day in parts of the world where survival is a day-to-day challenge. Potable water, essential quantity of food, and adequate shelter are some needs that billions of humans struggle to obtain to survive. They may seek these essentials to supply themselves and their immediate family and be very reluctant to share anything with other needy people. Such behavior may be termed greedy, but is it greedy to provide essential sustenance for yourself and loved ones rather than share with others and thereby jeopardize survival of your family members? If you were someone who rummaged through garbage remains for morels of food, and drank water from polluted waterways, and lived under pieces of cardboard or rags to survive could you consider your opposition to share an act of greed? Such unfortunate but necessary behavior is not a manifestation of greed, merely doing what is necessary to survive instinctively. Under such circumstances the actions taken to survive can be nothing but good, under horribly bad conditions.

However, most manifestations of greed are not from necessity. They are individual actions of we humans to seek self-satisfaction based upon our own self-centered motives. Self-centered behavior pervades our society and many parts of the world where humans have more than enough to survive from day-to-day, but who think and behave as if they need much more and cannot be satisfied without. What is prompting such behavior if not pure greed. By the phrase "pure greed" I mean that whatever is sought is for self-centered reasons only. Whether the item sought is materialistic or intangible matters not. What defines "pure greed" is the self satisfaction that is generated in the seeker, and that shows the external world how superior the seeker is to acquire that sought.

Chronically greedy humans fundamentally care about nothing else other than their own well being and recognition. They are morally corrupt or can twist whatever moral inclinations they possess into a shape that mollifies there angst. Such greedy humans use others to foster their own status while dismissing them as useless after reaching their desired interim pinnacle. Often the greediest individuals in society seek political or corporate power to allow their dominance over others to prevail consistently. Such people after reaching their pinnacle of power will virtually do anything to sustain it.

Nations paralyzed by brutal dictators use terror and murder to sustain their power as necessary. They will have all opposition eliminated as long as they are able. Power is also attained by self-centered greedy people attracted to politics in democratic forms of societies or in those societies where so-called elections are faux, or in English, fake.. Tow party political systems such as that in our country are often greed-breeding machines whose political representatives sole purpose become the retention of political power. In other words many American politicians are nothing more than self-centered greedy individuals whose sole purpose is tho discredit the other parties opposition to assure their own continuance of power. To accomplish this they cater to the local power brokers in and out of politics to obtain the financial resources to continue to get re-elected. Why is so disturbing to the general public at large to accept this as normalcy? Or if not normalcy the reason to step in line with the purveyors of greed and align politically with one or the other side. The saying ,"Like begets Like" suggests that greedy people are attracted to other greedy people. It then becomes understandable that whichever USA party possesses more self-centered greedy politicians in office will attract disproportionately more greedy, self-centered individual voters to their side.

Historically, in our country the Republican Party has and is the party of special corporate interests that have the greatest financial power. Such financial concentration favors self-centered behavior aimed at increasing the power and influence of the corporations and the executives that control them. The Republican Party has since its founding more than two centuries ago been the part of big business. Their have been many attempts to disguise the Republicans individually as freedom fighters, and opposed to big government while behind their words is their purpose to have big business control our country with the Republican Party at the helm of the ship of plenty for their self-centered greedy vessel laden with special corporate pork.

The Democratic Party has historically worked in behalf of the workers of our country in contrast to the Republican corporate-centered Party of Greed. The Democratic Party and Democratic Presidents supported and enacted legislation that provided Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment benefit legislation. The Republican Party opposed all of these, and most Republican politicians still do. The Voter's Right legislation and Civil Right legislation were enacted under Democratic Presidents as was the elimination of racial segregation in the US. Military services. Dwight Eisenhower, a moderate Republican President, enforced the abolition of school segregation. However most civil rights legislation has been enacted and rigorously enforced under Democratic Presidents.

Todays political climate is not surprising if we examine our recent history. The Republican Party has and continues to oppose all social legislation as it has historically. Opposition to any Health Care reform affirms their long-term opposition to all social legislation. Why? They are on the side of corporate power and in this situation the very powerful Health Insurance Corporations who will do anything to protect their profits, executive pay, and bonuses that diminishes the money available for actual health care. The Health Insurance Corporation's lobbyists spend hundreds of millions of dollars to essentially buy the votes of congress members to vote against any health care reform. Why? Simply that any reform is against the prime objectives of the Grand Old Party of Corporate Greed----self centered power for themselves and their power brokers, the self-centered Corporate Giants and their purveyors of greed.