Donald Trump + George Carlin = We Are The Swamp

In 2016, one of Donald Trump's campaign slogans was about eliminating what he called 'The Swamp.' Of course he meant those involved in the corruption and waste that existed then, and still does, in Federal government. Though The Swamp, as Trump referred to it, is a term and concept that goes back a few decades, Trump was able to persuade his followers that it referred specifically to the Democrats and some Republicans.

The truth problem with The Swamp as Trump referred to it is that The Swamp is far bigger than Trump portrayed it to be. To find The Swamp, all we have to do is to follow the corporate lobbyists. 

Now the side of the Swamp that Trump and his followers wanted to hide were the corporations who paid the lobbyists to legally bribe our elected officials, both the Dems and the Repubs, in order to control the laws that our government passes.

And what did Trump do once he got in office? He did a misdirection play for his followers. For while he pointed to the Dems as The Swamp, his policies favored those same businesses and corporations that hire lobbyists to legally bribe our officials.

So we have The Swamp. That Swamp includes players from the private sector, such as those in charge of our businesses and corporations as well as the lobbyists and those elected officials from the public sector including many Democrats and Republicans. And when Trump was in office, it included him too.

So what does George Carlin have to do with this? It was Carlin who said that selfish, ignorant people elect selfish, ignorant leaders. Carlin stated that such was the case because our politicians from us, from American society. In other words, our elected officials are reflections of us citizens and voters. And thus if our officials are part of The Swamp, then we can be too. I can hear a revised version of the song 'We Are The World' right now. This rendition would be 'We Are The Swamp, We Are The Childish.'

I remember discussing politics with a friend and my friend made an interesting statement. They said that when the wealthy are doing all they can to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, they are simply doing what everyone else was doing. And my friend had a point. It isn't just the wealthy who are trying to make and keep as much money as they can regardless of the effects that not paying one's fair share of taxes has on the country. But here, my friend missed a vital distinction. It is one thing for a person who is just getting by to try to skip out on paying their fair share of taxes. The issue for them is survival. But the more we have, the more the issue becomes luxury and then vanity. 

I'v heard from some fellow religiously conservative Christian friends that Democracy is about making sure that your concerns are heard and, if possible, receive the greatest attention from our elected officials. That such is not a real description of Democracy is not the point. Rather the point is that the more we live for ourselves and vote for candidates solely on the basis of what they will do for us, the more we become The Swamp. Only in terms of voting, one's vote is one's currency.

That means that the more that our votes are based on a candidate's commitment to serve the interest of others, especially those who are marginalized or less fortunate, along with or even despite our own interests, the more we escape The Swamp. In fact, the more we live as people in our communities and businesses with the purpose of helping others, especially the marginalized and less fortunate, the more we are escaping The Swamp. But the more we live just for our own interests, the more we become The Swamp. That is because when we live that way, we teach others to do the same and thus produce those Democratic and Republican elected officials, and even our Presidents, who are part of The Swamp that governs us. 

Many of the occupations we depend on reflect who we are our society. Art may reflect life, but politics reflects society. If we want to get rid of The Swamp, we must first change ourselves. And, at the same time, we must demand that those who want our votes must serve the needs of others, especially the marginalized and less fortunate, along with our own needs. Living and voting in ways where we are only concerned with one's own needs, especially when we are privileged, makes us a part of The Swamp.