Red, red wrath

John Steinbeck's  novel, The Grapes of Wrath,, turned 75 last month.  Arguably the greatest political novel in American history, the book chronicles the Joad family as they are driven out of their Oklahoma home by banks and bad weather in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, make their way to California, and suffer much like the poor do in today's America--police brutality, many fighting for a few low-paying jobs, hunger, homelessness, and helplessness in the face of the unchecked power of big business and the wealthy.

The novel also accentuates one of the key differences between The Great Depression and The Great Recession:  Americans' reactions.  Today we have what could be characterized as melancholy resignation; then they had what could be called...fucking anger.  And that wrath led to much good change--unions got stronger which eventually led to better pay and benefits and a robust middle class, Social Security, the Safety Net, and a host of other governmental programs called the New Deal which gave working class America a chance against the behemoths of industry and wealth.

Steinbeck noted when he wrote the novel that "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [The Great Depression]."   One would be hard pressed to find anyone outside of Liberal bloggers trying to do the same for the Great Recession.

One of the key successes of the Tea Party Movement was the way they stoked the rage of the republican base and got them to the polls in their landslide election victories of 2010 (which, unfortunately, has inflicted massive damage on the rest of the country).

It seems to me that the Democratic Party would do well to stoke a little anger right here, right now for the 2014 midterm elections.  Today, countless fast food workers around the globe are striking for $15 an hour ($31,600 a year, full-time, for our math challenged conservative foes) and the right to unionize. There are numerous Americans who are just as angry as these workers, and we need to tap into that and send republicans and their obstructionism and callous disregard for the poor and working class in America on their way out the doors of Congress.  Democrats need to get back to their roots, and fight for the poor and working class like FDR did.

Carpe fucking diem!

Peace,
emaycee