Groundhog Day 2015! Groundhog Day 2015! Grou Wait didn't I say that already?

As we approach another fun but seriously absurd Groundhog Day how can anyone forget the film of the same name and its subtle message?

If we could only keep getting ‘do-overs’ until we got it right our lives would be better off.

Rethinking how we do things is a constant among intelligent beings and so too is trying to improve ourselves.

So isn’t it a shame when our leaders try to roll back the clock to a time before things were good rather than building on what we have achieved in the past?

Old sayings may be considered quaint and therefore ignored but some hold undeniable truths and should, no must be understood.

Two such adages are:

“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!”

And “The definition of insanity (sic) is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” (Actually the insanity used in the quote should not be confused with the legal meaning of the word but rather acting as though one were unable to understand reality.)

So what is our current reality?

Well for one thing Americans are stuck in a rut not of their doing.

For decades the country produced a ‘middle class’ which was the envy of the world. It survived and thrived under the watchful eye of a government determined to build up the working class so they could realize a so-called American Dream.

That dream created a desire in people around the world to come to America.

This influx of immigrant workers and talent helped fuel our economy and create an almost perpetual motion toward success.

It also created resentment among the wealthiest Americans who saw their ‘neighborhood’ being encroached upon.

But how could they stop this juggernaut, this feel good do good free-falling momentum toward equality for all?

Well they could only stop it the same way you stop an ocean liner moving at full speed, gradually.

One of the main reasons the middle class was able to rise above poverty was the formation of unions.  These groups were able to negotiate with employers to make sure everyone benefited in the profit created by ALL of their labors.

Naturally more of the profit should have been and was directed into the pockets of the owners but the unions maintained a fair share throughout.

So, job one for the worried class, now known as the 1%, was to keep unions down if not get rid of them completely.

They have done an admirable job in that respect and there are a mere handful of unions around these days and their clout is far from what it used to be.

As for the private sector unions are all but gone.

And in their wake we move closer to a feudal era where owners owned workers, aka serfs centuries ago.

The wealth gap in this country has finally risen to such epic proportions that even the hypocrites of the Republican Party have started to notice it and make believe they care about it.

Spoiler Alert: They do not!

But they realized that by saying nothing they might lose more than the 47% they already cannot fool.

So as we have seen in the past the talk is cheap and the sentiment hollow.

Trickle-down economics never worked for the majority of us and frankly was not intended to.  It was just another tactic by, of, and for the wealthy business owners and idle rich to keep more profits while paying less, or no taxes to the country in which they made their fortunes.

If you really don't think it's all about the rich keeping and making more money while not allowing the middle class to get a penny look at their constant fight to get rid of any and all social programs aimed at helping the masses. 

Why do they constantly rail against Social Security or Medicare? 

Why does every one of their economic plans include repealing the Affordable Care Act or ridding the land of the SNAP program?
Don't they realize they need a strong healthy working serf class?

So instead of repeating our past mistakes or using a sort of American ‘System Restore’ program back to a time when “Buddy can you spare a dime?” had deep meaning and was not just a top song let’s learn from our history.

On any journey starting over is only called for when there is absolutely no hope of 'getting there from here!'

Don’t give up on finding the best mix in America for the working majority.

Whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow let’s not doom the country to another six years of slow death for the backbone of America, the middle class!

Don’t hit the snooze button on our future.

Wake up to reality and let’s take back America.

Let’s move ahead!