And believe me, you’ve got every right to be.  That’s a line from “The Running Man“, a super great 80’s movie with Richard Dawson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Lately I’ve felt like   Ben Wallace.  I’ve felt like I’ve been fighting an uphill battle against American society.  Unfortunately for me, there’s no Damon Killian that I can confront…no face to put to the idiocy that we’ve come to accept as part of our daily lives.

My recent frustrations began as I tried to get my drivers license renewed the other day.  The state of South Dakota (and every other state in the ‘union’) has drastically changed the procedures to get a drivers license. Because of the Real ID Act of 2005 we are now required to prove that we are a US Citizen.  The actual purpose of the law is to create a uniform Federal ID that we’d be required to show in order to board an airplane, enter a federal building, and do a multitude of other things.  Yes, Orwell would be so proud.  It’s the mark of the beast, and we’ll all be forced to carry it.  Super, dude.  I’ve always wanted a tattoo.  Let’s just get it over with.

Back to my story.  I’m now required to provide the following: Identity Documents (Passport or Certified Birth Certificate), Proof of Social Security Number (SS Card or other document) and (2) documents to show Residential Address.  This can be a utility bill, health insurance bill, mortgage stub, etc.  As it turns out, last fall Nancy and I use a mail forwarding service.  This gives us a street address for mail to be sent.  They then forward our mail to us when we call and give them an address to do so.  Unfortunately, we do not have any bills.  No credit card statements (we have one and it’s an e-bill), no health insurance (won’t pay those pirates), no mortgage payment (isn’t that a good thing?).  So I can’t prove that I have a permanent address because I don’t get mail or have debt.  Ain’t that great?

So here’s what the state has advised me to do: stay at a campground for a night and use that address.  Or a motel.  Doesn’t that sound like a plan? Oddly, I was planning on getting my Commercial Drivers License endorsement in order to help my father in law with his business this summer…and I can’t get a CDL if I use the campground or motel for an address.  It’s a no-win.

So say I decide I don’t want a drivers license.  Say I decide to ride my bike everywhere.  Down the road I will not be able to ride on an airplane or enter a government building unless I have the ID…I won’t be able to serve on a jury or talk to my congressman (or enter any federal building) unless I can prove my residential address and get that ID.  It’s frustrating to say the least.  No one could argue that this law makes much sense.

This morning I pick up the Argus Leader and read an article on the front page.  It’s about how the state has just started enforcing a law making it more difficult for farmers markets and small, home based producers to sell their products.  They will be required to provide nutritional information and be subject to inspection and training on canning and cooking techniques.  The farmers market in Sioux Falls is booming.  People jam in on Saturdays and everyone leaves happy.  So why the change? Call me a cynic, but I’m all but positive that it’s corporate America behind the change.  People are sick and tired of the processed, chemically-laden foods we buy from the Mega Producers.  So we’re lining up to buy healthy foods.  Here’s the problem: ADM and Kraft don’t get a penny.  They see billions of dollars of potential revenue disappearing, and they can’t compete.  So their lobbyists convince our legislature that it’s a good thing to regulate the little guy…the guy who makes 200 jars of homemade jelly a year.  What happens? The little guy decides it’s not worth it and quits.  We then spend our money with Smuckers.  The little guy doesn’t have a lobbyist.  So…it’s OK to sell cigarettes, which WILL kill you.  It’s OK for me to buy Hostess cupcakes and Red Bull, but not an onion grown on a nearby farm?

After reading the paper, I got on my bike and headed to Shopko to buy a refill on my contact lenses.  I had my last eye exam last October.  I wanted to order 4 boxes of lenses but was denied.  Even though my prescription was still valid they would only allow me to order 1 box of lenses, as I’m due for an eye exam in a couple of months.  I got pissed at the girl and told her I wanted her to print out my prescription…that I’d just order it online from one of the websites.  She informed me that there’s a f’in law that got passed that I can’t wear contacts unless I have an exam every year and that everyone enforces it.  Alas, I would not be able to buy 4 boxes from 1-800-Contacts.  So…follow me here.  The stinking optometrists lobbyists have make it a law that I need to have my prescription updated every year.  It hasn’t changed in 12 years now.  So I’ve got to spend $100 on an exam so they can tell me I have the exact same eyesight as last year.  I KNOW! THEY’RE MY F’in EYES! I USE THEM ALMOST EVERY DAY!

In the 20 years I’ve been in Sioux Falls, the 2 hospitals have quadrupled (or more) in size.  So has the courthouse and prison.  Half the people I know are on anti-depressants, are alcoholics, or should be one or the other.  Life in America is becoming unbearable.  People are afraid of terrorists.  They fret for their retirement and investments.  Good jobs are becoming a thing of the past as the American worker is being devalued.  Education is on the decline.  Everyone’s over their head in debt with little or no hope for relief.  Somewhere along the line we did something wrong.  And people are finally starting to talk about it…but what’s “it”? How do we change it? The Mr. Smith Goes to Washington model no longer works.  The house and senate leadership no longer allows wildcards to speak on the floor, let alone wield power.  It takes years of Washington BS to garner any clout.  And even then it’s just one voice out of hundreds.

In my heart of hearts, I want to believe that Barack Obama wanted to fix things…that he tried to do the things that he promised us he’d try to do.  But in the end I believe that even the president of the United States is powerless against this…this…well, I don’t even know what to call it.  And if I had all the power in the world I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for ‘it’.  But all of us know it’s there.  It doesn’t matter what political party you belong to…in the end, the parties are the same.  They’re not looking out for us.  If they were, would they really force the issue of  a national ID? What’s even the purpose of it? They stop illegal immigration if they want. So that’s not it.

The best solution I’ve come up with so far is a pipe dream.  I’d like everyone in this country to walk into voter registration office and register as an independent.  As it stands, the Dem’s know that if you’re registered Democratic, you’ll more than likely vote that way in the voting booth.  So they’ve got you and don’t need to work for your vote.  Same thing with the Repubs.  Let ‘em sweat it out on election night, not knowing what in the world is going to happen.  Give ‘it’ the same insecurity that the rest of us live with every single day…if only for that one day called Election Day.  And think of what would happen if 100% of us were registered independent and couldn’t vote in the primaries…if no one got a single vote in those elections, what would happen to ‘it’? Those would be magnificent times…if only.

Here’s the problem…Ben Wallace is now part of “it”.  Who’d a thunk it?

Sorry for the political ramblings, everyone.  I need to get back aboard Oblivion….moderately badly.