Political Thoughts for Tough Times
I know it's been a while since ol' Harv sat down and shared his thoughts with the world. Time is different once you're in my condition. When you're over here it ain't like you're going nowhere else. And it's hard getting the Princess to sit down and type when she'd rather be hanging out down at Port Authority waiting for the fleet to come in. But I'm derivating from my subject here. There's a lot's been going on since I shuffled away from your mortal coil. Things don't look real good over there right now for a lot of youse. So maybe you ought to take a little advice from somebody what been in a few tough places and mostly survived them.
You remember that fire what killed all them girls in the Village, back when it used to a be a decent place before the Beatniks ruined it? That happened the year I was born. It was a bunch of Italian girls died there. Most of them wasn't no older than my Mama and couldn't speak the English no better than she could. She knew a couple of them real well, God rest her soul. Oh, wait. He already did. My buddy says being my mother is probably grounds enough for beatification and he's real religious, so he ought to know.
After that things got a lot better for factory workers. They got better for a lot of people what worked on the docks and on the construction sites and a lot of other places too. And you know why they got better? You think it was because the fatcats wanted to make sure everybody got their fair share and got treated with respect? It's on account of unions, that's why. So maybe the next time you got something to say about unions you might want to stop and think.
They're telling you that you don't need the unions no more. They're telling you they can't keep their businesses open with the unions. They're telling you things are going to be better for everybody if you get rid of the unions. They're telling you the unions is a bunch of crooks and criminals, which mostly ain't true at all except for a couple cases what are mostly the exception. You think they didn't say that back when Ol' Harv was on your other side? They was lying then and they're lying now.
You feel jealous of what folks in the union make, you're mad they get vacation and a pension and you don't? Maybe instead of trying to tearing them down you ought to think about starting a union of your own. They ain't looking after us so we got to be looking after each other and standing up for each other. Because if we don't ain't nobody else going to take care of us. And if enough of us stand up together they got to listen and it don't matter how much money they got.
And while we're talking politics, I see a bunch of youse who is all up in arms because we got a colored president. You're saying things you oughtn't to say less you're around your buddies and even then you oughtn't to anyhow. I admit I didn't figure he was going to go that far. Ol' Harv liked John McCain on account of he was a war hero. But then he made Sarah Palin his running mate and second in command if he should die and he's older than the nun I had in English class for two years in fourth grade. Don't get ol' Harv wrong, I'd like to see her doing a lot of things but running the country ain't one of them. Sure, you wanted to hear her screaming, "Drill baby, drill" but come on John, you been in the Army. You gotta think with your big head and not your little one.
But that ain't the point. It don't matter if the President is colored or a Jew or a Polack or a queer or even if he's that union-busting bum Ronald Reagan youse elected after I was gone. He's the leader of the greatest country on Earth. There ain't nothing wrong with disagreeing with him, but show some respect and don't be ignorant about it. If you act like a bum, people is going to treat you that way. (And I hear some of youse complaining about dead people voting. Maybe if more of us voted you might get some things accomplished. But that ain't neither here nor there).
You remember that fire what killed all them girls in the Village, back when it used to a be a decent place before the Beatniks ruined it? That happened the year I was born. It was a bunch of Italian girls died there. Most of them wasn't no older than my Mama and couldn't speak the English no better than she could. She knew a couple of them real well, God rest her soul. Oh, wait. He already did. My buddy says being my mother is probably grounds enough for beatification and he's real religious, so he ought to know.
After that things got a lot better for factory workers. They got better for a lot of people what worked on the docks and on the construction sites and a lot of other places too. And you know why they got better? You think it was because the fatcats wanted to make sure everybody got their fair share and got treated with respect? It's on account of unions, that's why. So maybe the next time you got something to say about unions you might want to stop and think.
They're telling you that you don't need the unions no more. They're telling you they can't keep their businesses open with the unions. They're telling you things are going to be better for everybody if you get rid of the unions. They're telling you the unions is a bunch of crooks and criminals, which mostly ain't true at all except for a couple cases what are mostly the exception. You think they didn't say that back when Ol' Harv was on your other side? They was lying then and they're lying now.
You feel jealous of what folks in the union make, you're mad they get vacation and a pension and you don't? Maybe instead of trying to tearing them down you ought to think about starting a union of your own. They ain't looking after us so we got to be looking after each other and standing up for each other. Because if we don't ain't nobody else going to take care of us. And if enough of us stand up together they got to listen and it don't matter how much money they got.
And while we're talking politics, I see a bunch of youse who is all up in arms because we got a colored president. You're saying things you oughtn't to say less you're around your buddies and even then you oughtn't to anyhow. I admit I didn't figure he was going to go that far. Ol' Harv liked John McCain on account of he was a war hero. But then he made Sarah Palin his running mate and second in command if he should die and he's older than the nun I had in English class for two years in fourth grade. Don't get ol' Harv wrong, I'd like to see her doing a lot of things but running the country ain't one of them. Sure, you wanted to hear her screaming, "Drill baby, drill" but come on John, you been in the Army. You gotta think with your big head and not your little one.
But that ain't the point. It don't matter if the President is colored or a Jew or a Polack or a queer or even if he's that union-busting bum Ronald Reagan youse elected after I was gone. He's the leader of the greatest country on Earth. There ain't nothing wrong with disagreeing with him, but show some respect and don't be ignorant about it. If you act like a bum, people is going to treat you that way. (And I hear some of youse complaining about dead people voting. Maybe if more of us voted you might get some things accomplished. But that ain't neither here nor there).