Republicans & Amway
A few years ago, I was invited by some well-intentioned relatives to attend an Amway rally in Memphis. I had already endured the presentation of “The Plan” and had politely resisted, so they felt that I needed the full treatment. In charity, I went.
I got the same feeling during the three days I spent at that convention that I feel today watching the Republican National Convention.
See, the problem with Amway is that it’s sold as something it’s not. Sure, people succeed in the Amway program. But the few who succeed in Amway are the same people who would succeed at just about anything they did. Success with Amway is built on the backs of the “downline”, those beginners in the program who buy most of the “stuff” that earns the higher-level distributors their bucks. These people are usually in financially murky waters to begin with, which is why the Amway pitch works for them.
The Amway convention put speaker after speaker on the stage to tell you why you should pursue your “dream” (which always centered upon personal wealth) at all costs (literally) and to stop associating with people who disagreed with Amway. You were encouraged to spend all your time with your Amway peers so that you would avoid being poisoned by negativity from those outside Amway who just don’t “get it”. The rally concluded with a rousing speech to embrace the Republican party and vote the evil, tax and spend Democrats out of office.
Sound familiar?
The Republican National Convention has put speaker after speaker on the stage this week to tell you why you should ignore all reasonable evidence and re-elect George W. Bush. They’ve mocked Democrats in general and John Kerry in particular. They’ve painted liberals as the enemy, people among us who just don’t “get it”. And they’ve attempted to rally the troops in their battle campaign to eliminate as many Democrats from office as possible come November.
See, the problem with the Republican Party is that it’s sold as something it’s not.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re strong on defense, but they’re not. They’re simply strong on defense spending, because a large number of them have their hands in the defense industry cookie jar.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re strong on fiscal policy, but they’re not. A reckless gamble on tax cuts that benefited the wealthy has driven the U.S. economy into the dirt, and the federal budget deficit has skyrocketed.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re the party of God, but they’re not—at least not the God of the Bible. Oh, they talk a good game, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. While you’re swooning over their pious words, they’re robbing you blind and putting more people to death. The values of this administration are completely antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Republicans want you to believe that under their leadership, the world is a safer place, but it’s not. The opinion worldwide is that the world is more unstable than ever, and that the U.S. has only exacerbated the situation with its Middle East bullying.
What you need to understand about the Republican Party is that it’s all about money. They're the "upline". Sure, there are blue collar and middle class Republicans and I believe they are people of good will and good faith.
But what they don’t understand is that they’re the downline. The Republican upline needs the constituent downline to support their pyramid scheme.
One more thing I learned from Amway. If they think you’re one of them, they embrace you like a family member. If it appears that you’re not buying into the program, they drop you like a bad date and then stop returning your calls. Since you’re not with the program, you’re an enemy.
Sound familiar?
I got the same feeling during the three days I spent at that convention that I feel today watching the Republican National Convention.
See, the problem with Amway is that it’s sold as something it’s not. Sure, people succeed in the Amway program. But the few who succeed in Amway are the same people who would succeed at just about anything they did. Success with Amway is built on the backs of the “downline”, those beginners in the program who buy most of the “stuff” that earns the higher-level distributors their bucks. These people are usually in financially murky waters to begin with, which is why the Amway pitch works for them.
The Amway convention put speaker after speaker on the stage to tell you why you should pursue your “dream” (which always centered upon personal wealth) at all costs (literally) and to stop associating with people who disagreed with Amway. You were encouraged to spend all your time with your Amway peers so that you would avoid being poisoned by negativity from those outside Amway who just don’t “get it”. The rally concluded with a rousing speech to embrace the Republican party and vote the evil, tax and spend Democrats out of office.
Sound familiar?
The Republican National Convention has put speaker after speaker on the stage this week to tell you why you should ignore all reasonable evidence and re-elect George W. Bush. They’ve mocked Democrats in general and John Kerry in particular. They’ve painted liberals as the enemy, people among us who just don’t “get it”. And they’ve attempted to rally the troops in their battle campaign to eliminate as many Democrats from office as possible come November.
See, the problem with the Republican Party is that it’s sold as something it’s not.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re strong on defense, but they’re not. They’re simply strong on defense spending, because a large number of them have their hands in the defense industry cookie jar.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re strong on fiscal policy, but they’re not. A reckless gamble on tax cuts that benefited the wealthy has driven the U.S. economy into the dirt, and the federal budget deficit has skyrocketed.
The Republicans want you to believe that they’re the party of God, but they’re not—at least not the God of the Bible. Oh, they talk a good game, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. While you’re swooning over their pious words, they’re robbing you blind and putting more people to death. The values of this administration are completely antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Republicans want you to believe that under their leadership, the world is a safer place, but it’s not. The opinion worldwide is that the world is more unstable than ever, and that the U.S. has only exacerbated the situation with its Middle East bullying.
What you need to understand about the Republican Party is that it’s all about money. They're the "upline". Sure, there are blue collar and middle class Republicans and I believe they are people of good will and good faith.
But what they don’t understand is that they’re the downline. The Republican upline needs the constituent downline to support their pyramid scheme.
One more thing I learned from Amway. If they think you’re one of them, they embrace you like a family member. If it appears that you’re not buying into the program, they drop you like a bad date and then stop returning your calls. Since you’re not with the program, you’re an enemy.
Sound familiar?
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