TY - JOUR T1 - Amnesia JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 150 LP - 151 DO - 10.3399/bjgp11X556416 VL - 61 IS - 583 AU - John Frey Y1 - 2011/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/61/583/150.abstract N2 - ‘Boy, I think these elections will change everything for the better. I am sure things will get better.’Heads nodded all around. I overheard this comment from a group of men sitting on the couch at a community centre soup kitchen where I help serve a monthly dinner. These men and many families get daily meals at increasingly burdened food pantries all over town. Their opinions could serve as a metaphor for what happened in the US in the mid-term elections.In their rage against collective economic distress, unemployed and working-class people voted for a bunch of millionaires. In an ostensible criticism of ‘career politicians’ they voted out some of the most independent members of congress, including our State Senator Feingold, the only one to vote against the Patriot Act which was a blueprint for suspending civil liberties. By buying the idea of taxes and the federal deficit as a problem, voters seemed willing to threaten public services like schools, transportation, and safety that keep them and their communities operational. The public didn't seem to mind that some candidates often got a little confused when describing the constitution (like whether there is a separation of church and state which is in Article One), or that the Republicans continue to demand tax cuts for the enormously rich. As one of my friends put it, it is part of the American psyche that everyone, including the guys on the couch at the soup kitchen, is convinced that some day they, too, will be millionaires so they don't want to do anything that might … ER -