A Call For Collective Action

... that has about as much chance of being truly "collective" as I do of growing wings and flying to Jupiter.

Here's what our thoroughly Peronist President had to say in his second inaugural address.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people. 

We're going to do these things together? Collectively? Really? Just who is contributing what here? If it's collective and we're all doing it together, then everyone has a role.

And I mean everyone.

Just what are the baby mamas supposed to be contributing? How about the potheads? What about the indolent, the immoral, the wastrels and the slothful? What's the plan there? I'm guessing there isn't one. I'm guessing there's no real plan for truly collective action, merely another call to loot the people who practice self-denial, industry and thrift.

I think we need another word, another phrase, another turn of speech for what he means in this passage. Maybe we need to rewrite it entirely. How about like this?

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that infidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to self-inflicted challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms is pretty much a thing of the past and now it's time for the majority to loot those who are industrious and competent. Many of the American people can not meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone. We're going to need to harness the efforts of a declining minority to train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip a generation of future tax-mules and build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring jobs for these human pack animals to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must force these people to work for us, because we want it. 

There. That works.

Of course, we could try this. This looks pretty collective.