Tuesday, September 29, 2009

We Will Work Against You

For hours I've been watching the Senate Finance Committee debate two different amendments calling for a public health care option. Both proposals have failed, and I'm angry, a bit sad too... but not particularly surprised.

Though SkyeWire's frequent posts may bother some of my Facebook friends, you should know that I only write such things because I believe that these issues are of vital importance. As a citizen of the United States of America I feel a certain duty to remember the sacrifice and struggle of the founding fathers; to remember that this government was to be THE finest product of the Western Enlightenment-- a government created for people and of people.

The genius of Thomas Jefferson and the others was in giving individuals the power to take control over the fate of governance. Indeed, the expectation was that ordinary people would take this responsibility to heart... that civic duty would reign supreme over any and all detrimental interests.

But something has gone terribly wrong.

My friends, times have never been worse. As this nation fights to reclaim its identity, we are faced with the most catastrophic environmental threat of our existence. As the ice caps melt faster and faster, we sit idly... tweeting about silly boys and girls. While the interests of the few dominate our government's decisions, Facebook takes precedence for the apathetic masses who feel too impotent to do anything.

Allow me to put this into perspective.

...When the glacier that feeds into India's Ganges River melts away and dries
...and leaves half a billion of the world's
poorest
without drink and irrigation

...When the trees you loved so much as a kid
...and the crops you depend upon for nourishment
shrivel and die
in a rapidly changing ecosystem...

...when the health system fails for good
...when Wall Street gets away with losing
everyone's money for the
...second
...third
...sixth
time

...when you realize that this country is no longer a leader of
morality
and freedom

...when such things happen, you will wish you had said...
something.
anything.

You'll wish you had stood for something when there was still something worth fighting for.

Like the man who watched in silence as
Jews
gays
Jehova's witnesses
Romani
dissenters
got rounded off to death camps...
...only to find himself a victim in the end.

Like him, you too will regret when these forces begin affecting your life.

So I'm sorry for being bleak at times, but these are realities; and insulating yourself in the Facebook bubble will not change them.

Don't get me wrong, we can change things... we really can. But if you're heart isn't in it, it will not happen! During Vietnam there was a revolution in this country. Millions marched and some died in a revolution of peace... how remarkable. Can you just imagine? Can you imagine if the masses used the internet for unprecedented citizen involvement and organization? A taxpayer revolt against the Congress that persistently fails to represent the people.

You have to fight and argue and VOTE!! You must learn the issues and find out if your Senator or congressperson is representing good things. Democrat or Republican or whatever.

If they aren't... work against them. Find like-minded others. Spread the word. Grow. Believe. Take back the power. Before it's too late. This is our responsibility.

Yes we can.
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