I've put my pen down for longer than I would have liked. Things in my part of the world have been hectic to say the least. I have undertaken putting my money where my mouth is and have signed on to do some community activism, no more sitting on the sidelines pointing at what others are failing to do and haughtily sneering at their foibles and shortcomings. It is a must that I get in the game being that I obviously have the answers to "everything" (insert sarcasm). Along with that undertaking I will be doing a seminar next week at the neighborhood high school on financial literacy, a needed skill that isn't taught to many people until it is too late and they are neck deep in debt. The following day I will be coordinating and serving as the advisor of their high school newspaper. As I reach the middle of month I will be returning to graduate school to complete my MBA, it seems that I will have my hands full as if I didn't already.
Why do I feel it necessary to rattle off the things, events, and activities that I have going on in my world? It is not for a pat on the back, accolades or because I feel guilty about my inaction, but rather because it is what I am supposed to do. I need to do something about it! I have a host of societal issues that I have problems with and to move past them and turn them into non-issues, starting with our youth is the key. Along with that I feel moved to write because many of you have inquired about my absence from the friendly confines of Gather, for that I must sincerely thank you for your concern and kind words. Often at times we get so caught up in the mindset of taking that we forget to give back and that results in a negative surplus, if you haven't noticed it seems that our society is becoming morally bankrupt more so by each passing day.
It is hard to push forward on the daily if we feel that our actions have a modicum of impact in the grand scheme of things. I liken it to the worker ant, in that the worker ant pushes forward, doesn't rock the boat, doesn't ask any questions... But we are human beings not ants; it would behoove us to stop acting the part. The looming question is this: DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Yes it does!
With that being said, I do have a proverbial bone to pick with the world and I will do my best to keep it tightly focused on the targets of my angst. These are just a few mind you...
Question 1: Why do we see fit to let others speak for us? The Presidential race is the creeping up on us and it seems that media is playing a Jedi mind trick on us. I assume that the thinking is that if Hillary Clinton is constantly referred to as the Democratic frontrunner that when the time finally comes to head to the polls the voters will already have this hypnotic suggestion imbedded into their head. Vote Hillary... Yes Master.. Even more disturbing is the grumbling that Giuliani is the man to beat on the Republican side. I don't want to get off subject by droning on about how unqualified Giuliani is for the job of President. But,what are we going to do about it?
Question 2: Why is it that in light of the missteps of the Bush Administration and his recent utterance of the phrase "World War III" as propaganda that we aren't at a point where we are outraged to a point that we demand satisfaction from our congressional representatives in the form of impeachment. It is a sad realization that we are still susceptible to scare tactics from the Executive Branch of our government when logic and common sense should reign supreme. If no one puts the brakes on the Bush Administration we will find ourselves in yet another war, this time in Iran with a draft a near certainty. If anything, the actions of this administration has shown that they have no respect for our rights guaranteed to us under the Constitution, the document that they profess to wrap themselves in. What are we going to do about it?
Question 3: Blackwater and the other war profiteers in Iraq... Do I need to elaborate? What are we going to do about it?
Question 4: American Genocide and the Netherworld of Race
On the streets of our major cities Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore to name a few, young African-American men are dying by the thousands not from infectious diseases or malnutrition but through homicide. The one issue that we need to move towards is that this is an issue that affects American society as a whole not just the Black community. Given the controversy surrounding Duane "Dog" Chapman star of the reality series "Dog, the Bounty Hunter" and his use of the "N" word in describing his son's girlfriend. I would be inclined to think that many people would be content for things to continue in this present "Netherworld" of race relations. Earlier last month in the lobby of my job I overheard two older white men talking about murder rate in Baltimore.
As I was rounding the corner one of them said "Maybe they'll just kill themselves off I'm getting sick of seeing and hearing them everywhere, to be quite frank with you." Upon his seeing me turn the corner he turned a ghastly pale color and gulped hard... I looked right at him, chuckled and replied "I was just saying the same thing about Dummies, good morning to you too... Dummy!" What are we going to do about it?
In closing we have to believe that our actions or inactions will have a ripple effect on society as a whole... I'm not going out without a fight; neither should the rest of the enlightened few of us.
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Comments: 47
'WE' let it happen to start with, didn't fix it, (whichever 'it' you pick), any of the previous occasions no matter who twit was in the white house, and 'We' have allowed the ILLUSION that one side is different than the other to blind us to fact that they BOTH are operating the same machines with different colors of paint.
and every four years they have a banquet for the one who has done the best job of distracting us.
I also email my congressman and senator at least once a month to air concerns about Iraq, Iran or oil companies.
BTW, how did the Dummy respond?!?
Media in this country is run by rich white republicans .
They think that with Hilliary being Hilliary they can get one of their puppets elected.
By hook or by crook.(voting machine fraud again )
Sorry I NEVER look at anything that has "fox" in its name.
Kimberly V
Question 1. Hillary VS Giuliani didn't you know, its a New York thing, you know East Coast time paradiagm shift and control, the world circle around what ever happens there, like the Yankees in the world series again, give me a break. And there ego is as bad as Texas, you think there was no other place on earth.
Question 2. Nothing is impossible, but war with Iran not likely, we have exhausted our troop strenght and any body drafted won't go. Impreachment is not in the cards for Bush because he has the surpreme court in his pocket and there is not enought time, better the Demos continue to investigate the corruption of the republicans while they are still in the seat of chairmanships.
Bush with the support of the previous congress did what they were paid to do, support capitlism to the extreme; why you think Enron fell from grace, they were high off of that drug called conservatism. But make no mistake, there are some people out to kill you and we better find out who they are, they tell me, god told them to do it.
Question 3. Blackwater, buy shares make money and shut them down from the inside this roach will never die, they will just divide and multiply.
Question 4. Bring back the draft, get the youth off the streets, if not in school, federal service projects waiting for you, everyone of them, 18 to 22 years old, with a 2 years minium stay, pay and benfits on the service you perform and the danger it intails. Why you think they got kids wearing uniforms in school now. Illegal want a ticket to be an American, join up. Another Katrina happens, send them, firestrom in the south-west we got it covered, want to get paid big, big money find a spot on the front lines, need an out reach programs to feed and help the homeless. Yes we can get somethings done, we can slove a lot of problems. Put the youth to work, thank goodness I retired early.
Great article Shun ;)
I avoid TV... surf the dial when I'm falling asleep and usually end up on Animal Planet.
2. Bush has not come close to doing anything worthy of impeachment. "Missteps" aren't crimes, sir, and neither are policy differences. Remember, no-one suggested impeaching Pres. Carter, when he refused to answer Iran's invasion of the US embassy, which was a clear declaration of war under international, and US law. There is a long history to support action against the Islamic Republic, though I doubt Bush will pull the trigger. As for rights lost here in the US, it looks to me as if people are freer to criticize this president, and administration, than they have ever been. Look at the "code pink" lady waving her fake-bloodied hands in the Secretary of State's face, in the halls of Congress, no less. You didn't actually pose a question on this one, but that's my reply.
3. The fraud in Blackwater, and other government war contractors, is eclipsed by the fraud in welfare, medicare, and other domestic programs. I suggest that we will do the same thing about both, which is very little. NYS Att'y Gen. Cuomo is making some headway into the latter, but I think that Blackwater's dealings will not be affected so much by the congressional hearings, as by the situation in Iraq. The profiteering is systemic, both here and there. I agree with you, but see it as a problem that predates the war, and the current administration. Blackwater is a product of this situation, not the cause.
4. Old white men have been saying that for years ("Let them kill themselves off"). Unfortunately, young black men seem to have been taking this advice for years, as well. People are individually responsible for their actions, and no-one else's attitude about it matters, or contributes to it. You are right to be repulsed by some attitudes, but these men are not the ones out there killing black men, all the same.
I don't like the way everything in this comment sounds, Shun, but I'm trying to answer your very difficult questions, as best as I can. Thanks again, for a thought-provoking piece!
In my feebleness, I just happened to have stumbled across David K.'s ripe question of July 2007, where he inquires from his readership about "wining the Iraq war." I felt compelled to share my response below:
---------------------
David,
Iraq war? just ask yourself, who "owns" it?
You must be referring to this administration's manufactured skirmish in Iraq?
I've always heard the old timers here say, that in spite of it's devastation, horrific cost in human terms, and cavalier spending of tax dollars, a WAR, can be a good thing, as it stimulates and revitalizes the economy of a county in financial debt or slump.
The question is, in this case, where has all this alleged revitalizing revenue flowed to? I'll take the liberty, (we still have a tad of that left here) of exploring for a bit in the abstract.
When you answer that question of theoretical ownership, then "the war" appears more to be an instrument or tool that belongs to, in a manner of speaking as a possession of, someone or some special interest group. To concur in part with the sage wisdom of the elders of my community, I would say that such a tool might look much like a monstrous rake operated by someone behind a curtain who unleashes the dogs when someone tries to take a look.
Ask yourself quite simply, what has been realized for the tax paying people in this era of whining politicians, ever rising taxes and budget cuts PUBLICLY and PRIVATELY the record rupturing profits for defense contractors and oil companies? Sounds a bit out of balance to the tune of trillions actually, don't you think?
So I believe that "their war", on behalf of those unseen privileged few, is already being won; and will more likely than not continue to be won in perpetuity ...
That is ... a win for the defense contractors and their political "kick back" cronies that unblushingly soak up our tax dollars without any oversight. A win, as a DIRECT result of the politicians that they're in bed with who sit in our highest levels of government looking the other way no mater how loudly and angrily we the people cry out!
Clearly, the Iraqi's and the American people ARE THE LOSERS HERE.
It's all simply a big business free for all, that from an international perspective, if permitted to continue, will shift and skew the flow of economic resources to such a degree that irreparable harm will not only be done to our way of life in the United States but also in many other parts of the world.
The question is: when will the American people start to pay attention and motivate congress to proceed with an aggressive investigation that should have already lead by now to instituting the Articles of Impeachment?
Take heed my fellow Americans, IF THIS ADMINISTRATION IS ALLOWED TO SIMPLY LEAVE OFFICE UNSCATHED BY LEGITIMATE INQUIRY BY 2008, THEN NO MESSAGE WILL BE SENT TO THEIR SUCCESSORS, (whether democrat, republican, unaffiliated or otherwise). SLEEP ASSURED THAT ABSENT THE MESSAGE, THAT PRESIDENTS CANNOT GET AWAY WITH THE "good ole' boy" MENTALITY OF FAVORING BUG BUSINESS INTERESTS OVER THE WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NEGATIVE MOMENTUM WILL SURELY GAIN.
It'll be just "more of the same" in different clothing, no matter to what degree, pre-election candidates platitudinize of how awfully this president has conducted himself. Read George Orwell's Animal Farm all over again - were there folks!
Under the impudent control of that next administration, the gap will only continue to widen as far as the very wealthy and the common persons interests. On our very own shores, a new war of sorts may emerge; one where hungry "defense contractors" will surface as "security contractors" taking up service in the name of a "war on terror" and "war on drugs".
Surveillance cameras will continue bud and blossom from nearly every utility pole and our constitutional rights will slowly continue to wither. The prices of everything will continue to rise steeply, eventually out of reach of so many.
It is then that perhaps people will take to the streets and Kent State of the bygone days and the contemporary Blackwater USA incident will look as though each had been a walk in the park.
Common place will be the apprehensions with insufficient probable cause as both law enforcement and contractors jointly interrogate and confine "suspects" for any myriad of reasons without access to counsel, judicial oversight or the safety of a competent fair court.
An "affidavit of probable cause" and "executed search warrant" will become relics of the past. Signatureless, warrants bearing language that will include terms such as "search seizure" "wiretap", "intrusion / intercept", "ISP and communications carrier compliance to official inquiry" "interests of national security applicably supersede any right to privacy"; all may be executed at the sole unilateral discretion of a one sided authority. We will see, "smash and grab" security / law enforcement tactics with substantially lower standards of proof for inquest, prosecution and conviction.
You say that as a law abiding citizen you've nothing to fear? Nothing at all, if you expect and truly believe that those charged with ever increasing power will not abuse that power as has been so aptly demonstrated with this administration in office who live and breathe by a continuous shell game of fraud. Can the likes of such be entrusted with this kind of power when their interests are exclusively served already as a wealthy and powerful minority?
Speaking out as this, may one day be forbidden and those that attempt to do so in the name of the First Amendment will be branded as treasonous, wielding a threat to national security and dealt with accordingly in a Brave New World.
In the meantime any more "wars" waged will continue to involve the spilling of the blood of the common man and never that of those who sit on thrones of gold who solely reap the benefits of these conquests disguised in the name of what they call "democracy".
No! this is not possible here in the United States of America! Among the rolling lawns of Montecello, the high peaks and rushing streams of the Colorado Rockies, in the eyes and minds of those who live by and love our constitution ... or ... the land of puckering McDonald's, the fuel drinking smog spewing SUV, finger pointing politicians who always seem to avert prosecution or find official pardon from one and other, singing corporate chain stores at Christmas time and those that rush to and from in self absorbed oblivion. Not here!
"The Buffalo roam and the deer and antelope play?" They're long gone my friend .... as will be many other things soon if we choose to stay lulled to sleep.
Why is it that so many assume, in fact almost expect and quietly accept that politicians and those operating for and around them are automatically corrupt? Many people say that to ascend to any high office, such an official must have had to have stepped on toes, has some skeletons or greased some palms.
Didn't being a leader, at least at one time in the past, be considered to be an honorable pursuit for those held in the highest of esteem and trust by the majority and not a privileged minority? Could that last time be in 1776? Is there anyone else out there that finds such complacency outrageous too?
For everyone's sake, WAKE UP AMERICA!! ... Unite and wake up congress to act now!!
There are far far greater numbers of those that do not see the revenues realized from this war than do. THE PROFITEERS OF BILLIONS OR TRILLIONS ARE IN THE MINORITY.
If you are inspired so, then stand with me and Keep up the Watch on behalf of the authors of the Bill of Rights who are not presently here to do so for everyone's free interest any more. It's up to you and I now.
Alexander
As for the political questions/statements posed, I think that we have become complacent with the current administration as far as the crimes (yes, they have committed crimes and far mor less than getting oral sex in the White House, folks!) that have been done so far, calls for at the very leasyt, some sort of investigation and/or impeachment proceedings. There doesn't seem to be such a rally cry, as we heard so loudly proclaimed during the Clinton/Lewinsky matter. To the average person, it seems as if there's an aura of intimidation and fear inside the Beltway. Will we ever know the truth of what's been going on in the White House, ever?
By the way, thought-provoking article and welcome back! Hope you achieve all that you strive to! You certainly do have a full plate up ahead!
-This is truly something that has puzzled me. I have fretted over this for years. Why does it have to be this way? This is the stuff in the news I like to avoid because it is so-o depressing. It is so easy to put the blame on the African-American urban culture but I can't believe that "it" is the problem. I know that there are thousands of grieving families that don't believe this is the way to live. And as I look at the photos of African American families on Gather I can see that it is not their culture.
We recently had an incident here in Morgantown where a young man was murdered. This is a University city and there are many people here from other cities. This young man was from Martinsburg, WV. The young men that he got in a gunfight with were from Philly. In fact it is believed they traveled here just for this incident. Without going through all the details the end result was 1 dead, 2 wounded. Rumour has it that this incident was started the week before as a result of an altercation in a bar.
How do we end this? The dummy's theory doesn't work. The only way to end this is through the love, support, and the watchful eye of family. Also the guidance of men for boys and women for girls is strongly needed. Your words and actions are interpreted as the "way it is" so be careful what you say and do. As individuals, we can only take on so much, but each little piece of the neighborhood we help expands to many. You have to influence young people so that they influence their peers. Give them hope to be what they want to be.
Don't be overwhelmed by the task - "each journey begins with a single step".