Are We Paying Attention Yet?

In my last three journal entries, I have strayed from the telling of my life story in chronolgical order...because over the years, I have learned that when the creative juices are flowing, and the muses are speaking to me, I need to write down what I'm feeling...even if I'm doing something else at the time...or I very often lose the idea forever, because it can leave as quickly as it came. Although I am anxious to get back to the story of my life...the  events that are happening all around us at this time have provided clear examples to substantiate a lot of the observations I wrote about in those last entries.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention just ended last week, and by the time it had concluded, I knew why I proudly consider myself a Democrat. The convention was the most positive, upbeat, optimistic, hopeful, and idealistic display of American values and patriotism in action that I have witnessed in the American political process in a very long time. I had forgotten what it was like to hear intelligent, compassionate, and thoughtful speeches in their entirety. For a very long time now, we have all been subjected to the 20 second "out of context" soundbyte...which colors what we believe we are hearing because we only get the part of the story...the part that is deemed..." what we need to hear". However, it is a completely different experience when we get to see and hear the entire story. But there are very dark forces still at work in this country...that don't want us to see and hear these things, because clarity is the last thing they want us to have...and so I feel compelled to ask a few important questions.

Is it only me...or does anyone else in this country think that it is strange that with the most important election in our lifetime only three months away, and with the very future of not only our country, but much of the world, very likely to be affected by its outcome...that the convention...and with it, the opportunity to see and hear the candidates and party leaders who could very well be crucial in determining how all of our lives might change...for better or for worse...was not even covered by the three major networks...and was reduced to being less important than the next installment of "Who Wants To Marry My Dad?" Who made the decision to reduce the American people's right to hear what a potential president thinks...down to a soundbyte...or worse, to a commentator telling us what that candidate said...or even worst of all...what that candidate meant? When I was growing up, we all knew that the conventions were incredibly important...because for four days...that was the only choice that was offered to the American people on television. Because all the networks carried the conventions, and because they got the same attention as the elections do today...the message was crystal clear...nothing on TV mattered as much as what was happening at those conventions...and so we all knew how important they were (and still are). There was no Bonanza, no Gilligan's Island, no Mary Tyler Moore on convention nights. And the conventions went on until the wee hours of the morning...and people stayed up to watch them...because everyone knew that the choices they made at election time would determine what the quality of their lives would be, as a result of those choices. It was understood that elections were crucial...and knowing as much as possible about the candidates in elections is the only way to make an informed and intelligent choice. Just because the American public has more choices today as to whether they will watch or not...due to cable and satellite television...doesn't mean that it should be assumed that they are not interested and wouldn't watch...if given the opportunity. I decided to watch the entire convention on a cable news network...but for people who don't have those optional viewing choices on their television sets...the choice was made for them...they just couldn't watch. Today, the American people are expected to make choices about the men who will shape their entire future from whatever information they can glean from the first ten minutes of the evening news...even though the world we live in is far too complex...and a much more dangerous place than it was back then...and so the choices we make are much more serious and profound. Most of the information we are given today to make our decisions for this election comes in an abbreviated glossed-over form. It is second-hand information...and with a definite bias towards editting and soundbytes. Is it just me...or does something seem really wrong with that? What I want to know is...when did all of that change? And who decided for us...to make that change? And isn't the reason why this is happening...blatantly obvious?

Is it just me...or did anyone else notice that almost from the minute each speaker at the DNC concluded his or her speech...the spinmasters were already twisting what had been said, and were already attacking people who had clearly stated  an appreciation for the values that have long been honored as the values on which this great country was founded? When did those values stop being American values?  When did the patriots who embrace them all become "liberals"...a term which has no real meaning today...but has been so demonized by the media that it immediately throws a negative slant on the person it describes? When did championing fairness for all people in this country become something that the media wants to make us feel ashamed of? When did demanding truth and accountability from our leaders become an unpatriotic activity? When did doing the right thing go out of style? Why is the word "conservative" made to sound like a "good American thing" in the media...when the conservative point of view today is really nothing more than the religious and corporate agenda of the extreme right. When did  fairness, and equal opportunity for all, the ending of corporate tax loopholes, affordable health care for all, not just the wealthy...and war only as a last resort...become vilified as unpatriotic, left-wing liberalism, or treasonous...which any way you say it...sounds like a pretty bad thing? When did "Under God" and "Justice for All" become the property and exclusive doctrine of the G.O.P.? (Government of Priviledge). I thought it was my flag, too. And I still do. It is OUR flag...and no single political view or agenda can be wrapped in it. And this is our country. Our diversity has always been our strength. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many...One. Isn't that our National Motto? Aren't we supposed to be the UNITED States?

Is it only me...or has anyone else noticed that the minute some clear questions are asked...and some real solutions are offered as answers to disastrous foreign and domestic policies that clearly cannot be justified when exposed under the light of close scrutiny...an embarrased and undefendable administration uses its control of government agencies to employ the practice of immediately raising the fear level in this country with a "new" terror alert. Does anyone else notice that this is a pattern that has appeared repeatedly over the past three years...and now it rears its ugly head yet again? Is it just me...or isn't it really obvious that this is all that this current administration can do to deflect attention away from the source of their embarassment...A STRONG DOSE OF TRUTH...and the absence of good old American values in its policies? In lieu of an alternative, is distracting the American public from everything they just witnessed and digested last week...a plan to restore America's core values...the only course of action left available to them? When the facts, and this administration's record...clearly speak for themselves...why is it a radical idea to try to fix what is broken? Are we really so arrogant and inflexible as a nation that we can no longer admit to being human, or that we might be on the wrong course, or that we might be in error? Is that now considered an unpatriotic thing to do? I don't believe for a second that is what the American people think. It has, however, been the attitude and the Standard Operating Procedure for this administration. The current leaders of this country have forgotten that most Americans know their history, and that we have always honored truth, fairness, justice, and sincere, civil dialogue to create our policies as a nation...and just because the power elite doesn't think we remember it...doesn't make that true. 

Is it only me...or has anyone else noticed that when an Oscar-winning director and a patriot...makes a documentary film that clearly shows the deceptions, the blatant dishonesty, and the callous disregard for the well-being and safety of Americans by a president with an agenda...an agenda that wants to strip all of us except for the very rich and powerful...of our most powerful ideals, rights, and values...especially the truth...then that man is attacked, vilified, and crucified in the press as a radical and even as a traitor...even though the action he took is exactly what Americans who love their country...what patriots... are supposed to do?  

I don't believe for a second that it is only me that sees these things. There are millions of Americans out there that want their country back. That is why this election is the most important one in our lifetime. It is time for the sleeping giant to awaken. It is time to really get involved. It is time to say and do whatever is necessary to regain our values as a nation. If we want change...WE HAVE TO CREATE IT. It is time to stop talking and start doing. Whatever my political beliefs are...they are meaningless without real action. I have made my decision, and I am actively involved with the "regime change" that I believe is necessary if this country is to survive in a form that resembles the America that I have always loved...and the America that has always been the beacon of hope for the whole world. When I think of the word "democracy"...it is the word that best describes for me the values that created this great country. It is the word that best describes our freedom...and our way of life. Government policy and the quality of life determined by the will of the people. The thing I value the most about living in a free society, is the fact that I have the freedom and the right to make my own choices. Every day, as I pay attention to what is happening in this country, it becomes increasingly evident that I have fewer and fewer choices...and very often decisions I used to be able to make for myself...are now being made for me. And that reminds me of how life is in other places in this world...but it shouldn't be happening here, in America. When I think of the word "republic"...the only example that currently comes to mind is The People's Republic of China...a place where the people are told what they should think and what they want, and what they are going to be allowed to do. I know where I want to live...and it isn't in a place like that. Division, Fear, Power, and Arrogance...the tactics that are currently employed by the leaders elected to serve us...will NEVER equate to Unity, Courage, Strength,  Hope, and Wisdom...the principles that are the bedrock and foundation of everything that has made our country the example that it has been for all people who value freedom above all else...everywhere in the world. And real wisdom is simply...paying attention to the truth that constantly reveals itself all around us...ALL THE TIME...if we only look for it. For me, the truth is...I'd much rather live in a democracy than a republic. I guess that is why I'm a Democrat...and not a Republican. But whatever our politics might be...if we allow others to make all of our decisions and choices for us...it means we have surrendered all control of our lives and our destiny to apathy...and we will have to live in the house that we built. 

 So where do we want to be? What kind of an America do we really want to live in? The road we are currently on is a road well travelled througout history. And it has always been a dead-end. From the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations...to the Feudal Systems of early European times...to Monarchies and Dynasties throughout the world in all eras of human history...to Facism and Communism...that well-travelled road has never brought us anywhere...except back to Square One. That is why democracy has been called "The Great Experiment". It is an idea that recognized the failures of the past. And in a democracy...it is the people who are supposed to rule. To quote Mr. Spock from Star Trek..."the needs of the many...outweigh the needs of the few...or the one." So the question that I keep asking myself over and over again, as if my life depended on it, is...are we going to allow history to repeat itself, yet again? Are we going to sit back...and let "The Great Experiment" become just another meaningless dream? As our control of our government steadily becomes...US BEING CONTROLLED BY OUR GOVERNMENT...I keep wondering....Are we paying attention yet?