Change in America.

Here in America, we are for human rights, even for the worst of humans. Here in America we are for free speech even, and especially, if that speech is offensive. Here in America we believe in helping those who need help. We are a melting pot of different and diverse cultures. We are at the forefront of science and technology, ingenuity and know how. We are a beacon of hope and opportunity. America leads by example. This is My America. A country created by the People and for the People. Problem is, the existence of My America seems about as real as Abbie Hoffman's "Woodstock Nation".

The new America pounds rationalizations for torture into the hearts and minds of Americans, tugging at Our lowest human impulses. The new America confuses American flag pins with patriotism. The new America privatizes the military without holding contractors accountable for murder, grand theft, or incompetence. The new America supports the troops by lengthening their tours, shortening their rests, and cutting their benefits. The new America spies on its own citizens. The new American scares its citizens into thinking that their rights are privileges. The new America lets the president act like a king. The new America scoffs at science. The new America leads by force and condemns any nation who follows its example. The new America doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks. It would rather insult those with opposing views (freedom fries) than discuss those views. The new America helps those that have and looks further down on the have-nots.

I do not hate America. I love America. I remember what happened on September 11, 2001. I was standing across the Hudson River, watching, while it was happening. That cursed day, that cursed attack is not a reason to throw away everything America stands for. There's is a sticker on my door that reads "Our grief is not a cry for war". What is stronger, standing up and saying "We will not be deterred. Our way of life will not change, because of your brutality" or saying "We will become brutal, we will give up rights and freedoms, we will live in fear of the next attack"?

Our leaders can not be trusted to bring America back. They are either too conniving or too afraid. The change has to come from the People. Until it does, the light at the end of the tunnel is only going to get dimmer. It's not easy to pay attention to the war or poverty instead of the latest reality show results. It's hard to pay attention to what Our leaders are doing when there is new "news" about an amateur porn video star marrying another amateur porn video star. It's easier to keep up on the custody battle of a former child pop star whose career has gone south than it is to think about health care coverage for everyone American.

But it's up to Us. We can sit back, watching the world go by on Our television or we can act. I vote for action.

"Change does not happen from the top down. It happens from the bottom up"
-Senator Barack Obama in NYC 9/27/7.

Gore to come later.