Just under a year ago I started this blog as a means of expressing my personal and political opinions, mostly about the forthcoming election. It’s clear mandate was to put a Progressive Pragmatic voice “out there” on the web in the hope that some like minded souls would read it and perhaps link to it or pass it on to others. While I have succeeded on many levels, I have clearly failed on one very important level: to MAINTAIN that Pragmatic Progressive voice on a regular basis. Many things contributed to this, among them work on my novel and my health, but for a time, this blog was causing a bit of a stir and some controversy. I became complacent with the election of Barack Obama, thinking that perhaps important legislation that was stalled in Congress for years would get passed now that there was a Democratic Majority. It hasn’t. I thought the open hostility and racism that ran rampant in the McCain/Palin camp would simply go away because it was agitated by a few right wing lunatics. It hasn’t. Instead what has happened was more gridlock, and open rascist hostility toward The President Of The United States. I have seen tactics used by the Right to silence ANY form of progressive thought, speech and action in Town Halls. I have seen members of Congress on both sides of the aisle become blatant in their being beholden by the Health Insurance industry and no one giving a damn. And worse, I have said nothing.
But I shall remain silent no longer.
This nation, in fact, this very planet; is about to go through marked change which will shape the course of Humanity for generations to come. We CANNOT exist in the manner in which we currently live; we CANNOT hate instead of taking care of one another, and we CANNOT stay divided by petty squabbles that have divided us for centuries. We must surely learn to live together in peace, or we shall surely pass into the night consumed by the fire of our own making. What’s more, those of us who see the path we need to take must organize better and not resort to complacency from our lawmakers who are bought and paid for by Corporations. We must make others see as we do through common sense and an approach to governing and survival that has never been attempted before. We cannot wait for anyone else to do this for us…we must, we will, and we can do it together…or not at all.
Courage. Justice. Freedom. Humanity.
All of these describe what is necessary…but the most important of these is courage, for without that nothing else can fall into place. We must have the courage to shun those who continue to propagate racism in all of its forms, and yet remember that as flawed as they are that they are a part of Humanity too. They are frightened, for they know nothing else than what has been taught them for generations. We must have the courage to organize and make our numbers count because we know that there are more of us out there trying to save this planet and this species than those who seek to destroy it. They just have the louder voice.
We are not alone. We must seek each other out. The time has come to try and save this place we call Earth…and it begins by our not being silent any longer.
And that starts with me.
Intersections In Real Time 