Many thanks to Ellie for calling me out of hiatus with her kind words of encouragement to post again. I will post a thoughtful examination of my reasons for being silent sometime in the next few days, but rest assured I have been watching the world turn with keen interest and have not abandoned my duty as a citizen to be informed.
Emotionally, the shock and awe of the Republicans’ disastrous domestic policies and their effect on the people I work with (I am a clinical director in a psychiatric hospital) have driven me silent lately. What is there to say? We live in a land where the rich eat the poor and to say otherwise makes you a liberal. And, as we practitioners of psychosemiotic analysis are aware, in today’s lexicon the following formula applies:
LIBERAL = TRAITOR = TERRORIST
So be it. I am one of those few Americans with a long enough memory to still be chafing at the idea of “trickle down” social and economic policy. I remember how much better the country was before the Right wing Republicans came to power. Remember retirement plans? Remember benefits at work? Job security? Vacations? Paying the bills on one salary with a little left over to save? Remember low-cost student loans and grants? Remember when the government cared about justice, and actually enforced labor laws?
Ah, the good old days. Hell, I'm such a fossil I'm still lamenting the Reagan years, even as every institution in the land is gradually re-named after that deluded second-rate McCarthy himself.
Nothing trickles down to the poor and working middle class. Nothing good, anyway.
And what’s more, we have all known it all along, and yet we played along with this fantasy that helping people only hurts them, and that if a man is drowning you throw him an anvil, since his problem isn’t the drowning, it’s his lack of motivation to swim. We played along with idea that a businessman in a thousand dollar suit with a battery of lawyers can be a devout and humble Christian.
Maybe all of you out there are starting to wake up. As for me, the whole thing gave me a gut ache and sent me into seclusion. Reading, but no writing. Thanks to Ellie for letting me know people were in fact reading along with my struggle.
Anyway, on to the thing itself:
From today’s perusal of the ‘sphere:
“There are some people, and I'm one of them, that believe that George Bush was placed where he is by the Lord," Tomanio said. "I don't care how he governs, I will support him. I'm a Republican through and through.”
People like thisare the problem.
Peace unto you, and your families, and the world. May we all come to our senses soon.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
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3 comments:
Welcome back. I was pleasantly surprised to see your new post -- I was afraid we might have lost you.
I can relate to your desire to seek seclusion. I sometimes feel like crawling under a rock and staying there until there is a new administration. At times, I wonder if there is any hope of reversing the damage that has already been done.
The important thing is that we keep on... as tempting as that rock may be sometimes, we've got to continue to take a stand, to fight against injustices and reclaim our country.
It may sound silly, but blogs can be a part of that -- exchanging thoughts, encouraging one another, supporting the cause. When the rock tempts us, it's nice to know we're not alone.
No, Ellie, it's not silly. Blogs right now represent the most accesible and cheapest method of fighting the corrupt and powerful. If my posts are good, millions can read them, free of charge, and I don't have to advertise or shill in any way (of course, sometimes I think my readership is restricted to my own friends and the few like yourself who found the site on your own).
It's no surprise that the corporation-toadying Republican thugs are seeking to further commercialize and restrict the Internet; it's simply too democratic a forum, too economical to use. One major fight is to keep the Internet freedoms we currently enjoy.
I read a lot of politics, I vote in every election, I have called senators' offices, the Supreme Court, and even Ann Coulter's boss to lodge a complaint.
But the one act that makes me feel most connected to our founding fathers and their true intent is the one I'm engaging in right now.
Thanks for coming along for the ride and please, keep commenting, especially as you seem to have the venue all to yourself.
Hey GTL,
It's good to have you back. I can relate to the sense of hopelesness about the sad state of affairs in this country. Please do keep on keeping on. I have a few friends that are currently running for office in my state - Democrats. I always urge them to read the GTL.
My advice to them, one and all, is to get the fuck over the gun thing. If the past election was really that close, I can't help but think that a Democratic party in full support of the right to bear would have faired better, perhaps won. I know plenty of rednecks, (I'm in Nevada), that think the current leadership is incompetent at best but will not vote Democratic simply because of their alignment with the anti-gun lobby. Those who think that is B.S. really need to get out among the rural folk and see for themselves. I can't help but think where we would have been today if Kerry was endorsed by the NRA. What do you think? BTW, I favor a Springfield XD40
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