All we are saying is give peace a chance
ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE --- JOHN LENNON
Hey now it's time for you and me
Got a revolution Got to revolution
Come on now we're marching to the sea
Got a revolution Got to revolution
We will take it from you
We will and who are we
We are volunteers of America --- JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
The Eastern world, it is explodin',
Violence flarin', bullets loadin',
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'.
You don't believe in war - but what's that gun you're totin'?
An' even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'.
But you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.
Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say,
An' can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away,
There'll be no one to save, with the world in a grave.
Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy.
An' you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.
Yeah, my blood's so mad feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of senators don't pass legislation,
An' marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin',
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'.
An' you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend,
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction,
No, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.
Barry McGuire - 1965 - Lyrics by: P. F. Sloane
Does anyone besides me feel frightened by the fact that these lyrics, all from the 60"s and early 70's, are more relevent today than they were thirty some years ago. Songs popularized in, what we thought at the time, was the single most unsettled period in the history of our nation. Those of my generation know and remember the upheaval and unrest that marked the changing times in our country. I see us coming full circle. What I don't see, is all those hippies, who are now yuppies, who marched and protested all the wrongs of the 60's from the Vietnam War (they can call it what they like, it was a war) to the fight for civil rights coming out and protesting the war for oil and finance. They would rather turn tail and hop in their SUV's and Lexus's and beat feet to the bank or their broker to make sure their 401k is still intact.
If you are that scared for the safety of your "things" then, believe me, you need to stand up and be counted. Take a stand against the rape of our national pride, our economy, our characters, and our FREEDOMS! This administration is stripping us of all of it. If you think I'm kidding, you need to surf the net and find a copy of what some are calling The Patriot Act 2. It is a draft of what the White House has in store for us. If it passes, you can kiss the 14th amendment goodbye!
I gotta tell you, folks, I'm scared to death! Not of Saddam Housein, not of Kim Jong Il, but of George W. Bush. He "Bush"whacked us to get "elected", excuse me "selected", and if he has his way over this Iraq thing, we may all die.
Let me ask you this. Which do you think would piss terrorists off more? Coming after them, or sitting back and just monitoring things, and taking action only when something is being planned against us? If we do this thing, they will come knocking on our front door. There hasn't been anything going on here since 9-11-01. If we stir them up, it will be disasterous.
I really don't know how to get through to my peers. You have to wake up and get involved. You have to tell your elected officials in Washington what you want them to do. Contrary to common opinion, your Senators and Representatives are there to do your bidding and must vote what the majority of their constituants want. That is why it is important to contact them on a regular basis, even if it's just to let them know you are watching. They tend to behave themselves better when they know we are paying attention.
And that's another thing. We got this way because my generation has quit paying attention to the government. We don't vote (please excuse me from this statement, I'm 47 and I have missed 1 election since I was 18, and that was a primary), we say it doesn't make any difference, we say our vote doesn't count (if you don't vote, it surely won't count). Imagine if you will for a moment, all of us going to the polls and voting our conscience. Imagine what we could accomplish. There is power in numbers. If you want to make a difference register to vote, run for office yourself. Don't think you can't get elected. All you need to start is a simple petition, which is available through your party affilliation or the board of elections in your county. If you get the required number of signatures, your name goes on the ballot for the office you wish to run for. It's simple! If you have a lot of friends who are registered with the same party as you, and who live in the district in which you are running, you pretty much have it made. The number of signatures needed varies from area to area. Just ask when you get your petition.
And above all, I can not emphasize enough, register, and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!
You cannot affect change without voting for it. My generation has gotten lazy and sloppy where our elections are concerned. We, collectively, are to blame for the state of our nation. Not me personally, I didn't vote for the man, or his henchmen!
We can affect a REVOLUTION in our country by voting into office those who hold our same views and morals. Then make them live up to their campaign promises by staying on top of what they are doing. This is easier to do today with all the electronic media available to us. You can E-mail your Senators and Representatives daily. It takes a couple of minutes. In the time it takes to take a dump, you could dump on your elected officials about the latest legislation. That's power! And it's kind of fun knowing your opinion is being heard by people who can do something about it. If they blow you off, keep at them. And never hesitate to remind them how they got there and how quickly that can change in the next election. It's all about the votes to them. Now do you understand why it's so important to vote. The same place you go to contact your congressmen, is the same place you go to check on his/her voting record in congress. Find out what they are voting for and against, and make an informed decision about what you wish to tell them.
This administration is coersing us into living in fear. Out of one side of thier mouths they tell us to relax and live our lives. Out of the other side they say to rush out and buy rolls of heavy plastic and duct tape. How is this in any way normal? I'd rather live my life fearlessly than die in fear. Our leader professes to have such great faith in God. Then why does he feel we need to eliminate the leader of another country to feel safe? Shouldn't God be providing that feeling of safety through faith? I know He does that for me. Maybe, like most of the rest of us, He just doesn't like George. After all, I try not to communicate with people I don't like. Don't you?
Homeland Security in action: A 60 year old man in New York state is arrested when he refused to remove a tee shirt that said"Give Peace a Chance" on the front and "No War With Iraq" on the back. If you think this is crazy, please read the draft of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003. This legislation would allow the government to do just what they tried to do to that 60 year old man. And they want to do it by making you disappear for 2 years, locking you up somewhere without due process and without ever charging you with any crime. This is in direct opposition to your civil liberties and the 14th amendment.
The other thing that annoys me no end is that polititians and broadcasters alike think that actors should not get involved in protests or speak out against this war. I was under the impression that each and every one of us had the right to speak out against our government when we disagree with it's actions. The last time I checked, the actors who are speaking out are United States citizens with all the rights of the rest of us. Just because they are in the public eye, they don't have a say. That's crap! The government doesn't want them saying anything BECAUSE they are in the public eye, and people might actually listen to them and find out they are right. It seems to be okay for the gossip rags to take their most minute initmate lives and plaster it all over the front page. It's okay to talk about the actors, but they're not allowed to talk about the government. Then they say they are going to blacklist these actors. Oprah disagrees about what will happen to the women in Iraq and she spoke out against the treatment of women in Afghanastan. They gonna blacklist her. I don't think so. Did we learn nothing for the McCarthy era!
These are the things that frighten me. Not some madman in the Middle East with weapons (maybe) that reach 93 miles past their own borders! How is he gonna hurt us? Personally, I don't think he had any interest in us at all until George brought his name up in the State of the Union address of 2002. This war has been a long time in the making. George has held this grudge since daddy failed to get Saddam the first time. This war is, in part, to save face for his family. I don't find that a good enough reason to go to war. SUCK IT UP, GEORGE!
To contact your congressmen you can call the U. S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Give them your zip code and they'll transfer your call to your representative.
To E-mail your Senator, go to www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm
To E-mail your Representatives, go to www.house.gov/writerep/
Or you can write: Office of (your Senators name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510; or Office of (your Representatives name), United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
These addresses and E-mail addresses and phone numbers may be of great importance in the coming days, weeks, months, maybe years. Keep them close and use them as often as you deem necessary. Your neighbors and fellow Americans may thank you for this later. And please don't keep them to yourself, pass this information on to your friends and neighbors. Tell them to do the same thing I told you. You can affect a revolution in this country in 2004 without shedding a drop of blood or firing one bullet. Just by pulling a lever.
Posted by cdedwards at March 8, 2003 07:26 PM