Be the Change

As a child growing up in the 50's and 60's, we were taught to fear Communism. If the USA became a Communist state, we faced many atrocities and loss of freedom. There were news clips of the masses standing in breadlines, living in small assigned apartments with people they didn't know. Personal property was seized and owned by the government. Congregating and speaking your mind was unlawful. Authors were denied the right to publish in their own country if they disagreed with government officials. Expression of religious beliefs was seen as a form of protest by the working classes against their poor economic conditions and their alienation as citizens.

I'm not a child anymore and I certainly see the world differently. I grew up believing that I lived in the greatest country in the world. In America we were free. We could peacefully protest against the government; walking the streets in-mass to right what we considered the wrongs against our society and it's people. Vietnam, the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. All races, religions and creeds came together and told the government and the people of this country that things must change.
Were some of us arrested? most definitely. Were there radicals among us that took extreme measures to make their point? yes there were. And there was the tragedy of death in some cases.

As I watch what is happening in this country today, I am sickened. Once again we are living in fear; not beyond our borders, but right here. It is not the Muslims, African-Americans, LGBTQ I am concerned about, it is the lack of freedom and choice. It is my life being sold to the highest bidder who sponsors a seat in Congress and determines who will be the President. Voting is no longer about the choices of the population but who has the most power provided by corporations in the form of millions of dollars. I just read this morning that the average costs to  campaign for president can run anywhere from $700 million to $1 billion.

We are no longer free to assemble peacefully; no longer free to stand up in public and challenge or disagree for fear of being physically assaulted. I watched as security guards threw a woman to the floor for asking a question that challenged the speaker; people beaten and killed for the color of their skin; women called horrific names just because they're women. The physically challenged taunted and ridiculed. What happened to our representatives doing what they were elected to do?: representing ALL the people. We have been sold to the highest bidder and we have allowed it to happen.

How many of us sit around our kitchen tables and moan about the state of the country? How many of us don't vote because it doesn't matter? How many of us post on Facebook or Twitter and do nothing else? How many of us automatically believe every word uttered by a newscaster? How many of us stand up, without fear and say enough? As long as we are convinced we should be afraid of massive groups of people, people we do not understand, they win.

Where do we begin? First, We the People must, and I mean must, stop dividing ourselves by those factors that make us different. Black, white, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, male, female and start seeing each other as one. We consistently label someone, other than white men, when they accomplish something. "The first black man" "the first woman" and on and on. Why is that important? Second...Because we are told it is. The news has become a great story of fiction and should be played out on the Broadway stage. How many of us check the facts before we jump on the bandwagon? Third...we stop living in fear of everything we do not understand. I am most tired of every time there is a racial issue with President Obama, someone posts a video of a black person complaining about him or his family. Every time a white police officer shoots a black man or woman, someone posts a video of a white cop playing with black children. Do you all think we're stupid? I am fully aware that there are good police officers in this country and I am happy to say that they out number the bad ones. Most of us are fully aware that there are millions of black people who are just as good. There are billions of Muslim people in the world who live in Peace, but we forget about them because we're told they're all terrorists. All Hispanic people are certainly not what they have been labeled. They are workers, mothers. fathers, students and most importantly Americans.

We were all born and we will all die. We all bleed when cut and we all experience pain and grief. We all love.

So where do we start? We hold people accountable. If a police officer murders someone, other police officers must hold him or her accountable. If a judge tells a rape victim she should have kept her knees together, why are we as a society not screaming in outrage? Is this answer more violence? All violence does is create a never ending cycle of more violence. Also, and this is most important, before we post on Facebook or Tweet anything, we verify the validity of the words. And mostly, we do not tolerate racism and bigotry.

I am a 68 year old American and I work every day to earn a living and pay my bills. If I repeatedly did not show up or do the job I was hired to do, I would be fired. If I used  company money to travel or pay my mortgage, I would be arrested and convicted of a crime. And yet, we allow those who were elected to lead us, protect us, all of us, to do as they will and sit at our kitchen tables and whine about our lot in life.

Okay, I should probably end this and as I do so, I have a quote by William H. Johnsten I would like to share with all of you. "If it is to be it is up to me". 10 little words that could change our world.