FALSE PRIDE

On my lunch break today I was listening to LYNN SAMUELS on Sirius. She was talking about the "bridge situation there in Minneapolis" and then talked her way into America's infrastructure as a whole. I don't know about where you're at, but Pennsylvania has the reputation of the worst roads in the country. And if we don't deserve that reputation, I'd hate to drive in the state that does. The roads in and surrounding Harrisburg are in rough shape. I think some are left over from the Civil War. We have people here in Lancaster that would rather drive horse and buggies than cars on these roads. And they're ALWAYS working on them. I guess that could be looked upon as a good thing. Maybe? There's just something about seeing one guy work while three others stand around and watch him; and the blessed SLOW/STOP sign girls. They don't smile much. But hey, it's only my tax money.

The PA turnpike is on the brink of being sold to the French. Philadelphia as a whole is dirty and OLD. The murder rate is TOP 5, if not 1 in the country. Pittsburgh WAS a steel town. And the rural areas are still mining coal. Come to think about it, the biggest industries are Education and Prisons with WAL-MARTS sprinkled in between. Bottom line is PA needs SOCIAL SECURITY.

Unfortunately, this isn't only happening in PA. All over the country, take a look at your infrastructure. It's a shame we don't really think about what we used to spend taxes on. And it only comes to light when one of the walls we've selfishly leaned on so many times, thinking it would always be there--COLLAPSES. We used to take pride in our landscape and would spend our tax money to not only make it USABLE, but to make it TOP OF THE LINE! Remember when the USA simply meant 1? THAT pride, THAT respect we had. That's what everybody wants it to be like. GOOD TIMES (compared to now) FOR EVERYBODY! So what are you proud of now? PLEASE NAME AT LEAST ONE THING THAT YOU PERSONALLY FEEL HAS ADVANCED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS...



So it took what, 3 minutes for Mr Bush to forget why he was visiting Minnesota today. I couldn't believe it. Who would even WANT to tell their kids that they could be president when HE is what they're seeing. WOW! He had the nerve to blatantly lie TO the AMERICAN PEOPLE and lie ABOUT the Democrats. Anybody affected by this tragedy, my heart goes out to ya, but for me personally, I'm keeping my eye on the prize. FEMA only knows it wasn't a terrorist attack--HECKUVAJOB!

That's hard to be proud of. I WANT to be proud of my president! Please work with me.

I heard an interesting question today: "Can we FIGHT the terrorists without BECOMING the terrorists?" Hmmm... It seems like we don't have MUCH to be all that proud of--at least compared to 10 years ago. But America seems to be turning, if she hasn't already, INTO what we used to be AGAINST.

And now GW is threatening to VETO the bill that FINALLY got through Congress that requires that troops at least get a 1 to 1 ratio of in and out of ILLEGAL WAR ZONES. And in the next few days he's going to VETO the bill that will extend the S-CHIP program. No wonder he tells us to pray all the time.

We will NEVER be able to have the "moral high ground" with this man as our LEADER. We "can't afford" to pay for people's health care, +.5% pay increase for the military, upgrade our infrastructure, while we're spending $12 BILLION per month in Iraq. I don't know about you, but if we're going to go into debt I'd rather be spending the money on the things we "can't afford" than arms.

WE'RE setting a very bad (even sad) precedent on two fronts. 1) The power that we're LEGALLY giving to our leader, and 2) and showing that leader that he doesn't stand a fight. THE CHECKS AND BALANCES HAVE CHANGED INTO A BLANK CHECK!

Challenge of Change (1)

With the extended 4th of July we had this year completely behind us, I hope it gave everyone a chance to really think about the meaning of the holiday and compare it to how we're currently honoring this very important day. I'm not speaking about sparklers, bottle rockets, and bbq's either. And I've come to the conclusion that I will no longer use the term "4th of July" when referencing Independence Day. To me, the term "4th of July" fits right into our current culture of entertainment and anti-substance. Ask your friends and family what they think about when they hear the term. PARTY TIME! Another reason to drink alcohol, eat food that's terrible for us, and blindly celebrate our independence. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of folks don't even know they are the same holiday.

Now that I got that out of my system, I'd like to share a conversation I had with someone this past weekend that really opened my eyes to the challenge I (and you) face. I went to my mom's house this weekend for a cookout and got to talking about Bush, voting, etc., etc. with her fiancee. Fortunately, he's not a Neo-Con or anything like that. As most of us know, that's a completely different discussion (that usually goes nowhere.) He is anti-Bush, a veteran, and has NEVER voted. We started discussing the Day of Action rally I went to and what it was all about. He agreed that it was a good thing to do and that he understood why I would do such a thing. But then he goes on to say that even though it was a good thing, it doesn't really make that big of a difference. ALL POLITICIANS ARE THE SAME. That's why he never voted. And of course I couldn't let that one go by unmolested. I don't want to bore you with the bantering back and forth, but I do want to let you know where I had the most problems trying to CHANGE (not the person, but) the thought process.

A COUPLE POINTS I TRIED TO GET THROUGH TO HIM:

1) We rarely get greater than 55% voter turnout.

2) If you're dissatisfied by what you see, how can you expect it to change, without YOU changing?

3) You have a RESPONSIBILITY to participate in government

4) Freedom is not guaranteed; and it should not be taken for granted.

5) Local government is as important, if not more, as Federal.



The difficulty of change is no secret. People naturally gravitate into their "comfort zones," and hope against change. Everything from an increase to the (former) PA Occupational Privilege Tax to a player from your favorite team going elsewhere, it's difficult to accept. Through time and understanding, we realize that this is the new reality that must be accepted. I feel we're at the point of making our own change. And with that, will come the challenge of those in their comfort zones to realize the new reality. The new reality will be here soon enough; we have to accept the responsibility to be a part (not apart) of this change.

I'm confident that all who want to be a part of this change are going to have to be very persistent towards those who do not care. And the above issues I ran into will be pretty consistent across the board. The following is some guidance for your future encounters, and I welcome your contributions.

1) Imagine if everyone that shares your views, and disgust, with the current state of the Democratic process voted. The majority of people that vote are seniors. We need to take a page from their book. They've lived through what we are living through now, and they vote in larger numbers with more efficiency than the younger demographics.

2) If you're dissatisfied with the results of what you have done, and are currently doing, isn't it logical that you must make adjustments? You cannot consistently mix a chocolate cake and expect vanilla. Adapt-it's a primary human trait.

3) You can't have it both ways (anymore). You can no longer say you love America because of its Constitutional freedoms, and ignore what the document says about protecting them.

4) We are losing more and more freedoms everyday. See the Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act, Net Neutrality, Mandatory Psychiatric Evaluations of children, The stripping of Habeas Corpus, Torture, Intolerance of minorities, etc., etc.

5) See my previous blog, WHO REPRESENTS YOU?

This is, if nothing else, a starting point. Hopefully, it can be used as a forum to reference in the future. We all need to be educated and PREPARED when trying to explain to people the importance of OUR TIME and the responsibilities OUR GENERATION are accepting. Change is imminent; let's be a part of it before we have no choice at all. By taking action NOW, which consists mainly of informing people and waking them up to the way of the new century.

Imagine if 18-24 year-olds were aware of the power they have instead of being sidetracked by the entertainment industry. It won't be easy, but nothing worth a damn ever is.





P.L.U.R.,
zAy