Yes, that's right. I'm back. Not that I ever really went away, mind you. I've been right here in the same place I always was, only things were just going so darn well and I had so many lovely distractions (engagement, wedding, wedded bliss, etc) that I found a way to briefly calm my outrage and just enjoy the symbiosis of a happy marriage. Instead of ranting wildly over all the ills of the world, I sat back with my cup of "frou-frou" flavored coffee and enjoyed watching the birds sing, the clouds dance across the sky, the Orion constellation come and go seasonally...all beside my wonderful, loving (he's truly a gift from above, I tell you) husband.
And then the world began to change...
Mind you, it didn't all happen at once. No. These changes snuck up on many people, who much like myself moseyed through life in our blissful ignorance. And these changes did not come without warning...oh, we were warned alright. But, as did many others, I thought, "Pshaw! That could never happen." We waved away those who, like John the Baptist crying out a warning to the masses in the wilderness, forewarned us of our impending doom. Yea, they told us, for the kingdom is at hand. And slowly, oh so very slowly, things did begin to happen. Then, in what could only have been a stroke of serendipity, some of us woke up. And were very, very ticked off.
Of course, we have only ourselves to blame, complacent and lazy fools that we were. We were tired of watching the news, the misery-laden reports making us all wish that we owned our own private island in Fiji or anywhere else far, far away. We gave up on reading the newspapers, because even the comic strips had lost much of their original lustre and the horoscopes and crosswords had become blasé. We opted out of talk radio on the way to and from work because we figured that listening to cheery music on our ipods would make the commute feel shorter and ease us better into our 9-5. Some of us had even mastered the art of intellectual escape, in similar fashion to Brent Leroy in a sweet Canadian TV show called Corner Gas. (Staycation: a vacation you take while staying home...it's really quite relaxing. Learn this term, as I will be using it regularly.)
And somehow, we all lost touch.
I think the wake-up call for myself came around early February. I don't even know why or how it happened, but I slowly gravitated back to awareness, forsaking my ipod for news-talk radio and decreasing my staycation time so that I could catch a few snippets here and there of real news and commentary on TV. Like a two week old puppy, my eyes began to open, and, with the passage of a couple more weeks, clear sight was mine.
Now, before I continue this rant (at which point I will drop the veil of vague analogy and explain just what exactly I'm talking about), let me tell you something about myself that you should know. I always strongly believed that there were two things you never discussed openly with people for risk of starting an undesired debate: religion and politics. Everyone who feels strongly about either of those two topics will not suddenly be enlightened by the views of the other person, no matter how clear, true, or indisputable that person's talking points may be. Chances are, someone is going to get offended or riled up at some point, and some relationships, be they casual acquaintances or close friendships, will be strained. Religion...I still feel that's off limits. People believe as they will believe and I'm not an authority to tell them one way or the other who's right and who's wrong. I may know many things, but I don't know everything. Politics, however, is back on the table. I think one of the factors that led us to where we are now is that many of us felt that it was better not to debate politics in our social arenas. There was no healthy exchange of ideas and information. No challenging why people "yea" for this and "nay" for that. Maybe that's how this came about...it's just a thought.
Tax Day was a pretty important day for many Americans this year. Important for some (myself included) who had to dig out the checkbook and pen to begrudgingly write a check to Uncle Sam. Important for others who, after putting off filing their taxes for fear of paying more into the system, discovered they had already overpaid and would receive a refund for once. And then, for at least a million Americans from coast to coast, important because it was the day we all chose to be silent no more, and gathered together to send our message to Washington. The message was clear. It was loud. It was non-violent. We declared: Stop wasting our money and stop taking away our liberties.
My husband, my mother, and I drove 280.6 miles to San Antonio to join other Americans in speaking out. We could have attended any of the local tea parties here in the DFW metroplex (and there were MANY), but we couldn't miss an opportunity to see Glenn Beck live and be part of what ended up being one of the most impressive tea parties in the country. San Antonio PD estimated the crowd at about 20,000 at its maximum, and the Police Chief was quoted as saying we were one of the best crowds he'd ever worked with. I agree with him completely. I've never been surrounded by so many good-hearted, considerate, and friendly people all at once. People made room for others to pass, helped complete strangers up and down large steps and generally looked out for each other. Being part of it all, I was deeply moved.
However, now is not the time for me to wax poetic on how that experience renewed my faith in my fellow man. I will tell you more in the very near future about my many noteworthy experiences at the SATP. But right now, it's time to get down to brass tacks.
Our country is rapidly moving in the wrong direction. What our founding fathers envisioned nearly 232 years ago is quickly becoming like a dream that fades upon waking -- slowly, slowly the details disappearing until one wonders if it was ever real at all. Liberties are being stripped from us, one by one, and unless we stand up and take back what our forefathers considered to be our "unalienable rights" they will little more than a footnote in a history text. Then history will become legend, and legend will become myth. (A little LOTR fun thrown in for those of you who recognise it.)
This country's founding fathers drafted a list of grievances against King George III of Great Britain, also known as the Declaration of Independence for those of you in Washington who seem to have forgotten, which included the following complaint: "For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent". On October 1, 2008 the US Senate voted 74 to 25 in favor of what has become popularly known as the "Bailout Bill". The House of Representatives approved it with a vote of 263 to 171 two days later. Americans from coast to coast contacted their representatives in record numbers, urging them to vote down the bill. They didn't listen. They passed the buck, so to speak, as a result of pressure from the very people who were responsible for the financial fiasco. And who do you think will be paying the more than $700 billion tab for Washington's decision? Taxpayers. You and me. People who work hard every day for an employer who would never reward them for throwing the company down the toilet. And that, my friends, is "Taxation Without Representation". Hallelujah. Where's the Tylenol?
Oh, yeah. And mainstream media, we DO know the meaning of that historic phrase. My question is: Do you?
So, here we all stand with at least two choices. We can sit idly by and watch our country slowly turn into something it was never intended to be (the United Socialist States of America, anyone?) and wait in line for our government to hand out to us whatever it deems us worthy to receive, assuming we are considered viable enough to treat medically should any of us develop a chronic or life-threatening disease. Or we can stand up, stand together, and reclaim the foundations of liberty and justice our forefathers put together after dusting themselves off from a bloody, bitter, and painful war to win their freedom from tyranny. (I'm referring to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, for those of you (again) in Washington who seem to have no recollection of that...) Those are your choices, folks. Feel free to take a moment to think about it before you decide. Should you need refreshment, I believe there's a fresh batch of Soylent Green on the table near the door. Help yourselves, comrades. There's plenty to go around.
In the mean time, I will be posting (frequently at first, and then likely tapering off as I get most of my pent-up rage vented before getting ticked off again).
Until next time...do svidanya, my friends.
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