Yet Another Attempt to Get My Own Personal File with the FBI

Ladies and Gentlemen, this will be the final RANT for 2005. I have to work the Christmas weekend and might not be able to post again, but if I do, I promise something a tad more upbeat. If not, please know that I wish you ALL a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, or anything else you'd like me to wish you for the holidays.


I have a sad prediction to make, of what might very well happen if "middle America" doesn't wake up and find that "on switch" to that brain they claim to have. The gulf between two distinct kinds of people in this country is widening like never before. On one side are what I'll call the Reds, which is rather ironic when you consider what a "Red" used to refer to. These are those Americans who have grabbed on to for dear life this philosophy called conservatism. Let's look at the official definition of conservatism, shall we? "The tendency to maintain the existing order and resist change." On the face of it, this concept isn't actually such a bad thing, when it applies to tradition, the rule of law, and common sense. But when you make this philosophy a religion, unyielding, intolerant, based on false assumptions as to what can be classified as right and wrong, then you have a societal pathology on your hands, which can result in such wonderful things as Jim Crow, Gulags, Kent State, Watergate, illegal wars, you name it.

So what about this dirty word that even some democrats are starting to disassociate themselves from? Let's look at the official definition of "Liberal". "Broad minded; tolerant. Favoring civil liberties, democratic reforms, and the use of public resources to promote social progress." GASP! Such an EVIL concept! Yes, I fully realize that when you head to the extreme left, you begin to think this idea is an anything-goes philosophy that preaches no limits, but anyone with a lick of common sense knows that there are limits to how far you can carry even this philosophy. I would like to think that at one time, most people found a nice, middle of the road comfort zone that blended both of these approaches to life, people who we call "moderates" who seem to have become a vanishing breed in this country. Where in the hell did they all go? Has the comfort and security this country enjoyed courtesy of all the sweat and blood our forefathers shed for us spoiled us all to the extent we can't think logically anymore?


Well, at the rate we are going, we are going to suffer another polarization that will make the civil war sound like a simple bar brawl. I would like to seem to be fair minded about this and say that fault lies with BOTH camps, but I truly can't. The religious right in this country has grown in influence and power since the Reagan years, and the Corporate boss-hogs have jumped on the wagon, knowing full well that conservative philosophy fits perfectly into their game plan. Conservatism has brought us such joys as segregation, finding new enemies to dump bombs on, interference in secular institutions by bible-thumpers, and an endless supply of tax cuts and legislative pork for the benefit of the upper class. If you ever truly doubted the value of education and an inquiring mind, all you need do is notice how the salt-of-the-earth, conservative minded folks who slavishly attend church two times a week seem to be totally unaware of how the people who they vote for turn around and help destroy everything these people work their butts off for. There is an old addage.......screw me once, shame on you, screw me twice, shame on ME. Can somebody tell me whatever happened to THAT?

The philosophical swings to the left and right used to sort of balance themselves out over time, no great damage done, with progress made in baby steps, but all for the good. Now, the pendulum has begun to swing dangerously to the dark side, with fully half of the populace held in some kind of clueless trance, the other half not stepping up to the plate and saying what has to be said in the plainest language possible. Only there ARE enough of us left out here who are not going to just roll over and play dead; push is going to have to come to shove sooner or later. When the men in the black SUV's start parking outside our homes on a regular basis, when we begin to EXPECT that at least one of our children will not outlive us, having been fed to this Evangelistic war machine, and all our jobs have been exported to our good friends, the "Communist" Chinese, I think perhaps more than harsh words are going to start flying.

There are now two Americas sharing the same soil, and there's not room enough for both of them. Sooner or later, one side of the aisle is going to stand up and walk out of that vaulted chamber of congress, asking whoever still has the guts to stand up against this new evil to come with them. Generals and the young men they command will have to decide which America they swore to uphold and protect, against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic. There will be great tension as one group slaps on their shoulders the blue patch representing true freedom and democracy, the other the red patch representing the Lord and good old family values. And then, my friends, either a line will be drawn, perhaps across the Mason-Dixon, across which these two ideas of what America means will face off, or there will be all-out civil war, no one truly understanding who the enemy is, brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, the kind of chaos the fans of Armageddon have been lusting after for so long. And when the dust settles, if it ever truly does, this shining city on the hill, once the standard against which all civilizations have been measured, will lay in ruins, either with a moderate, forgiving democratic government rewriting the constitution in the plainest English it can come up with to ensure that we ALL know what freedom stands for, or we shall be ruled over by a corporate Theocracy which shall put North Korea, Iran, and Red China to shame in it's intolerant brutality.

You probably think by now that I can't wait for all this to happen. You would be dead wrong. What I am waiting for is the American people to wake up and understand what is happening all around them, to take a deep breath, and understand that the freedoms we enjoy is not the freedom to force upon your fellow man your personal theology or your willingness to live under a corporate yoke. The pendulum CAN swing back to the middle where it belongs, where we all can agree to disagree, work out reasonable solutions to our problems, and start looking out for each other instead of living this ME ME ME kind of life we have fallen victim to. I love this country. I am a proud American. Just don't expect me to give up my right to freely express my opinions, as I respect your right to do so. If I see one of those black SUV's pull up outside my home, I'll try and let you know before I disappear into one of our secret prisons, so that you know that our government is protecting you against such dissidence as mine.