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16 January, 2006 - 10:44 p.m.
truman, bush, and being white in 2006

on this occasion (martin luther king day), i figured i'd take the time to say something of relevance to the day. i look around and i listen to my liberal media (and yell at the conservative media... fox news, mostly) sources and i note that i'd rather hear the news from jon stewart or steven colbert than from a so-called valid source. i'd rather hear about the crap that's going on in my country from someone who will be funny about it and who isn't afraid to make fun of the people who are screwing up my country.


i think about the meaning of this holiday (civil rights, right? racial equality? all men being created equal?) and i think about the specials i've been watching over the last couple months on the history of the KKK and the march on Selma and a white woman being beaten to death for having a black man in her car. and i think about people being RIGHT for being pissed off about being told that they can't have the same privilages as the special classes and how the authorities at that time treated them as criminals for doing peaceful protests. and... well... i can't help but be disappointed in my generation (and therefore in myself).


where are the mid-20-somethings headed out to speak out in person? do we just bitch on the internet? why don't i ever hear about us going anywhere to tell people (with chants and signs) how we feel about our freedoms being restricted? is it because no one wants to organize an event or am i just not hearing about it or is it because of our grunge apathy leftover from the 90s?


where are my people? why aren't we telling our local and state and national governments that we believe in the rights of men and women to be equal regardless of color, religion, etc.? why aren't we telling them loud and clear that we're tired of being discriminated against (hey, glass ceiling)? why aren't we telling them about the separation of church and state (insert clever rhyme about separating rosaries from ovaries)? why aren't we telling them about due process and needing a judge's permission before tapping my phone line?


where are my local rallies about my reproductive rights? where are my local women's groups where we can spread information about domestic violence shelters and resources for poor women and their children? where are the quick-witted groups of regular women (not even granola-eating hippies) making snide comments about the middle-aged white men who make decisions about what i can and cannot do with my uterus and its contents?


i do have a dream. that one day the judicial branch and executive branch and legislative branch will all get it through their head that they act for the greater good of all citizens, not just upper-class middle-aged white men. i dream that one day men and women will fight for the rights of each other, not just for their own gender. i dream that we can get respected individuals of all colors and religious flavors together and not fear that they will make a religious agenda about it. it's not about what's right for YOU. it's about what's right for ALL, even poor people.


one day, i want to see the implementation of the "if you refuse to answer clearly or at all during your supreme court confirmation hearings, you don't get the job" rule. i want someone to make that a rule. if you can't tell us whether or not you believe in something, you don't have the job.


I am reminded by Jon Stewart about the Harry Truman farewell speech in 1953. Truman talks about the failings of america. How we went to war and stopped talking to other countries and how we "helped kill the league of nations". he talked about the dangers of our failing to act in the interests of certain countries and the risks of acting in the interests of freedom across the globe. He talks about peace being the ultimate goal of the american people. And of course, about civil rights. I believe that the ultimate point of his speech is that his job was made easier by the support of the people, which our president hasn't had for quite some time. not in numbers that show up on the polls.


and i believe that he should stop acting against the interests of the people. it's like playing "hot and cold" as a child. when he does things that we agree with, his numbers will rise. and this bullshit about doing everything in the name of freedom? which freedom? and whose? because my world and that of those around me have become no more free in the time he's been in office. if you continuously take money away from education and social services and put it into war, you demonstrate that we are interested in war. not in the health and minds of the people. if you take money away from those, you put people with less money at a distinct disadvantage. here. be sick and stupid. or be sick and in debt because your parents can't afford to pay for you to go. or because life choices got in the way and now you want to get an education. i don't know about you, but i haven't had health insurance in 4 years.


i'm not wealthy. i'm not middle-aged. and i'm not male. i'm also not religious. and it seems like i don't have anyone in power in my corner. and i think about how good i actually DO have it. and i wonder what it would be like to be an old russian lady or to be a young latino woman or to be a black kid in the ghetto... and how much worse the situation could be with no one in my corner. at least i'm white. and that's a sad statement to make in 2006. why is being white the up-side? and why is it still an advantage in 2006? i'm sorry. we need to work on that.

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