We must be the change we want to see in the world.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
I find myself wondering about a lot of things these days. Few things puzzle me more than the idea of a country which chooses to spend far more on the implements and conduct of war than on educating, feeding, and providing even the most basic health care to those in need. We see nothing wrong with being the world’s moral policeman and assuming the burden of projecting our military strength around the world…and yet we can’t feed, clothe, educate, or care for children in need? We continue to elect people who value the military-industrial complex over the needs and interests of Americans, and then we wonder how things could have become so thoroughly buggered up. Yes, Congress may have an approval rating of 9% (lower that belly button lint and Kim Kardashian’s devotion to the sanctity of marriage), but let’s not forget who put the fools there in the first place. Before we start blaming Congress for being a cesspool of gridlock and obstructionism, how about remembering that WE voted them into office?
If we want things to change, we have to be willing to vote for and elect people who do things differently. If we want Congressmen who care about Americans, then we should be electing people who view the needs of Americans as infinitely superior to the wants and desires of Raytheon, McDonnell-Douglas, or Boeing. If we want things to change, we need to begin by changing ourselves and how we view the world. Do we really want our children to inherit a world in which killing and destroying are held to be values of far greater importance than charity, tolerance, and service? Or can we consciously decide to think and do things differently? Of course we can; the question is really whether or not we can be bothered to roust ourselves from our collective slumber. The result of Tuesday’s recall election in Wisconsin don’t exactly inspire confidence in the ability of the American Sheeple to wake up and pay attention.
Nothing will change until we begin paying atention, change ourselves, and change the decisions we make. If we’re not willing to vote differently, we have no one to blame for gridlock and obstruction but ourselves. If we’re to demand that Congress be held accountable, we must first hold ourselves accountable. We’ve no right to demand more from our elected representatives until we begin demanding more from ourselves.
We could start by paying attention and stop listening to the propaganda directed our way by the rabid, self-interested Far Right. Perhaps then they could use some of their billions to do something that actually helps make the world a better place.
