Inclusion and Understanding vs. Exclusion and Deceit
I was in disarray. Today, this could be the last day a loving, compassionate, and caring man may be on this Earth. I walked into the room where the first nurse told me to go. That's not him. Damn it. So, I went up to the nurse's station and asked which room is Dr. Charles Wilson in. They said I had just been in it. What? I walked back in the room and looked at who appeared to be a stranger who had taken over his body. This man was more gaunt, face unshaven for several days, and appeared to have aged 20 years to someone much more fragile than the man I first met seven years ago. I walked into the room.
He was sound asleep. I stood there and looked at the different machines. His arms had white wires with patches over them. A rhythmic beeping sound continued from one of the machines, as I looked at one monitoring his heart. O.k. Every thing appears normal with his heart rate. A few minutes passed before his sister and brother-in-law appeared. His sister gently grabbed his arm and patted it. After a few moments, he groggily woke up, eyes still half shut and slinted, as he positioned himself upright. She handed him a notepad, since his voice was still lost. His voice resounded from what he wrote down that I'll never forget: "I stood at a gate and a man approached me. He said, 'Don't worry. You don't have to hurt anymore.'" Immediately, I thought about that day when my life could've ended on a spring break family outing to Myrtle Beach. Yes, there is a God and he loves all of us. It was a warning for me that day. Stop. Your heart doesn't have to be filled with rage and hate. Let kindness and gentleness be your guide from this point forward. To this day, I'll never forget that day and those precious words my late friend wrote.
"You don't have to hurt anymore." This is what this election means to me and everyone I care about. Sure, our leader's nowhere near the progressive I am nor do I expect him to be these first four years. At the end of the day, politics is the art of compromising. When you have nuts who believe the Earth is only several thousand years old, one should sympathize with a leader who has more rational, level-headed thinking who may say to himself, "Damn. Do I have to talk to that idiot, Paul Broun again?"
When Barack was a community organizer and well described in his autobiography, Dreams from my Father, a Section 8 housing community didn't mean a damn thing to anyone who wasn't a friend or relative to these people. To the outside world, these people didn't exist, didn't matter, and might as well kill each other. They were a drain, burden, and considered the epitome of laziness. Nope. Some worked long hours, while others fell on hard times and had just lost their jobs. He observed their harsh features, glares, and weathered faces as if hope was abandoned. Yet, he helped them by saying each of you has a voice. We're going to the city to tell them about the lead in the paint. Many were cynical and said the city won't listen.
It took hard negotiations to bring the problem to light. Finally, after negative publicity shed light on the city, they agreed to make the paint safe at the housing community. Some of these people ended up becoming community organziers. They played prominent roles working with clergy members, businesses, and government officials to help build their communities.
To me, this defines who Barack is. On the other side, we have a candidate who has been taking bailouts from conception until now. That's a problem. No one has this fictitious class envy or despises his sucesses as a businessman. However, when he has an opportunity to make a buck, he has no reservations shipping a plant's jobs to China or somewhere else in Asia. The latest proof is a plant in Freeport, Illinois, Sensata. After the company made a record profit last quarter, now owned under Bain Capital, its employees had to train the newly hired Chinese workers with the Chinese flag put up in front of the plant. Insult to injury? Yeah, just a tad. Romney is expected to earn a few hundred thousand dollars off this deal at a minimum with still holding $8 million in shares with Bain.
He comes from a different world and one where it's impossible for him to empathize with people who live in areas like Section 8 housing. It's reflected in his attitude to provide more tax cuts to the wealthy with the promise he'll do the same for everyone else. What's the old adage: There are two certainties in life, death and taxes. It's the biggest lie of all. Government would shut down if it didn't tax someone. Someone has to pay, someone always pays. Unfortunately, the average American doesn't seem to understand this simple concept. Oh, he'll tax someone, but one can be assured it won't be on his friends or so-called job creators who don't need any more tax cuts. They'll say they pay the highest corporate tax rate of any other western country in the world. That's the other grand lie that's been spread all this time. After loopholes and deductions, the average American corporation pays a tax rate at 13.5 percent, not 29 percent. That's a huge difference and after all has been said and done, is one of the lowest tax rates in the world.
America still hasn't moved past its ethnocentrism. Yes, the majority of people in this country have white skin. Racism is still an ugly reality. Case in point, soon to be ousted Illinois Tea Party Congressman Joe Walsh. At a campaign stop, he said we should just pat the President on the head and tell him how everything really should be done. Nice. Then, there's former New Hampshire Governor, walking scrotum, and Romney campaign adviser, John Sununu. Repeatedly, he's referred to Obama's race and despicably has said Obama's lazy. This, of course, is going back to the days when the "N-word" was acceptable when referring to African-Americans. Its true definition means someone who is slow and/or impaired in judgment. It was predominantly the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or those affectionately known as WASPS who coined this offensive term to be applied to black people. The N-word certainly applies to Sununu other like-minded people. It's been Barack who has had to clean up their messes these past four years that they created in the last eight.
It goes beyond just our President. The New York City Police Department has a stop-and-frisk policy where anyone who looks suspicious of carrying narcotics will simply be stopped and frisked. And who overwhelmingly are the ones stopped and frisked? People of color -- Latinos and Blacks. Today, we have more African-Americans incarcerated per capita than the height of Jim Crow. If convicted of a misdemeanor for possessing marijuana, their prison sentences are still greatly disproportionate to those who are white. It's a sad fact and reality. It has been a growing epidemic since the Reagan administration, a time when unions were dismantled and funding for economic development moved out of the inner city areas. So, there has continued to be a vastly uneven playing field for an average African-American growing up in the inner city to a suburban white person to this day. This is something Obama needs to address if re-elected.
Finally, this is personal. My father and his siblings were able to attend college thanks to the G.I. Bill, a government funded program for veterans and their families. They grew up in a modest rural area of Nebraska. Hell, they didn't have thousands of dollars at the time to spend on college. That G.I. bill was the difference maker for my father and three siblings. Now, they're all college graduates and highly accomplished at their respective crafts -- business, teaching, and ranching. And yes, they vary in their political views. I love all of them on both sides the same -- Republican, Democrat, whatever.
Yet, we don't have our priorities straight. Obama mentioned we already spend exponentially more on our military, by about six times, than the second ranked country, China. That continues to be the elephant in the room. Shouldn't it be time we move that money into funding for college and healthcare? Make these two basic services free for all. There's always evil out there which is unpredictable and may strike. I think it shows cowardice to continually use it as an excuse for a few to gain (Pentagon, military contractors, medical supply, food and beverage industries, and oil contractors) while many innocent lives are lost. It's time to come home. As far as Afghanistan, that's been long overdue. Generals have repeatedly said our presence has led to more uprisings and creations of enemies. Gee, I wonder why? If someone just camped out in your backyard, after awhile wouldn't you get tired of that person staying there? It's common sense.
My girlfriend's father was one of the Civil Rights pioneers. He attended the public school in Birmingham where Colin Powell's uncle was the principal. One day, he and several classmates broke the chains off the door in an act of civil disobedience. They were arrested. In the same jail cell, they saw and heard the comical antics of legendary late comedian, Dick Gregory. On this night, Martin Luther King Jr. was in a nearby cell. He was drafting history while composing The Birmingham Letter. This wouldn't have been possible without so many unsung heroes who have always helped to reshape history like her dad.
Her dad went on to persistently knock on doors and try to get neighbors to vote against Ronald Reagan in 1980. He was disappointed in the responses. Basically, it's the it won't matter who is in charge anyway. Nothing's gonna' change. Well, it did change. Later that decade like what we saw with many manufacturing companies, the steel plant where he worked shut down. That plant provided solid pay with good benefits and potentially pensions. He went on to work with the local Housing Authority.
Canesha and Dr. Wilson are two of the most beautiful souls I've met during my time on Earth -- extremely loyal, compassionate, and always willing to help out those in need. Both were also mercilessly picked on growing up by bullies. Dr. Wilson had enough of it. At 15, he walked out of class one day and never turned back in his small, rural Tennessee town of Franklin. He served in the Navy, finished at the top of every technical school, and earned a Ph.D from Boston University. Eventually, he retired from the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer and went on to teach Economics courses at the university level. He was also one of the strongest progressives I've met with strong convictions and witty one-liners about some of these dopes who still can't get past their blissful ignorance. My favorites include, "All they need is enough for a hamburger, case of beer, and gas in their truck for the Friday night football game." And one more: "There's three things they know how to raise: chicken, children, and Hell. Unfortunately, that still seems to ring true today with too many in the rural South.
With Canesha, there's a stigma in the black community when one speaks correctly. She applied impeccable written and oratory communication with those around her. To her peers, she sounded white. I've reminded her how the average person spoke bumkin when I moved to Georgia. In the white community down South, it's pretty common to be considered a yuppie if using grammatically correct sentences.
There were horrible things she had to endure around her peers that included daily bullying mainly because she wasn't like them. That's still an epidemic today with kids and if anything with the inclusion of social media, it's gotten worse. Ultimately, like I endured periodically, she was able to overcome it all. She went on to attend a presigious magnet school where she received scholarships from colleges and universities around the country, including the country's top rated liberal arts college. It's still reflected today when she revises my resume and shows off how much of a master wordsmith she is.
I had to get on my soap box here. Everything is on the table -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, jobs, foreign intervention, and Obamacare. Don't worry, Republicans. You can still get screwed by the private insurance companies if and when they decide to jack up their rates for profits. It's a tiny bit of socialism and nowhere near Medicare for seniors which is where it should be by now. Under Romney and Ryan, they want to take all this away and possibly get us involved in another war. Seventeen of Romney's 24 foreign policy advisers come from the Bush administration. We know who they are -- Dan Senor, disgraced former U.N. amabassador John Bolton, .... This is about our safety and security moving forward. These guys were the architects for invading Iraq.
There are two consistent talking points my Republican friends use and am sick of it: Democrats want government to pay for all those lazy people on welfare i.e. code for black and colored people living in the ghettos. 2.) Obama and Democrats don't care about you. They want to take your job away and give it to the minorities. Racists. This self-entitled, they're unworthy people out there needs to stop. And for all these goddamn white people out there who still use these points as a crux, shame on you. Hopefully, there will be a time when you truly embrace diversity, not say oh, you don't know I work around minorities or I'm friends with some. Support them with unconditional love like you would anyone else especially those most in need who live in our ghettos.
The same goes for our black brothers and sisters. I was the only white person in my last apartment community in a not so savory area of Atlanta. After several months, we began seeing how some people began uncomfortably staring at us when coming home from work. I looked past it and joked that's probably just their way of saying hello. About a few weeks later, we came home to my door jam splintered and warped around the knob. We opened it and discovered all our technological belongings had been stolen along with my check book and a few of her purses. I guess she was right. Due to me being white, they automatically assumed I had money. At that time, I barely had enough to spend for a pot to piss in. However, I still forgive whoever may have done it. I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe, this was their way to put food on the table for their children or pay the rent. The important thing was Canesha's safety and mine. We weren't harmed, injured, or killed.
We have a long way to go. Barack was right when he was ridiculously criticized for saying change can't happen inside Washington. Yeah. It's all of us demanding it. If we do and the 99 percent (Occupy movement) can become relevant again, we can see the change we want. You're not going to get progressive change with Romney and Ryan. What we might see is a similar scenario to Nero playing the fiddle as everywhere around us burns. I wish I was exaggerating. As I'm reminded, "You don't have to hurt anymore." The late Christopher Hitchens also reminded me of our precious moments here when he said, "There will be plenty of time for silence in the grave." Let's make the most of our time caring for each other while we're here.
Finally, this is personal. My father and his siblings were able to attend college thanks to the G.I. Bill, a government funded program for veterans and their families. They grew up in a modest rural area of Nebraska. Hell, they didn't have thousands of dollars at the time to spend on college. That G.I. bill was the difference maker for my father and three siblings. Now, they're all college graduates and highly accomplished at their respective crafts -- business, teaching, and ranching. And yes, they vary in their political views. I love all of them on both sides the same -- Republican, Democrat, whatever.
Yet, we don't have our priorities straight. Obama mentioned we already spend exponentially more on our military, by about six times, than the second ranked country, China. That continues to be the elephant in the room. Shouldn't it be time we move that money into funding for college and healthcare? Make these two basic services free for all. There's always evil out there which is unpredictable and may strike. I think it shows cowardice to continually use it as an excuse for a few to gain (Pentagon, military contractors, medical supply, food and beverage industries, and oil contractors) while many innocent lives are lost. It's time to come home. As far as Afghanistan, that's been long overdue. Generals have repeatedly said our presence has led to more uprisings and creations of enemies. Gee, I wonder why? If someone just camped out in your backyard, after awhile wouldn't you get tired of that person staying there? It's common sense.
My girlfriend's father was one of the Civil Rights pioneers. He attended the public school in Birmingham where Colin Powell's uncle was the principal. One day, he and several classmates broke the chains off the door in an act of civil disobedience. They were arrested. In the same jail cell, they saw and heard the comical antics of legendary late comedian, Dick Gregory. On this night, Martin Luther King Jr. was in a nearby cell. He was drafting history while composing The Birmingham Letter. This wouldn't have been possible without so many unsung heroes who have always helped to reshape history like her dad.
Her dad went on to persistently knock on doors and try to get neighbors to vote against Ronald Reagan in 1980. He was disappointed in the responses. Basically, it's the it won't matter who is in charge anyway. Nothing's gonna' change. Well, it did change. Later that decade like what we saw with many manufacturing companies, the steel plant where he worked shut down. That plant provided solid pay with good benefits and potentially pensions. He went on to work with the local Housing Authority.
Canesha and Dr. Wilson are two of the most beautiful souls I've met during my time on Earth -- extremely loyal, compassionate, and always willing to help out those in need. Both were also mercilessly picked on growing up by bullies. Dr. Wilson had enough of it. At 15, he walked out of class one day and never turned back in his small, rural Tennessee town of Franklin. He served in the Navy, finished at the top of every technical school, and earned a Ph.D from Boston University. Eventually, he retired from the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer and went on to teach Economics courses at the university level. He was also one of the strongest progressives I've met with strong convictions and witty one-liners about some of these dopes who still can't get past their blissful ignorance. My favorites include, "All they need is enough for a hamburger, case of beer, and gas in their truck for the Friday night football game." And one more: "There's three things they know how to raise: chicken, children, and Hell. Unfortunately, that still seems to ring true today with too many in the rural South.
With Canesha, there's a stigma in the black community when one speaks correctly. She applied impeccable written and oratory communication with those around her. To her peers, she sounded white. I've reminded her how the average person spoke bumkin when I moved to Georgia. In the white community down South, it's pretty common to be considered a yuppie if using grammatically correct sentences.
There were horrible things she had to endure around her peers that included daily bullying mainly because she wasn't like them. That's still an epidemic today with kids and if anything with the inclusion of social media, it's gotten worse. Ultimately, like I endured periodically, she was able to overcome it all. She went on to attend a presigious magnet school where she received scholarships from colleges and universities around the country, including the country's top rated liberal arts college. It's still reflected today when she revises my resume and shows off how much of a master wordsmith she is.
I had to get on my soap box here. Everything is on the table -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, jobs, foreign intervention, and Obamacare. Don't worry, Republicans. You can still get screwed by the private insurance companies if and when they decide to jack up their rates for profits. It's a tiny bit of socialism and nowhere near Medicare for seniors which is where it should be by now. Under Romney and Ryan, they want to take all this away and possibly get us involved in another war. Seventeen of Romney's 24 foreign policy advisers come from the Bush administration. We know who they are -- Dan Senor, disgraced former U.N. amabassador John Bolton, .... This is about our safety and security moving forward. These guys were the architects for invading Iraq.
There are two consistent talking points my Republican friends use and am sick of it: Democrats want government to pay for all those lazy people on welfare i.e. code for black and colored people living in the ghettos. 2.) Obama and Democrats don't care about you. They want to take your job away and give it to the minorities. Racists. This self-entitled, they're unworthy people out there needs to stop. And for all these goddamn white people out there who still use these points as a crux, shame on you. Hopefully, there will be a time when you truly embrace diversity, not say oh, you don't know I work around minorities or I'm friends with some. Support them with unconditional love like you would anyone else especially those most in need who live in our ghettos.
The same goes for our black brothers and sisters. I was the only white person in my last apartment community in a not so savory area of Atlanta. After several months, we began seeing how some people began uncomfortably staring at us when coming home from work. I looked past it and joked that's probably just their way of saying hello. About a few weeks later, we came home to my door jam splintered and warped around the knob. We opened it and discovered all our technological belongings had been stolen along with my check book and a few of her purses. I guess she was right. Due to me being white, they automatically assumed I had money. At that time, I barely had enough to spend for a pot to piss in. However, I still forgive whoever may have done it. I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe, this was their way to put food on the table for their children or pay the rent. The important thing was Canesha's safety and mine. We weren't harmed, injured, or killed.
We have a long way to go. Barack was right when he was ridiculously criticized for saying change can't happen inside Washington. Yeah. It's all of us demanding it. If we do and the 99 percent (Occupy movement) can become relevant again, we can see the change we want. You're not going to get progressive change with Romney and Ryan. What we might see is a similar scenario to Nero playing the fiddle as everywhere around us burns. I wish I was exaggerating. As I'm reminded, "You don't have to hurt anymore." The late Christopher Hitchens also reminded me of our precious moments here when he said, "There will be plenty of time for silence in the grave." Let's make the most of our time caring for each other while we're here.
