Comments on: Episode 26: How To Grow Smart Voters

By: alwayshope

alwayshope — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 05:05:56 +0000

The 2000 election had a profound effect on me too. I had always voted but until that injustice, I was not aware of the passion I felt.
I wrote a poem in December 2000. It’s kinda long but I’m gonna post it if you don’t mind. A trip down memory lane.

“Yeah, I voted…..so what?”

I feel empowered when I leave that booth,
My civic duty done with pride.
I’ve made my mark, spoken my truth,
And it will count, or so it’s implied.

Now Gore, now Bush, now too close to call.
And Florida holds the keys.
Buccanan gets votes and hanging chads fall,
Protesters show up in RVs.

Now count them, no don’t, and judges decide.
Yes you can, or not, if you like..
Palm Beach tries, Dade says, “nah, let it ride.”
And Al’s finger slips out of the dike.

Now Bush has the lead. WE WON ! They demand.
Stop the count! Katherine Harris complies.
And call up the highest court in the land.
In case they see through all our lies.

The supremes agree they haven’t a clue.
They kick it back to the Sunshine State.
And a judge named Sanders know what to do.
He bangs his gavel and cleans the slate.

It’s over now! They exclaim from the ranch where he hides.
And most admit that it’s true.
But it feels all wrong deep down inside,
“We the people” were not me and you.

They were judges and lawyers and spinners.
And the news folk of course had a hand.
We could only watch as they picked the winners.
With sadness I watch Al’s last stand.

Al fought on with honor and lost with grace,
He was a better man in the end.
Dubya got a big boil on the side of his face,
And called all his Daddy’s men.

Well, at least it’s over, though we had no say.
Judge Rehnquist always knows best.
Those who own this country will now have their way.
And a new chance to feather their nest.

Now twice has Florida caused this fiasco.
I suggest we cut it off, set it free!
Maybe it’ll float on down to Castro
And little Elian can go back to Disney.

Paula
Dec. 2000

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 21:58:43 +0000

Well said hope! How do you make a blind man see? How do you make a deaf man hear? I wish I had an answer.

By: iowametal76

iowametal76 — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 18:27:40 +0000

Denial is a hugely powerful force.

By: alwayshope

alwayshope — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:46:58 +0000

I know about red states and blue collars. I am a cook at a small tavern in a small town in Indiana. Yep, I know red.
During Bush’s last press conference, my boss yelled into the kitchen “Your favorite president is on TV”. I ran out to the bar expecting to find that they had solved the grassy knoll question or the magic bullet theory. Alas, it was Dubya. All the younger guys at the bar were watching the news so I watched them. They were skeptical of every word. They shook their heads or rolled their eyes. In the other room, there is a long table for the early morning until noon, red and green hatted, farming, Bush-loving, older, male coffee drinkers. They weren’t watching the news, the volume was turned down on that TV and they were talking about the weather. But these men would defend every word they didn’t hear Bush say, without question. Why? They are Republicans. That’s all.
They will not, cannot change. There are only two choices and they will not be called a liberal. They hate liberals and they need that hate in order to avoid a burnout. A realization that they could be wrong would be a meltdown moment for them. I agree that we are not as dumb as they think we are, the problem is that some of us are so obstinate that we won’t hear the facts.
What if some of those jurors had worn blindfolds and earplugs? Those are the ones I worry about. How do we talk to people who (like Colbert says) “won’t let the facts get in the way of their opinions”?
The word truth keeps coming up and we hold on to it as our great hope of justice. We know people are capable of recognizing truth, of understanding complexity, but only if they are exposed to it. How do we make them listen?
What will it take for the entrenched to get out of that rut of misbelief and misfollowing and finally see that patriotism is love of country, not of party or president? Blind allegiance leaves you with only 4 senses, refusing to hear the truth leaves you with 3, pretending you don’t smell the decay in Washington leaves you with 2, drinking the kool-aid leaves 1 and people who still defend Bush are completely out of touch. There you have it, the 33% who still think Bush is the greatest president EVER, are senseless.
How do we get through to them? Passion is a wonderful thing when it springs from love but a destructive force when it becomes an abiding hatred.
I pray every day for the courage necessary for Americans to stand up and take back their country and all that we used to stand for, for us to unincorporate and reunite.