We Have Followed, Now We Must Help Lead

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Copyright linhed productions
Mar 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm EST


Little by little over the past sixteen months I have been evolving from the role of viewer to that of doer. In doing so I find that the role of doer is much more difficult than that of viewer! Oh how easy it was to sit back, letting someone else take care of business.

In regressing, I came to realize it had always been left to the trust of someone other than myself as to political decisions:to my parents (who were on opposite sides of the fence, by the way) as to the choice of political leaders. Later my husband became the influence, my still being part of that era deferring to him, for he was, after all "the man of the house". By the time of the Bill-Monica White house years my head was buried deeply in the sand: No newspaper, no TV, no media of any kind.Therefore I know very little about that time, but do remember being embarrassed and humiliated by the shenanigans of OUR LEADER, as were most Americans! Now I ask why we allowed our president to get away with this.

Faith in the judgement of elected officials of our country has faltered. Many,many of us have been the viewers, letting someone else "do". It was so easy for me to refrain from watching the national news - What I saw only angered me, left me frustrated, but also left me doing nothing to make changes happen. For other Americans a conscious decision was made not to participate in any election with the 'My vote would not make any difference anyway' attitude. Those, in all likelihood, were the ones who did the most complaining. For others, votes were cast based not on what was known about the candidate through research, not on personal beliefs or situations, not on what was wanted and expected from their paid officials, but based on the candidate someone else was voting for. We all had our excuses, and how wrong we all were!

Paraphrasing a verse from the Bible, 'Where you lead I will follow' seems to have been the motto of much of the population for what seems like eons. And we have followed like innocent lambs being led to slaughter. Yes, we have followed without question, ever-trusting, and we have been led to slaughter - and to be slaughtered. We have been sacrificed in the name of greed. Our very souls line the pockets of politicians and lobbyists. We've been sacrificed to CEOs who make more money in ten minutes than the average American in one year. CEOs of companies now owned by foreigners, now American in name only; companies whose wealthy CEOs keep their own pockets fat at the expense of American workers whose jobs have been sent to China, and to countries where slave labor rules. Our souls line the pockets of the oil billionaires, and drug companies who gouge the pocketbooks of the poor and not-so-poor. Let them look into the faces of helpless children dieing of cancer, and the faces of the Moms and Dads of those children who are staring at hundreds of thousand of dollars in medical bills, their homes now in foreclosure, and bankruptcy looming. Look into their faces, and tell them you really care. And we have set back and let it happen. We have been, and still are for the most part, viewers.

Our young men and women have fought and died, so many because there seemed to be no other choices in this greedy society we have created. Jobs for the average among us are becoming scarce, and it would be hard-pressed to find even a few that pay more than just above minimum wage. A higher education is out of the question for most, and even now the competition is so great that you'd better have a Masters. The idle promises are there to lure our young men and women to the battlefields: College paid for. Free Health care. The only requirement is they have to survive long enough to collect. Those poor souls who sit in the war zones eating dust for breakfast must now be wondering if the promised perks will ever come, and at what price, for it certainly isn't free. It is paid for with the lives and limbs of their fellow soldiers, if not of themselves.

The very glue that once held our country together has weakened, that glue being the strong belief of our fathers and grand-fathers, and their fathers and fathers before them, in a United States of America that we could trust:Of leaders whose interests were our own, and of their dreams - and ours - for the future. No longer will that glue hold us together, for it has weaken. We once again must bond as a nation with elected officials in whom we can trust. And this, my fellow Americans, is why we must all become doers, giving up the comfort of being only a viewer.

Never in my entire life have I really been interested in politics, but this change has gradually come over me. It started before any presidential candidates were ever announced, quite subtlety. It came to me as I sat at my computer and wrote words of despair and frustration in the form of songs and prose. It came to me as I began for the first time in over fifteen years to watch the national news. It came as I talked with a dear friend of horrendous things happening to our soldiers, and to our elderly, and to the possible demise of our country. It came as whispers in the wind, and I heard those whispers.

I began to pay attention to what was being said...I really listened when my 90 year old mother told me of struggling on her meager Social Security Check. I listened when I heard that babies of illegals in this country are American citizens, that workers with green cards who are not citizens can and will draw Social Security; I listened, unbelieving, as I was told the amount of money we as tax payers pay for medical bills, schooling, etc. for illegals, and for the upkeep of illegals in prisons. Greed now is the motto. I listened as I heard of the increasing deaths of those sent to war to protect us from a phantom enemy. I listened when I heard the fantastic song written and sung by Taylor Pie, "So Little Has Changed", now tagged a modern day protest song by many. I listened. I listened. And I cried. www.taylorpie.com

At age 62 I could let what possible might be my last chance of becoming involved pass me by, or I could become a doer, thus making at least a small difference in the future of my country, helping assure a wonderful, secure country for my great nieces and nephews and their descendants. My steps have been small, beginning with studying the matrix of all the original hopefuls for presidency on the internet, eventually leading to a first in my lifetime:I am actively supporting a presidential campaign! Do you want to know something? It is exciting, it's thrilling to actually be a part of what appears to be taking place in America now, the change that started in me many months ago. Do you want to know something else? YOUR voice can be heard, you can make a difference. It is a conscious decision to become a doer.

My faith has now been renewed by the powerful strength of Senator Obama. My belief is that if anyone can lead us out of the hands of those who no longer have a conscience as Taylor sings, it is Senator Obama, powered by the strength of Americans from the Shores of Maine, and from the streets of Harlem, gaining strength as powerful as the winds of the wide prairies, then blowing across Texas to its borders where the rules aren't clear as to who should be stopped from entering or how. Strength will come from the coal mines, and the ghostly innards of the closed automobile factories, and those of the cotton mills in the South. It will sweep across the homes of presidents and make the hearts of the cowboys swell as it crosses them on its way to reach the smog-filled valleys of California. The peoples of the cities of America, and of the little towns, the farmers of the cornfields, the owners of the few remaining Mom and Pop businesses who struggle daily, the poor Grandad who doesn't know how to read but wants an education for his grandchildren, the 90 year old mother whose heart breaks for her children because there is never enough for them, and what little they have is eaten up by taxes, breaking their spirit...From these there will be a strength, and a hope of renewal for America and her people.

I urge you, be part of this. Become a doer. Don't give up hope, for when all hope is gone so is the United States of America
Posted by Linda at 3:36 PM 0 comments
Labels: America, CEO,faith,politics,president

PREJUDICE or IGNORANCE:YOUR CHOICE

PREJUDICE AND IGNORANCE REARING UGLY HEADS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Copyright linhed productions
August 2008

Fueled by the totally irresponsible tabloid coverage by the national media, prejudice and ignorance are rearing their ugly heads in the minds of countless millions of voters in this landmark presidential election. The monumental critical issues that face our country seem to be taking a back seat on this ride.

We, the American people, are witnessing history in the making. We have seen two very capable individuals in one of the strongest competitions our nation has ever faced, this in the race for the right to be a participant in an even bigger race, winner takes all, a new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm speaking of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Of course from the get-go most everyone has had an opinion as to who should have the honor of representing the Democratic party. Some are making level headed decisions based on capability, becoming color blind and forgetting gender, 'tho it is quite obvious one is a white woman, the other a black man. There is no way around it. It is what it is. If you had not noticed, the media was sure to let you know! Barnum and Bailey have had some competition of their own, as the national media - competing for ratings - has at times made a tabloid circus, an issue if you will, of the race/gender factors, as opposed to an issue-oriented campaign. The gullible electorate seems to be playing right into their hands.

Not only has there been a media frenzy over race and gender, but also over the religion of one of the candidates, Barack Obama, and over his name as well. Add to that the uproar over the shenanigans of his now-former pastor, and the visiting priest who, in my opinion, thought he was on Saturday Night Live! And the television audience ate it up. Unfortunately, to some that was a negative reflection on Obama, and it should never have been.

You're sure to be asking what does all this have to do with anything? What is the point? The answer is, it has everything to do with what seems to be happening nationwide. I've seen it from day one as surely you have. Maybe you are guilty of this, or you possibly know someone who is. And what is it that you or your spouse or your neighbor or friend might be guilty of? The answer my friend, is that of irresponsibility, irresponsibility in casting your ballot for the possible leader of our country based on prejudice in any form.

Immediately some of you have thought of prejudice as a race issue. Trust me on this, it isn't just a race thing - It is also a name thing, a religion thing, a gender thing, a sexual orientation thing. If you or someone you know is voting for a candidate based on anything other than qualifications it is prejudice - or ignorance. Your choice.

As a white female and registered Independent who votes the issues, I'm disappointed in my fellow Americans when I hear someone say they won't vote for a black candidate, or for a woman. When John Kennedy began his campaign for the White House I was fifteen years old,and I remember vividly derogatory comments about his being Catholic. I didn't yet understand. It horrifies me even now, the mind-set of those who think a candidate's religion hinders his or her ability to lead without bias. It boggles my mind to think that citizens of this great nation are willing to switch their party of choice because their party's nominee is black - or the black candidate (Obama) did not choose the white female (Hillary) for his running mate. Being female, I'm appalled at the women (some of whom I know) who would vote for a (female) candidate only because she is female. I read a post on the web from a female who was so strongly for Hillary that she took Obama's decision for a man as his running mate as a slap in the face. I, on the other hand, take it as an insult that she or any other female who feels the same would see that as a slap in the face! Are women of America so insecure that this has become an issue in itself?

According to national poles, millions of people seem to be voting their emotions, arising out of prejudice, anger, or a combination of both. Every potential voter should study the issues, and make their decision based on those issues. As we go to the polls, all of us - male or female, black or white, Muslim, Catholic, Atheist or otherwise, gay or straight - each of us should ask in our own mind: Am I voting with my emotions, am I casting my ballot based on prejudice? Have I studied all the issues, and am I voting based on those issues? If we are true to our country there will no prejudice at the voting booth.