Dark Times

I left California in January of this year. I just moved into my place here in Brooklyn, New York a few weeks ago. Between now and then I spent a lot of time touring the country. I did some skiing in New Mexico, visited family in Kansas and Iowa, and had a blast in Chicago. In all I visited about 15 states, drove thousands of miles, and had an amazing time. But it wasn't all fun.

This country is in bad shape. Far too many people are struggling just to keep their head above water. Nowhere was this more evident in the so-called "Right to work" states, like Arizona and Kansas. People didn't have a job. They had jobs. They had multiple jobs, and they basically did whatever they could to keep afloat. Even in our more union friendly states, like New York, things are pretty bad. Just a couple blocks from me I discovered it's nearly impossible to find a business that even pays minimum wage! The average is about $4.00 an hour, but that's really not the case either. It's usually a flat rate of, say, $320 and they work you 65 to 70 hours. If you have a really good job, you might make $400 a week but you're working 80 plus hours, seven days a week.

Millions of Americans have no access to health care. Then there are those of us who have some semblance of health insurance, but find the deductibles too costly to ever bother using it. In all the figure is close to 100 million Americans with little or no health coverage. I haven't seen Michael Moore's new film just yet, but it comes at a good time. The number one cause of bankruptcy in this country is medical bills. We have one of the worst health care systems in the world.

The war in Iraq rages on. Our so-called opposition party, the Democrats, still balk at the idea of impeaching the war criminal in chief. The public debate, like the one during the Vietnam war, is narrowly defined between those who say we can win and those who say we cannot win. Left out of the debate are the millions of us who believe the war is a crime against humanity and should be ended immediately. I have yet to hear one of the talking heads on TV point out the simple fact that this war violates our nations constitution and is in direct violation of international law.

Global warming is still not being given proper priority on the national stage. Corporations continue to plunder our environment, poison our air and water, and increase the very real likelihood of human extinction.

I could, of course, go on and on. You know the story. Things are bad and getting worse, but I remain optimistic. I have met people at every level who are fighting the good fight, joining with others and trying to make a difference. At the national level we have wonderful groups like A.N.S.W.E.R. and World Can't Wait pushing to end this war and impeach Bush and Cheyney. At the local level we have a thousand different organizations fighting for a living wage, affordable housing, and a host of other causes. There's no shortage of people fighting out there. And there's no limit to what we can do. Most of it won't be covered by the mainstream corporate owned media. As they say: The revolution will not be televised.

In these dark and dreary times its never more important to network with others of like mind, to join causes you believe in, and fight the good fight. Organize, educate, and agitate. Another world is possible, let's pledge to make it real.

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