Real Change Real People

Never doubt that a handful of committed persons can change the world. It’s the only thing that ever has- Margaret Mead

Sometimes you can hear the moment when change begins. I think it was back in 1998, when impeachment proceedings were begun, that I first heard the sound of this country changing, and thought to myself, "Well this is the beginning of the end of America as a Superpower." It wasn't 9/11 at all, it had nothing to do with terrorism, it was the American public willingly buying into the crap that the media and the Republican leadership were serving up on the nightly news. It was the day when Americans stopped thinking for themselves, and began to follow mindlessly, the obsession about the cigar, and the Presidential splooge on the blue dress. It became worse, when the press failed the nation after 9/11, and failed to fact check the Bush Administration as we plunged into the horrible debacle of the Iraq War. But where was the majority of the American public, why did only a handful of us stand up to protest the war?

There was a headline from the Wall Street Journal yesterday that read: In Chicago, Political Celebration Gives Way to Political Shame. This headline is an example of how the media ignores the real news, and instead basically just make stuff up. I'm a Chicagoan, even though I have the misfortune to be living in DC at the moment, and I can tell you, there's no one in Chicago feeling shame right now. In Chicago, people know there's a good chance that a good percentage of elected officials will probably end up in jail. That's the history of politics in Chicago. But they are also smart enough to know who to vote for. Given the choice between a crooked Democrat, and a Republican, they know that their interests are better served by the guy who's going to jail.

The Wall Street Journal and the rest of the mainstream media completely missed the real news yesterday. The headline should have read: In Chicago, the Revolution Begins. It was the 200 factory workers, at Republic Windows and Doors who refused to leave their jobs without the severance pay and the benefits that they were promised, who should have been the top story at every media organisation. But the Wall Street Journal wants to ignore a story of real courage, and instead try to make Chicagoans feel shame for corruption that is rampant not only in Chicago, but also in Washington DC. When real people, not politicians, take the initiative to demand change, change happens.

And that my friends, is change you can believe in.

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