Waking Up to the Real World

Normally I would start out a blog post by saying hello, and how are you, with a very happy-go-lucky attitude, as though the whole world is full of running puppies and dancing butterflies. How unlike that I feel today.

There have been a lot of things thrown at me in the last few hours, a great deal of them having to do with the state of America, and where we, the American people, stand as a nation. With all the information I currently have at my disposal, and all the different separate issues I could write about, I'm a complete mess. I've spent the last hour trying to come up with some convincing, well written, earth shattering blog that would move all of you to action. Let me just say, its a serious hit to a person's self confidence when they start a sentence six times, only to press the delete button every three words.

Are we oblivious? Or are we aware and just don't really care enough to do anything about it? Is Glee and American Idol and World of Warcraft really so important that we can ignore the issues around is? Can we really ignore the state of the world and this country that we live in any longer?

I say no. Even if all you do is tune into the news for an hour instead of channel surfing, or get on a news site  instead of Facebook for an hour, its still something. And when I say a news channel, I don't mean main stream CNN or NBC or even FOX. I mean off the beaten path for American's, like BBC or whatever other website that is going to force you to see the news and what is really going on.

Guys, we aren't the only country in the world, and by no means are we superior to everyone else. Its arrogance like that which has gotten us into the predicament we are in. For instance, did you know there is a massive drought in Somalia right now, and that, because of UN bureaucracy, it took weeks for them to get any aid after being declared in a state of emergency? People are dieing, babies are being left behind because its easier to let them starve, and it took weeks.

Heart-wrenching, yeah?

That's just one example.

And guys, in our own country, we have to wake up and see what's really going on in our government. Does anyone really know what's in Obama's healthcare bill? Does anyone really care? Well, you should. Not one Representative or Congressman had the time to read the bill before it had to be voted on. I know its old news, but doesn't that sound just flat out shady to you guys?

And I'm not saying that its a bad idea to take care of people. On the contrary, we need a good system where we can help people who don't have the ability to help themselves.

But this bill has so much extra stuff in it that has nothing to do with healthcare. For instance, there is a provision in the bill that allows the president, any president, to form an army of private citizens as large as the US Army to be under direct command of the president should this country be declared in a state of emergency. Isn't that what the military is partly for? 

And I know a lot of you are concerned about the debt ceiling, and frankly, so am I. But trying to understand it, and where the perceived issue is, is like hitting ones head against a brick wall, and then subjecting oneself to a voluntary beating with a crowbar. That's how bad the head ache is. Common sense says stop spending. But apparently, the minute anyone says that, they become Right Wing Conservative Republicans, and its supposed to be all their fault that the nation is in the pickle it's in...but I digress.

Guys, the world around us is changing. The America we live in is about to become something we never wanted to see, all under the banner of hope and freedom. And if we don't do something, our nightmares are going to become reality. And I don't want to see that happen.

I'm not going to apologize for my beliefs. I told you that once before. And I'm not going to cast blame where it is un-due, because, really, it's all of our faults. We vote the people into power who ignore our protestations and desires. We allow ourselves to be brainwashed into believing things. And we need to wake up.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, the world is not puppies and butterflies. Its a lot darker and far more sinister. But my hope is that you are now awake and full aware. Or you have at least the smallest inner nudge to look up the information yourselves, and to not trust everything you hear and read.

So, tell me: are you awake?