Monday, June 28, 2010

An Exhumation (and Reincarnation)

For some reason, a reason I have not yet fully fathomed, I have decided to exhume this old blog and try to make it readable again.  There is a lot here - years of my thoughts and realizations, which I am reluctant to bury, some good, some awful, but mine none-the-less.  I started this blog in order to combat the lunacy of the Aways Wrong Right during the years of the George "Dubya" Bush debacle.  Motivated by my brother, Scroff, I joined other Progressive bloggers in an attempt to counter the Right's lies and insinuations, hence my participation in the American Patriot Institute.  How, I reasoned, could we who had served be labeled Un-American and traitors?  The swiftboating of a legitimate war hero, John Kerry, showed me that in Right Wing politics there is no room for "reason" of any kind.  This was only reinforced by the Right's lame efforts to discredit Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential elections.  Indeed, to this day, their claims that he is a Muslim, (as if that in itself should disqualify him somehow in a country founded, in part, on religious freedom), or that he is not a natural born citizen, still ring from the mouths of the Right Wing shills on Fox News and from the likes of Rush Limbaugh on Right Wing Radio, and is eagerly consumed by legions of common working folk, too scared or bamboozled to act in their own best interests.  (Face it, the wealthy, who are for the most part, the Real Republicans, are far too educated and intelligent to fall for such blatant nonsense.)  With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States, I naively considered the battle won and slowly withdrew from the field.

But it is not politics that draws me back.  Rather it is death. The death of four good friends over the last eight months.  I have come to see my own vulnerability and mortality and it is this realization, that tomorrow should never be taken for granted, that motivates me now.  There is no more "later".  There is only now for me, and if there is to be a "later" for someone-else, a later that involves a truly free country, with equal opportunities and real justice, a later in which all the sick are treated and all the hungry fed, a later where all children are able to reach their potential, where war is a last resort and not a method of strong arm diplomacy, where good, hard working men do not die in mines or offshore oil rigs to feed the Corporate Coffers of soulless, arrogant men, then I must act now.

No longer can I sit by while our work is shipped offshore and our hardworking citizens left to languish in fear, choosing between eating, medical care or paying bills, as rich Republicans deny even the smallest bit of help by refusing to extend unemployment benefits. No longer can I bear to watch once proud workers who built our nation and raised our families struggle, with no help at all from their fellow citizens while Big Banks, Oil Companies and Automakers feed freely at the public trough!  Welfare is evil and only encourages laziness! Unless it is Corporate Welfare under the guise of Bail outs!  Too big to fail is too big to exist! That is real free market economics!  Socialism works fine for Mismanaged Corporate giants, for Wall Street... but not for Main Street! Main Street is told to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and carry on as the rugged "Real Americans" always have, and the illusive carrot that is dangled is "work hard and you too can join the ranks of the wealthy"!  Ah yes, Capitalism at it's best ~ indeed, then let that free market capitalism apply to all.

Myths like the Protestant Work Ethic apply only to the working class!  Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!  This false promise of reward and social justice in an afterlife is small comfort to the family watching their child die due to lack of adequate healthcare.

It is time to level the playing field.  And that is exactly what I will try to do.  Will you join me?  Will you help me? The future is ours, but we must act now.

d.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, said, my friend~!! I have one problem....I HATE LABELS....if I had my way, we Americans wouldn't have them, but, that IS, just, the way it is, in this country, AND all over the world, too, I imagine.

I cringe when I am asked if I'm Republican or Democratic, Right or Left, Christian or Atheist, white or black, male or female, straight or homosexual, sane or insane, rich or poor, short or tall, OR, even, thin or fat~!

I am ME, just, ME, a human being, with blood that runs through my body like all other living human beings.

I have, in this lifetime, experienced things which most have not. I've pondered, especially, lately, after many full circle moments, for this, 56 year old woman, who raised, almost, single handily, two daughters, three step children, one Godson (US MARINE CORP, SEMPER FIDELIS~!), who worked full time for over thirty five years, went to college at night, took a lot of drugs in my youth, rode with motorcycle clubs, watched most of my family die, beginning with my Mom, when I was sixteen years old, and for the past two years, battled a couple of life threatening illness's, and came out stronger than ever, WHY ME~???

My doctors don't understand why I am, still, walking around this earth, actually~! I BELIEVE that there is reason of which I do not know, YET~!

After getting a bad case of F.E.A.R., (Fuck Everything And Run), I, moved north, after leaving friends and family behind, four years ago, to 'get away' from the city and the hurricanes, which did so much destruction, to the south Florida area, disabled, living out in the 'country', and trying to survive on my Social Security check, which, I EARNED after paying taxes ALL my life.

I,now, have to rely on Government issued food stamps, which I applied for and received *legally*, and the grand daughters, Thank God, receive Medicaid insurance~!

I am very fortunate to have health insurance, which I pay for from my disability check, every month, and, by the way, has premiums (costs) increasing continuously these days. I thank God that I have it though, because, in the last two years, I have racked up, approximately four million dollars, in cost for my medical treatment~!

I am, trying, to help my daughter, who moved here, with her three daughters, to raise her children, my grand kids, along, with a little help from my 'Village', a great circle of friends I have acquired over the years.

I have, in just the past month, had to do some things that I swore I would NEVER do, but, had to do in order to save someone's life~!

I am currently trying to open a business, which services my community, hopefully, to, make a little extra money, to feed my family and pay my mortgage, my monthly living expenses and, perhaps, create jobs for the unemployed AMERICAN Citizens in my area.

My SS income, just, doesn't cover all my expenses, these days. This is NOT even about paying my overdue medical bills. I've had to choose, like you said, to either, feed my family OR pay for jacked up medical costs, incurred to keep me alive, one more day, to help others~! I can't do both on my current 'income'~!

Well, brother, these were my thoughts as I read your blog, I must go now, and take my medicine, which keeps me alive another day, and maybe have a little 'smoke'.

I love you, Sir, my friend, my fellow American citizen, my compadre~! God bless us all~! <3

You can call me...RED HIGH HEELS~!

Gordon said...

Welcome back. Start pullin' the trigger, we need all the help we can get.

deuddersun said...

Ah...Red High Heels, your story is becoming more and more commonplace today. I realize that there is no comfort in knowing that others share your plight, but you are exacrtly the person I am writing about - a hard working, loyal American citizen who after having contributed to our society all her life, now finds herself needing a little help, not a handout, but a hand up!

We need to organize together. I am not sure how yet, but I am working on a few ideas. It is important for our Government to hear our voices aboe the din created by the Always Wrong Right! By commenting here, you are showing that you are not content to let them steal our lives we have worked for and our children's futures. As long as I have a blog, you will have a place to vent!

Another excellent site is Alternate Brain. The link is in the sidebar. Say heloo to Fixer and Gordon when you stop by there, they are also Veterans and work tirelessly to promote the wellbeing of ALL Americans!

d.

deuddersun said...

Gordon! Semper Fi Brother! Locked & loaded, selector on full auto, Rock & Fuckin' Roll Brother!

d.

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