The question of what to do has long past. The answer has been here, and we all see it. Its no long a matter of not knowing what too do, its a matter of being to either complacent, lazy, or lack of drive that has caused us to not act.

We all know what we need to do, but we feel so hopeless that we haven't bothered to do it. I beg you all to disregard your thoughts of whether or not everyone else is doing it too, whether or not it makes a difference, and just do it. Get out there an do what needs to be done. Many conversations have been said that already say what needs to be done. Those words echo throughout our halls, our homes, our jobplaces, without due respect to the actions that should follow the words we speak. Its time for once that we follow through.

Simple steps:
1. talk to every person you can. There is problems in this world, and its your duty to talk about what you feel is the most important ones today. Instead of talking about nascar, or who won on american idol, talk about why you feel this particular topic is such an important problem. Just talk to the person. And do it again and again. Not only will you learn by debating with the person but you will spread the information you recieve everytime.
The flame that burns in our spirits is lit by the spark of words.

2. start to have gatherings. Not based on political parties or any certian view. Just gather and talk. Dont be so quick to act as though the problem you believe is the biggest problem. Any guy with a mouth can talk, it takes an intelligent person to hold a conversation.

3. the people are there now. You are gathered. You can now talk about what problems should be tackled first and why. After that you ask how you can tackle that specific problem. if its a local problem, you can most likely handle it with local solutions. If its a state or federal problem (in this case federal), you need to reach out to other groups. Dont for one minute stop talking because you dont agree with the immediate problem. Compromise. Compromising is another way of saying unity. Any group can say they are united when they all agree with the same mindset. A group is truly united when it compromises. We are all in one group...americans. That group should unite. Unity can only be found by compromising.

4. The numbers will grow and grow. Never be afraid to speak out though. Once united, you are more then just citizens, you are the true american army. You are united thus you have the power. From there, things will fall into place. There will be simply a demand from the people, if its not met, that person/people are thrown out of office.

Then finally the government will serve the people again.

[edit on 5-9-2006 by grimreaper797]

There's not much that I feel that I can add to this, other than the fact that if the People want something bad enough, they'll have it. It's just going to take that simple action of everyone standing up in unity to say what they want to get anything.

However, that being said, I find it incredibly difficult to make any kind of change when the majority of the population are apparently brain dead to the situation, and just how dire it really is. We The People, We The Few, are losing the very thing that we thought we had in abundance; our FREEDOM!! How much longer will the People sit and allow those that rule over us to continue to do so before they stand up and call attention to the facts of the matter?

What's it going to take to get something like that to happen?

"People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people." - Thomas Jefferson (??)

"Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

TheBorg

I fully agree with both the contributors. But to want any change you must have a dream. And to me and many others - not just to old Bob - "the worlds gone black before my eyes".
Why so? Because the neo-cons killed the American Dream - or turned it into a nightmare.

George double trouble ****U Bush will be known to history (if there'll be anyone around to tell it) as the president who dismantled it.

But let's not forget, "he's only a pawn in their game". Of the dark forces of greed.
Let's shine our lights on full power.

khunmoon

[edit on 6/9/06 by khunmoon]

[edit on 6/9/06 by khunmoon]

I'll stand on what I have already said. It's not too late for us to perform our civic duties. As we fulfill our Constitutional responsibilities, we flex our own political muscles and prove by action that we mean what we say. Until we do this, our career politicians have no reason to believe anything we say.

We've already started to see the beginnings of a new trend in American politics wherein the actual vote counts are manipulated. Until we turn out in larger numbes, they'll keep getting away with it. If and when enough of us vote, we will by sheer force of numbers confront the career politicians and bureaucratic insiders with more than enough pro-active letter writers and reform-minded voters to force the start of a change in course.

Even so, that's only a start. As we re-learn our civics, we will have to educate a new generation of future leaders. They serve us, or we serve them. Once proerly schooled, our new leaders will go to Washington as they should...to seve. Not to be served.

Let's be cear. It has taken us well over a hundred years to slide down this slow and slippery slope. We should expect that it will take just that much time, if not more, to un-do what has been done. These are just tow steps on a rocky road that will involve a journey of ten thousand steps...or more. the path to our salvation is choked with weeds and overgrown by brush because we haven't used it in so very long.

I've now read all the posts of this OP/ED and in parts I find them very interesting. Ecspecially ServoHahn turns me on. All this corporate thing does. There soficrow is the expert.

Earlier this summer on Danish television I saw a Canadian/Australian documentary on the subject, Mark Achbar's and Jennifer Abbott's, "The Corporation".
The outline was the entity as an individual. With that outset they analysed the multinational company, using the WHO definitions for a psychopat. It requires six behavorial attitudes to be met. The multinational company fulfilled them all.
And don't forget, the psychopat diagnose is the only psychiatric ailment where the patient does not suffer. Only his surroundings do.

Googling on the subject I find out this observation is from a book: Joel Bakan "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power".

I'm a newcomer to this forum, signed up yesterday, and if this is not the right place to introduce myself, someone please tell.
Anyway allow me to tell that I'm a middleaged Dane spending most of his time (out of economic reasons) in an unpleasent hot humid tropical country where the people are corrupt and the food is horrible. I call it Freakland.
I call it so cause it has a repressive authoritarian rule. It is called a "democracy", though to be electable for their parlament, minimum a bachelor degree is required. Which means only one percent of the population can be elected. Democracy!? hmm.

Anyway because of conditions rangeing from costs of living to sex, a lot of elderly foreingers spend their retirement there. Mostly Germans, Scandinavians, but quit a few Americans as well.

I'm an old hippie, before that I used to be a leftist and in my sprouting youth a red commie. Yes, now it's said.
Many are the times I have fought the police in front of the American Embassy in Copenhagen.
Later on withdrawn from the political scene, we used to say "better LSD than LBJ".

In those days I met the best of friends I ever was to meet, American boys on the run from Uncle Sams war in Vietnam. There were tens of thousands of them in town.
You know, back then Denmark and Sweden were seen not just as socialist, but as half-communist countries. Mostly only by the American administration, the ugly capitalist lackeys, suppressors of the American People. Such were the facts in the days of segregation.
That's why today in the present repressive situation (far more than then) I often wonder, where is the Berkley riots, the Washington marches or the upheavel of Kent State University?
I remember at one incident several million people gathered at the Washington Monument. That's what stopped the Vietnam war. The PEOPLE did it.
Can't you do that again?

Somehow, despite my political orientation, Americana has always had the light of Shangrila to me. From Walt Whitman to Bob Dylan, with Timothy Leary and William Buoroughs in between - not to mention Elvis Presley and Buddy Hollie.
Comes from being a child of WW2, growing up in a world of shortage, we were introduced to a world of abundance, nylon stockings, chewing gum, hearsey bars and camels and chesterfields and - not to forget - American music.
America were not just liberators, they were our saviours.

Therefore I made many good friends and close bonds back then in the sixties in Copenhagen and later on on my travels.
I used to have American friends here in Freakland, cause I prefer their company to Germans (if not rude, so formal) or Swedes (downright boring). Americans are always good for a chat, a drink, a rave or a party.
Sad to say, but since the war occupying Iraq began I had slowly lost them. And it's not because they are some redneck rightwings. Not at all.

continues nxt pst

[edit on 7/9/06 by khunmoon]

Originally posted by Megaquad
Your interpretation of this matter is gravely misleading, sickening I would say.
Expanding business climate is fascist to you? Giving opportunities to many in the third world with NAFTA is corporate takeover to you?

I wont even bother to dig into this socialist garbage.
To those who are easily manipulated I would suggest that they research for themselves, there's another side of the coin to everything.

Whatever you do, don't "dig into this socialist garbage"!

You might find, as usual, that reality has that well-known liberal bias. I'd post some links, but I'd say you've already got your head buried too deeply in the propaganda to make any difference.

Just re-read the OP.

Dammm. Hate it when I'm so right about these things...


sofi

Reread again.

It's a good op/ed, with accurate analysis and predictions, lots of great contributions and comments. Too bad so much still applies today.