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levite · 03-06-2011, 07:31 PM

How often do I notice that something's wrong? How often do I have to call out our society on its failures vis-a-vis justice and equitability?

A whole fucking lot.

There are many things silence is good for: introspection, listening to the concerns of others, listening to the teachings of others, contemplation, learning humility...but aiding society is not on that list.

I happen to consider myself an American patriot. On the Fourth of July, I read the Declaration of Independence; on September 17, I read the Constitution (complete with all 27 Amendments); and on Thanksgiving, I read Lincoln's proclamation of the day of Thanksgiving. I am proud to have read the Federalist Papers, the correspondences of Jefferson, Madison, and Adams, Madison's notes from the Constitutional Convention, the texts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, various great speeches from American history, and various arguments and briefs to the Supreme Court in key cases. I am proud to vote in every election, and to serve on juries when called.

But this country is fucked up. What I love is the ideals upon which it was founded, and the furthest-reaching dreams of its Founders and greatest citizens-- not the government we currently have (and by "currently" I mean, in my lifetime so far, and in the foreseeable future), or a certain political party, or the minutiae of the setup of the governmental bureaucracy in its current form.

The Republicans and the Democrats both suck. The country I love has been turned into a plutocratic oligarchy more or less run by multinational conglomerates and right-wing religious fanatics. We need quality free education for everyone, through college; quality universal health care; a restructuring of our taxation system to stop trying to bleed the poor, and start trying to get the rich to pay our fair share; we need to stop treating corporations as people under the law; and we need to get the government out of people's bedrooms, out of the marriage business, and out of the business of spying on its citizens-- not to mention out of the business of holding foreigners indefinitely without trials, torturing people, and declaring war on abstract concepts (You can't have a war against "terrorism." I'm sorry, but that's not possible. You can combat or hunt specific terrorist organizations. You can seek to create sociopolitical contexts that do not favor the success of radical groups that tend to end up becoming terrorists. You can label specific actions "terrorism," and criminalize them in your country, or in international zones, or across many areas if multiple nations ally in such an endeavor. But you cannot declare war on a concept, because that is idiotic). And a thousand other things that are wrong, stupid, ignorant, and cruel that I could go on and on about.

Proud as I am to be knowledgeable about America and its history, and to vote, and to serve my society when called, I am just as proud if not more to write to my congressional representatives and to the President about my concerns, to sign petitions, to protest when necessary, and to help organize demonstrations when that has proven feasible, to support unions and progressive social reformers, and to help others organize, protest, and make their concerns heard.

When it comes to the betterment of the human race, silence is not golden. Wrongs don't right themselves, problems don't fix themselves, and help does not just appear for the helpless. A successful democratic society is all about checks and balances. And the ultimate check on every institution is the people. Which ain't nothin' but a fancy term for the bunch of us. Everybody got to look out for everybody else, and got to shout out, or nothing gets done right.

Or, to put it a little better:

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
But if I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?

-Hillel (a founding teacher of Rabbinic Judaism, turn of the Common Era)

03-06-2011, 07:31 PM	#8 (permalink)
levite Minion of Joss Location: The Windy City	How often do I notice that something's wrong? How often do I have to call out our society on its failures vis-a-vis justice and equitability? A whole fucking lot. There are many things silence is good for: introspection, listening to the concerns of others, listening to the teachings of others, contemplation, learning humility...but aiding society is not on that list. I happen to consider myself an American patriot. On the Fourth of July, I read the Declaration of Independence; on September 17, I read the Constitution (complete with all 27 Amendments); and on Thanksgiving, I read Lincoln's proclamation of the day of Thanksgiving. I am proud to have read the Federalist Papers, the correspondences of Jefferson, Madison, and Adams, Madison's notes from the Constitutional Convention, the texts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, various great speeches from American history, and various arguments and briefs to the Supreme Court in key cases. I am proud to vote in every election, and to serve on juries when called. But this country is fucked up. What I love is the ideals upon which it was founded, and the furthest-reaching dreams of its Founders and greatest citizens-- not the government we currently have (and by "currently" I mean, in my lifetime so far, and in the foreseeable future), or a certain political party, or the minutiae of the setup of the governmental bureaucracy in its current form. The Republicans and the Democrats both suck. The country I love has been turned into a plutocratic oligarchy more or less run by multinational conglomerates and right-wing religious fanatics. We need quality free education for everyone, through college; quality universal health care; a restructuring of our taxation system to stop trying to bleed the poor, and start trying to get the rich to pay our fair share; we need to stop treating corporations as people under the law; and we need to get the government out of people's bedrooms, out of the marriage business, and out of the business of spying on its citizens-- not to mention out of the business of holding foreigners indefinitely without trials, torturing people, and declaring war on abstract concepts (You can't have a war against "terrorism." I'm sorry, but that's not possible. You can combat or hunt specific terrorist organizations. You can seek to create sociopolitical contexts that do not favor the success of radical groups that tend to end up becoming terrorists. You can label specific actions "terrorism," and criminalize them in your country, or in international zones, or across many areas if multiple nations ally in such an endeavor. But you cannot declare war on a concept, because that is idiotic). And a thousand other things that are wrong, stupid, ignorant, and cruel that I could go on and on about. Proud as I am to be knowledgeable about America and its history, and to vote, and to serve my society when called, I am just as proud if not more to write to my congressional representatives and to the President about my concerns, to sign petitions, to protest when necessary, and to help organize demonstrations when that has proven feasible, to support unions and progressive social reformers, and to help others organize, protest, and make their concerns heard. When it comes to the betterment of the human race, silence is not golden. Wrongs don't right themselves, problems don't fix themselves, and help does not just appear for the helpless. A successful democratic society is all about checks and balances. And the ultimate check on every institution is the people. Which ain't nothin' but a fancy term for the bunch of us. Everybody got to look out for everybody else, and got to shout out, or nothing gets done right. Or, to put it a little better: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? -Hillel (a founding teacher of Rabbinic Judaism, turn of the Common Era) __________________ Dull sublunary lovers love, Whose soul is sense, cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove That thing which elemented it. (From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)