|
| VOTU | |
The Importance of Being Al by Charles Rehn 8/25/2002 |
|
| Once upon a
time we had a country where the selection of our Presidents was based on their ideas and
vision, more important than the manipulation of the media, the manipulation and twisting
of the meaning of words, and the political power gained by endorsements and financing by
corporate interests. But times have changed, times have changed, and we look all around us and see the costs of the influence of wealth and the veil of the facade of rightousness. It's the same veil that hides the truth and exposes the lies as if their roles were switched and what's valued is the words that deceive us. Lies that tell us that welfare to work reduces poverty and empowers people. Lies that tell us our veterans are honored by our people and government, as the homelessness of veterans rises, and their medical benefits are reduced. Lies that compel our young people to enlist for a war about a risk caused by our lies and manipulations in the first place. Surely, the attacks of 911 and the failures... in fact, the ignoring of the threat to allow attack and cause us as a nation to rally for an unjust cause... that is the greatest lie, the latest betrayal of us all. And that underlines the importance of being Al. People call him a lackluster campaigner...they say that his political experts let him down, led him astray and caused to him redefine himself so many times that the public couldn't have possibly known who the real Al Gore really was. But the real Al Gore is everywhere, in our environment, in our policies of empowerment, in the very exchange of ideas that allow us to move forward as a nation and as a people, citizens of this planet. 50 million people understood who he is. Ralph Nader claims that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. I say, this is nothing more than the cheap rhetoric and verbal manipulations that Mr. Nader has crusaded against since his first days of fame. And he, in fact, is the betrayor in the eye of the public... in his personal war for the elevation of his image... to steal votes from Republicans and Democrats though inuendo... and there are many in the Green Party who decry his claim to their leadership. He offers no vision, just a list of complaints, a call for the destruction of Democracy instead of the rebuilding of a just and facile system called Democracy. And there are many more lies about Al Gore, lies intended to smear his good name, his integrity in private and public life, and the values that more than 50 million people elected in 2000. Katherine Harris, at the center of electoral fraud in Florida, has now written and published a book. And, instead of admitting the truth, she defends herself with lies. She claims it was Al Gore's aggresive approach to the election recounts that cost him in political battles. His aggressiveness. And yet, George Bush's IRS records show that the mini-riot where the votes were being counted was funded by Bush. And, Bush outspent Gore 4 to 1 to propagandize his lie of being in the lead, and to defend the greatest lies of all. Lies, like how Al Gore and the Democratic party reportedly attempted to deny armed forces personnel the right to vote. This was a lie to shape public perception, a manipulation to cause the American people to demand that those votes be counted... and the truth was, many of these votes were fraudulent, solicited by Republican Party operatives after the election was over. It was illegal, but the Justice Department does nothing. Just like the old west, anything can happen when the sheriff is one of the leaders of the gang. Anything can happen when the Supreme Court abandons its principles and decides in its infinite wisdom that its affiliations and opinions outweigh the United States Constitution and the will of the people. This is the right wing conspiracy, the words bantered about in political worlds in a way that make the words meaningless, but cause it to appear in our daily life. It is a conspiracy of totalitarianism, enforced compliance to certain religious ideas and moral traditions... moral traditions that they betray every day themselves because in their minds, the ends justify the means. They spout their lies in the name of God. It is they who hate the freedom that allows us to be individuals. It is they who destroy our environment, and seek means of genetic engineering to cause a perfect race. It is they who seek to suppress minorities like the slave traders of the Dutch in the West Indies long ago. And the Republican operatives say that African Americans have no cause for reparations from this government on the basis that African Americans are treated better in the United States than they are treated anywhere else in the world... as if that is enough... as if that expresses equality... as if that allows them to vote and have a voice in the outcomes of elections of this country without intereference or purposeful frauds perpetrated against them. This is, alas, the same Right Wing Conspiracy that has afflicted us since Nixon... Since Reagan. Trickle down economics is not a theory, it was a plan to take the money of the American people, make them dependent upon the government, and cause the citizens of this country to be willing to comply, in fact, to rally around the government in acts of blind compliance. Just like in Hitler's Germany. You might want to read Mein Kempf for all the details. That's what happens when you cause capitalists to focus on money, make it seem like the most important thing, provide an example as leaders and role models who blatantly prosper and rule having benefitted by acts of fraud, manipulation and speeches that say what you want to hear while all the while they do what no one would approve of. And certain Republicans abandon the moral values that our Republican leaders call for, Republicans who clearly have benefitted by fraud, bending the rules, and shaping corporate policy for the purpose of lining their pockets and the pockets of their friends. They say that forest fires are cheaper to pay for than it is to manage forests... clearly they see only lumber, and not the animals and the environment surrounding the forests that will also suffer severely. They do not see our children, who will never know the splendor of our mountains and forests and meadows... but of course, that would serve their purpose. To have a generation that doesn't understand what it is missing. To hear parents and grandparents speak of the good old days... days we knew only 2-1/2 years ago. And they say that the burning forests is a normal pattern of industrialization... as profiteers plunder resources and take advantage of loopholes and compromised politicians to get their unjust financial rewards. But the fires at this level are not natural, not the way nature would have done it. In this last year nearly 3 times the normal acreage of forest fires has consumed our forests, threatened homes and killed people. And we will be lead to believe that even more devastation is required to continue to manage our forests. But for what and who? They say that global warming is nothing but hype, citing that we have cleaner vehicles and factory emissions than 20 years ago... an irrelevant arguement because, like the discussion about African Americans, being cleaner does not mean the same as being the cleanest it can be... and the best we can have for the good of the environment and all living things that rely on it. I, for one, do not believe that the $250 million dollars that was appropriated and subsequently lost "in the books", that could have been used to manage our forests in an environmentally sound manner, was lost at all. It was held aside to set the stage to empower the lumber companies. It was a theme of the Reagan administration passed down to Bush's... being persued this very day. The great Right Wing Conspiracy is surfacing, and it appears to be a monster. And again, that is more evidence of the importance of being Al. Al Gore campaigned against what he knew was coming, and campaigned on behalf of the people. He stood up and challenged the insurance companies, told them he would oppose their policies of forcing reliance and compliance in regard to their corrupt medical policies... depriving deserving people of medical care and effective treatments when it suits their financial goals. Basing treatments on the latest good deal they've made with the drug companies. And now, by seeking and receiving private medical information under the Bush Administration. And the hmo's are one by one, refusing to participate with the government in medicare, because the government reimbursements for the care required is so low, and the Republicans do nothing but endorse strategically stated policies and lackluster legislation to empower the insurance companies to get their way, to manage your health, and exercise their prerogative regarding the benefit of treating your ailments... based on profit, not care. He campaigned for the environment, for the planet, for which he was ridiculed and scoffed at as being one of those silly liberal intellectually elite... a term applied by Republicans to anyone who reads, thinks and dares to express their differing views. And now we're facing war... a war being waged by the same people we demonstrated against in the 60's and 70's... they were the same people we called the Military Industrial Complex. Their interests are financial, not the interests of people and religions and freedom and Democracy. And maybe war is justified, but the explanations we are given include that the 911 attacks are all the reason we need to attack Iraq, and the other Arab and Islamic nations, although Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks. And somewhere along the line, my generation forgot to tell our children of the deceptions of the past, the deceptions that divided our nation, and the oppression by a government intoxicated with the power it did not earn or deserve. Have we forgotten, or have we changed our mind? Or have manipulations and fancy speeches changed our minds? That is the arrogance of the Right Wing Conspiracy. That is the corruption of absolute power. That is the result of a group of people who model their campaigns and crusades after the most infamous conquerors in the history of humankind. And the triad of leaders, Bush the front man, Cheney the leader and Rumsfeld the mastermind... will be no less hailed and defeated with their inclusion on this list. It is only a matter of time. You can accelerate this process by remembering history, and taking the steps that make a difference to expel the most corrupt government since 1911. That government installed the Federal Reserve Board, which is not a Federal Agency, but is an independent company that tends to our economy to make it most productive for business... and that makes us slaves to corporate socialism. Soon, our choices will be few, and our behaviors will be mandated, and the penalty for civil disobedience will be denial of services by our government of the corporations... not the people... and that means denial of food, medical care, housing... all the things we take for granted. All the levereage they could possibly need. We are on the precipice of depression and a dust bowl... all the while, Bush and his people tell you the fundamentals of the economy are sound... that our farmers know how to grow food... but not for the people, for the corporations. And not without topsoil. And not without the water that's been seriously depleted by the droughts caused by the forest fires. Those who believe in free-markets will soon come to realize that even that theory and vision has been corrupted to the point of uselessness at this juncture, as the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. As minorities and dissenters are impuned for their desire to exercise the rights their Constitution has guaranteed. And so it is up to us, the affected, to take our own cause to the streets and the polls to demand the purification of our government and our governors... the Supreme Court... or lose our right to do so forever. The times we are facing leave little room for waiting to see how things turn out before deciding. These times demand that you get involved, be a New Patriot, and take a stand for what's right over what we know is wrong and contrary to the intent of the Constitution. And this still adds up to what I call the importance of being Al. Because, in the war of ideas, Al Gore wins, as he did in the election of 2000. But don't take my word for. Take the word of someone who's been reporting on world events for more than 50 years. Take it from someone I don't always agree with, but whose wisdom sheds new light on issues that we thought were cut and dry. Read the words of the legendary Alistair Cooke as he writes of George Bush and the Iraqi war, Bill Clinton and the importance of being Al. He said:
Even to this day, Al Gore is a team player, working around the country, working for good candidates, good ideas, the defense of freedom and civil rights, the use of technology in streamlining operations and working against the tyranny of this fraudulent presidency, Broken Promises and Political Deception
By President-Elect Al
Gore So, what is the importance of being Al? Honesty, integrity, straight forward discussion of the issues, the exchange of ideas... everything we say we want in a leader... The importance of being Al IS illustrated in the phrase the importance of being earnest. And if that means he's not quite as flashy and flambuoyant, then I say good for him. I'll take substance over style any day. But I still like his style. I like the truth. |
Be a NEW PATRIOT. Do it for America. Do it for yourself. Click here for more! Webnotes: Info on updates & tech issues (c) 2001,2002 DemocraticFundamentalism.org Contact us |
|
|
|
