You know I'm going to talk about it!

I watched our Presidents inauguration yesterday, all of it, all the pomp and glory, each float along
Pennsylvania  Avenue and every speech.   It only happens once every four years and is our statement to the world that we can move forward without a coup, without a revolution, without mob rule, in an orderly and democratic process.  I am proud (and lucky) to live in such a country.  In the days leading up to this event we had been told that second inaugural speeches were a disappointment and I wasn't disappointed at all. I thought it was a great speech.  I did flip back and forth between CNN and FOX news to see what the differing opinion might be. I am amazed at how quickly it got classified as a
"Liberal Agenda" and now I don't even know what that means?
   Obama's speech was inclusive, reaching out to every color, to every creed, every persuasion, each and all of us.  That is liberal?  It is only fair. He reached out to women, wanting equality of education, wages and importance.  That is liberal?  It is only fair.  A society will be judged by how it treats its elders and infirm, its children and the weakest among them.  He talked of preserving Social Security and Medicare, Public Education and a belief in the future and the responsibility that entails.  That is a liberal agenda?  What is the alternative?
   He talked briefly about "gun control" a hot bed issue for sure but he is not the first President to be against assault rifles and 100 round clips.  President Bush was also against these.  If there was ever an issue that should cross both sides of the isle this would be it.  Almost thirteen thousand Americans die each year from guns.  When will we talk about this?
   "We, The People"...I think he said this several times and I am hoping it will cause us to consider what it mean to be a "citizen."  Is it a verb or an adjective?  Is it a process or a birth right?  Is it active or passive? and what does it require of us?
   Congress is broken.  The Republicans spent the last four years attempting to make Obama a "one term President."  They couldn't even pass a farm bill or school lunch program because it might make Obama "look good"!  They lost miserably.  In shock and totally defeated they are now trying to reinvent themselves and I wish them success.  I believe in the two party system and I hope they return to their better days when they were less hateful and more optimistic, had a better, kinder belief in America.  They can't do this through retreat.  It was embarrassing that former President George Bush and even Mitt Romney was not there.  I think that was an inauguration "first" and it is a bad omen.
We can go forward together, each side contributing in this discussion and let every issue be on the table for full disclosure or it can be done with omission allowing groups, women, children, elderly, poor, infirm, Red, Brown, Black, Gay and others by the wayside.  We have all of these people in America and more.  Every Religion, every Race, every belief, we are truly a "melting pot" and that has always been our greatest strength.  If that is "Liberal" then I guess I am too.
   I look for Obama to take his cause on the road.  He will be touring the country to express his ideas
and gain more ideas and the way into the future with us, the Citizens.  We live in interesting times and we can be a part of it.  Or not.

I Wonder

Do you vote?  Oregon recently had its Primary Elections and of course we all knew the outcome before the election:  Romney Vs Obama, but there were other issues on the ballet, always money issues, State Senate, and local government. We had a whopping 38% voter turnout!  This is in a State where you can be legally drunk and vote at the same time, or vote totally naked (as I often do!) if you so choose.  We have a mail in ballet and you have two weeks to vote at your leisure.  No crowds, no long lines, you don't even have to get out of bed.
   I find it kind of ironic.  American Flags are so common on the windows of our trucks and cars.  We get teary eyed at the sound of our National Anthem and easily talk about the pride of being an American, yet we don't even bother to vote!  We will send a couple hundred thousand young soldiers half way across the world to a god forsaken land to fight and be killed to establish this right to vote in some far away land, costing us over a Trillion Dollars, yet we won't put a stamp on an envelop and vote ourselves.
   Civics is not taught anymore in our schools.  We barely teach History anymore and we stopped teaching Geography years ago.  We don't even know where these countries are!   This is the modern digital, computer age and we know less than we ever did.  The really bad part is that we care even less.  What happens in the real world is that if you do not care then someone else will for you.
   I am not naive enough to believe that the Arab Spring or what is happening in the Middle East is about Democracy.  No one is protesting for the right to read the likes of Thomas Jefferson or John Stuart Mill, no one is studying the French Revolution or our own fight for independence.  It is mainly a battle for a piece of the pie,
whatever country, it is always about the 99% Vs the 1% and who controls what.
   Voting is just an easier way to achieve what one desires in a government or in a society.  Well, it is less bloody anyway, not always easier.  I sometimes wonder, when I see a hundred thousand or so protesting, or maybe even more sitting at home and complaining about the protesters, how many of these people are voting?
   What is it to "be an American" anyway?  I used to think that it was the right to be left alone, having no fear of a knock on the door in the middle of the night, or of being spied upon and your mail opened, or of being locked away with no just cause, but we gave all that up with the Patriat Act.  Did you even know that?
I like to think that we could be a shining example to the world but am always stuck on that concept of getting your own house in order before you clean up someone else's.  38% voter turn out is not exactly something to be proud of, in fact, it is something to be fearful of.  Only 38% of the people are determining what will happen to me, what will happen to our country.  In some countries they have Revolutions for the right to vote, in our country, apparently, voting is not worth the price of a postage stamp.  Sad...

Made in the U.S.A.

    "Proud to be an American," we all think that from time to time and especially now, at least for this anniversary of 911.  I sometimes wonder what that means, what is this "American Spirit"?
   We are a mixed bag with every skin color, every religion and we come from every corner of this globe.
Except for the American Indian none of us are from here.
   I think this is the only country in the world where if you are born here you are an American!  And I like it that way.  This is the only country in the world that has total acceptance.
   We have a lot of different accents, different cultures adding to this melting pot of humanity.  The best Italian pizza in the world is American!  We may never forget where we came from but once here, once on this soil, we are forever Americans.
   It is still the freest country in the world.  No one knocks on the door in the middle of the night; every city, every little town has a public library.  No one controls the newspapers, tells us what to do or how to do it.
We can gather in groups, worship where we like and how we like and protest in the streets without getting shot.  One of the best things about living here is our right to complain.
   The economy is bad all over the world and here too and yet people still want in.  It is still the "land of opportunity".  People have gotten rich beginning from selling hot dogs from a cart!  I like that too.
   It is a big country and you can travel anywhere without a passport.  The terrorists have made this a bit more complicated but you still don't need local police documentation to travel as you do in a lot of countries.
There are no road blocks within our cities or from State to State.  From California to Rhoad Island and everywhere in between, wherever you were born, you are an American.  I like that too.
   There is a particular "American Spirit," that is not found anywhere else.  It is a spirit of attitude, of resilience, of rolling up your sleeves and thinking, "I can do that!"  It crosses cultural lines and religious beliefs.  It has no boundaries between the rich and the poor.  It is this attribute that got us to the moon and beyond the stars.  That was no accident.  We are Americans.  I like that too.

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Taxing Situation!

    I like being an American Citizen, consider myself pretty lucky, but it doesn't really cost me anything at all.
Forty-five percent of Americans pay no Federal Tax at all and I am in this group. Twenty-five years ago it was the bottom 20% that didn't make enough money to have to pay taxes.  We are an expanding segment of America.
   I think there is a downside of living in a country and not contributing to it.  Oh, I pay local taxes and property taxes, it is just that I don't pay any American Taxes.  This is an element of the "American Dream" that has gone by the wayside.  The notion of working hard and paying your fair share will lead you to a life of success is not attainable to the vast majority of people.
    There are some efforts now in Congress to tax the rich a little more and you know I think this is a good idea.  Most of their money is made through "Capital Gains" (think money making money) and taxed at 15%
with hundreds of loopholes and deductions to get out of even that.  This is an archaic system that worked when the money and jobs it created remained in the United States but so many get shipped overseas now and the money stays in off shore accounts.  This is not the "American Way" that lead us to such great success.
    But, don't leave me out.  I want to play too!  I think it is necessary to contribute something to be a part of a great country.  We are losing our sense of participation, of belonging, of "being an American".  Like everything else in life, if it doesn't cost us anything we probably won't pay much attention to it.
   Western Europe and a lot of other countries have the equivalent of a National Sales Tax, pay as you go and pay on everything and there is no April 15th tax day.  The wealthy pay more because they buy more and the poor pay less because they buy less but everyone contributes.  There are no write-offs and loopholes.
It has to be clear by now to everyone that our present tax codes do not work.
   I am a product of the 1960's and I hate war.  It is not a polite way to resolve differences and is always expensive.  I miss the draft though.  Oh there were ways out of it if you really put up a fuss.  There were all kinds of alternative services you could do.  I like the idea of serving your country, two years out of a lifetime
helping other people, learning and contributing.  An investment in America.
   These are horrible economic times.  Forty-five million Americans are not choosing to pay nothing in taxes.
We are not choosing to be left out.  We would like to join in the discussion of what it means to be an American Citizen, the Rights and Responsibilities and contributions.  It is not a good feeling to say "I did nothing,"  "I paid nothing", or "I don't even know anything."  That is not us.  That is not who we are.

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