Gentle Pains of Hope from a Pessimist / Optimist

I want a better world for my kids and I can be damn militant about people and things that stand in the way of that. Given that feeling I am watching what is happening with these bailouts.

The pessimist side of me (I have been known to smell flowers and glance about for a coffin) says to Hell with all of these bailouts. John Plender in the Financial Times. (9-20-08) Writes, "The capitalist class are shifting the cost of their crisis on to the backs of workers and the middle class not to mention the youth who are the future; heavy costs will be inflicted on the American taxpayer, who is now subsidizing Wall Street." Not the kind of burden I want to see my kids facing. What happened to that conservative mantra, "Pull yourself up by you own boot straps?"

My optimist side is thinking look how fast our so called, "representatives" are racing to help the rich. This fast response by our government shows me that money chould just as quickly be able to be found for health care and education for all.

Without state intervention (read socialism), we’re being told the free market system will collapse. Let's get past the thinking of socialism as a boogieman and realize if it's good enough for the Golden Goose (Wall Street) it's good enough for the people. For all those people that hate big government, I say, "Why all the self-loathing remember we are the government." Sometimes we just have to remind our "representatives" of that.


A poem I wrote a couple of years ago to let my kids know many of us are fighting for their better world:

The Marginalized Become the Majority

What with downsizing and globalization
we, the working class, are steadily joining
the ranks of the left behind:
minorities, the poor
the homeless and the incarcerated.
In other words, the nameless,
faceless and powerless.
Together, we make up the huddled masses,
once graciously welcomed by the lady in the harbor.
The time has come for us to get in a huddle and develop a game plan.
We must not be divided,
but shout as one.
We must dialogue,
not just speak, but listen,
with attentive ears hearing truth
when honest tongues speak it.
The journey of truth is long
so while we are the huddled masses,
we cannot be the tired masses.
There will be time enough to rest
in our graves.
We must all become leaders,
leaders who ask for nothing for themselves
but everything for everyone.
Let us approach the new millennium
as if it were a new world.
A new world where ideas
like freedom, justice and equality
are as common in nature
as air and water,
forests and mountains.
We may not live to see that better world,
but it’s enough to believe our children will.
For now let us welcome
the gentle pain of hope.


Today’s myth breaker: Obama is not the most liberal senator:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qjornx-SLQ