Pondering Minds

By Austin L. Sydnor, Jr.

I have been reading currents events, e-mails; visiting and talking to family, friends and co-workers; celebrating birthdays, working, and trying to keep control of myself from day to day. Also, I have been wondering when and how to accomplish the issues at hand and how to be realistic but not get too optimistic or depressed.

Living alone and being a senior citizen, it is tough to keep the balance, but through what I believe, for myself, this will be all right. But on the one side, where there is no equality no justice where I live and work and throughout the nation and the world one remains unsettled.

People are focused on different events: what to do after work, the weekend, vacation, and time-off. Parents are hopefully preparing their children for the upcoming educational year. There is the Olympics, sports, gossip, entertainment, relationships and the political conventions for the Democratic and Republican parties.

Then there is the other side, the economy is a roller coaster. The unemployment situation is alarming. The housing problems have a great effect on people. The educational systems are in turmoil. The health care problems continue with many uninsured and those not properly insured. The price of food is increasing and people are starving. The oil prices rise and fall, the effect the ecology and green earth and the problems of carbon emission. What are its effects on the present and the future generations?

Dysfunctional banking institutions are getting bailout from the federal government at taxpayer’s expense. CEOs are reaping huge cash windfall, only the one percent (1%) is benefiting. This is not only in this country but throughout the world.

And what about this country, the United States of America, the last superpower declining in its wealth as well as good will. We a nation that proclaims democracy and a democratic process, justice for all, equal opportunity, is this really true? To some yes, to others no, as for me, definitely and positively NO! A lame duck president who always says one thing and goes against our better interest; he is no different from other politicians but he's always crying  “war on terror” while we terrorize.

Our president (We the People) con the nation into war and uses torture as a means, we a nation justifying everything and anything. Our federal government does not have to balance the budget because the government makes money. They keep pressing it out as our dollar decreases in value. Our nation is oriented “top-down” rather than from “the bottom-up.” We have burst that balloon of optimism and are on the verge of a police state, but not only in America, but throughout the world.

This nation has never prized diversifying, but rather conquering the non-white peoples of the world. First, it was Native Americans, then blacks, Asians, and now Latinos. Our nation lords itself over the nations of the southern hemisphere practices, dividing and conquering. The nation was first about race, now it's class because of white middle class Americans. The leaders of the nation are not committed to solving the problem either about race-class or class-race. They want to keep people fearful and insecure, ever ready to make war on the weak.

The lean now is toward class-race because of the haunting future demographics: the report is that white American will no longer be the majority in 2042 (then, 2050). We now have a black candidate for president of a major party—the Democrats. In its heart of heart, our nation may not want to exclude but it does. A nation that is base on Christianity should walk that walk—“love is a risk, and there is no guarantee.” We stress the individual and talk moral but actually our ploy is for selfish gain. We are a nation that steps on the “little guy and gal” but rewards the wealthy for being wealthy. In our history we have Pearl Harbor and 11^th of September (911), a world history of jockeying for imperial power. But we forget the innocent people who pay the price for killing innocent people. Our nation, our government forgets the service of the majority of men and women (its citizens) as well as those who serve in the armed forces and are overwhelmed by PSTD and homelessness.

Our wrongs do not make us right. We offer congratulations on individual achievement: I praise where praises are due, especially for the unknown soldier who fought not for equality but to survive from day to day. Is there an effective solution to gaining equality? Slavery, nationhood (black self-determination), civil rights (non-violence), black power (any means necessary and militancy), coalition (black and white), peace movement (Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan), feminist (woman’s struggle) and electoral politics (mostly Democratic Party) have been tried to gain the higher ground.

Now other sources like the Internet and political blogs are giving a try to counter the corporate media's propaganda machines. Should the old (since I’m old-school) and the new (ChickenBones: A Journal, ColorofChange.org, Move On, and other left media movements) put their resources together and be united to fight the injustice and build a participating democracy with the economics of Socialism? I ponder!

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posted 16 August 2008