A World Wide Plea

In my life, music, movies and theatre play a very key role. In fact, when someone says almost anything, I am frequently reminded of a line from a song, a quote from a movie, or a character’s expletive from a Broadway show. Perhaps it is because these forms of entertainment were instrumental in allowing me to escape, mentally, the realities of my childhood, growing up on food stamps and welfare; even if only for a little while.

Because of my penchant to escape through music, movies and theatre, especially when times are difficult, is probably the reason why I am hearing Shirley Bassey in my head, with The Propellerheads, singing “History Repeating.”

And I can’t help but think that it is because of what is happening now, in our lives, in our collective moment in time.

I am no historian. In fact, as a child, I never even liked history. I found it dull and rather boring. Once, in elementary school, I even asked our teacher why we needed to learn history. Wasn’t it more important to learn about the present and think about the future?

A very shocked Ms. Wynn looked at me, her eyes got a bit buggy at the audacity of my question and she responded.

“The reason why we must learn history is so that we NEVER repeat it.”

Perhaps she was just boring at teaching what had already passed. Looking back, though, I cannot imagine that was the case as she was one of the most passionate teachers I had in elementary school. So I’m thinking perhaps it was just the mind of child that couldn’t be preoccupied with things that happened prior to my birth. After all, they didn’t really affect me, why should I learn about it?

As I’ve grown older, I find history actually quite fascinating; especially if taught by someone who has a passion for it. They can make you relive it, feel it, embrace it. A professor in college made me feel as if I was there, on a slave ship, hearing the clank of iron and feel the shackles at my wrists and feet when teaching us about one of the most luridly disgusting times in our country’s infancy.

If a writer is good at turning his phrases and using words, he can make you feel it as well.

And, of course, movies can also transport you into an entirely different realm just by the sheer imagination and talent of the director, actors, writers and editors.

But here’s the tricky thing about history; and here is also where another song comes to mind. This time from the Broadway show Wicked, when the Wizard says to Elpheba, “Where I’m from, we believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. We call it – history.”

Regardless of whether history repeats itself or if it is a matter of perspective, there is no doubt that we are living in very dangerous times. Times, I might add, that are repeating themselves.

In October of 1929, only 79 years ago, the Wall Street stock market collapsed. It sent not only our country into a depression, but the entire world. One of the more vulnerable countries was Germany, due to their large amounts of loans and dependency on foreign trade.

Out of the rubble rose Hitler.

Hitler told the people what they wanted to hear. But first, he went to the German President and asked him to invoke Article 48 of the German constitution. This gave emergency powers to the president to rule by decree.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

The Germans, tired of the political haggling in Berlin; tired of misery, tired of suffering, tired of weakness, were willing to listen to anyone.

But of course, there had to be an enemy. Someone to blame for the horrible things that had happened to Hitler's beloved country.

And guess what happened next?

Over 6 million Jews, supporters of Jews, the physically and mentally disabled, along with the uncounted amounts of homosexuals fell victim to the atrocities we now know of as "The Holocaust."

I believe these events are happening again. Only this time, here in our country. Our investment firms and banks are failing or have failed while the CEOs of the huge corporation reap the rewards of the thousands, if not millions, of laborers across our great, sad nation. They are walking away scott free, while our government condones it. If any of you lost money because of Enron, you know what I'm talking about.

And yet we sit idly by.

Now the government, OUR government, wants to buy and invest in American banks. Bail out investment firms. Some will tell you that this will help save the economy. It may.

But I have a fear.

My fear is that when you leave the door to your house unlocked, a thief could come in. And I'm afraid the thieves have not only come in, they are taking everything they can; including our souls. No one is safe.

First the American government will take control of the banks. And then, we had best watch our step because the media will be next. Newspapers and television states will be broadcasting only those things the government WANTS us to hear!

And then, only whatever semblance of God or human decency remains is the only thing that will save us.

But all is not lost.

As a registered Democrat with strong Socialist tendencies, I am now making a plea to you. For everything that you hold near and dear to your hearts, do not let the Republican party take over for a 3rd term. I beseech you. I beg of you. Please.

McCain is a walking zombie. There is virtually no expression in his beady little eyes. I believe him to be a puppet of the Bush administration. And Palin, who knows next to nothing, is Eliza Doolittle; Pygmalion. She is simply the Republican party's carrot, thrust unto the American people while the current administration continues their policies and strip us bare of all that has made this incredible nation what it once was.

Now, I don't know much about politics, but I can see patterns; and the ones that I see here are not only frightening, they make my blood turn cold.

And just what do I see before me? The road to perdition.

I see a world where we will all live in fear. A great nation, once made strong by the many differences within it, including the paradoxes and contrasts, both beautiful and sometimes ugly, all come crumbling and crashing around us. Terrorism will not be squashed. It will never be eradicated in any way, shape or form. In fact, the only thing that we can count on, is that acts of terrorism will continue to occur. Atrocites from within our very own government, will rear their ugly head and by then it will be too late. We will be living a replica of the movie, "Vendetta."

Our country is in desperate need of a revolution, in desperate need of a new leader. And of course, now I'm hearing the Beatles in my head sing "Revolution."

Because desperate times call for desperate measures, I implore you to drop the blinders, drop the trivial, and see what is before you. Force yourself to truly see with your heart, and not the words that someone else has fed you and still continues to feed you.

If you're as pissed off as I am, make a stand. Let others know. We MUST take back control of our politics and our country. Let it be, once again, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Organize. Protest. Write letters, sing songs, hold hands. Hell, march if you have to!

Invoke the spirit of our forefathers, rebel against the establishment in your own way. Let's all meet at the Mall; and I don't mean for shopping! I'm talking about the one in Washington, D.C. Let's meet there and just drop out. Where are the Leary's of the Woodstock era? Where is Bob Dylan? Where are the singers? The song writers? The ones who organized us and led us through the 60s?

I do not see a bright, sunny future for all of us unless we act now. Do . . . SOMEthing. Anything. Don't just sit there. Make your voice be heard. Let the politicians know how you feel. Join the ACLU and other organizations who can help us rally and topple the current administration so that we may face, together, a better and brighter future and start, "Walking On Sunshine." Yes. Like Katrina and The Waves.

And for those who are just coming of age, those in their 20s who are into partying and drinking beer and screwing anything that moves or think that there are easy, fast ways to make money and that it is best to simply roll over, remember what Professor Dumbledore said to Harry Potter. "The time has come to choose between what is right, and what is easy."

May whatever universal power you believe in protect us all.