once upon a time there was a revolution against high taxes and religious oppression and a new nation was formed, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal if they are male, white, mostly protestant or at least some sort of Christian God-fearing type, and have the money to buy their way into the exclusive club of equals... we hold these truths to be self-evident, even...

then, about four score and seven years later somebody questions whether this nation or any nation could long endure the hypocrisy upon which it was founded and about a hundred years after that the answer was still yes, though it was getting harder to keep from facing the idiotic bigotry and illegal cruelty once the TV cameras and fire hoses were turned on the people who were not quite as equal as the all men thing would have had us believe (TV news, the great equalizer, who'da thunk it)...

now we pay high taxes to those select group of wealthy equals and they rule the world for us and all we have to do to live in this land of the free and good and plenty is to work ourselves to death and dream the American dream and pretend we are all equal in public no matter what we think in private and don't question authority or the religious right too much unless you've got access to the media and can buy lots of bodyguards, but even then you might be better off just being a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender and we'll all say a prayer for you...

does freedom of religion mean the majority has the right to freely stuff their religion down your throat and condemn you to shameful scorn and hell if you don't buy into it (and I do mean buy into it)?...

does freedom of the press mean news media must turn into commercial enterprises and use scare tactics to get you to watch so they can keep their advertisers happy and make themselves quite wealthy while bringing you all the news they fit to print or radio or video sound bites?...

does freedom to bear arms mean only the police and the criminals can carry guns so we have to wake around in fear of getting caught in the crossfire because the criminals know we've got no protection and there are not enough cops to protect us?...

are we free to say no to war?...

are we free to say no to pollution?...

are we free to say no to paying taxes when we disagree with what is purchased and done with our taxes?...

are we free to publicly disagree with the government, with the religious fanatics, with the rich and powerful?...

are we free to love as we choose to love, harming no one?...

are we free to point out the hypocrisy and inhumanity of our great nation?...

I suppose the answer is yes, for here I am... there may be more enlightened governments and societies in the world, but the ideas are the same... the ideals may be bought and sold, just as people are bought and sold willingly these days, but the truth within the ideals remains the same... and those who fear letting go of their hypocritical fear-based rules and repressive economic and philosophical power structures might want to silence the likes of me and others who much more eloquently can point them out, some might even react violently to hide their criminal hypocrisy and fears, but the right to be out here publically ranting about anything and everything is still intact...

I hope...

there are lives in the balance...

so Happy Birthday (if you can stand it)... and may next year be the year we live up to those grand ideals and pretty words upon which this nation was founded...

what's left of the indiginous tribes would appreciate it...

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)