So, in the interest of becoming more involved, aware--and quite frankly--less cynical about the state of this country, I am going to begin to read, write, respond, think, and question what is happening around us.
This means politics.
That being said, I watched an Independent film last week called Zeitgeist last week and was left feeling sad, frightened, and disillusioned. (It was basically a documentary about how the white men with all the money who have been running this country for decades are lying through the media and using fear that is based in religion and racism to keep Americans oppressed.) I seriously contemplated buying a false identity and fleeing the country to live on a farm somewhere.
However, I must admit, that what I have heard and seen from the Democrats, and Michelle Obama in particular, from Denver these past 2 nights has really inspired me!
I mean, let's be honest--the democrats have it easy in this election because all they have to argue to win the ticket is that they are NOT going to give us more of the same domsetic terrorism put out by the Cheney administration over the past 8 years. However, merely pointing that out works on the assumption that most Americans are actively using their brains and taking action to make their lives better. the sad reality is--they are not. Am I being cynical here--maybe--but I am also being honest and sometimes the truth is a hard reality to face.
I face it everyday when I teach in a high need school and neighborhood in NYC. I face children who don't have lunches whose parents won't return my phone calls or even come pick up their child's report card. Parents who might not care to do those things, but maybe because they can't if they are working 2 or 3 jobs just to support their family.
Would you value an education for your child if you knew the system was broken, systemically racist, underfunded, and ineffective? I wouldn't.
It's hard to take part in that all American dream of "working hard can take you to your dreams" in a country that fattens the pockets of white oil executives while poor black mothers drown in the waters of Katrina. It's especially difficult to have hope for your dreams when someone like Bush is running the show and proves time and time again that he doesn't care about anyone but the upper class. He has proven time and again that he is a bumbling idiot and American people put him in office. He used fear tactics from 9/11--which I firmly believe was orchestrated by both of the Bush administrations--in order to exploit renewed American patriotism founded in tragedy. He fooled the American public plenty of times.
Please, Americans, do not be fooled by the Chief Idiot anymore. He has been running our country like an idiot factory for too LONG!!
So, let us turn to hope instead. Hope. Change. Optimism.
All of the words and ideas the Bush, Dicks, and Roves never used.
Let's eliminate negative terminology and rhetoric from our dialogue about America and use the words that Michelle and Barack Obama are using to pave their way to the whit house. Their message and mission is inspiring, positive and optimistic and has inspired me.
I return to my second year of teaching this year. Rather than feeling beaten down and hopeless, I feel like I finally know what my mission is as an educator in this country--to teach my students not only how to read and write, but how to THINK FOR THEMSELVES!
If every voter in 2004 actually used their own brain and didn't let the government and media tell them what to think and believe, we wouldn't be in the Bushy mess we are in right now.
I am going to go to work on Tuesday believing in myself, my students, and their future. I will teach them to be independent thinkers and know that they can have hope with Obama as president. They will go through high school knowing a black man is president which means when they are able to vote for the first time, issues of race and gender will no longer be issues.
