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I listened to NPR today, while some people of color were being interviewed in Pennsylvania. It was obviously a poor part of town, with one person having lost their job, one just out of prison and looking for work, and one grandmother getting training to go back into the work place. “I have never seen the number of people having their power turned off”, said one lady, and another talking about people having to move out of their home and once again, I was reminded of how the poor and the working poor are always the hardest hit. Can you possibly imagine, in this economy, looking for work and you have just been released from prison? Some will say, “he should not have broken the law, got what he deserved”, but Ted Stevens definitely broke the law and he may even keep campaigning. It has already been said, that he probably will not do any time. What sort of message is that? It is very clear, if you are in a small group of the privileged there is a different standard. If you are reading this, you most probably will not be worried about your next meal, where you will sleep, or having your power turned off. You may be concerned about your stock portfolio, your bonus, or you may be a little tighter for money and not able to pay but part of your credit card bill but most probably you do not know the feeling of looking for a job with a criminal record hanging over your head. No, this is a part of our invisible society, a segment that has had no political power, therefore can be ignored. We often refer to this country as being the richest in the world, and yet we think little of our fellow citizens who struggle each and every day just to get by. That must change. How can we allow people to be without the basics? It is time that we stop talking about liberals like it is a dirty word; there has not been a Democrat since LBJ that has used the term “liberal” and it needs to be returned to our lexicon.
You want to call me naïve? That is ok with me for at my age I have no problem being called naïve, and if that is the worst thing I am called, I accept that. But, I will not let my humanity be taken from me and I will continue to do whatever I can, by word and deed to change the injustice in our society. I believe Barack Obama is a man of “good heart” and I am convinced he is a man of honor and that this country can move in a new direction. Oh, I have read all the negatives comments, all the slogans that try to say he is just another politician, all the code words, all the talk of other candidates being better but next Tuesday, there are two choices. One is offering a new direction; the other is “more of the same”.
