Look up the word serf in your dictionary. That is what most of us have become, when you strip away the layers of the consumer society onion. Serfs! Bowing and scraping to the wealthy who control our paychecks, our politics...Chicken Little, you were finally right on. The sky is falling. And Pogo, you too were correct. " We have met the enemy... and he is us!"

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Sad though it is to be a fatalist, realists sometimes become just that. I have become a fatalist.... really! My America, that of my youth, when the air was cleaner, the food better, the people more alive.... is gone! Replaced by a world of consumerized sheep and complacent activism. I mean, look at today. Better yet, look at me. I am somewhat of an activist. I organize protests against this so called war on Iraq. I write columns that no mainstream media will ever touch. Resigned to being posted online and a few letters to the editor being printed, I receive the regular two or three phone calls of support.... from folks who never seem to join me on the street corner. Spectator American Activism 101. I am partner in a new and unique Caffe business. I gaze through my window at lunchtime and watch the endless stream of cars flow by my place, on their way to the franchised cookie cutter eatery nearby. Why, even those who stand next to me on the street corner each week ( or whenever the thrill overtakes them ) rarely, if ever at all, frequent my establishment. I know, within myself, that if one of them owned a new dry cleaning store, or a breakfast place, they would have at least one new customer: me! Well, Ralph Kramden was correct: " Ya want loyalty... get a dog!" Too many simply disregard the state of their own finances, so long as they can purchase that new electronic gadget or 54 inch TV. So long as they still own a home that is worth $ 100k or $ 200k more than they bought it for. No depth of understanding that they, like me, are a few paychecks away from being indigent. The strain that health insurance costs puts upon them seems not to matter. The rising property taxes and other charges where they live seems not to be so important. Or the fact that gasoline is twice what it was a few years ago. So long as someone else has the kid over in Iraq, gambling with death ( or shelling it out ), who cares? Look up the word serf in your dictionary. That is what most of us have become, when you strip away the layers of the consumer society onion. Serfs! Bowing and scraping to the wealthy who control our paychecks, our politics. Been out there on that street corner for over 28 months now, each and every Tuesday. Might have missed two or three at most. Had a radio talk show, a really unique progressive hour each week. I was able to interview leading national spokespersons on subjects ranging from the war, impeachment, bovine growth hormone, national health care for all, election machine fraud- great shows for 26 weeks. Guess what? Had trouble finding sponsors. Had to beg many of those from the street corner to help out- about 8 or 9 did so. The rest? Go figure. Serfs! Chicken Little, you were finally right on. The sky is falling. And Pogo, you too were correct. " We have met the enemy... and he is us!" PA Farruggio Port Orange, Florida paf1222@bellsouth.net

Authors Bio:

Philip A Farruggio is an activist leader, free lance columnist and small businessman. He is blue collar from birth, as both his dad and grandad were Brooklyn , NYC longshoremen. Philip has a BA from Brooklyn College ( class of ' 74 ) in Speech & Theater.