What does it mean?

Over the past few posts I really haven't said anything that most of us don't know or suspect to be true. And a lot of you are simply asking yourselves why there is such a discrepancy between what we know and suspect and what we experience. Let's face it: it really doesn't look like things are getting any better "out there". I'm not saying the answer to the dilemma is simple. It isn't. What I am saying is, the approach to a "solution" is. Please note: I didn't say it was easy, I said it was simple. Nothing worth having comes simply.

No, the reason why things aren't getting any better, even though we know deep down what is wrong, is because at heart, we're probably just frightened, little cowards. Oh I know that sounds harsh, but how do you say that gently? I don't know either, that's why I said it that way.

Let's face it: Americans know they live in a violent society, yet they still scream for more violence (harsher prison sentences, more guns, more suspicion of others). We all know that the banking industry literally got away with murder, not just theft, and we let them get away with it. We know that capitalism as currently practiced benefits the smallest minority, but we shout down, insult, and condemn anyone who dares question its validity. We in the Western democratic societies all know that we're being systematically stripped of our rights and our freedoms, and most of us just sit by and think that it's not up to them to change the system.

And that's why all of us share in the guilt for the crimes and the blame for the situation. It's not somebody else's fault, it's ours. And as long as we don't own up to it, we're being irresponsible on top of everything else.

Why don't we act? Why don't we speak up? Every time we think, "well, I got mine, everybody else has to see how they get theirs" we retreat into our cowardice. Every time we complain about the government intruding into our lives, we are showing our fear. Every time we argue that you can't fight city hall, we are declaring our impotence. Every time we simply say nothing at all and only think our part, we betray our integrity. And every time we say, "it's not my problem", we betray our humanity as well.

You have to be able to say "no". You have to want good things for others as well as yourself. You have to stand up and speak. You have to stand up and be counted. Wake up. Get involved. Do your part. It's that simple. It's not easy. It's simple.