change

this is gonna be word vomit.

i'm sure there are a number of things to be happy about in the current political climate but i'm having a lot of trouble seeing through what i can only describe as bullshit, right now.

i just read a couple of articles, (Health-Care Reform, 2015, Why We Must Judge) one summarizing the future battles we have to overcome in order to see that health care reform becomes something we're proud of. the other develops an argument for judgement, and argues that today, our thirst for accountability and blame are nearly nonexistent.

BUT these articles did not just clarify health care reform and our current culture of judgement for me, they helped to solidify my (and certainly, kate's) opinion that this country and to be sure, this world, has a need for change.

a sweeping generalization for sure. thing is though, for us to keep living the way we are in a world where the interests of a special few get more attention than do those of the masses of a typically 'middle class' (definitely the case in the u.s.), is unacceptable to me. and it should be unacceptable to most of us.

but, it seems that a participation in elections is the biggest effort we're willing to make. even that however, is a far cry from the contribution we as members of our communities, states, and countries need to be making in order to actually affect 'change.' for the u.s., electing Obama was a step in the right direction, but it was just barely that. to be clear, it was not a step in the right direction because he has a liberal agenda, or because he is a member of the democratic party, but because he and his administration realized something that the majority of america yearned for. we wanted and definitely still want for something different.

for a lot of us, that difference comes down to mere change of parties. i would guess that this is most of us. the problem though, is systemic. it's not just one party, or one person even. though we can lay a lot of the blame for our current situation on the policies of Bush or Obama, this does not solve the issue at heart. (not that we actually do anything with this blame. no prisoners are taken, or punishments made. we only replace those we don't approve of. where's the justice in that?)

the problem, as i see it, is a gross disrespect for each other and ignorance of implications. our system is what it is, and that will not change in the near future. in the u.s. we will continue to elect people who we must trust to act in our best interest.

BUT, there is a beauty in how our country was set up. we, as individuals are not weak and defenseless in the eyes of the law. we are given the freedoms through our constitution for a very specific reason, that reason being that if we as individuals are dissatisfied with the current system, we can stand up freely and voice our opposition. does that happen? of course it does, and in scales of all size too. from small groups in even smaller protests to overarching unions who wield substantial power to combat injustices. but largely, as a population exceeding 300 million, we americans, remain silent.

my plea is that we must engage ourselves more. we can only try our best, but we must ask that of ourselves and others around us. we must try our best to learn who actually controls whether we have tax cuts or whether we get medical care for all. to learn just how the decision was made to ship a number of our jobs overseas, or why our school systems continue to perform poorly, especially in light of the results that other countries education systems can celebrate. furthermore, we must ask of our selves, our friends and family to act when unsatisfied. we must act to change the current injustices. clearly, we cannot rely solely on the efforts of one politician, or one administration, or even a single elected governmental whole.

because, and you can be assured of this, there are people in power, not through our election, but our spending, that spit in the face of our free market and take advantage of our collective buying power to deny the interests of those (us) who have given them this power, and look out almost exclusively for themselves. it doesn't follow logically that we would continue to spend our money with companies who don't look out for their customers, be we do. it enrages me that this isn't completely our fault, but because transparency among companies is a game and a joke.

my word is definitely not law. it's but one citizen's dissatisfaction and cry for actual change. but if you feel at all similar to the way i do, you'll try. you'll try to learn, act, and change what you personally find is wrong about our country. and if you don't? i hope you don't complain. words will get us nowhere. action is what is required of this country, and certainly this world.