What do you think

What place is there for nonviolence today? Can a voice of peace be heard through the cries for more oil, Hollywood movies, new cars and pretty shoes? Does anyone care that war is being waged in our name, without any official reason that withstands even the slightest scrutiny? If America was founded on Independence and Freedom, we have indeed drifted far from her shores. Derelict and afloat upon an ocean of lies, misinformation and exploitation, the next step is either a mutiny or every man, woman and child for themselves. Both perspectives are grim and neither embodies the ideologies we claim to follow. Today, we have all the reason we need to stand, shoulder to shoulder for peace in our community. We need only feel free enough to do so.

Today we are at the height of our technologies in respects to viable resources to fuel them. Alternatives are unrealistic without first bringing an end to the exponentially increasing level of irresponsible consumption. Our 21st century gadgetry is being fueled by burning rocks and sludge. Our sophistication is merely a façade for behind the vale of flat screen TVs, hybrid cars and politics there is a gumbo of lies, corruption and pollution so thick it could choke a whale. And what's worse, every step of the way is marked by violence.

At the heart of our cultural condition is distraction, for a people would only be party to such murder and plunder only if they were without morals or ignorant to the reality. However, on this day, with the presence of the internet and increasing feedback to such a degree that even the birds know great disaster is looming, we as a people, do nothing. Ignorance has become more of a choice than a natural condition; many simply choose not to know. To do nothing is shameful by any measure rooted in even the most generic moral code. To do the same is the very definition of crazy.

If we truly believe all are equal, then why do we sit enamored by the color of our newly elected president, for as a politician he is typical: saying what we want to hear. The meaning of a word can only be known through action and we have no time to wait to see how this president turns out. I do not propose opposition or revolution. I simply appeal for action; change; the very reason so many Americans voted for this man. "For the people. By the People". This is how it works. We must be the change for the good of our children.

We must step away from this neo-Calvinistic culture and have a revival of the willingness to act on behalf of peace and freedom and those who suffer; to stand up and question lies; to show wisdom gained from lessons past: War is all consuming. The time has come to face our fate. We have not only allowed the plunder of our country to be carried out but played the role of accomplice. Each day provides the chance we need to act. As our relative securities dwindle further we will become more dependant upon the very system that led us to this point, and we will become less free.

It is true that no one can live your life, and no one can do your work. We must, everyone, be the change our country and our world needs. Peace and love are actions. "Be the change you wish to see in the world".