For years I muttered mentally to myself about the insanity of Americans electing George W. Bush president. Now I go through the same agony about the craziness of the nation electing Barack Obama president. As much as I thought Bush was a manipulated second-rate politician that carried out the terribly destructive policies pushed by Cheney and other conservative corporate shills, now I feel equally angry that so many voters fell for the slick rhetoric and lies of Obama. Disgust produces public thirst for change and Obama was wickedly brilliant at selling change. When voters are so easily victimized what does democracy amount to?

Writers often romanticize their subjects. At times they even manipulate their readers. A book – or any piece of writing for that matter – is meant to provide a sense of completion. Sociological explanations are offered to offset the confusion caused by apparent inconsistency in human behavior. At times a reader is asked to take a stance, or choose sides.

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” -  Thomas Jefferson

I have to admit, I’m a little bit confused. There is something about people that I just can’t seem to come to terms with. Maybe if I explain what confuses me, you can help me figure it out. So how about I start out by giving you a few imaginary scenarios to consider.

To begin with, imagine if you invited someone to live in your home, and all this person did was make a mess, steal from you, and invade your privacy. I am pretty sure that if you found yourself in that type situation you would do something about it, wouldn’t you?

As Hurricane Earl positions itself to crash into the East Coast of America, once again we are faced with the awesome power of a hurricane. This new hurricane comes on the heels of the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that flooded 80% of New Orleans and killed over 1,800 people.

I heard this song by the Oak Ridge Boys recently and it just hit me – I am sure I’ve heard it many times in the past but this time the words really rang thru my head. Maybe it is my age (only being 16 ya know), maybe it is all the political things going on and the efforts so many of us have been and are making to *make a difference* – to wake folks up to what is going on and how their napping is supporting the destruction of America.