Put up or shut up!

Americans love to complain. We complain about government as much as anything. But how many of us actually participate in the process? We are, after all, a democracy of the people, by the people, for the people. Are you doing your part?

As a progressively more active citizen, I’m losing patience with my fellow citizens. I hear lots of Americans complaining about the state of affairs at all levels: local, state and federal. But I don’t see too many doing much to change things.

And I believe you have to earn your right to complain.

If you complain about how you see local officials spending tax dollars, have you called and asked about how those spending decisions were made? Or have you written a letter to the editor outlining your concerns? Have you advocated for funds to go to your priorities?

If you’re worried about the number of young people leaving your state never to return, have you lobbied your local and state officials to build economic opportunities to bring them back? This means you have to get off your backside, go to the phone, computer or a desk, and call, e-mail or write a letter.

Do you read newspapers and magazines that provide actual policy information to learn what government (all levels) is doing? Because 15-second TV stories and radio commentary by entertainers/shock-jocks is not real information about the legislation that affects your life.

Did you vote in the last election?

And on the local level, what do you do to make a difference? Have you attended a school board meeting? Do you pick up trash? Do you volunteer at a school? Do you serve on a board?

If you spend most of your free time parked in front of your TV or computer and expect someone else to read your mind and give you the change you want, you’re a fool. The “Easy Button” only exists in Staples commercials. Real change happens when we get up and work for it.

And even then, you can’t expect it to appear exactly as you want it. Because the guy across the street may have a completely different need. The public good is a balancing act.

So here’s a warning. Before you open your mouth to complain about the status quo when I’m around, ask yourself what you’ve done to make change happen. ‘Cause I will. And I’m going to tell you that you have to earn your right to complain.

The House is on Fire

The house is on fire. Our U.S. economy is an inferno, loosing 20,000 jobs a day, and the Republicans want to turn off the hoses. No more government spending!

No, the house is on fire, so let it burn until it burns itself out. In fact, let’s turn off the water while a select few hoard it. Let’s give more tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy.

That’s what Republican economic ideas amount to.

Despite the historical evidence that spending programs like the New Deal put Americans back to work and helped stimulate the economy, the Republicans refused to support President Obama’s stimulus package. Instead they try to tell us the New Deal didn’t work.

And despite further historical evidence aligning tax cuts with economic growth and proving tax cuts DO NOT stimulate the economy, the Republicans continue to sing the same song they’ve sung the last eight years or longer. The average American is finally accepting reality as their jobs disappear and they face losing their homes.

While the Republican Party continues to parrot their selfish, greedy ideology, more Americans lose their jobs, their homes, their healthcare and their security. So I have a question for the remaining die-hard Republicans out there. Do you really believe these same old lines?

November 2007 Sunset

(For Maya Soetoro-Ng in honor of her Nov. 2007 visit to Red Oak, Iowa)

Your arrived on a warm November evening
as the sun slid behind our bronze
and burnished fields.
Visiting the city of red oaks
to speak with educators
in an old white brick home
on the hill --
sharing your shared history
with your brother.

For us, you painted the picture
of a compact, creative family
(Your mother watching
Kansas clouds and raising
children to make a difference.)

You noted the beauty of
an Iowa sunset,
yourself from a land
renowned for arresting
vistas,
and won my grateful
respect and appreciation.

Canopy

Terraced hills
drape the creek bed,
flowing down
to a burbling brook.
Billowy bales of cloud
roll overhead
as spring blows
across the plains.

How dumb are we?

Before you decide to vote for the military man and the self-proclaimed hockey mom, ask yourself if you’re doing better than you were eight years ago.

Then consider the facts:

McCain, while once willing to take stands against his own party, has consistently capitulated to the Bush Administration and the religious right in control of the Republican party. That’s how you get to vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Also consider this: Sarah Palin is the “made-for-TV” candidate. She studied broadcast journalism and worked for a time as a sportscaster. So she can read a teleprompter and deliver a script with style. She looks good, and she knows how to make a good impression. But she’s the real “empty suit” in this race. In fact, she has one of the lightest resumes (and a questionable record) ever in a candidate for national office, much like George W.

McCain’s now touting change, and using his VP candidate as a prop for that argument. So I have to ask, “How dumb are we?”

Are we going to fall for that because we’re uncomfortable with the idea of a black man as president, even though his policy will help 98 percent of us economically? Are we going to fall for it because a woman, any woman in the White House is more important than choice for our daughters and ourselves? Are we going to fall for that because we’re still voting on stupid measures like “likeability” and looking “presidential.”

Wake up America! This kind of decision making is what got us eight years of W. Instead of looking at Bush’s abysmal track record as a corporate executive and governor, we let the media focus on his folksy personality (which is largely a lie).

How dumb are we?

For once in your life read something, and look at what economic history tells you about the Democratic record versus the Republican. Turn off the TV and radio; quit listening to vapid sound bites and vote for your real economic interests.

I’ve spent an entire lifetime watching the lower and middle class in this country fall for these stupid campaign tricks. (Am I reliving 1980!?!) And we’re poised to do it again. You have to remember it’s not a candidate’s personality that matters, it’s the policies. Who’s going to provide healthcare, work for an equitable tax system, and rebuild our economy, national security and stature in the world?

Personally, I’m voting for the candidate who thinks I have a brain.

The Story of Willow Tree

On Dec. 27, 2007, we received a phone call from Curt’s mother. Her brother, Harold Kohler, had died suddenly, apparently from a sudden heart attack brought on by shoveling snow in his driveway on the outskirts of Minneapolis.

Upon learning of their grandfather’s death, Harold’s two grandchildren reacted very differently. His 10-year-old grandson, Ben, openly expressed his grief with tears. But his 12-year-old granddaughter, Allison, turned quietly and shut herself in her room. As her mother describes it, she emerged silently about five minutes later bearing the following poem, Willow Tree.

If I could picture you as anything,
I would pick a willow tree.
So graceful, sweet, and kind,
Giving lots of love to me.

Giving shelter to every creature,
That tries to hide from the rain.
So strong, that when you get chopped down,
You feel not any pain.

Just sitting there so peaceful,
Letting the wind carry you around.
Always holding a smile,
and never once a frown.

Your trunk so big, your leaves so small,
Your branches swing left to right.
If you take one look, you will see,
The most beautiful, man in sight.

Upon reading the poem a second time, I began to see this image of the willow tree planted outside Harold’s home. In American folk art traditions, the willow tree was used in memorial paintings and needlework as a symbol of mourning. But to Ally, the willow tree simply represented Grandpa Harry.

Republicans, McCain and the Pottery Barn rule

In 2003 during the run-up to the Iraq invasion, General Colin Powell warned the Bush Administration that military action in Iraq would follow the Pottery Barn rule: “You break it, you buy it.” And so here we are in 2008, bogged down in a quagmire of occupation with the tally of lives lost and dollars spent on this destruction rising hourly.

Similarly, the Republican Party should recognize their responsibility for their current presidential candidate. They may not be overjoyed with John McCain, but he is the product of the morally bankrupt administration they pushed into office in 2000 and 2004 – by any means necessary.

John McCain, once admired for his willingness to buck his party and take unpopular stands on principle, was broken by the Bush Administration, capitulating to their demands in his overarching desire to win the Republican nomination in the future. Now, they own him.

Once against Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, now McCain wants to make them permanent. Once critical of the Iraq War execution, now he argues it’s a success. Once against torture, he quietly caved when the President watered down the legislation banning such practices. On so many issues, McCain has abandoned former thinking to embrace the stances of Bush Neo-con Republicans and their extreme agenda. This is only made more evident with the use of the current Karl Rove campaign tactics and talking points McCain was once the target of himself.

So I say to the Republican Party, “Good luck with McCain. You broke him; now you own him.”