Sunday, March 30, 2008

Note in a Bottle - to someone out in the world

It is not all done by one person ... (whatever "it" is). Some people lead protest marches, others write books (read Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"), others work for candidates that they can believe in and they vote. Some folks write songs filled with meaning, performing them for who ever will listen.

For me, I rant in a blog. People from all over the world stop by my soapbox and read what I write ... there's a little button at the bottom of the page. Clicking it takes you to a map outlining where the most recent 100 viewers come from. I correspond with a number of friends, a number of whom disagree with me most of the time. I correspond with a number of people I've never met, most of whom agree with me most of the time. I have an effect on the world. Some effect it far more .... but, in consolation, there are others who effect it not so much.

When I was young and in my 20s I protested with C.O.R.E, carrying signs and chaining myself to fences and gates to protest the state of racial discrimination and segregation at the time. The world has changed since then ... some things for good, some things not. But things have changed. I added my drop of water to the ocean's tide and things changed. Some 45 years later a black man is running for President and he might actually make it! Not because he's black; not because he's a man but because he's a(n) (relatively) honest HUMAN BEING who can coherently communicate in full English sentences many of the feelings and beliefs shared by honest, sincere, caring and passionate human beings across our country and the world.

A note in a bottle. We are not alone - we hope.

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