A Call to Action for Every American
Tasers are bad
Tasers are not “non-lethal.” Since June 2001, more than 150 people in the United States have died after being struck by tasers. I do not believe a taser should have been used on me. Tasers are portable, easy to use compliance devices. But more insidiously, they are now being used as a distraction from the more important issues.
Democracy is good
I went to the John Kerry forum to raise serious political issues, none more important than the disenfranchisement of American voters. We talk about fighting for democracy in Iraq. What about fighting for democracy at home? There is nothing more central to democracy than the right to vote, and while Americans are fighting and dying for democracy in Iraq, democracy in America is dying without a fight. America, our voting rights are being stolen from us.
Our elections aren’t fair
America, you might think that we are about to have a fair and free election in 2008, but it isn’t true. Not only might your vote not count, but the “frontrunners” have already been decided for you. Why is anyone a “frontrunner” yet? No one has voted. The only thing anyone leads in is money and airtime, and neither money nor airtime should decide an election. The media, which is controlled by a few men, is deciding the agenda for the entire country, and that by definition is un-American.
Forget about “Liberal” vs. “Conservative”
The United States have been divided. The country has been split into “left vs. right,” “Red state vs. Blue state,” “CNN vs. FOX News.” This is all false division. There is no left vs. right. Gay marriage is a distraction, not an issue. The real political battle in America is not Republicans vs. Democrats. It’s the ruling class, the billionaire elite vs. the people. America, you are being blinded by the media to hide you from the truth. The billionaires own FOX News and CNN. There are Democrats and Republicans who work for the people, but most politicians, and all of the networks, work for the corporations. Hillary and Rudy, George Bush and Nancy Pelosi, politicians in both parties are taking marching orders from the super-rich who fund their campaigns.
The people’s candidates on both sides are being ignored
The media has time all day to talk about Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan, but millions of Americans have never heard the names Mike Gravel or Ron Paul. These are men running for President of the United States. Their opinions on issues such as the War on Iraq or the PATRIOT Act should be important enough to discuss.
Real Americans
Ron Paul wants to end the IRS. He says income tax is unfair. So does Mike Gravel. He thinks Americans should have a national initiative, so the people can vote on the issues directly. The media wants you to believe these are “fringe candidates” and “fringe issues.”
The most consistent campaigning I’ve seen on the UF campus belongs to the supporters of Ron Paul. The end of the income tax is something that all Americans without billions of dollars will benefit from. Stop listening to the media. They don’t even discuss the reality of disenfranchisement.
Stolen Elections
The will of the American people was subverted in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, and Greg Palast proved it.
Palast is the journalist who wrote Armed Madhouse, the book I was holding up at the Kerry forum, which explains the following:
In both 2000 and 2004, millions of votes were swept under the rug, marked “spoiled,” and not counted. In both elections, there were also electronic voting machines that were used which can and have been rigged. In 2004, in addition to the “spoiled” votes from faulty punch-ballot machines, and the unreliable count from the electronic machines, which are impossible to audit, millions of “provisional” ballots weren’t counted, and millions more voters were denied entry to the registration rolls.
Wake Up, America
America, democracy depends on a free and fair election. If we the people do not decide the elections, than we the people are not living in a democracy. The problems of 2000 and 2004 have not been fixed. In fact, they have been expanded. The Help America Vote Act has made it more difficult than ever for Americans to register to vote, and less likely that their votes will end up counting. The dilemma here is that many people don’t even realize there is a problem.
Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, once said, “None are more helplessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
America, it is time to wake up. If you call yourself a Patriot, if you love this country, then find out what every candidate really stands for, register to vote, and decide for yourself who should be President of this country. There is no excuse for not getting involved. Tell your family, tell your friends, and tell your neighbors – the time to Act is now.
Thank you all, and God bless America.