Thursday, February 5, 2015

What We Get Right

Yeah, this blog can be a bit of a downer from time to time. The point is to try and speak a little who cannot speak for themselves. I don't mean to be all negative, hiding under some Marxist rock casting pebbles at unsuspecting passers-by. The truth is I'm an optimist. What I say on here is getting out into the world by many people writing better than I do and to a much bigger audience. People like Chris Hedges, Henry Giroux and Stan Goff inspire me to spread the word like some kinda crazed TV evangelist but without all the sex scandals and running make-up. We don't write for the sake of being hopeless, rather the opposite.




I cannot speak for those listed above but I can speak for myself. So what do we get right here in the USA and some other places? Despite all the set backs in the last ten to twenty years, we still have the right to free speech and protest. Contrary to popular belief, Occupy has not died. Despite a lot of effort from those in power to pretend it has gone away, we are still here. We have only grown and morphed into more movements and joined other established organizations working on issues that matter; Moral Mondays, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, NCWarn  and The IRC. These are all right here in my community. Take a look around where ever you are. You will find a lot of positive going on I assure you. Hey, Occupy still exists. I think in organizations like these is where the justice we seek, humanity we demand and creating a better future are to be found. We cannot vote our way out of all the deep and complex problems we now face with a truly broken and morally bankrupt political system where he who has the gold makes the rules. We have managed to get a few things right in spite of our broken political system.





I'm a person with a serious physical disability. Had I been bore a generation or two before, there's a very god chance I would have been institutionalized early in life. Imagine a life long prison sentence having done nothing wrong! Going to school, getting a job and living independently would have been out of the question. I owe much of my success in life to The Disability Rights Movement. Here is a brief overview. I think this goes hand in hand with The Civil Rights Movement. Here in the USA, most places are handicapped accessible. That means I don't have to rely on others to get where I want to go. There are other countries that also do a good job, but world-wide there is still a long way to go. Later on in life Dr. King expanded the struggle of racial equality to include advocating for the poor. I'm hoping we have about bottomed out and the growing income inequality gap will start to slow and swing the other way. Surely, some people in power must know how explosive this could get.  



What an exciting time to live in!                   

1 comment:

Unknown said...

amen Paul!
Glad I finally joined your blog.....I'll be back and send it to others so they can chime in and enjoy as well!
Peace Brother, Jackson