We won! Sweet! Now we can kick back and watch the change and everything will be great!

No. Not so much.

Yes, we helped history to be made. We all played a part in electing our nations’ first African-American President. This is something that we should be proud of, and that we should still be celebrating. We have initiated potential change in our country and in its political discourse. You notice that fourth word in the last sentence? Yeah that nine-letter “p” word. It’s there on purpose. Please note that we have not actually changed anything at this point. We now have the ability to change course in our country, and we go into this process, as does our President-elect, with the best of intentions. You know what they say about good intentions, and which road they may pave.

We aren’t done. Not by a long shot. As much as I respect the man, and am thrilled to death that we have been able to get him elected President, we must hold him, as well as our new, more Democratic Congress accountable, just as we did for the Republicans. We can’t afford to give any of them a free pass just because they are members of our party. If they do something we do not like, we need to shout it as loudly, if not louder, than we did for the past eight years. However, this is only half of our duty over the next four (eight?) years.

We must get involved. No matter what your status or abilities, there is something, anything you can do to help change our country. The biggest threat to our country is, has been, and probably always will be apathy. Democracy will never work in a country where the people do not get involved. Our President-elect has set us up for change. It is now our time to come through for him. Will you settle for the status quo? Or will you be an agent towards turning our future bright again? The choice is ours.

On July 2, 2007, the President of the United States gave what amounted to a pardon to one of his vice presidents’ ex-staffers.  I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby had been convicted by a jury of his peers of obstructing justice in a legitimate investigation of the outing of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame.  He was sentenced to two and a half years of jail time, and ordered to pay $500,000.  Mr. Bush, for reasons that my never be known or understood, commuted (read: pardoned) Libby so that he would have to serve no jail time.  In doing this he completely circumvented the rule of law that had governed our nation for over two hundred years.  I wrote the following two days later, on the Fourth of July:

I suppose that the thing most people here in this country don’t
realize is that we can change things, we just need to pay more
attention, to eschew the traditional media, and to investigate things
for ourselves. A good portion of the data actually used by the media
is readily available publicly, and the portion that isn’t can be
obtained by request. Not at all to blame the victim here, but some of
the onus to find the truth must at some point be placed squarely on
the heads of the people. Depending solely on the media as the only
source of information is not just misleading, it has become an extreme
danger to our republic.

There needs to be a revamping of the media. I would like to
stress that I am NOT calling for a revival of the Fairness Doctrine;
however, at a bare minimum, it is necessary to ensure that one
political party, regardless of which one it is, cannot be solely in
charge of determining programming on public television. In an ideal
world, lobbyists, and corporations would be barred from affecting the
media. The lifeblood of our democracy is a media that reports exactly
what is happening, and does it in an educational, and unbiased manner.
Our republic has only stood as long as it has because of the fact
that every time that balance has been skewed, there has been a
counterbalance to bring the media back to the middle. Without a fair
media counterbalancing any propaganda the government tries to put out
to eliminate the well-informed citizenry, it is simply not possible
for a republic such as ours to stand.

As I’ve tried to correct, and educate people on some of the
misinformation presented by the current administration, I’ve found
that, yes there are those who refuse to believe anything except what
the government and media tells them, but I would assert that a
majority of them do not realize that there is any other option. I’ve
sent letters, e-mails, phone calls, whatever I can to urge not just
the Democratic candidates, but also Republican candidates, stressing
something I’ve called for before: a massive public education campaign,
to get people to understand exactly how our government works, and
their necessary, vital part in it. Too many people do not vote for
the simple fact that they feel that their vote means nothing. This is
the true test for every single presidential candidate out there. The
time for bickering, and posturing is over. Right here, right now, the
question, to be directed at every single politician sitting in
Washington right now is: Will you make a stand to return us to our
former place as the most respected country in the world? Will you
ignore the lobbyists, indeed, to forsake your own party for the sake
of the country that you profess to love so much? Or will you back
away, and allow the true enemies of our republic to continue to
manipulate yourselves, and the masses into forsaking our principles,
and our freedoms? You can no longer hide behind walls of
partisanship, you must take a stand right here and now, or you will
lose far more than money, or power, you will lose the very
constituents that you claim to represent.

Why do I call both parties to this table, and this task? It is
absolutely vital to the future of our country, and, to be frank,
republics and democracies everywhere, that we are able to put aside
our differences, and to stop the petty attacks. Discriminating on the
basis of party, or personal beliefs is just as damaging to our country
as any other form of discrimination. I call on our leaders to rise
above the personal attacks, and to at least try to solve some of the
major differences in our country. Abraham Lincoln once quoted the
Bible, saying, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” and yet
today we have certain portions of our country ignoring that warning,
and purposely dividing the “house” of our nation. We stand at a
precipice now, much as we were back then, much as the ancient Romans
in Caesar’s time. The entire world is watching. Will we stand tall,
much as we have in the past, and come together to present our
traditional beacon of freedom to the rest of the world, or will we
crumble into empire and tyranny, much as the Romans did all those
years ago. Will we learn from human history, or will we once again
ignore it, much as we have done in the past. The choice is ours, and
ours alone. We can reach for greatness, or we can succumb, give in,
to those who would seek tyranny and empire in this country. I have
faith in the people of this country to be able to come together, as we
have done in the past, to solve our problems. I refuse to believe
that this is the end of our democracy, because as long as we have that
belief that this CAN work, that we CAN overcome tyranny, and attempted
suppression in this country. Always fight for freedom, because no
matter how hopeless the situation seems, freedom can never die where
even one person still believes in it.

It was intended to be a piece of hope on one of the darkest days in our nations’ history.  I must admit to having had some skepticism as to whether the people of this country would be able, or even willing to stand up for the rule of law.  Still I retained my optimism, and my hope in the cause of freedom, and the power of our country’s long-standing ideals.

Fast forward a year and a half.  We now have an American populace that has gotten back up, and demanded change.  We have seen the MSM, if nothing else, become slightly less complicit in divisive politics as they (hopefully) begin to understand the damage that this brand of politics can do to our country.  We have seen a record number of people get involved, and take charge of their government; to take responsibility for their rights and lives and futures.  We have seen the politics of unity and inclusiveness triumph again over the politics of division and hatred.

Since we the people have taken back the power, the most important thing is that we unify, and not divide.  That we work with those that still disagree with our ideas and policies, that we may achieve a lasting peace not only in our union, but for our world.

I could not be more proud of this country for the progress it has made in the past year and a half.  And I cannot wait to see how this country progresses even further over the next four years.

-MCC