The Perpetual Outside

After two months off, I have too much to write about. Not much clear thinking going on, because one thing leads to the next and so on. At the end, I've convinced everyone of everything. But nothing in between is clear enough to sit down and hack out into cyber-space.

For a happy thought, which might be the reason I'm motivated to write now, rather than just checking out the usual suspects and moving over to the television and then to bed. I saw the counter go up a couple of ticks. I hope you two come back again soon.

I don't know how you found me. I've sat DIW for nine weeks. I can't even find my page on Google. I did some bulletin board promotion during the campaign, and got a number of hits and even some return business, I think. But to see two new hits, that was encouraging. Encouraging enough to think I can go another 50,000 words. Or 100,000.

It's a New Year, so who knows? I have some other ideas I want to work with as book topics. The work I did last year could have filled one or two of them. The New Year has inspired me to have some resolve. And discipline. And, of course, fun.

I feel the need to be serious, too. I did some reading of the Reverend Doctor's sermons recently. His message rang true to my soul. A resonant ohm filled with truth, strength and, most importantly, revolutionary inspiration in a peaceful future.

I defy anyone to listen to Dr. King and dispute his message. When God appears in the sky, if you cannot recognize Dr. King and his ministry, then you don't have much chance at recognizing Jesus. King's Christ teaches peace and strength and enduring community and right action.

"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967 at Riverside church in New York City

I read this again today and found the source of my mental stuttering. Moral values are worse today than they were then. Rove's value revolution is regressive. The right wing's morality conveniently side-steps ethics. Bush's agenda does not count on the value revolution, a backlash of equal and opposite force to his hatred and fear.

"A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth."

Corpulent America eviscerates our communities. The Bush buddies push the ownership society, the society owned by corporations. When they are finished, we will all be slaves to their excess. We are already well on our way there.

"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, 'This way of settling differences is not just.'"

True that.

How can there be a choice for us? I do not believe there is any choice. Our society is at stake. The values of death, hate and fear have won a big round. But we cannot let it go. As a democratic republic, we have the opportunity to undo this great mistake, at least in some part, less than two years from now.

Less than two years from now, though, Bush can do much damage. Now is not the time for us to make it easy for them to continue to do their damage.

I would like to think that political pressure cannot overwhelm what is proper. More than ever before, we need to look for ways to counter the pressure, to push back. I hope the Democrats help out, but I want to think we can overcome both of them with populist stances and real community values.

The Rat's Ass is one of the things I contribute to our value revolution. For the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.