Carrying The Flame


Well, as we come to grips with GOP control of our government, we in the Anti-War and other elements of the progressive community have a decision to make.

We can continue to complain about the impending darkness, or we can begin to gather wood to light fires. This decision will have ramifications that will resonate, in my opinion, beyond even 2004.

Should we chose to simply complain about the darkness and do nothing about it, those who stand to gain from keeping the people in the dark will only grow stronger and prolong the darkness. The people will accept the darkness, and will only realize they have been left in the dark after it is too late. We will continue to be trapped in a perpetual war, and watch as our liberties erode further and further, the media will continue to become little more than an arm of the CEO's, and I fear that the end result of this will be some sort of violent uprising. Not now, but a few decades down the road.

But should we choose to build fires of justice, make an effort to spread that fire among the people, and use that fire to forge a new coalition of those who will be affected the most by this takeover and the new generation of activists, there may be hope. As more and more people see the light, they will pass the light on to others, etc. Those who gain from the darkness will find their plans revealed and the light will act as a beacon for future generations.

How can these fires be built? A lot of ways; join a group like Americans For Democratic Action, People For The American Way, or the Sierra Club, subscribe to The Nation, Mother Jones, Utne Reader, or The Progressive, point your browser to Common Dreams, Buzzflash, or FreeSpeech.org. To spread that fire, simply spread the word; e-mail links to articles, post an article on a bulliten board, get a discussion group together.

We can allow the darkness to consume us and this country, or light the flames of justice and allow thier light to spread across the land. Whatever path you choose is none of my business, but I don't like to live in the dark.