A current topic of conversation for me lately has been whether this country is going down the tubes or not. For me, the answer is yes. But within the spiral downward, I am happy and optimistic about my life.
My husband and I were watching a PBS special tonight about Peter, Paul & Mary. They sang out against injustice in the early 1960s when the civil rights and the Vietnam War movements created a huge social rift. The program showed footage of them singing "Blowing in the Wind" at the 1963 March on Washington when Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The audience was a wave of people holding hands in the air, displaying a feeling of solidarity, of hope. Where is this sort of movement now?
Perhaps we have too many social and political problems in this country nowadays for any movement to grow up past grassroots efforts into a national presence for change. It seems that in my lifetime America has gone from the most prosperous country in the world (in terms of the average person living a quality middle class life) to a fractured land of too many opportunistic individuals focused on money and fame. I feel powerless, unable to express my frustration with the corruption and neglect I see around me, wishing there was a movement that I could join with my protest sign, singing "We Shall Overcome" or other anthem of change.
But, there is no movement. The children of the 60s haven't done much to make the world a better place. Every year we graduate millions of college students and is the world a better place? President Obama and Congress seem ineffective, "bought," or silenced by the Washington/Corporate Machine. Are people too busy to get out into the streets and protest like the old days? Too stressed? Afraid? Plugged into their iPods? I believe we are all trying very, very hard to hold onto what we have in fear of losing all that we have worked so hard to attain: Home, meaningful work, creature comforts, a safe community, education, transportation, recreation. With the economy the way it is, with people losing their jobs and homes and savings, I have to wonder how we can get ourselves--and this country--out of the situation we are in now. If there is a movement, please let me know. I want to join!
Today's entry on DailyOm.com is perfect for this blog. Enjoy!
http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2010/22514.html
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People have always worried and wondered whether our country is going down the toilet. Now our generation is up against trying times. It's happened in gererations past. Democracy is messy.
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