Silence is Consent

If you don't speak up you accept what is happening. This site was born out of the mainstream media's inability to cover the news. I am just an American cititzen trying to spread the word in the era of FCC consolidation, post 9/11 Patriot Act hysteria, hackable voting machines and war without end. I rant and post news items I perceive to be relevant to our current situation.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
- Thomas Jefferson

Social Security is not broken and therefore does not need to be fixed

So Called Social Security Crisis (SCSSC)

Comments, questions, corrections, rebuttals are always welcome.

Wednesday, June 18, 2003
 
When did it happen? Maybe it never was that way. Maybe I just remeber it like that. I guess that's what happens when the Watergate hearings are going on when you are a kid.

I always loved history and government when I was going through school. I was never very good in math and science. I guess during that time I always had a view of the American people as engaged and caring about what happpens in their country. These days, I am trying to ascertain when the American people (the majority, at least) stopped caring about what happens in their country.

Maybe it was Watergate. Or the kidnapping of the hostages in Iran. Or the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon. Iran-Contra. Whitewater. Monica. Maybe it was all of them put together. Or was it CNN? OJ? MTV? Madonna? Laci Petersen? Maybe it was Married with Children. Or Ross Perot. Or Rush Limbaugh. Multi-million dollar contracts for athletes. Maybe it was the Challenger blowing up. Or AIDS. Or Ari's personal fave: September 11th. These are just some of the things that have been crammed down our throats the past 30 years or so. Not all of these things are bad. True, some are downright horrible, but some have opened up new ways of dealing with the world around us.

This is my short list and I'm sure you have a list of your own, but we should look at this steady flow of disconcerting and tragic issues that have played out in America. Is the hurt too much to bear? Is the truth so ugly we can't raise our eyes to even glance at it? What has caused the majority of the citizens of this country to not care anymore?

Voting is one thing to look at that shows just how much people don't care. Here are the statistics for the percentage of the Voting Age Population (VAP) that have voted in the presidential elections since 1924. VAP is defined as , the total number of persons in the United States who are 18 years of age or older regardless of citizenship, military status, felony conviction, or mental state. Remember this number goes down significantly when you look at mid-term elections and even further when you throw in runoff and local elections. Could it be voter fatigue? When the electorate stops paying attention then democracy is effectively over. The electorate is supposed to watch over the government. Not the House or the Senate, most of whom are millionaires. Do you trust any organization to police itself? If we don't do our duty as citizens and hold those in power accountable, then we are to blame for our current situation and these days, we truly only have ourselves to blame.

An awesome cartoon: one smart rock.

What others think of our country: America the Scary.

Those wacky Democrats are at it again: Democratic Rivals' Missed Target: Economy.

America from a German perspective: What Is Happening in America?

For those not familiar with it, here is a good summary of 'Rebuilding America's Defenses' and the Project for the New American Century.

I am leaving for Houston tonight to visit family. I hope to put something up on Friday.

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