First it’s that the GOP could control the House for another decade due to gerrymandering. Then it’s that not enough Hispanics vote to make Wendy Davis governor of Texas.
Now it’s this.
To inspire support for the Democrats in 2014, I went on pixlr and made this poster:
Okay. I’ve used the beginners’ pixlr express a few times, but this is the first time I’ve photo-shopped anything with advanced tools. Still learning the trade.
I’m wondering if anybody has any ideas for similar posters, because I’d like to make more, but I can’t think of anything. Please comment with your ideas; only spammers comment on this blog and it’s a little lonely. Thanks a lot.
The reason I bring this up is because it’s a great excuse to talk about his signature song, This Land is Your Land:
Though you probably know that version, there are three verses that are rarely ever sung because they are considered to be against the song’s patriotic theme:
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
The sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn?t say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.
Hmm. Acceptance, which is what that verse converses to me, is an American value.
What about the last verse?
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
Why they don’t sing that one is a great mystery of life. I would sing it after every terrorist attack, school shooting, etc.
And then there’s this verse:
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the Relief Office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?
That is the verse that truly makes you think. Along with the first verse I showed you, this verse put the song on Conservapedia’s list of “Worst liberal songs” for the apparently anti-American crime of
Attacking the institution of private property, promoting welfare and criticising the poverty that exists under the capitalist system.
The verse gets cut because it conflicts with the patriotic tone of the rest of the song, which, if you ask me, is the reason to include it. In order to be patriotic, we need to be trying to question and fix our broken systems.
At Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger sang the song, including the forbidden verses:
They made one big change, replacing the third to last verse, the one about poverty, with:
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the Relief Office, I’d seen my people.As they stood hungry, I stood there whistling,
This land was made for you and me.
And that, my friend is what the world was like in 2009. I wish I could say it has changed for the bettr. However, due to the way Congress has acted, I can’t say that. Sure, Obama has made some mistakes. But if Congress actually passed all those bills: the Manchin-Toomey Bill, for instance; than America would be significantly better.
The complete rejection of food stamps in order to gain support from the Conservative wing of the GOP (who lost the popular vote by 1 million in 2012 and still are the majority party in the House), is just another examples of how the interests of big corporations are being put before those of the people.
So while we lobby our representatives, praying that the will of the people will overcome gerrymandering in 2014, we find ourselves singing once again:
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the Relief Office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?
A devastating hurricane hits the Northeast. Women’s rights are being restricted in states like Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio. Global warming is continuing. In the six months after the Sandy Hook shooting, there were fourteen mass shootings. Inequality is rising: the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The unemployment rate is high. Minorities are being disenfranchised. And that is only a tiny scope of the problem.
Congress is doing nothing. In the 113th Congress, the House has voted thirty-seven times to repeal Obamacare, but not even introduced a jobs bill. A no-tax pledge forced politicians into disagreement; and the economy into sequestration. The Manchin-Toomey Bill, a common-sense bill for universal background checks for gun purchases was filibustered in the Senate and failed to pass the sixty-vote margin, despite getting 54 out of 100 votes and being supported by 90% of Americans.
This may not feel like extremism, but it is. I cannot think of a prior point in the history of this country that government so ignored the interests of the people it was supposed to represent. Republicans talk about how much SNAP programs lead to budget deficit; then turn around and give huge tax breaks to oil companies.
No more is America a land of opportunity. People work hard their whole lives earning only minimum wages. The middle class, the heart of our economy, pays more than their share of taxes, while some billionaires don’t pay a penny.
America needs to change. The working class needs to work to have their voices heard above the Tea Party and corporate America. The internet is a tool: a megaphone for free speech. Why not use it?
Stop Right-wing Extremism 