Taking a Stand

There are times in life where a person has to take a stand. Times when you have to step up and speak out so that people become aware of a problem or an issue that's important. In recent years I've come to believe that far too few people are willing to do so because it might mean that they're inconvienced in some way. If you're one of those people then this post may not be for you.

There are problems that our country is facing, some of them old, others are new; but they're problems none the less and they have to be dealt with. We have to own up to the fact that we have allowed our civil liberties to be violated via warrentless wiretapping. We've allowed inexcusable practices, like waterboarding and rendition flights, to occur under our watch. People have stood silently while groups like the Church of Scientology have violated people's human rights, as with Lisa McPherson and Paulette Cooper. We, as a nation, have allowed 200,000 of our veterans to sleep on the streets on any given night. We've allowed drugs to rage out of control and many other issues to reach critical mass.

Well as an American citizen I'm calling on my fellow citizens to wake up, rise up and take a stand.
We have to start speaking out and work on the level of the people to bring about real and abiding change. Just changing laws won't do a thing, people have to change first and the only way to do that is to start talking. We have to talk about why we don't put more money into cancer research. We have to talk about why its so wrong to talk about abstinence in sex education as a valid choice and the only 100% way to NOT get an STD or get pregnant. We have to talk about ways to bring about a method by which people who can't afford health insurance can still get health care.

To be sure there are people talking and working on many of these issues. The internet group known as Anonymous, for example, is planning a second protest against the practices of Scientology on March the 15th. I'm glad of this because it means people are getting involved and asking questions. That's not a bad thing, in fact its the only way things ever get changed.

Find an issue that matters to you and get involved. Find ways to help your community become a better place. If all you can do is open a blog and start talking then do that but do something. Your voice matters and its time we united to bring about real and abiding change.

That's all for now.

May the Lord bless you and may the Lord keep you, may He make His Face to shine upon you. Amen and amen.

End of line.