![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
WARNING - Political Rant - 9/11 FLY THE FLAG Campaign
The following email excerp comes from a (sincere) piece of neo-spam one of my family sent me today:
Unfortunately, my brain inhibitor circuit malfunctioned and I responded with how I really feel about this and similar "campaigns".
***Warning: Political Rant Follows. Author is well on the way to becoming crotchety old man...***
thoughtfulI think this is a great idea. Share this even if you are not on the same political wave link I am.
"Subject:* Encouraging* everyone to fly* the* flag on *9*/11
Could everyone please fly their flag on September 11th?
Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this e-mail immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it. We have a little less than one week and counting to get the word out across this great land and into every community in the United States of America. If you forward this email to at least 11 people and each of those people do the same...you get the idea.
Unfortunately, my brain inhibitor circuit malfunctioned and I responded with how I really feel about this and similar "campaigns".
***Warning: Political Rant Follows. Author is well on the way to becoming crotchety old man...***
It might be more appropriate to fly flags at half-mast that day. Prayers, moments of silence, readings of the names of the lost, and similar actions would also be appropriate. I think we should honor and mourn our dead with substantive acts of respect. Simply putting a flag in a window seems too little to me.It was probably bad timing/judgement to send this right before going to my family reunion this coming Saturday. Nobody ever said I was the smartest one of the litter...
I'm probably not on the same political wavelength as you are. It seems these days I'm not on the same wavelength as many people. I tend to look at grass-roots campaigns like this as "feel good" measures to make people feel like they are contributing without actually doing anything difficult or sacrificial. My gut feeling is that just putting flags in windows for support will have no real impact on our solidarity as a nation or on addressing the substantive ills which continue to plague us. It's distraction politics. It will make me feel good for a day, but past that it doesn't change anything.
Don't mind me. I'm a bit of a sour-puss about politics lately. I'm put-out with the fear-mongering, the artificial emphasis on trumped up "controversial" topics just to polarize people, the lack of anything that resembles serious straight talk from either Republicans or Democrats. I'm tired of living in a society that has the rich growing richer and the poor growing poorer and kids growing up with less opportunities than we had. I'm tired of big corporations essentially buying laws, profiting from them, and then giving back nothing. I'm tired of seeing good people work hard at jobs all their lives and have little to show for it because some faceless corporate officers destroyed their pension funds and eliminated their health benefits. I'm tired of news that is really advertising in disguise and real issues being ignored. I weary of the thought that there are no political parties that really represent what I believe and little way for me to help positively shape the future. I'm tired of being unable to discuss my political opinions with people because people can no longer come to consensus and compromise. I am tired of the "Culture War", or "Class War", or whatever its called this week. I'm tired of seeing assaults on science and a fear of knowledge in our society. I'm tired of people being proud of their ignorance.
I'm tired of trying to sweep back the tide.
Sorry to unload on you. I do thank you for sharing the idea. We should honor our 9/11 victims. I think I'm going to find a list of the names and pray for their surviving friends and families.
I've already got a flag in my window.
Hacked off
