America. Home of the free?

Being able to boycott is a freedom that all Americans are entitled to.
Everyone remembers the Boston Tea Party. American revolutionaries weren’t
conformist. A lot of people didn't like what they had to say. In the
beginning our founding fathers were the vast minority. The majority was
scared to loose what little they had. Our founding fathers spoke out despite
what people thought. The opposition did everything in their power to
suppress them. Eventually, the revolutionaries got their message across. But
what if the opposition had been successful in suppressing our founding
fathers? What if everyone decided that the revolutionaries didn't have a
right to speak out?

Not to long ago, America’s "public opinion" thought it was wrong for African
Americans and Caucasian Americans to associate with each other. Everything
was segregated: the busses, schools, bathrooms, water fountains,
restaurants, everything. It was OK with the majority if the cops beat the
crap out of a black person for sitting on the wrong side of the bus.

The majority didn't agree with what Martin Luther King Jr. had to say. They
tried everything in their power to stop him, eventually murdering him. What
would have happened if the opposition had suppressed him before he could
make a major change?

Suppressing the oppositions right to freedom of speech is not the democratic
thing to do. It's the fascist thing to do. Being patriotic means speaking
out no matter what anyone else thinks. If someone is scared to speak out
because of what others might say or do, they are not living in America. If
this were America people could do whatever they wanted as long as they
weren’t hurting other people. There is supposed to be a separation of church
and state, and we have laws be laws based on religious morality: like not
being able to buy alcohol on Sundays, sexual morality, drug laws, etc.

If you think all Americans are free then ask an African American living a
rural part of the south if they feel free yet? Ask an American Moslem that
has been the target of attacks and discrimination since 9-11. Ask the
millions of disabled people that struggle every day with our healthcare
system. Go to any prison in America and note that there is 10 black people
to every white person.

Pride yourself in being a real American. America is an idea that our
founding fathers had. We just haven’t gotten there yet.

If you want to boycott, do it for a real cause. For instance, America puts
out more pollution than all other countries combined. In the 80s the US
government signed UN treaties promising to lower emissions. Today our
pollution levels are higher than they've ever been. The scientific community
has been divided for some time over whether the threat of global warming was
real or not. Scientist working for the government and the petroleum related
companies were saying that there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove the
global warming was happening. The rest of the scientific community was
saying that global warming was real. With the receding of the polar ice
caps, and numerous other factors, global warming has now been proved. The
polar bear’s natural habitat is literally melting. Scientist are now saying
that we could see the polar bear's habitat disappear in the not-to-distant
future.
If you want to boycott someone, boycott the petroleum companies that are
murdering every one on the globe with pollution. Not counting the millions
that have died protecting “America’s financial interest” in other countries.
Protest and stop them from giving the Democrats and Republicans millions of
dollars as "soft money." America is supposed to be by the people and for the
people, not a county by the people and for the big businesses. Americans
need to realize that money is making the decisions in our policy on foreign
affairs.

This is one example of the many causes out there. Be aware of the things
that are happening in your community, country, and your world. Don't be
passive observers. Take part in what's going on: vote, speak out, protest,
stay active, read the newspaper, watch the news. Do whatever you can. This
is America, don't let ignorance reign supreme.

Peace,

enaud

If you like this, send it to everyone you know.

More info at:
http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/neoamerica/weeka1.html

Last weeks article:
http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/neoamerica/index.html

Shock and Awe?
http://www.marchforjustice.com/id191.htm

What is War?
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/thisiswar/


_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail