I was thinking late last night. During the waning hours of Christmas, as my wife and children slept in warm beds with full bellies and contentment I couldn’t help but think of the millions of others who weren’t so fortunate. I stared at the sky outside thinking of a friend who was in the process of frantically trying to find any information at all about her family in the tornado stricken region of Mobile, Alabama. It is Christmas for many, but yet another natural disaster for some others. As I searched the internet and news channels for information I saw the pictures of more destroyed houses and ripped up trees; uprooted lives. I was given a vision of sorts as I stared into the star spangled black.
I was staring; daydreaming at night, and could “see” a map of our Nation. Taking into consideration the recent damage in Alabama, the images of the rollercoaster in Seaside Heights, New Jersey and all the broken and burned homes left behind by “super storm” Sandy, as well as those still without means in New Orleans, Dade County Florida and my own backyard, down Hatteras way. I could see this map and all of the areas devastated that have yet to be fully restored, lives still awaiting purpose, and hungry and cold children. It was like looking at a map on a fancy news show during an election, with different areas lit up different colors, but instead of Red or Blue I saw the colors of green, purple, brown, white and grey. Disaster zones, areas being blanketed in blizzards, and all of the hurricanes blown and tornado touched areas in different colors. Each color represented millions of our brothers and sisters who were either displaced from their homes or stuck in their homes, lacking provisions, some lacking hope. The vision was a spike in my brain, and stirred a sense of urgency, just short of anger in my heart.
My thoughts soon changed to a search for solutions to change these unfortunate realities. I thought of all of the empty F.E.M.A. trailers around the country. I think of all of the foreclosed upon homes as well. I thought of all of the corporate greed, and corporate “personhood” which may be at least partially responsible for the lack of rebuilding, and of the general lack of compassion overall by not a majority of Americans, but by a small few really who hold the power to make all of these disparities into equalities. Why, I wondered, would our leaders not help these people when there is clearly a waste of money and energy in regards to the security and surety of so many “American dreams”?
I thought back in history to my ancestors in Jamestown. Nobody was buying or selling houses to one another, they worked together as a community to build their church, their school and their houses. They worked tirelessly together to build it all, one building by one, until every need of the new settlement was met. Those people were in fear of the natural owners of the land which they had just invaded. They sought to protect themselves from that which they did not understand, and this led to much conflict among humans. Now it seems that most Americans have forgotten the humility and teamwork required to build that first settlement and have instead chosen to follow that path of fear and conflict, worrying more about what they have and can get than those who have little to none and may be trying to “get theirs”. The Empire is again crumbling.
I imagined what I deemed a “not so modest proposal”. It is fact that we have many more empty and foreclosed upon houses than we do homeless people in this nation and many of those foreclosures were either allegedly illegal, or set up from the beginning by greedy loan officers and investment firms allowing people to buy homes that they never should have been sold due to their economic status, in order for the sellers to make a fast profit. The last two decades have seen a very different approach in the once simple concept of banking and investing. We have seen men and women locked up for speculating, literally betting on the ability of persons to succeed or fail. They used imaginary money to make bets, and make more imaginary money. (In a manner of paraphrasing) What I am about to say will be viewed by many as one of the largest and most liberal minded giveaways to the undeserving in the history of our country; however, the late Dr. Martin Luther King, The Dalai Lama, or Christ and the Prophets would call it the greatest move towards peace on earth, and goodwill towards our fellow humans in the history of humanity. A small few people could make this happen legally, and an army of millions who are out of work as well as our National Guard and Military could put on green arm bands and facilitate this. If the lawmakers in Washington would listen to the people who have been screaming about the insane contributions of corporations which we KNOW has influenced our Congress and listen also to the voices who cry out in the night as they have had their lives destroyed, or taken away by acts of gluttonous financial institutions, perhaps there could be a change of heart among our elected officials and lawmakers. American tax dollars bailed out the same financial institutions which were responsible for the bankrupting of a good percentage of people who may have been homeowners or business owners yet those same financial institutions still record billions of dollars in profit every year, and they are no longer making loans. I am no economist, and I am sure anyone who desires to may debunk my argument for this reason or that, but Truth is Truth, greed is greed and gluttony is gluttony. We all know this simple fact.
I propose that “we the people” stand together, through social network sights and community meetings, and put heavy pressure on our leaders, from the Office of the President on down to turn what is now disparity into equality, a “re-start” of our Nation. We can take what was good from our forefathers and the builders of our first settlements and create another beginning, erasing the hate and fear. I say if you are homeless, and you will work to help restore a home then let it be yours. If your bank illegally foreclosed on your house or allowed you to get into an upside down financial situation by ignoring responsible lending practices and profiting from your loss, you get your house back. Finally, I propose that if we have so many empty F.E.M.A. trailers, as well as so many homeless and displaced persons from the natural disasters that have stricken our hard working folks, our National Guard, Military, and volunteers should be mobilized to move the resources to where they are needed. There is a great debate about the wastefulness of programs such as F.E.M.A., and for good reason. I cite mismanagement and apathy. Our country has leaders but no leadership.
To sum this up, much to the chagrin of people who choose to lock themselves up against their neighbors and the world, my proposal is simple. We should band together and petition and march on Washington, as Dr. King did, and demand that the money, our tax money, tied up in this bureaucratic quagmire, be set forth in the effort to wipe out the scourge of homelessness and poverty in America. I say this should be the legacy of the NOW generation, to serve notice to the rest of the good peoples of the earth that this is what America is and stands for. I was watching a documentary on the last days of Dr. Martin Luther King last night, and there were two quotes that stood out; the first was “let’s kill that dreamer and see what happens to his dream”, and the other was “you can kill the dreamer, but you can never kill the dream, hallelujah”! If the late Dr. King were alive today, I am sure he would march with me, with us that choose to adopt my proposal. I am sure that the Dalai Lama and Jesus would walk hand in hand with all of us to make this happen, and I am sure that some of you will stand with me on this simple idealistic commentary. How many of us are ready, willing and prepared to see this through? Too many people have died to create this great nation, and more than a few, but far less than the many conspire to see this nation crumble like every Empire before her. It is the job of the people to take this country back, non-violently, in order to restore that old flicker of Hope, known as the American dream.
This is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and all like him throughout millennia that have recognized impropriety, imbalance and injustice, and who stood up for the rights of all people to have the same opportunities afforded the few who hold control over the majority of society’s hearts and minds. Most of these brave men and women have had their lives cut short to lengthen our reach, so what now shall WE reach for?
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