To those who, 'Don't Want to Hear It...

---Read ALL of it.---

"lalalalalalalala.....I can't hear you!"

by Mark Faulk

Here I am again, sitting in front of my computer, shouting into the void of cyberspace, hoping that someone, or preferably lots of someones, will hear my cries. Why am I here, instead of out in the "real world", discussing issues, debating politics, lamenting the plight of our country and our world with "real people"? It's simple. The "real world" doesn't want to know, they don't want to talk about it, they've put their hands over their collective ears and begun to chant in unison, "lalalalalalalala.....I can't hear you!"

Granted, things are looking ugly in the "real world", and the escapism of talking about who will be the next American Idol or whether the latest Star Wars movie is the the beat damn movie ever is far less depressing than discussing what's really going on around us. I know, I've been putting my ass on the line for the past year, writing about the reality of the situation in our country, telling everyone and anyone who will listen that we're careening wildly down the path to oblivion, and guess what I've gotten for my efforts? I'm tired, I'm emotionally drained, I'm constantly teetering on the brink of another major depression episode (did I say "another", I meant "my first" major depression episode), I'm annoying everyone around me, and worst of all, I'm losing my sense of humor. And to top it all off, I'm not even sure that I'm making one iota of difference. Hell, they might end up hauling me off to the nuthouse, and in ten years, if I'm lucky, one or two acquaintances, after a few beers, might go, "I wonder whatever happened to old whashisname, you know, the one who kept screaming that the world was coming to an end?"

What has happened to us as a nation that we choose to hide our heads in the sand while our country and Constitution are being dismantled piece by piece, one page at a time? Is it that we simply don't care anymore, that we would rather spend our Proverbial "last days" pursuing recreational activities and accumulating more of everything.....more wealth, more possessions, more food than we can possibly consume (despite our "best efforts"), more power than any of us deserve.....more, more, more.....while Rome crumbles around us?

In all honesty, I'm an optimist at heart. I like to believe that, when faced with the chance to do something, as opposed to just watching from the sidelines, that most Americans will roll up their sleeves and do whatever it takes to maintain our self-professed place in history as "the greatest country in the world".

Are you one of those who would rather "just not hear about it"? If so, don't feel too bad, you're not alone. The media has already abandoned us, sold us out for the sake of politics, corporate interests, and good old-fashioned ratings. That's why so many of us are uniformed about just how bad things have really gotten over the past few years. News comes out that our soldiers tortured two prisoners in Afghanistan to death, including one who was innocent, and what does the major media give us? Pictures of Saddam in his underwear! Every week, events that affect our country's future and reflect on the very foundation of our Democratic system go unreported by the majority of the media, while we are bombarded with mindless drivel.

Unfortunately, for many Americans, it wouldn't matter even if the media did suddenly become "fair and balanced" (don't hold your breathe on that one), because many of us have just quit watching the news altogether. Hell, even our own President takes pride in the fact that he doesn't read articles or watch the news. ("Hop on Pop", anyone?) That's right, he gets all of his news from Condi Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. If that doesn't scare the bejesus out of you, it should. Be afraid...be very, very afraid.

Most people I talk to say basically the same thing.....they do care, they do want our country and our world to get back on track, they do want to make a difference, but they feel helpless to do anything about the crises that we're facing as a nation. They feel small, while the problems that we face seem almost insurmountable. Let's hope that that's not why Bush doesn't want to know what's going on....or we're in even bigger trouble than I thought.

In the end, I believe we will get through this difficult period in our nation's history, just as we survived the uncertainty of the Sixties. Maybe we won't go the way of other great failed civilizations that dot the landscape of history. Beneath all of my bitching, complaining, and doomsaying (here's that optimistic streak again), I truly believe that we as a nation will do the right thing, but unlike so many others, I don't believe that this country is "self-correcting". I believe that we as a country need to undergo yet another revolution, and that every one of us, especially the young, who provided the spark that lit the torch in past "revolutions", will have to open our ears and our minds to what's going on in America and around the world once again.

This is what I believe: when we do finally "turn things around", there will be those who did nothing, who just went about their business and hoped for the best, who will say "See? I knew it would be okay, things always have a way of working out for the best." But you know what? When things do "work out for the best", it won't be because of those who hid their heads in the sand, or put their hands over their ears and chanted "lalalalalalalala.....I can't hear you!", it will be because of the ones who worried, stressed, and lamented our country's potential demise. It will be because of those who shouted into the void, and those who stopped whatever they were doing long enough to listen to those cries, and heeded the call to right the wrongs, to fix what has been broken, to "speak out against the madness". And that's the Faulking Truth.


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--Faulken AAAA Dude!--