Make America VOTE Again!

As we celebrate this Fourth of July, as we celebrate democracy, freedom and independence, I wonder if those are just words today.  What do they really mean? For whom do they have meaning? 

They used to mean hope it seemed. Hope for better days to come. After all, we were the Land of Opportunity. Lady Liberty welcomed all those dreamers way back when and they had a fighting chance. My grandparents and great grandparent were dreamers. Would they have those same dreams today?

Today, no. Today we tear families apart. We reduce our neighbors and co-workers to stereotypes and slurs. We make using and abusing our moms, wives, daughters and sisters acceptable. We build walls. We rape and plunder our planet denying the effects of our abuse. Today we kow tow to dictators and authoritarian leaders under the guise of making America great again.

Mass Incarceration. Internment Camps. Zero Tolerance. Demonization of the Press. Travel Bans. Border Walls. Denial of Due Process. Sound like freedom to you?

We were once united in our belief in the freedom and potential for economic mobility and democratic choice. Today many of us fear the loss of basic guaranteed freedoms--speech, religion, press. Among his followers, Trump has created fear of immigrants, Muslims, Mexicans, crime, and the media. We still remain united. Oh yes, we are united, indeed. But I think we can all agree that now we are united in our fear that the American Dream of freedom and democracy is quickly disappearing.

This 242nd Independence Day, let's restore the dream of Freedom and Democracy. If we truly "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among us, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness," then we must ACT.

We must restore and protect our freedom to pursue an education; to breathe clean air, to drink clean water; to love people of all creeds and colors rather than attack and dehumanize them; and freedom to choose. Yes, we have the right to vote for our elected officials vs. having foreign governments choose them for us. We have a choice. We CAN change fear to freedom once again. Now VOTE!