April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Obama

A Historic Moment for America

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November 4th, 2008 a history making night for the United States of America, as for the first time ever Americans elected a black man to the highest office in the land. News footage showing tears steaming down the faces of those who never thought they would live to see such a thing could have failed to touch only the hardest of hearts.

President Elect Barack Obama gave an acceptance speech with a message of hope, of inclusiveness, of an awareness that he represents all the people not just those that voted for him, that has not been seen for some time.

Of course the American economy is tanking, there are wars, there is a level of hatred toward those not seen as “true Americans” reminiscent of the McCarthy era and so President Obama faces a great many challenges. He may not wholly live up to the hopes and dreams that have been pinned upon him. For now though there is joy and celebration. Hope for an end to blatant corruption, abuses of power and an almost sociopathic disregard for the well being of the people.

Congratulations to Barack Obama, his family and all the black families in the U.S. who can now say to their sons and daughters that one day you too could become President.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Cross border neoConservatism

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Two excellent examples of why we must guard against allowing neoconservatives to achieve positions of power.

First a post by skdadl at pogge which includes a youtube of a Biden speech. Well worth 30 minutes out of your day. He outlines the total disregard for the average American that both the outgoing Bush administration and the hopeful McCain administration share. Though it deals with the American government it is a window into the thinking of the Republican wanna-be that is Harper.

One of my favorite lines from the speech is this; “We’ve seen this movie before and we know that the sequel is always worse than the original.”

You can bet that the sequel to a Harper government, most especially if there is an increase in seats, will be much worse than the original. And this line is particularly significant to those of us here in Ontario struggling to regain ground after the Harris debacle. And let us not forget that Flaherty, Devolin and others were part and parcel of that governmental fiasco.

The second example is a post written in the Hamilton Spec by Tom Cooper (I don’t usually and don’t like copying large passages but hope Cooper will forgive me as it is just so important that this message be heard.)

Three and a half million Canadians (including 800,000 children) live in poverty, and yet there is no sign of the creation of a national anti-poverty strategy.

Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in southern Ontario over the last several years. In just the last week there were 800 job losses in Welland, 500 in Oakville and 93 at Hamilton’s Coppley’s Apparrel.

Hundreds of thousands of laid off workers cannot access Employment Insurance benefits after losing a job because criteria discriminate against those, notably women with young children, who work irregular hours.

Many low- and middle-income families don’t have access to affordable child care. And no, a $100/month benefit doesn’t cut it.

A national housing strategy is nonexistent, and homelessness remains dire in many urban centres. The federally funded Homelessness Partnership Initiative is set to expire March 31, 2009, which will have a dramatically negative impact on homelessness in Hamilton and across the country if it is not renewed.

How many of the people affected thought politics didn’t affect them? How many thought–perhaps still think–that their vote doesn’t matter? How many have lost so much there may be no regaining even what they had?

In Biden’s speech he talks about how poverty isn’t just a lack of money. It means a lack of respect, of confidence of ability to properly care for your family or keep your home.

When asked about social programs Harper opines that we can’t afford them. BUT we can afford 5 BILLION dollars in welfare payments tax cuts to corporations? Easy to see where his priorities lie. Easy to see that he like the person mentioned in Biden’s speech could be one to say that middle class is someone making less than 5 million a year.

This is not a time to turn away in apathy. Your country needs you. VOTE!