On Dreams and Change

I want to share some of my thoughts with you on some popular themes at this time of year...Dreams and Hope and Change...I have been very impacted and inspired by the words of Senator Barack Obama during his 2007-2008 campaign for president of the United States America, and so I have penned some of my own words in a sort of political pseudo-speech...I apologize for the length...I got kinda fired up!

(The Most Impassioned Speech ever Written on a Plane (From Quito to Lima on January 9th, 2008))

We are to embark upon a new age. The new generation, the children of the baby boomers and the hippies have reached maturity as the future of our global community. We are now fortunate to have the opportunity to ask not what our country can do for us, but rather what we may do for our country and the world. I am learning from a distance below the tropical equator, in the occasionally coined Global South, what it means to be in a position of privilege. With that role comes the adjoining responsibility to understand and protect others who perhaps have not had the chance to embrace globalization and/or wish to maintain their cultural, economic and/or political sovereignty. Regardless of whether some communities desire to participate wholeheartedly in the worldwide spread of technology, communication, language, economic markets, and political ideals, that should not deter the respect and sensitivity due to all members of society.

This new generation of business men and women, political leaders and activists, spiritual guides, environmental advocates, students and educators, agriculturalists, engineers, food servers and bartenders, military personnel and civilians all have the potential and means to unite and bring forth improvements and change the world left to us by our predecessors. When our parents fought for civil rights and equality, marching and demonstrating for peace in the 1960's and 1970's, that was not just an isolated event, nor when their parents, our grandparents, fought for the rights of women and endured two World Wars, that was not because they were stronger, braver, tougher, smarter, or more enterprising. No... WE... You and I, Our generation, has got what it takes! We are comprised by the same blood cells and genetic material as our parents and grandparents who fought to bring about great things. Thus, like them, we shall and we must take up the reigns of this vehicle for progress and continue riding for that land of promise.

Now is not the time to sink behind our computer screens and update our facebook and MySpace profiles, or let our eyes glaze over after 2 hours of watching music videos and comedy show on YouTube. And my friends, it is not hour to slump into our overstuffed chairs with the iPod and a magazine or a comic book. No, Thank You! I have been entertained into submission and idleness for quite some time now, and I must ask myself, WHAT AM I DOING to make my future one to walk towards? How have I impacted my world to the extent where I can be proud to say that I am ALIVE today and this is my country and my sphere of water, minerals, living organisms, and an abundance of gases...AND I DID THIS! And you know what? It does not look good out there sometimes. We have been born into a planet ripped apart by wars, starvation, disease, genocide, environmental degradation, lack of resources, a mounting population, and plagued by fear. Many people live in a state of trepidation and agony on a daily basis, whereas others enjoy the comforts of free education, air- conditioning and an overabundance of entertainment. With such stark difference within not just different corners of the world, but commonly existing withing national borders. We must pose to ourselves and implore one another to answer the questions of our time... What have we done to earn our place in the world and how are we not only just co-habitating this planet from birth, but actually participating actively to make our lives worthy of our birthright as citizens of this world.

I cannot tell you how many of my family and friends have said to me, "What is the point of caucusing, voting, paying taxes, respecting our leaders, etc.? The System is flawed. The presidency is a joke. The world hates the United States. One person cannot change a thing! I do not have time for futile attempts to change people's minds. No one can think for themselves. It is just too much to take on!" Those are some of our excuses, right? I mean it would just be too hard...That is probably what grandma and grandpa thought during the depression, when food was scarce and winters were harsh, but they still managed to build our country back up. I bet our parents looked in the face of the war machine aimed at Vietnam and thought, "Wow, what difference can I possibly make?" But they did! And their friends must have seen the the injustices faced by our compatriots in the racially troubled South where they were deprived of basic human rights, and wondered to themselves if it was worth fighting against the big shots in Washington and other people in power, but they kept pressing on! I say all that to say this... The fight IS NOT OVER!!! We still have a lot to do, but no more than has been accomplished before. We cannot expect mommy and daddy to solve our problems, because now it is our turn to make them proud, if not in our beliefs (because we may not always agree), but then in our conviction and determination to rise above our media saturated, grey-fogged and jaded views of the world and MAKE A CHANGE!!

Look around you, we are facing a war today, and what are we doing to bring about peace? Not Enough! We are living in a country riddled with poverty and inequality among races, religions, genders, and romantic lifestyles AND what have we done to make that less pronounced? NOT ENOUGH! This is not the first time we have seen scapegoats used to churn and channel fear to control our opinions, so why do we still fall for the same tricks today? I believe we need to reach out of our paradigms and get a reality check! Racial problems are not going to solve themselves if we continue to surround ourselves with people of the same skin tone day after day. We will never understand what all the fighting is for if we still cannot grasp the fundamentals of other religions and belief structures. And, how will we be able to fix our economy if the extent of our understanding fails to go beyond our own spending habits and consumer profile.

We do not have the right to complain about the state of our affairs if we are first unwilling to figure out why and how we are here in this position, and second we cannot expect improvement if we do not do it ourselves! As the sayings go, "If you want something done right, DO IT YOURSELF!" "Change does not happen overnight," and, "Nothing in life is free." We must earn our place in our future and make it a time worth being in. If not than we better sit back and watch our contrived Hollywood version of reality and continue wondering what happened to the world and how did it get this way...But we better not say that out loud because we had a hand in making it that way, and it is best we do not forget it! With silence comes compliance, thus implies alliance and an unavoidable reliance on the decisions made by those who chose not to maintain their silence. I for one do not wish to be silent any longer; silent in compliance, alliance, nor in reliance. I want to earn a place in my future, AND I EMBRACE that responsibility with all the enthusiasm I once reserved for embittered, jaded complaints against a system and a world that I did not dare to change. Why? Because they told me that I couldn't. That it was bigger than me and I wouldn't make a difference.

Well, I certainly will not make a difference if I sit in silence, in compliance, alliance and reliance. I would rather occupy myself with peaceful, well-informed, and eloquent defiance! We cannot loose anything, for we have barely started our ascent, the only direction is forward and we are fooling ourselves by standing still! Others will move us forward, but perhaps in a direction that we will not want to go. Let us now pave forward in our chosen direction, with eyes, ears, and minds open! Breathing in fresh ideas and constructing and maintaining our own system of our own making, proudly being a generation to be championed and praised for genuine merit, flexibility, intelligence, and integrity. This is our charge, this is our responsibility, this is our RIGHT... AND this is our MOMENT!!!!!!!

Thank you for reading...