All right, dammit, I'm sick of this.  We've let this bullshit go on too long.  What the hell are we thinking?  *Are* we thinking?  What, do we really believe that if we stick our collective head far enough up our collective ass that all the world's problems will just go away?  Or do you believe that science will fix everything?  Or the government?  How gullible are we?

     This is serious, people!  It's up to us.  Nobody is going to do it for us.  The Government won't.  It just exists to give power to the few insiders.  Oh, a few good people manage to get somewhere where they can start trying to make some changes, but they always get swamped in a pile of paperwork and silly regulations and nothing much ever comes of it.  Sure, they gave us free speech, as long as we don't actually try and use it...  that's the unspoken deal that most of us seem to have agreed to.  We're free, we have the best country in the world, god, mom, and apple pie, rah rah rah.  As long as you don't rock the boat and try to keep up with the Joneses like a good consumer.  Remember, the economy depends on you.  So go out and buy what the TV tells you to buy, and believe what's on the news.  Would they lie to you?  Of course they will.  They do it every day.

     And business ain't much help either.  Big business is pretty damn scary.  No individual ever has to take responsibility for the company's actions.  They can always pass the buck and lose the evidence, while the machines never stop eating.  They cut down the forests, pour shit in our drinking water, increase our workload till nobody can do it and stay sane, and for what?  The mighty dollar.  Why the fuck do we put up with it all?

     Maybe it's because the changes in our everyday lives seem so small.  But when you look back on the last ten years or so (I'd say longer, but I'm too young to have seen it firsthand) it gets a lot more obvious.  For instance, how many of you had to have a water filter or buy bottled water ten years ago because you couldn't trust what came out of the tap?  Who had ever heard of syndromes like Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?  Looking back even farther, it gets more obvious.

     Or maybe it's because we've all gotten too busy to notice.  Our world is changing faster and faster, and the pressure mounts every day.  How many of you feel besieged and nearly overrun by all the things you have to put up with every day?  More and more, in order to do what we need to do, we depend on everybody else to be functioning at a frantic pace too.  More and more people are dropping out because they can't deal with it, or getting forced out because they can't keep up anymore.  Everything is going to 24 hours, 7 days a week, you never stop working.  Everything has to be perfect and there are so many more things.  We get more stressed and even small things can stop us cold and make us want to snap!  We're all so dependent on so many little things that have to function just right, and others depend on us to do our jobs more and more perfectly.  And it keeps winding up tighter and tighter.  Anybody who really thinks about it will see that a system like this cannot go on forever.  Things need to change, or something will blow up in a big way.

     But what needs to change, and how?  and who's going to do it?  Don't we have to decide all that before we act?  And shouldn't we all have a common goal and get organized so we can make a difference?  Well, Most of that is futile.  Or worse.  If we wait until we all agree, we'll still be waiting on the day it all finally falls apart.  There are so many ideas of what's wrong, and what to do about it.  Most don't agree, and never will, so let's drop the arguments.  One thing we *can* all agree on is that things are a mess and we've got a problem.  But so many of us seem to just want to talk about it instead of doing anything.  And that is what is going to doom us all if we don't change it!

     You say it's all too big to do anything about?  Well, you're not alone.  If the big things overwhelm you, start small instead.  But for god's sake do *something*!

     Politics got you down?  Go vote, and if you don't like either candidate, write in "None of the Above" and send a message that way that you want something different.  If you think 'voting only encourages them', that's just what they want you to think!  It's *not* voting that really encourages them.  Stand up and be counted.

     Worried about the environment?  Take a walk and pick up some litter.  Pick up two pieces of trash or recyclable stuff every time you go out and take care of them.  If you're really brave, do it where other people can see you.  Why do you care what they think?  They're just as scared of what you think of them.  And if cleaning up what's around you starts seeming like an inadequate response to what's going on, do something more!  If you're reading this, you have net access, so how about emailing somebody?  Send a flame to some company or official who really pisses you off.  Be specific as to why.  Or how about emailing somebody or some organization that seems to be doing something good and thank them?  Comapnies are sensitive to public opinion, believe it or not.  We all vote with our dollars already (pay attention to what your buying habits are encouraging companies to do), how about telling them your opinion directly, too?.

     Sick of the coarseness and rudeness of our society?  How about starting to treat others as you want to be treated.  Spend some extra effort to do something special for someone you care about, just because you care about them.  Or do it anonymously; it adds a whole different kind of pleasure if only you know.  And how about doing something for some random person you may never meet?  Put a coin in an expired parking meter, pay the toll of the person behind you, donate those clothes you never wear to goodwill, or buy a sandwich for someone who asks you for money.  Try it once, and if the mere pleasure of doing it isn't enough to make you try it again, think of it this way: if enough people give a little bit every so often, once in awhile some of that will come back to you.

     Lonely?  Talk to somebody you normally wouldn't say hi to.  This might be hard, but it's not impossible.  There are very few real assholes in the world; most of the nasty people are that way because they think they have to be in order to keep up. Give somebody a chance to be friendly and many will jump at it. Most will, if you give them a bit of time. And as for those who don't, that's *their* problem, and no comment on you. It's a good sign if assholes don't like you. And be real, dammit!  It's so easy to give in, don't rock the boat, laugh at the jokes.  If you're too scared to buck the trends, still try it once.  Even if it's something nobody else can see.  That might be a great place to start, just don't let it stop there.

     Here's the secret of why things are they way they are: because we all let them get that way.  If you shut up and keep to yourself and just do the minimum necessary to get by, you'll be making a lot of powerful and important people very happy because then they can do all they want.  Do you really want to give your life to them?

     I didn't think so.

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