100,000 trees falling

Here's a modern zen riddle for you: If 100,000 people march around the capital, does it make a sound? If we all clapped with one hand, would that make it louder? I declared 2007 my year of activism, so one of my first efforts was to take part in the march on Washington DC yesterday. I went with two rowdy friends from Philadelphia and met up with a rowdy friend from DC. I have never been to a rally before, not one of this size, so I wanted to see what it would be like. It's depressing in a way because I don't really feel like it will make a difference. See the cat? See the cradle?

Our president said on Friday, and this is I believe an exact quote but I can't be sure, "I am the commander and chief and if you don't like it, I'm going to take my army and invade another country." Well I'm taking my ball and going home too. The Nation is a weekly left leaning magazine I recently started reading and they had an interesting question on the cover. Basically, it states world opinion is against escalation, the American populace is against it, Congress, Iraqi people, and the Iraqi government are against it. Can one man make a country fight a war it doesn't want to fight? They are speaking of America, but they could really be speaking of Iraq as well. I think Iraq is going to have to fight its own internal war at some point, but we don't need to be involved. There is to much hatred and history not to reach this conclusion.

In my opinion, the escalation is going to happen anyway unless congress refuses to pay for it. They won't. So what do you do, how do you fight that? If congress actually agrees to something and passes a non-binding resolution, what the hell does that do? It positions people to run for president, that is what it does. It's politics, not reality. See the cat? Maybe in 2 years we are better off. I am inpatient, I'm not waiting for that. Bush keeps asking others for a plan. They have a plan, stop. His plan is to keep going. See the cradle? The american democracy is moving in a bad direction in my opinion. We are moving away from open dialogue and discussion into rhetoric and obstinacy. We no longer value intelligence in debate and favor cheap sound bites. We, as a country, have gotten lazy. Maybe we always were and I didn't realize it, I don't know.

I didn't hear all the speakers yesterday, but I am disappointed by the rhetoric coming from the anti-escalation side. I just don't hear anyone speak that inspires me, someone like MLK who, even years later now, can give you shivers listening to some of his speeches. I realize he was an extreme rarity, but why can't we find a leader like that now? Or is there a leader like that now, but he can't be heard?

I love America. Or I did. Or I do. I just don't love our democracy anymore, it's been twisted and manipulated and we have all let it happen. Rather, more importantly, I have let it happen. I was having a conversation yesterday after the march and we talked a little about legacy. I don't have a legacy, except selling out and passing time. That's not a life i want to look back on years from now. That is something I need to fix. Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book, a brilliant book in my opinion, called Cat's Cradle. He has a rhetorical device in it where one of the characters is complaining about the child's game played with string called Cat's Cradle. He uses it as a way to describe how things are not what you are told (as a child, as an adult, how things are never quite what they seem to be or are not what people tell you they are). Whenever I think someone is trying to manipulate me, I think to myself see the cat? see the cradle? Things are not what they seem, it's a game, an illusion. Just smile and go back outside and play with your ball.

Maybe the country isn't going in such a bad direction overall, and it's just the war. Regardless, I think America wasted a great opportunity to step into a world void and lead with integrity and morality. We could have pushed democracy without wars. We could have pushed free-er economic growth throughout without selling ourselves out to oil companies and special interest. We could have led the world in environmental protection and human rights. Instead, we have squandered our global leadership position in favor of money and power. We begin to speak of Iran and their negative influence in Iraq. Didn't we take over the country, cause the chaos, leave the museums unguarded, and overstay our welcome? Are we building a case that Iran is the new Iraq? The government says no. See the cat? See the cradle? Things need to change. The unabomber sat alone in a shack somewhere and tried to fix it. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe, if things had happened a little differently, he could have been that leader. Perhaps he still is? What if our generation already missed it's next great leader? What if this is what I have to live through? What if this is all there is? How do I setup my legacy, how do I get comfortable with my own skin? What if I plant 100,000 new trees and they are all knocked down in a forest - would anyone hear it? Is that a legacy? See my cat? See my cradle?