driven mad in New Orleans

It’s Driving Me Mad
By
Debbie Lindsey

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
Well, do you? Do you want to change the world? Yeah you. I am talking about a last chance to right some pretty large wrongs. Wrongs that just may have taken us to a point of no return. The eleventh hour is just seconds away from running out. There are actions incumbent upon us to perform if we want to face the future generation – and to face ourselves in the mirror. In November you can pull the plug on an administration that has brought shame even to Republicans. You can hit the reset button with your vote. With due respect to McCain I believe he is unable to embrace the amount of change we need.
Yes, you are right, I am standing tippy toe on top of my upturned recycle bin soapbox. And I am pointing my finger at those of you out there that think hippie dread locks and retro tie-dye are enough of a political statement. Where is that righteous anger you felt while stranded in your own piss on that overpass three years ago as you watched Bush flying over head? Do your grandparents who marched on Selma know you aren’t even registered to vote?
Yes, I am pissed that we lost our country to Bush eight years ago. I am furious with those of you that sat out the election because you could not see the clear difference between Bush and Gore. Do you really think we’d be in this war if Gore had won? The world is a far more dangerous place now. Our environment has lost precious time during the past eight years. Did you know that scientists predict that for the first time in our human history ice is due to disappear entirely from the North Pole THIS year? Bush turned a blind eye to climate change and the realistic steps that could have been taken to address global warming.
John McCain is “too little, too late”. I credit him with intelligence and integrity and if he had been the Republican president for these past two terms I suspect we’d have fared far better than with Bush. But the sad reality is that we have lost so much ground in the fight for our environment; gotten so deep into a no-win war; lost so many jobs to other countries. And the list of problems that took root during Bush’s tenure grows and grows. In my opinion, McCain will not bring on the serious changes we need.
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We’d all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
It is a given that all politicians put forth more than they actually deliver. And you never really know the man or woman until they take office. Yet sometimes you simply have to take that ride with them and hope and pray they will make good on more promised than not. A guy I work with had always been Republican, always voted Republican. But not this time he told me. He is supporting Obama and he said: “If Obama can accomplish just one third of what he says he can do then he will make this country better”.
I too, am realistic enough to know that one man’s dreams, hopes and ideals are contingent upon others of like mind and will, and circumstances that favor miracles. But if you don’t set your goals high enough to endure the gravitational pull of opposition then you are left with nothing. I believe we need the solutions Obama offers and I am asking you for one contribution – your vote.
“So what good is my one vote? It’s not gonna make a difference.” Well it does. How do think Bush won? With one vote at a time. I must give it to the Republican – they believe in the power of the vote and they do it. If just 5% more Democrats had turned out to vote in 2000 we wouldn’t be in Iraq right now. Think about it. And why would you not want to have your voice heard – don’t you believe in the worth of your opinion. You have a right to be heard.
There is much to fear and too much to regret in the world today. We, along with our leaders, have not been the stewards this world needs. Yes, we have failed. I have bitched you out, but none of our hands are squeaky clean. Everyday there are the high roads I detour with the promise to travel them tomorrow. Regardless of whether we have actively created this mess or simply sat back, passively, and watched it happen -- now is the time, perhaps our last chance to take that high road.
In my lifetime folks were murdered for merely attempting to register a vote. A cup of coffee at the Woolworth could land you in jail. And in a seemingly staid and respectable neighborhood in my hometown a young man going out to buy a pack cigarettes never returned – he was found castrated and hanging from a tree. Prejudice attacks beyond skin color. It was not until my mother’s youth that women could vote. Gay soldiers still endure the humiliation of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”.
Instead of the slap-in-the-face of indifference, honor those who have given us the vote through struggle. Be part of this historic election. Clinton and Obama, by their mere presence, have already defied many prejudices. Just by having run for office, Hillary has put the White House within the sights of every woman out there. And if we use the power of our vote we just might place Obama and therefore a bit of ourselves in Washington, in history, in change.
Registering to vote is quick and easy. And NO, you are not any more likely to be summoned to jury duty because you are registered. Non-voters get jury duty also – it is a random thing. The point being, there are no excuses not to vote. The Registrar of Voters office is just a phone call away (504-658-0195) and they are ready to help you. This is not only about the November 4th election it’s about having a say in who governs our city and state.
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend, ahh, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.
…But we are. Unless we do some reconstruction now. Don’t you want to tell your grandchildren you helped to bring us back from the brink? Vote.

My views are my own (along with lyrical assistance from the Beatles and Barry McGuire) and do not necessarily reflect this magazine.