The Dread of Disenfranchisement

It is clear to me that there is one prime source for the people who fill the ranks of the criminals in our jails, the hopeless youth of our gangs and the terror recruits in third world countries.  It is disenfranchisement.  More then poverty or religion or politics, it is the feeling that you are powerless, without any measure of control over the forces that frame your existence.  No voice.  No recourse.  No power of your own and no trusted power to turn to in order to right a wrong or address your suffering.

That is why I am so terribly frightened of what I am feeling, and what seems to be happening right here in our country

More below.

What if we wake up on November 3rd, knowing we did everything right, knowing we won, knowing that the will of the people was for change, but find that nothing has changed.  What if the stories of voter suppression, that are mounting up as we sit here working our asses off to win this thing, keep coming.  What if major corporations use their control of the airwaves to broadcast propoganda.  What if the Republicans still control the government and all means of oversight.  What if we have no recourse?

I have a creeping anxiety and dread about what my impulses will be should the worst come to pass (not losing, but winning).  I am not one to wear the proverbial tin-foil hat.  But it just doesn't seem possible to take them off these days.  They're just part of the uniform if you plan on staying informed.  We're in an existential struggle right now, and we're still playing by the rules that make this country great.  The hope is, that that will be enough.  That hope, truth, competence, accountability, professionalism and wisdom (you name it we've got it) will prevail.  

I'm overwhelmed sometimes by the amount of intensity and passion and effort being put into this race by our side.  It is something to behold.  I think, how can we lose?  John Kerry is THE man to be President at this time.  George W. Bush was never meant to be President.

So we'll keep playing by the rules, because this is America.  And I hope we win, because people fighting these kinds of fights won't play by the rules forever.  That, more than anything else is what frightens me.