Stand UP for America!

Preamble: Some of you know I am not really here. lol. I am offline right now due to tech issues, BUT you all know I will be back.

With a little help from my friends (thanks, Terri lol) and through the miracles of low tech, I am reprising a piece I wrote back in 2004 under my Carpe Diem header. When I found the hard copy of this, the similarities between then and now were striking. I have changed a few words here and there, but this is probably the only time I will ever be non-partisan, so read on:

CARPE DIEM (c) 2004


PSA - public service announcement!


"Democracy is coming to the USA .... " .... sings Leonard Cohen, the great Canadian poet, and as I woke this morning that song rang through my head, and I feel compelled to share MY thoughts with my American neighbours.


I have heard a few of you say "oh I am not going to vote ... they are all crooks .. " or "it's already a done deal. Why should I bother?" I ask you to reconsider, please! Yes, l know I am not supposed to meddle in your country's affairs, and I wouldn't dream of telling you HOW to vote.

But as I have listened to the venom from both sides of the great political divide, and watched the disgusting hatred spewed by some Americans, the spectre of Tianneman Square flashes through my mind; the people of Afghanistan risking life to vote. The Iraqis who risked their lives to stand for Iraq; stand for DEMOCRACY. I have been struck by the many ironies in the current US election campaign. Those of you who know me, know my leanings; you also know my ignorance of American geography! But this election the mean spiritedness seems to transcend all geographical boundaries.

"Democracy is coming ... from the holy places where the races meet ... " and never have I seen an America more divided ... as one candidate touts his brand of God-given 'goals' over the other.
Cohen sings about an America that "has the spiritual thirst" and this has never been more evident than since 9/11. Our world changed forever on that day, but I suggest to you that you NOW have the opportunity to say HOW you want the world to evolve.

On CBC radio last week I heard an interview with an Iraqi 'blogger' .. He is on a tour of north America to "witness democracy first hand." As you probably know, the plan is to hold democratic elections in Iraq next January. And men and women are dying on a daily basis as Iraq stumbles towards this goal. I have to wonder what this young man, and his countrymen and women, think as they watch the ugliness that is the US election.

I have heard very little discussion about a positive vision of the future in America. Forgive me, but from where I sit? America is a cauldron of disrespect, anger, hatred. I have been witness to an America, that I hardly recognize - a land which is, seemingly the "cradle of the best and the worst". It saddens me almost beyond measure, as I know it does a whole lot of Americans, how ugly and negative the process is this time. Is this the face of America the world will remember? It is not the America I know and love firsthand.

During the recent elections here in Canada, for the first time ever I was not going to vote. It just didn't seem worth it to me as we, too, descended into the sea of negativity, and seemed to be an election fought from the "wells of disappointment" , rather than appealing to the best of all human nature. But my daughter reminded me that my vote is my hard earned right, my way of having a voice within the insanity, which is supposedly a democracy.



When I chose to become a Canadian I was struck not so much by what I would gain, but rather the responsibilities inherent. A mere 90 years ago, women did NOT have a vote, they were non-persons in this country. And in England women had to chain themselves to railings and other protests to gain the fight to vote.

This election in the US is dependant on every single registered voter taking part in the process. Every man, and every woman who votes recognizes the power of a single voice. Each one of you who makes that small effort to go to a poll, and faces any challenge, is deciding what happens in your country, and by extension, around the world.

I would suggest you, and you, and you, you have a great opportunity to shape not only future in your own country; you also have the opportunity to show those in Afghanistan, Ukraine, China, (and yes, Georgia) what a democracy can look like. I so believe every voice needs to be raised in chorus. As Americans, November 4, 2008 is YOUR day to shape the world for our children and OUR children's children. It is no longer enough to sit and moan and whine about the way things are.

Each and every one of you CAN change the "squalls of hate" sweeping your country and the planet. Your vote affects all of us. (doncha love the pressure?'! )

Years ago, a Democrat said "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Can I ask you each to turn off all the rhetoric, ignore the polls, the pundits, the rabid hatred I have heard and seen.

Ask yourself one simple question: What can I do for my country?

Then, "Stand up, America. Stand up FOR America."

"Sail on, sail on oh mighty ship of state." (thank you Leonard)

God bless you, America. This foreigner stands with you.