Big Leather Couch

Last week I left a comment on the site of my commie-pinko good friend MATT-MAN and I thought I would use it for today's post. On the day before the citizens of the U.S.A. go to the polls to elect a new President and vote for our Senators and Representatives.

Not to worry, this is not an us v. them post...it is actually a WE post.

First my comment:
I am truly hopeful that no matter who ends up in the White House, Senate and House of REPRESENTATIVES (yup that is what they are supposed to do REPRESENT US, the citizens), they realize there are major problems that must be addressed in our Country.

A divide has occurred in the last eight years. We saw a coming together 7 years ago this past September and watched the President stand on the crumbled ashes of two magnificent buildings and the souls of 3,000 people and promise us a Nation of unity and the head of the man responsible for the murders that had occurred there.

Then his agenda changed, influenced by the small minded people he had surrounded himself with and we marched off in a different direction.

The people saw a need for a change in the Senate and House and those elected, who took charge have spent their time in office playing na-na-na-na-na-na with the White House. They should be ashamed of themselves also.

What hope comes after November 4th is a re-evaluation of the values that have been shoved down our throats.

We can not longer be led by either a small group of religious-minded zealots or a group of liberal minded, give it all away carpetbaggers.

We need leadership that finds a way to allow everyone...the very rich, the very poor and those who are in between, who find themselves struggling more than ever...to live their lives without being told they are the criminals in this whole affair.

Utopia, possibly. I truly am sick and tired of this bitterness.

It is why I have turned to music all week...to allow others to entertain my guests on The Couch.

As I read somewhere recently (Katherine, it might have been you), maybe we should have the election and whoever wins is President and whoever loses serves as Vice President and bring the two parties together - it might make it possible to bring the two sides together.

I had suggested SAM recently, where every incumbent is thrown out and I know that there are some good people in office right now, so that might not be the solution, but I beg everyone to not look at party affiliations next Tuesday. Look at what the candidates stand for and not just their TV commercials, but their records...and vote for the person who will represent ALL OF US best.

It is time to be unselfish and not think, will he/she be best for me...BUT will he/she be best for ALL OF US.

I will end this monologue with words spoken 47 years ago, because folks, I think they are even more important today than they were when said then:
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what, together, we can do for the freedom of man.

You know, it is ironic that back in 1960 as Nixon and Kennedy campaigned there were so many Americans who mumbled that we could NEVER elect a Catholic to run our country. Today, there are many who say we can't elect an African-American as President. The times they are a-changing...but at the same time, they are standing still.

Then I thought about it and went back and re-read the entire Inauguration speech from John F. Kennedy and realized that, as history has shown time and again, the issues spoken of in this speech are still haunting us today...

FORTY-SEVEN years later...the specific situations President Kennedy addressed may be different, but the underlying problems are very much the same. The areas of the world he spoke of may not be changed for the better (or in some cases the worse), but there are new nations, new conflicts which we must address moving forward if we are to move into the next century, or it could all fall apart and our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren will be left with a world that is in even deeper troubles then we have today...The times they are a-changing...but at the same time, they are standing still.

So, for those of you who were not born or toddling around on the blanket at mom and dad's feet and for those of you who were around and have forgotten it, I present to you the entire speech once again.
Vice-president Johnson, Mr Speaker, Mr Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice-president Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens: We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom - symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning - signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge - and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do - for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom - and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required - not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbours know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support - to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course - both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew - remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors.

Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah - to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free." And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor - not a new balance of power, but a new world of law - where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation", a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, north and south, east and west, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.

I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what, together, we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth, God's work must truly be our own.

Some strong, hopeful words and ideas in those few paragraphs and like many, I have wondered what our country would be like today if those gun shots had not rung out that November 22nd morning in Dallas.

Where would are country be today if JFK had 2 more years in office...6 more years? Obviously, we will never know.

So the point of this post?

Simple...tomorrow, no matter who you are supporting in the races being contested, make sure you take the time to leave your home and work...stand in the long line...and act as a citizen of this great country...PULL THE LEVER....PRESS THE BUTTON...PUNCH OUT THE CHAD (And make sure it is completely punched)...and VOTE!

Then, no matter which people win the races...SUPPORT THEM 100%. Don't spend the next 4 years bi**hing and moaning that your candidate did not win, so you will just ignore what is happening.

Support them until they show you they are not who they said they were in their campaign words. They might have lied to us to get elected, but let them have the chance to prove it. You might find out that they are quite capable to make a difference to us and the world.

Four letters...a huge responsibility...a guaranteed right...VOTE!