Change is coming to Merida too!
For those of us who supported Barack Obama in the run up to the 2008 presidential elections in the United States, we have continued to get emails from his office, informing us of his progress as president-elect, and calling on us to continue to participate.
Two weeks ago, the emails asked people to get together in small local meetings all over the country to get to know each other, talk about the things that mattered to them, and begin to get organized to be activists in their own communities. As US Citizens, we took that challenge and called out to a few friends to meet.
Saturday, December 14, along with others across the US and the world, we met to discuss our role as US Citizens... in the USA, in the world, and yes, here in the Yucatan.
The meeting was a gathering of an amazing range of people from all parts of the US and all walks of life. We had former dentists, lawyers, professors, architects, airline pilots, lobbyists and sales people. There were people from Illinois (quite a few of those, curiously), Massachusetts, Alaska, Virginia, D.C., Wisconsin, Washington, California and Ohio.
We introduced ourselves and told the group why we had bothered to come to this meeting. There was a general agreement that many of us felt a renewed sense of hope, and an intimation... just a glimmer... that maybe, just maybe, the world might be changing for the better, and we could help it move in that direction. Many of us cited the "reign" of George Bush as one of the reasons why we had left our homeland, but to be fair, we were not all of the same political persuasion. There were Republicans and Democrats and independents... the only thing we had in common was our U.S. Citizenship and our desire to do something good. We also agreed that not only did we want to do something to make the world a better place, but as representatives of America here in Merida, we want to find a service project that will promote the goodwill of Americans in Merida and allow us to share our skills or gifts with our chosen city.
The call for the meeting had specified that the group should organize one service event before the Inauguratin of Barack Obama. That doesn't leave us much time!!
The next group meeting will be on December 27 from 4 to 6 pm, and anyone who is interested in participating is welcome to attend. If you would like to attend, please contact Martha Lindley (martha.lindley@gmail.com) and put "Change is Coming" in the subject line of your email. At that meeting, we will decide on a short term service project to be accomplished before January 20... and we'll go from there. We are looking at everything from blood donations to teaching English to picking up trash to... well, we haven't decided yet! If you have a good idea, email Martha at the email address above with your idea. Or, just come to the meeting and participate.
Change is coming, and we want to be a part of it! Come join us.
Addendum: One of the attendees suggested that we could start participating in government by writing to our Congressmen, demanding that they invoke an existing law regarding corporate excess profits. The law is Public Law 909, 81st Congress, 64 Stat.1137, 1950, Excess Profits Tax. Invoking this law would help the government finance social services and reduce the national debt, among other things. There was, apparently, a similar law in 1945 that brought in 23.3% of Federal Revenue at that time. The law is designed to give back to the government some of the excessive profits gained by corporations that supply the government in times of war. You can also read about it here on Wikipedia.
Comments
William galt 16 years ago
Greg Fryers statement is an insightful and to the heart of the matter about where change must begin. As I am so is my community and nation.
We would like to hear more of your philosophy .Many thanks, bill and gail Galt
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CasiYucateco 16 years ago
Interestingly, in the past 8 years, adjusted for inflation, corporate profits have increased over 68% while average household income has remained flat. Average wages after inflation remain at 1970s levels, while corporate executive wages have shot through the roof and into the stratosphere.
If the last election shows anything, it is that this deferment towards the wealthy at the expense of the poor has got to end. Corporate executives are not worth their pay. They have proved it within the last six months as they led banking giant after insurance giant after investment firm giant into bankruptcy.
The socialists are not coming into town on January 20th. They have already arrived. George W. Bush's administration nationalized the banks, AIG, GMAC, and all the rest. The "conservatives" who believe in "free market" threw billions - the count is now into the trillions - without even the requirement that those receiving the money report back what they did with it. Our money -- conservative, liberal, middle-of-the-road money -- our money was just tossed into the air and vanished.
Clearly, the guiding principle has been "privatize the profits, but nationalize the losses" at the greatest enterprises of "free market capitalism" that exist on earth.
Not much can get worse than this. Is universal health care unaffordable? The $100 Billion it would cost is trivial compared to the money simply thrown away in the last two months. Is a strong safety net desirable? Well, it sure has been for our major corporations. Why not for the widows and orphans?
The most humorous part of all is that this discussion is taking place in Mexico. Mexico: where the farthest right-wing policies would still be decidedly left-wing in the USA.
Maybe our feet have spoken louder than our words, regardless of the differences we seem to have. Maybe all people have more in common than imagined differences. Maybe "politics" is just a way of looking down our nose at our neighbor, when we should be doing more for one another and less for ourselves. Maybe it is time to come together and work for the good in life, instead of chasing yet one more plastic bauble from China. Plant a tree. Raise a child. Clean a park. Teach someone to read.
What's most important is often the simplest.
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Henry 16 years ago
I'm always glad to hear of hope. It makes the idea of something changing appear possible.
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Bob 16 years ago
Three things struck me about the article I am commenting on. First, Grant hit the nail right-on-the-head. We all live in a Global economy, therefore, we are, like it or not, inextricably connected to virtually every country and economy in the world. We no longer have much latitude to pick and choose who we invest with, friend and foe alike. Second, the issue of going after the wealthy--which seems to defy definition. One day, it is people making $42K a year, another time, $92K, in the most recent election, it was, depending on the day and the crowd, it was $1M, or $150K, or $200K, or $250K, and, BTW, was that gross or net--all numbers put forth by Liberal Democrats. The devil is always in the details. Then we have the audacity to go after the most successful in our society, and stick them with picking up the tab for most of the rest of us. It is well documented that 20% of the population pay 80% of the Federal taxes in the U.S, and, also well documented, that 40% of the people pay no Federal taxes at all. No mention is ever made of the 60, 70, and 80 hours these people work every week. We simply have to stop beating up on the "rich guy" because the rich guy is us--and, sooner or later, we are all going to find this fact out. Third, on the issue of the "reign" of GWB, that is best left to history to judge, and that judgment may come as soon as the next 10-20 years when the issue of global terrorism is resolved, if that is possible, or whether the UN will finally step in, where they should have stepped in in the first place, to prosecute the problem, as a unified body. Without question, GWB has not made all the right judgments, but then again, neither do we as we go about our daily lives. If GWB stands for nothing else, he freed 27M Iraqis from over three decades of tyranny (again, where was the UN, after 17 Security Council resolutions, and looking forward to the 18th, 19th, and where does it end). True, we have lost over 4K Military Members in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then if we take the time to put things into perspective (the history thing again), we lost 400K in WWII, 33K in Korea, and 57K in Vietnam, each and everyone of them a tragic loss. It can be argued, the objectives of WWII parallel the objectives of the current two Wars which is affecting literally every country on the planet. GWB made the bold move to take on terrorism where few others (e.g., Israel) have chosen to do so. GWB has been tested, and we know what he stands for--for better or for worse. Consider the following. Barack Obama has not been tested (lest we forget that GWB was Governor of Texas and a successful businessman), has not put forth any significant legislation passed in Illinois or Congress, has not contributed any of his personal wealth to charity (typically, under $1K a year), which is one thing he and Joe Biden have in common (although they are more than willing, and looking forward to it, to spend our hard earned money), and he has abstained from making tough choices, over a 130 times, in the Illinois Senate--a practice I hope he ceases to use after the 20 January 2009 Inauguration, otherwise, he will put us all in deep peril. I conclude with three thoughts. "'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't", "Freedom is not free", and "Buckle your seats, it's going to be a bumpy ride for the next four years--the Socialists are riding into town on the 20th." (For those who have not put it together yet, yes, I"m a Conservative--not to be confused with a Republican). I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year in 2009, despite the train wreck which occurred on 4 NOV 2008.
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Grant 16 years ago
Yes, extra taxes for all those corporations...except the ones my pension's invested in.
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Greg Fryer 16 years ago
I believe the true and effective change can only come through an individual person. From within.A shift in thinking that focuses on personal responsibility in both attitude and actions.
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Jane 16 years ago
The suggestion about invoking Public Law 909, is an excellent one. I've never heard of that. I will definitely read up on it and write our congressmen.
Good luck on your efforts. Sounds like you're off to a good start for 2009!
Please keep us posted on the progress.
Happy Holidays to all,
Jane, Richard and Tess Johnson
Savannah, GA
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