Not a Single Mention

I checked the Los Angeles Times website this morning. Not a single mention of the anti-war protest that involved some 2,000 people. But today's paper does have a full-blown article with photos of about a dozen white supremicists who were marching in nearby Claremont and the 200 or so immigrant-rights activists who mounted a counter-protest.

Though we stood in front of the CNN building in Hollywood yesterday, there is not one mention of the march on cnn.com. A search of "anti-war protest Hollywood" yielded an article on the entertainment scene.

Perhaps neither news organization dared cover the event because of a prominent banner:

"The CIA owns everyone of significance in the major media."

--Former CIA Director William Colby

I realize that many Americans have given up on the political process. They feel that no matter what they do or how they feel about matters of importance, the government ignores them and does anything it damn well pleases. The wars are a case in point. More than two-thirds of Americans (can't figure out why it's not more than that) oppose our continued presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet their voices go unheeded. Americans have resigned themselves to living in a democracy-in-name-only.

I, however, have never subscribed to that play book. I have done and said things in my life that have gone against the prevailing winds of public opinion, but I have always felt that I must be true to my own principles. Otherwise, I am a hollow shell.

Certainly the decisions I have made have had consequences--a lower socio-economic level than other persons with my education, experience, and intelligence, and a much more solitary life than most. Of course, it would be wonderful to have the funds to buy a few acres of gorgeous, water-rich land in rural Southern California, build a house, and ensure my self-sufficiency within a community of like-minded individuals. And sure it would be much more than wonderful to share my life with a man who is matched to me. But however much I would love to see either of these dreams come true, it is far more important to me to remain true to myself.

And so if the time comes when I am the only person marching to protest the Empire's never-ending wars, so be it. It is important to voice my non-participation in the Empire's march toward global disaster, even if no one hears me.

A scene from an old Swedish movie frequently enters my mind. I searched for it yesterday, but I couldn't locate it. If anyone who reads this can identify the film, I'd sure appreciate your notifying me. In the film, a man waters a dead tree. Every day he does this. It is his ritual. It is a highly charged spiritual exercise he faithfully performs.

Perhaps someday soon, voicing one's criticism of the government or marching to protest its actions will be like watering a dead tree, the dead tree of democracy. Even so, I will continue to do so. It will be my ritualistic act of defiance, of non-participation in evil, and ultimately of hope for real change, not the faux change that Obama has dished up.