Scared half to death----------and the other half too!

The  American system of democracy, or our representative republic, is not functioning as it was designed to function.  A lot of Americans feel the pain of governmental dysfunction , but we do  not all perceive the problem, or the solution, the same way. Just as a computer file can be corrupted, our system of government is corrupted and we cannot access the information we need.  Something is terribly wrong , and in short order, we will see if it can be corrected or if we, as a nation, will become increasingly ensconced in more ignorance, greed, bigotry and hate.

Not only do we have deep, deep divisions in our country regarding race, but also religion,  gay rights, a woman's right to choose, left vs right politically, and it appears lately, that those divisions are growing in opposition, and becoming more confrontational.  Glen Beck held a rally in Washington, DC and brought up GOD, of all things.  It was almost more than I could take, to see the man who has been so full of hate standing on hallowed ground invoking God sounding for all the world like an evangelical preacher.  It was beyond ridiculous, it was unbelievable.

The most unbelievable part was that so many listen to him, adore him, believe him, and the most frightening of all, follow him.  If this situation is not a concrete argument for strengthening the public education system in this country, and teaching our kids from a young age, about critical thinking, I don't know what is.

 I watched in horror as the spectacle with Beck unfolded.  In my mind's eye, I recalled dramatic pictures of Hitler. There was Beck,  grandstanding with a venerable backdrop, professing to know the only one true way, declaring America would be reclaimed by the ones, who knew best, what it was to be as outlined in the Constitution. We swore it would never happen again, but our collective memory is  suffering from age-related dementia, or  a lack of education , just maybe it is a certain brain numbness brought about by the loss of a once great dream.

 Some one, or some group, could well emerge and tell us all what to think, how to feel, what we can and cannot do in our private lives, how to behave, what we can and cannot believe, who we can and cannot marry, maybe even what we can and cannot eat.  That group would be the same right wing fundamentalists, carrying the Bible in one hand , and the flag in the other.

When we the people stop dreaming the dream of freedom the nightmare of tyranny moves in.