9/11 and a whole lot more!

Remember 9/11?

Yes. I remember 9/11. Ill never forget the lives that were lost. Ill
never forget my shockand sadness and outrage. But there are other
things that I remember,too. Maybe you do, too. I'm 68 and I may
remember further back than you do but I know there are things we all
remember that we no longer enjoy. Remember civil liberties? Remember
privacy? Remember thinking the government would be there for you in
case of adisaster? Remember when elections were free and legal?
Remember thinking that torture was something that evil little puppet
governments in miserable little countries run by dictators
practicedand that we were above that? Remember the theory of checks
and balances when special interestgroups didn't own our legislators
and the courts served justice and the People rather than being the
mouthpiece of the Executive Branch of the government? Remember when
the rest of the world didn't despise Americans and wewere heroes?
Remember when our tax money went to pay for the peoples needs?
Remember green woodlands providing habitat for animals and birds?
Remember clean oceans and lakes and streams? Remember clean air?
Remember when most people you knew had a reasonable chance of owning
their own home one day? Remember when you could afford to buy a car,
let alone a gallon or two of gas? Remember when you could go grocery
shopping once a week, filling your cart and have money left over
from your pay check?Remember when you knew your doctor and went for
regular check-ups and could afford to pay the bill?Remember thinking
that sick people couldn't be refused medical treatment? Remember
when doctors weren't referred to as vendors by giant insurance
companies? Remember when almost all kids graduated from high school?
Remember when hardly anyone you knew was divorced or had parents who
were divorced? Remember when hardly anyone you knew was on anti-
depressants and when school kids paid attention because the teachers
and parents encouraged them to? Remember when it seemed as though
there was a major difference between the Republicans and the
Democrats? Remember news reporters who reported the news instead of
making it up or reading it from a script? Remember 3 cent postage
stamps, 5 cent loaves of bread, 27 cents agallon for gas, $7,000 for
a three bedroom farm house, $3,600 for a brand new car right off the
showroom floor? Remember when one person worked outside the home and
one person worked in the home and children didn't come home from
school to empty houses? Remember red barns and blue silos and black
and white cows dotting the countryside as far as the eye could see?
Remember always eating fresh foods, unadulterated by additives,
hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, colorants and artificial things
you can't pronounce and shouldn't ingest? Remember when family meals
started with a prayer instead of pulling up to the drive-through
speaker? Remember saving up to buy things instead of saving up to
make apayment on a credit card balance that never goes down?
Remember a time when you weren't hooked up to some electronic
devicefor at least part of every single day? Remember how nice it
was when you got a letter in the mail that someone you knew and
liked had written by hand? Remember neighborhood corner grocery
stores and cash registers with bells? Remember filling stations
where you couldnt buy milk but they pumped your gas, cleaned your
windows and said thank you without charging extra? Remember when all
soda pop came in returnable bottles and how cold it was? Im sure we
can all remember good things that are gone, that have been gobbled
up in the name of progress but have really disappeared because of
greed and the lust for power. We have been falsely frightened into
making changes we do not really want and we have been falsely
seduced into thinking more is better at any cost. We have been sold
many lies that weaken us and separate us. We have traded treasures
beyond price for lies and corruption and death. So, if you are in a
mood to remember something, Remember this: We are thePeople. We can
make life good again if we remember to trust our instincts and we
remember to honor each other and our beautiful planet not only on
9/11 because the news media mouthpieces of arogue government say we
must remember a horrid day of deceit and violence but every day.
Remember liberty and justice for all.