Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
Half the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!

Bob Marley

I am in serious need of help. I wish to call upon the vast knowledge of the many minds of internet readers who are outraged enough by this needless and obscenely expensive war to help me find ways to motivate more people into standing up and speaking out.

I reside in a moderately sized college town that seems to be Bush heaven. It is home to the GHW Bush Presidential Library, the Barbara Bush Parenting Center and has renamed one of the major streets George Bush Drive.

Needless to say our local coalition for peace rallies are, shall we say, somewhat megerly attended.

What I find interesting is that the majority of people I talk to either don't actively support the war or else they are amazingly ignorant of the facts about the war. Usually, at our rallies, the overwhelming percentage of people who respond (either by a thumbs-up signal or encouraging words) are supportive of what we are doing. Sure, we get some one-fingered peace signs as well as the "Get-a-job-hippie" and "Go-back-to-Iraq" and "Nuke-em-all" type of feedback, but generally, these are getting fewer as time progresses.

That said, I am amazed that the vast majority, by far the largest number of folks passing the busy intersection during peak traffic hours do......nothing. Bear in mind, these citizens have nothing else to do but wait at the traffic lights and still, nothing; except try very hard not to make eye contact. God, never make eye contact.

Rarely a day goes by that the following conversation does not take place in my home:

Me: "Holy crap! Guess what outrageous violation of the Constitution-civil rights-human decency those power-hungry bastards have done today?!"

Family/Friends: "Yawn. Of course they did because they are the government-city hall-police-religious leaders-experts. Why on earth do you sound so surprised?"

Me: "What?!"

And why should I be surprised? I'm no Pollyanna; I've lived through Viet Nam, Watergate, Iran-Contra, S&L bailouts, Wall Street insider trading and the Supreme Court presidential "election".
Hey, I'm a jaded, mistrustful, incredulous, paranoid, cynical, watchful, leery and worldly voter.

And I still get pissed.

And I still seethe and make signs, I write letters and make calls, I have documentary showings in my home and forward links-but mostly I feel lonely and impotent.

Below are some of the most frequently heard reasons for not getting involved that have been expressed to me personally as well as my personal opinion of those reasons.

Don't have time/Too busy
You know who doesn't have time? The 4,098 coalition military dead or the 73,922 or 80,560 dead Iraqi citizens (depending on who's figures you believe).

Those are some folks who seriously don't have any time. If you're breathing and going about your day-to-day life, you have time. How some choose to use it is the issue; the television says millions of our fellow citizens watch American Idol, tune into the latest on O.J. Simpson or Brittney saga- so reason might suggest there is some downtime available.

Doesn't really affect me
You pay taxes, you buy gas or groceries, you know or work with someone who has children of military age; then it affects you. From budget cuts to police states, this war affects everyone here.

I personally support the war
Great, sign up; I hear all branches of the military are having trouble meeting their quotas and I'm sure you will be welcomed with open arms. And while you're at it, could you possibly convince your cheerleaders- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Michele Malkin and Ann Coulter, to please join up also and move to the front lines? I think this would be way more effective than a yellow magnetic sticker.

It's unpatriotic to protest
Really? Some folks need to re-read (or read for the first time) their Constitution. The founding fathers were protesters; they just managed to back their words with action.

So, can anyone out there help me? I know I'm not alone and I truly believe that most ordinary Americans care not only about their country and it's reputation, but their fellow man. I also believe that there's enough folks out there that are willing to resist force and fraud by the government, if only the call to action is sounded.