Southpaw Jones

Songmaker • Whimsicologist • Austinite

Much more than this, I did it Wednesday.

November 15, 2006 By: Southpaw Jones Category: Interesting?

Southpaw Jones presents
Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:
I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people.
George W. Bush

According to our new arrival
Life is more than mere survival
We just might live the good life yet.
Theme from Mr. Belvedere

Southpaw Jones presents
Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

Tonight, Matt the Electrician and I return to Café Mundi after a successful one-night tour of Houston. Austinites unite! And come on down…8 pm.

The election last week resulted in much merriment and renewed confidence in our system. Come January, I’ll be interested to see what real-life positive changes will come of it. My hope is that our government and its citizens will begin to focus on more than “mere survival.”

The theme of the Bush administration, at least since 9/11, has been, “We’re gonna keep you alive at all cost.” Under the dark cloud of terrorism, it was and is hard to imagine putting energy toward health care, wages, employment, or the environment. After all, “they” could come wipe us out at anytime.

Republicans used to stand for all that is aggressive and tough, and that has helped keep them in power. But wouldn’t it be tough and impressive and truly American to say, “Not only are we going to defeat terrorism. We will continue to improve the lives of our citizens while we do it!” Last time I checked, our inalienable rights included liberty and the pursuit of happiness along with plain, old, generic life.

There’s life, and there’s life worth living, and those are two very different thing-a-ma-bobs. I will not live in a reinforced cage if it insures my survival. I will not live under marshal law if it makes me safe. It’s time for someone in government to bring back the idea of a THRIVING America, not just an EXISTING America.

Without true freedom, progressive thinking, and accomplishment that spits on previous successes, America is just like Terri Schiavo, God bless her. Watered. Fed. Asleep. The whole world waiting for us to wake up and be SPECIAL again.

Spike Gillespie presents
Spaiku!
A look at her world / seventeen syllables and / three lines at a time: