Dollar

I don’t know if it is a blessing or a curse that I am a realist. I am not able to whitewash facts, be a Pollyanna or pretend the real world isn’t there. Those bread and circuses don’t work for me.

I have faced the fact that my favorite holiday, The Fourth of July, has ceased to be my favorite holiday. I cannot celebrate democracy when it has been replaced by an oligarchy.

Since I have no desire to wallow in negativity or write a dismal blog, I will share a thought provoking question.

My husband and I were at The Carter Center this spring. President Jimmy Carter, ninety years old and filled with vigor and hope, was addressing our group. He asked us, “How much money do you think I raised for my 1976 Presidential campaign?” Almost everyone in the room had lived through that year, but no hands were raised.

“I’ll tell you,” President Carter said. “I raised nothing. We had a dollar donation on our taxes then, and both Gerald Ford and I opted to take that money.”

America can be saved if everyone of us starts screaming loudly and voting clearly that we do not define “freedom of speech” as a few people spending billions to buy themselves a President, Senator or Representative.

We can get out the word, like President Carter did, that there used to be a better way to do things. We have not yet reached the stage when speaking truth to power lands us in jail. I will offer that as my positive thought for the Fourth. Spread the word and light a sparkler.

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