Dear people with power:
This is a note from the approximately six billion or so of us who aren’t in charge. We aren’t CEOs. We aren’t even Vice Presidents. We aren’t holders of elected offices. We’re just ordinary folks, some employed, some not; some well-off, some not; some housed, some – not; some with health care, some – without. We’re the rest of the world, whom you seem to have conveniently forgotten - you know, the ones who grow your food, make your Kleenxes, open your limo doors, scrub your floors. THOSE people.
Here is our message for you. WE ARE TIRED.
…tired of seeing you and your cronies pocket 90% of the world’s wealth, while we fight over scraps.
…tired of seeing our neighbors die or dying ourselves of treatable, curable diseases, while drug company and insurance company executives’ bank accounts bloat
…tired of watching you poison our earth and gobble up the resources. Your grandchildren are going to need that stuff, too, you know. It's not just us.
…tired of watching you play golf while an entire country teeters on the brink
…tired of seeing bombs fall on innocent civilians, instead of going after the true targets – your cronies or straw men
…tired of sending our sons and daughters off to warfare to protect corporate special interests. Even if we get them back, they’re never the same
…tired of budgets that gut services to people who need them the most, conveniently ensuring that the vast majority of us will have to struggle to stay afloat and won’t have time to keep an eye on you
…tired of our so-called “free media” that refuses to hold you accountable and wastes our time on filler and nonsense
…tired of being lied to by the very people we are supposed to trust
…tired of seeing catastrophes eased off the front page (Haiti? New Zealand?) to make room for the celebrity tidbit-of-the-month
…tired of seeing true public servants pushed to the sidelines, mocked and denigrated, while corrupt sock puppets continue to game the system
…tired of wondering when our issues – jobs, economy, climate change, health care – will matter to any of you. If they ever will.
…tired of being ashamed of a country we used to love and whose principals we used to venerate
...tired of being pandered to for our votes and ignored the rest of the time.
...tired of leaders who mouth slogans and platitudes rather than take concrete action. Even more tired of false promises.
...tired of being afraid of what new catastrophe we'll face next
Please take note, leaders. You work for us. You may have forgotten this important point. Also, history is a b!tch – and karma is worse.
We are watching and taking notes. We would love to be surprised. We’re not counting on it. But, believe us, one day – in whatever form – you WILL be held accountable for what you do and don't do.
Please, shape up, do the right things, repair the broken systems and get back to work. Because, frankly, if we tick off the planet enough – and we may have already done so – there won’t be a future for any of us. Including you.
So, shut up and get on with it already. Thanks.
Love,
The Rest of Us
