Today at the White House website! Ambassador Mark R. Dybul, U.S. Global A.I.D.S. Coordinator takes questions... and I just couldn't help but ask my own special one. Can't wait to see if he answers it!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
I suppose responses will be made available at the announced time:
Friday at 2:00 PM EST
Ambassador Mark R. Dybul
US Global AIDS Coordinator
Here's my letter:
"How long have you guys been coordinating A.I.D.S.? I was under the impression it was random... didn't realize you had it all organized.
But seriously, aren't you frustrated by this administration's insistence on abstinence programs instead of focusing on safe sex education and condom use? It must be like smacking your head against a wall... or maybe against a Bible. After all, does religious dogma really have a place in the field of public health?"
On a glummer note, I went to the G.O.P. Presidential Primary debate for about 5 minutes today. I rode my bike through south St. Petersburg for a good half hour at least to get there... it was dark by the time I arrived. I was hoping to see the homeless protest that was supposed to be taking place. I didn't find it. The place was crawling with Ron Paul supporters, though. There was even an airplane flying overhead with lights under its wings that worked like a billboard advertising Ron Paul. I think it was just a cessna, maybe even an old cropduster or something, but the bottom had been rigged up to scroll a pro-Ron Paul message. The miracle was you could actually read it, if you wanted to keep your head pointed up that long. Hard to do while riding a bike.
I didn't see a single non-Paul Republican supporter there, but it was a ways away from the event itself, and it was pretty early... around 6:30 in the evening. The Paul fans are impressive for their enthusiasm, if nothing else. You've got to give them credit. They're real zealots. Unfortunately for them, they're still massively outnumbered by numb voters who'll vote for whoever the party tells them. Even worse, you can tell they're projecting their ideals upon Paul instead of seeing him for who he is. All I see is an old man with some extreme views that make him popular with people who want change at any cost. Even were he to get elected there's only so much he can do... he'd immediately be a lame duck president for angering both parties with his policies. But they don't get that. They seem to be developing a bit of a messiah complex about him. Was it this way with Perot as well? Are they ready for that kind of disappointment again?
I feel sorry for them. They're not thinking this through. They talk about "going back to the Constitution", but I get the distinct impression that most of them haven't read it. There's this desire to believe that what you want to be part of the Constitution is, and that all we need to do is get back to our roots. Back to an America that never was. All around the grounds I saw signs that read "The System Is Broken"... and they're right. It is. And I'm sorry, but Ron Paul alone can't fix it, even if elected President. I don't even hear anyone really discussing the specifics of how to go about fixing it. All I see is people rallying behind one man in the hopes that he'll take care of it for us, and that's not likely. But hey, good luck trying. I want change, too. I'd just rather ask for specific changes than throw my support behind what, in the long run, seems to be little more than an eccentric who's running on the "I'm not one of them" platform, as appealing as that platform has become.
Anyway, shortly after I arrived, it began to rain. Heavily. And there I was, standing around in the rain, straddling my bike, staring at Ron Paul supporters who were beginning to take shelter under trees as if they were the homeless people I had come out there to protest with. And then I started peddling to Williams Park in the downpour, where I hoped to and thankfully did find the last #23 bus of the evening. I loaded my bike into the rack on the front of the bus just as it was preparing to depart, stepped on board and headed home, having said none of what I had desired to say to anyone that evening, having made no effort during my brief appearance at the outdoor rally, feeling deflated and foolish for having tried, but feeling equally glad I wasn't wasting any more time listening to political squawking in the rain. Maybe I should stick to "holding my elected representatives accountable for their actions" via correspondence.
Or maybe just better luck next time.