Does Anyone Hear The Screams?

Would you try to help someone that was being victimized by a criminal? Someone that was being robbed, raped or about to be murdered? Would the Good Samaritan in you prevail or the apathetic "its not me" take over? I would like to think that I would be the Good Samaritan, but no one really knows until you are placed in that situation.

One time when I was working for Kerry/Edwards I saw a friend run over by a truck while crossing the street with a "Walk" sign during a sign-waving rally. The people in the car were yelling and screaming obscenities at us and didn't pay attention to their driving. Once she was struck, they sped off, committing hit and run in addition to assault with a deadly weapon.

In the confusion I tried to write down the license plate of the rapidly disappearing vehicle, only being able to call the police and give a description of what it looked like. I felt bad that I couldn't write that plate number down, because it would have brought the driver to justice, who ultimately got away despite the best efforts of the Tucson Police Department.

Thankfully, miraculously, she survived the impact. Even with bruises all over her body and a serious concussion, the paramedics and the doctors at the hospital helped to save her life. Truly a miracle. Even though we lost that election four days later, knowing she was on the road to recovery made up for the sadness of Bush's re-election.

Well now Bush has had almost another three years in office since that late October night. The President and his men are continuing their assault on our country. They are committing murder in a way. By leaving our troops in Iraq, by keeping a despicable foreign policy
and by stabbing our democracy to death with their disrespect of the constitution and the separation of powers.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy is threatening to hold Bush in contempt, shouting loudly at the press. They hear him, and they dutifully report it to their publications, just as they dutifully report Bush's statements verbatim. Then the pundits go at it, conservatives dismiss it as political theater, while the liberals decry Bush's continuing assault.

Yet despite all of that, who is really listening? Most Americans frankly do not give a shit. 23/6.com lays it out perfectly at Huffington Post, with a neat little graph that makes it easy to see what the public cares about. So while Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse and whatever other celebrity fucks their lives up, the media writes down the details of their sexcapades, drug usage and alcoholic binges in order to keep the masses glued for the next round, and the masses hear the screams of our nation in the background, pretending that....."at least its not me."

America needs to wake up, and in a hurry.