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Now that I've Thought About It...

Sara M. Medina-Ramos ⁽¹⁵⁾ United States

Sara M. Medina-Ramos

aftherthougts

The Election for Change

Posted Tuesday, November 04, 2008 (1 year 20 days ago.) Viewed 32 times.

I was ten years old, sitting at my desk in my six grade class when our teacher broke the news of John F. Kennedy 's assassination. Although we were a class of ten and eleven years olds, silence echoed, heads bowed and we all knew what a historic event we were living and witnessing.

Five years later, when I was fifteen years old, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. As a young teen, I had watched and listened intensely to his march on Washington and to his "I had a dream" speech at the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial. I watched as a youngster the apathy that our legislative and judicial branches demonstrated in their lack to deter and punish outright criminal injustices occurring during the civil rights movement.

When I attended college in my twenties, I began to question the constitutionality of our own constitution that would allow such atrocities in our history to occur in the first place. The massacre of the Indian Nation, the slavery, lynching and economic suppression of our black citizens made the Preamble we studied in history class and government classes seem a farce lie.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility , provide for the common defense , promote the general Welfare , and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

I thought it left out the words "white people" at the end"establish this Constitution of the United States of America" for white people. I was thinking that to be "red, brown, black or Asian was not to have justice, domestic tranquility, general welfare, liberty or posterity...or citizenship as white people did. Is this racistno it's not.

This is the thought of all those of us "non-white" skin that have been indirectly influenced by the lack of our government to look out for our welfare which historically led to our inactions and non involvement in the political process for a long time.

Timesthey have been changing. Maybe it has been these last eight years of a government administration that forgot that its people are the ones with the power to change and undo their mistakes...no matter their skin color, their religious affiliation or their education.

I have always been an advocate to my friends and family on the importance of votingof the sacrifices of those that died to give us that right, especially those that died to give us our civil liberties; our first class instead of second class citizenship in our own country. This election is not about race, though it may seem like it. It is about change. This election is about continuing the mindset of Martin Luther King , John F. Kennedy , Gandhi , Dalai Lamait's about a new beginning that focuses on extending a hand rather than a pointed rifle.

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Why McCain-Palin Are Optimistic

Posted Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (1 year 27 days ago.) Viewed 27 times.

As the American people and the world look at the U.S. Presidential election, a view of American Elections with some skepticism is growing. The 2004 elections were rigged as vote fixing was rampant in Ohio, Florida and other states, enough to elect BUSH in spite of the pre election polls and the exit polls had indicated John Kerry in the lead. These serious allegations are well documented in several published articles and enough to worry many of us about this year's U.S. Presidential election results with Barack Obama leading in the polls. Did the judicial branch of our government do anything about the voter irregularities and anomalies in the 2004 elections? The answer is no. With evidence of vote fixing in the previous presidential elections, is it a wonder why McCain and Palin are optimistic in winning the White House?

The Independent published an article in their October 27 th 2008 issue titled "The Vote Grab: How the Republicans stole the 2004 election" by Peter Tatchell . Also, The New York Times analysis also found discrepancies in spoiled ballots, shortages of voting machines in the inner city districts and ballot purging and shedding in many states. The Rolling Stone magazine also featured an article in June of 2006 and written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. titled "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?", "providing evidence "that electronic voting machines are unreliable, inaccurate and vulnerable to hacking to fix the election result." Although the results of vote fixing is well document, insufficient corrective actions, judicial or legislative, have been taken to date and this is with the most historic turnout by the American people to vote in the most historic election since the beginning of "The United States of America".

Subject words like "Race" and "The Bradley Effect" take hold in some of the media headings. Negative ads where the media has to fact check to try a bring some fair reporting demonstrates the state of affairs in our election processes. Recent news media already are disclosing voter suppression, black ball lists of foreclosure owners, not enough machines, not enough ballots, etc. etc. etc.

What is democracy if the world is looking at the U.S. as hypocritical in its own government's ability to hold fair and just elections? The United States should be the example of how fair and just elections are done... the world is watching in this historic U.S. Presidential Election and so are the American people. Regardless of the subtleness of how elections are vote-fixed, it will be hard press to convince the American people and the world of a fair and just election result should McCain-Palin pull a win for the White House.

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The Road Not Traveled

Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 (2 years 183 days ago.) Viewed 274 times.

Africa , in spite of the Cotonou Agreement, continues by far to be the world's poorest inhabited continent. The Cotonou Agreement is amongst other global initiatives a road map to an attempt to reduce poverty. It has four main strategic points:

Equality of partners and ownership of development strategies . In principle, it is up to ACP (Africa, Pacific, and Caribbean ) states to determine how their societies and their economies should develop.

Participation . In addition to the central government as the main actor, partnership under the Cotonou Agreement is open to other actors (e.g. civil society, the private sector, and local governments).

Dialogue and mutual obligations . The Cotonou Agreement is not merely a pot of money. The signatories have assumed mutual obligations (e.g. respect for human rights) which will be monitored through continuing dialogue and evaluation.

Differentiation and regionalization . Cooperation agreements will vary according to each partner's level of development, needs, performance and long-term development strategy. Special treatment will be given to countries that are considered least developed or vulnerable (landlocked or island states). ¹

Corruption, despotism, and violence are only symptoms of the true causes of poverty. Humanitarian food aid is not the answer to stabilizing the economy of Africa, just as the current investment initiatives of the Cotonou Agreement and others have done nothing to improve the living conditions of the continent of Africa , especially those that need it the most, the individual farmer and the self helped agriculturalist. So where does 13.6 million Euros of European Aid (2000-2007) that has been distributed to the APC (Africa, Pacific, Caribbean ) countries go as well as other global aid and why haven't any noticeable improvements for African citizens been made as a result of the strategic formula?

It is evident that the strategic outline for reduction of poverty is filled with subjective allocations to the distribution of assistance even though the last point of reference states that special treatment would be given to countries that are considered the least developed or vulnerable. How least developed and vulnerable is Africa in comparison to the Pacific and the Caribbean ?

The verbiage used in the Cotonou Agreement's four main points actually says nothing of relevance. It is left up to whoever reads it to make a determination of subjectivity in the criteria by which economies should be developed. It is ambiguous. Who really decides the level of partnership, the level of mutual obligations and the developmental needs and performance levels? Performance of what? Continual dialog and evaluation on Human Rights? Who is doing the talking and who is conducting the evaluations? The current social, economic and political instability in Africa is indicative of global whitewash chaos created by failed strategies and agreements that just don't work. Remember, the four points that determine the amount of financial assistance in aid that is awarded. Now remember the civil wars and genocide of the masses of African people. Remember the violence. There is a limit to the tolerance of an impoverished people. Put yourself in the feet of an African farmer trying to feed his family. (They sometimes have no shoes.) Insanity takes over. So what is the resolve?

It is not idle agreements between world governments that will reduce poverty especially in Africa . It is paying contractors to build reservoirs or pipelines of water instead of pipelines of oil. It is not distributing the money to corrupted governments that do as the wish. It is paying contractors to build roads for transportation routes to facilitate trade and movement of cargo. Roads that lead toward the overall development of industry, education and entrepreneurship. It is paying contractors to actually build the framework of small towns. It is providing tangible results…whatever it takes.

If we can build huge skyscrapers. If we can build the wonder of bridges. If we can be awed by the wonder of technology and the advancement of medicine. Why then are we not, as a collective body of the earth, physically building a new Africa, one brick at a time, one plank of wood at a time, one road at a time, one hospital at a time, one pipeline of water at a time. The simplest of all things that we can do…providing Africa with water. Water to irrigate and bring life to the farmlands. Water to feed their starving livestock. Water that Africa 's families thirst for. Water, one of our simplest elements, to Africa is more valuable than the diamonds. More valuable than the oil in Nigeria or the riches of Dubai . Why are we not taking a course of action that is viable and durable? Kindness with actionable results, what a thought!

Instead, we turn our heads at the road not traveled, a road not seen, a road unnoticed.

¹Wikipedia- internet source.

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This Cookie Jar is Ours

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 (3 years 3 days ago.) Viewed 182 times.

Rev. Flip Benham’s Operation Save America and The American Family Association are just two examples of overly zealous religious conservative organizations that meddle in the businesses of corporate America’s financial, budget and marketing operations in the name of their moral and religious idealism. They do not speak for all of America. We are not Iraq or Iran, Afghanistan or China, North Korea or Africa. Religious groups should not hold political or religious authority over America, its people or its corporations. Once again we see the hand of religious fundamentalist dipping into a cookie jar that is not theirs exclusively. And what makes it worst is…that they have multitude of followers. The same misled idealism and brainwashed mentality led by the Rev. Jim Jones that led to the Jones Town Massacre in Johnsonburg, Guyana.

Freedom to choose is ours. That is what freedom is; a choice and the will to choose as individual souls that we are. So, this cookie jar is ours and not unconditionally for the religious conservative fundamentalist. I strongly object to their meddling. Neither Wal-Mart nor any other corporate entity should bow down to every religious whimper. What will be their target next, your congressman that you voted to office, the mom and pop stores, schools, your programmed TV, how and when your police force responds and to whom, what the media tells you and what it does not…maybe they will take it right into our court system where bias and prejudice already exists, when does their meddling end.

Operation Save America and The American Family Association were planning a post Thanksgiving boycott on Wal-Mart because of the company’s membership to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and because they donated $60,000 to Out and Equal, which promotes gay-rights advances in the workplace. Wal-Mart conceded with a statement “the company had agreed to stay away from controversial causes."

Corporations are entities that employ a diverse multicultural workforce. Does this mean that the religious fundamentalist boycotts the whole of diverse multicultural workforce…or are they just promoting hatred of homosexuality by trying to take an economic weapon to Wal-Mart’s financial portfolio? Diversity means just that…couples living together, but not married, unwed mothers and fathers, singles, divorcees, gays and homosexuals, married couples and couples with children. This is the fabric of our society. Not one of these peoples is less than the other. In either case, religious conservatives have no business in supporting boycotts on corporate American in the name of religious morals.

If hatred for homosexuality or any other “morality" takes a political or economic stance to the level of global markets as the religious fundamentalist conservative believes it should, than those same fundamentalist are no different than terrorist with a personal agenda, destroying the basic constitutional right to liberty, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Our constitution did not add…only if you believe as we do. All mankind living and breathing this earth air are created equal to the right to live in peace in accordance to their own beliefs without infringing on the beliefs of others. We do not need religious conservatives, the government or anyone else to tell us what we can or cannot do. Religious conservatives, stay in the realm of your own institutions, in your own living realities and in your own beliefs. Freedom of choice is ours to make. This cookie is ours…

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