Mr. Kerry on

The Yellow Brick Road

 by Attila Gyenis

John Kerry on the Yellow Brick RoadThe problem, as I see it, is that John Kerry needs to see the Wizard of Oz. No, not the movie. He needs to find the actual Wizard of Oz. You see-- Mr. Kerry doesn’t have a heart, or a brain, or any courage at all. There is a terrible tornado that has been wrecking the country for the past four years, and all Mr. Kerry wants to do is follow in the steps of the Wicked Witch of the East and pretend that there isn’t anything dreadfully wrong. Not even Dorothy would do such a thing.

Mr. Kerry could certainly use a heart. He seemed to have one during the Vietnam War when he asked Congress, “…how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?” He must have misplaced his heart somewhere during the last 20 years (as many politicians eventually do) because he isn’t asking that same question about Iraq. He has no intention of stopping the deaths of soldiers and innocent civilians in the illegal (and immoral) Iraqi War for oil. Instead, he talks about leaving Iraq with honor. Where have we heard that before? (hint- Nixon during the Vietnam War)

Mr. Kerry would certainly improve the tin delivery of his ‘policy’ statements, and maybe he would even start believing in the issues he was talking about, if he only had a heart. I would recommend that he ask Mr. Dennis Kucinich where to look for a heart. It would be great to have a candidate with Mr. Kucinich’s heart (and soul) who believes in the issues that he is advocating, and has the personal conviction to stand up and earnestly support them. We don’t need another candidate who only supports issues if it is politically expedient to do so. We need a candidate whose vision of the world is based on fairness, honesty, and compassion.

Which leads us to why Mr. Kerry should obviously be looking for a brain (even though I thought that beating Bush was going to be a no-brainer). He thinks that going along with every Bush policy is a smart thing. Sorry to inform you Mr. Kerry, but copying the answers from the dumbest person in the class isn’t exactly the brightest thing to do. Hopefully the next test you take will be multiple-choice so you could at least guess at some of the answers.

Mr. Kerry has not admitted that voting to give Mr. Bush authority to go to war was a mistake on his part. He cannot concede that he was wrong on the alleged WMD threat posed by Mr. Saddam. He hasn’t questioned the legality of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners (I mean enemy combatants). And of course, he is a supporter of the WTO and NAFTA (like all good republicans). He seems to think that ‘anybody but Bush’ should be enough of a presidential platform to run on.

He waffles on most issues because he hasn’t made up his mind (oh wait, that is why he is looking for one). So I would suggest that he ask Mr. Ralph Nader where to go for a brain. We could use a thoughtful candidate that takes the lead in determining what issues are important instead of waiting for the latest poll to say what was important. We need a candidate with Mr. Nader’s mind who approaches social and economic problems in a thoughtful and dedicated manner; who works at resolving issues in a manner that benefits the public at large; and who would work relentlessly to protect the public trust first and foremost (clean air and water, and a safe environment) instead of corporate financial interests. We could sure use a candidate who thinks and acts with his brain instead of the dollar bills that are waved in his direction.

This leads us to the last thing that Mr. Kerry must be looking for-- courage. If he only had a little courage, it would go a long way. He could fight the Wicked Witch of the East. And he wouldn’t be afraid of little monkeys yapping at him. You remember those little flying monkeys. Some of the little monkeys are saying, ‘if you don’t support the war in Iraq, you are supporting terrorism.’ The rest are saying ‘remember 9/11’ if you question anything the Wicked Witch of the East is doing.

If Mr. Kerry only had a little courage he would pick up the bucket of water and melt away the Wicked Witch of the East.

But he hasn’t. I don’t know why. It does take a heart, a brain, and courage to determine your principles, and to have the conviction to stand up for them. It may take a little more than a clock, a diploma, and a medal. But not much more. Maybe all you have to do is click your heels together and ask. But even that may be too much to ask for from Mr. Kerry and the Democratic Party leadership.

There isn’t a yellow brick road that leads to Oz. But there is a path that leads to a more just and fair society. It is not paved with preemptive strikes, or lying about the reasons you go to war, or failing to take responsibility for your actions.

The path to a fairer and more just society requires that we act with our heart, and our mind, and have the courage to follow through on our principles. This is real life, with real consequences. I don’t know what road America will take this November, but I certainly worry that Mr. Kerry might be on the same path as the wicked witch.

Mr. Kerry, please wake up. We are not in Kansas anymore.

(c) 2004 Attila Gyenis


I encourage Mr. John Kerry to give us a reason to vote for him. 'Anybody but Bush'  is  not enough of a reason to elect someone into the highest office of this land.

 Other Links

Code  Yellow  Cheese  - Top 10 Reasons why George Bush Jr. wants to go to the moon

Code  Black  Oil - The top 10 reasons Bush Invaded Iraq

Don't Fear Nader - Fear the end of basic Democratic Principles brought to you courtesy of the Democratic Party Leadership

The American Dream? - What exactly is the American dream? We are at a crossroads and have to start making choices about which dream we want to follow. Who will make the choice, the community or a corporation? A look at the struggle in Humboldt County, CA, between community members and the Pacific Lumber/Maxxam corporation that  spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars into an attempt to recall the District Attorney in March of 2004. The recall attempt was not successful. But the struggle continues.

 

"Those who already enjoy democracy, liberty, and human rights, in particular, should not allow their own personal happiness to lull them into forgetting the many others who are still struggling against tyranny, slavery, and poverty; and all those who are suffering from unimaginable forms of oppression, exploitation, and massacres," Wei Jingsheng, Chinese Human Rights Advocate, and political prisoner in China for 15 years.