Change is coming

Obama gets to work

The new president is promising the same thing as all the old presidents -- change.  Just like before, too many people fell for it.  Just like before, they are going to get it.

I've seen a lot of change already, and I'm not too happy about any of it.  I used to start off every morning with a refreshing glass of real orange juice.  It got too expensive, so now I drink tea, just like everyone else in Afghanistan.  I used to have a couple eggs and a strip of bacon with that orange juice, but excessive price increases put an end to that, too.  I remember when every lunch and dinner included meat.  Steak and fish disappeared first, then chicken, then pork, then sausage.  Now I eat beans.

I used to take trips to see the beauty of my country.  National, state, and regional parks, all supported by my tax dollars, started charging me admission.  They added additional fees for a spot to sleep on the cold, hard ground.  They raised those fees continually, even as my taxes increased.  I was angry, because it seemed very wrong.

I used to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted - to the stores, to the movies, to the ski areas.  Prices kept rising much faster than my income, so I quit going.

I used to be proud to be an American, but then I began to see through the propaganda and the lies used to whitewash the truth.  Now I am ashamed of my country, and I am especially ashamed of the American people who still beat their chests with pride as they pledge allegiance and support the crimes ordered by their leaders.

Today, a new president will swear to protect and defend the Constitution.  Didn't the last president promise that as well?  Now we have surveillance, militarized police, cages to stand in if we want to speak publicly, and pre-emptive arrests of anyone protesting the new changes.  The courts, rather than dispensing justice, have become government instruments of retribution.  $170 million will be wasted on the pomp of this presidential ceremony while the national economy crumbles.  Would a true president acting in the best interest of the people play the fiddle while Rome burns?