The Only Thing We Have to Hope for Is Hope Itself

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. — Thomas Jefferson

And so another New Year has come. Out with the old: Saddam Hussein was executed, the death count of American GIs in Iraq surpassed 3,000, lies and denials continued to pour forth from an inept administration that never has represented the will of the people but instead seeks to fulfill its own devious ends, and a 41-mile ice shelf at one of the poles melted and crashed into the ocean, resulting in unseasonably warm temperatures over most of the country and residents and weathermen alike all raving over how wonderful the weather has been.

In with the new: expected increase in violence in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Hussein execution, more American GIs coming home in body bags, more lies to cover previous lies, and slight of hand as those in Washington continue to rewrite history in an effort to deny accountability, more unseasonable weather leading to more ice floes crashing into the ocean leading to increased sea levels and increased global warming, resulting in more and more unseasonable weather... and an American public that awoke January 1 with new resolutions and aspirations, and continued hope that someone will step forth to ensure a better tomorrow.

In his first inaugural speech, Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” In 1933 that made for a great sound byte. But it’s 2007, and while many may accuse me of being alarmist, if the citizens of this country don’t start voicing their fears for the future of this country and, indeed, the planet, it will be too late.

Thomas Jefferson wrote: All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. He also wrote: Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government. That statement applies not only to this nation’s occupation of a tiny Arabic country on the other side of the globe but to its own citizens. There is no greater evil than evil masquerading as good, and this administration has overstepped the boundary of governance into a near tyrannical oppression of its own citizens masked behind the credo of Homeland Security.

The people of good conscience in this country have been silent too long; the tyranny of the Bush administration has gained more than a foothold and is perhaps setting precedent for future administrations.

For 2007 I resolve to become more involved in the workings of our government, to ask more hard questions, to advise my Congressmen of my displeasure, and to hold accountable those elected officials who no longer adequately represent the will of We, the People. My hope for 2007 is that other people of good conscience will also step up and, in the words of John F. Kennedy, ask not what their country can do for them, but instead ask what they can do for their country.

Do it today, tomorrow, and every day, while there is still hope for a better tomorrow, before all that is left is hope for hope. Before this modern day Rome falls, before all that remains of Planet Earth is a burning cinder.

—JCG/January 2007