I have been watching the film "Fair Game" about the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson

[smirkymonkey]

scandal under the Bush administration. It's a good movie and I would recommend it if you haven't watched it, but I just listened to a line from Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) that seems very relevant for our times. He was talking about Benjamin Franklin's response to a woman who asked us what kind of government we were to have in this country and expounded upon it:

"The responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are strong, and we are free from tyranny as long as each one of us remembers his or her duty as a citizen. Whether it's to report a pothole at the top of your street or lies in a State of the Union address, speak out! Ask those questions. Demand that truth. Democracy is not a free ride, man. I'm here to tell you. But, this is where we live. And if we do our job, this is where our children will live."

Democracy is not a free ride. We must ALL participate to keep it strong and healthy. That is something that too many people in this country don't seem to understand.

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1. Kick!

I think this quote is important to think about.

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2. Kick!

[lunatica]

3. Kickd and recd

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5. Thank you!

I think this is an important topic to discuss.

[RandomAccess]

4. The only thing that will save us, and get us through this

is our democratic institutions. As much as we have to RESIST, we also have to shore up and defend all those democratic institutions that we have to rely on.

IMO, that's a major reason the Arpaio "pardon" is such an affront. It's an attack on our laws and courts, two of our most important institutions for preserving our democracy.

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6. Yes, but WE have to hold them accountable. All of us.

Most of us here have been doing our part, but there is still a huge apathetic contingent out there that are just letting tyranny happen. Those are the people that I am talking about. They are the people we need to reach.