CHANGE

While Cheney whistle stops around the country raising votes for torture, and Pvt. Lynndie England gets ready to sign copies of her book, a book that should have a foreward and a dedication by the Marquis de Sade, the American people, and President Obama, must decide if it is worth their while to look into their hearts and see if there is anything left to call a conscience.

From a war that was perpetrated on a lie, causing the death of upwards of 5,000 American military, and 1,000,000 Iraqis, primarily civilians, we are now expected to believe, even further, that violence, crime, deception, and greed, are always healthy and viable choices. And don’t forget torture. Something that is becoming more and more "in" these days.

Sooner or later the American people must put an end to this self-deception. We have committed terrible crimes in the name of justice, patriotism, religion, expediency, and apathy.

What interests the American people? Well, money, of course. It is the only concern that President Obama has thus far spent any time addressing. Bail out the banks, the auto industry, the insurance companies, and go even further into debt.

The Iraq war has cost us two trillion dollars, is continuing to cost us two billion dollars per week, homeland security has cost us five hundred billion dollars, not to mention the price we have paid in various paranoid delusions. No wonder we’re broke. We are morally bankrupt, and crazy.

There are no easy answers. We need a healthy economy, and a healthy environment. And affordable health-care. We need to get out of the rat race long enough to care for one another. We need to be grateful for the challenges that are facing us, because that is how we grow. We need to change the way we think about ourselves and the world. We need to change.