Rebel Rebel Your Country's A Mess

On July 4th Eve, I watched Keith Olbermann deliver his latest 'Special Comment' and by the time he wrapped up his passionate verbal essay asking George Bush and Dick Cheney to resign, I had a few tears running down my face. I expect to hear such a rebellious message from a jock on Air America or to read it in The Nation or Mother Jones, but never did I think I'd see it on television. Why is that?

I think back to the Nineties when we endured congressfolk and pundits demanding the impeachment of Bill Clinton 24/7 for two and a half years. Clinton couldn't get jock itch without Ken Starr launching an investigation. Both Democrats and Republicans howled in hypocritical faux moral outrage that 'The Presidency' had been irreparably harmed by an act of infidelity inside the hallowed halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I'm too young to remember the Watergate years but from recalling my history lessons, the newsmen of that time did not hold back on reporting the facts or criticizing the President's actions during A Time of War (or a Time of Police Action whichever you prefer). It was the Republicans in his own administration and Congress that finally said 'ENOUGH!'. And, as Keith pointed out in his July 3rd Special Comment, even Nixon had enough integrity left in his megalomaniacal soul to resign his office for the good of the nation.

These days, the punditry make excuses for Scooter Libby's role in outing a CIA agent to them and Bush's decision to commute his sentence. When they couldn't successfully convince us Ms. Plame was "just a secretary", they pouted indignantly that there was 'no underlying crime' to Libby's perjury and obstruction of justice conviction.

Am I missing something here? What was Bill Clinton's 'underlying crime'? Cheating on his wife? Last time I checked, adultery is not a felony, because if it were then Newt Gingerich would have been wearing an orange jumpsuit with an Irish Spring necklace for the last two decades instead of contemplating a run for the White House. Heck, Fred Thomspon and Rudy Giuliani would be on his cell block.

I'm not sure why Mr. Olbermann's essay drove me to tears that day. Was it because I fear our democracy is dead? Was it because I knew that on July 5th the locksteppers on Fox, CNN, and the other shows on his own network are going to demand HIS resignation for speaking truth to power by demanding the removal of Bush and Cheney from office? Or maybe I realized the next day was supposed to be the celebration of the birth of our democracy and maybe a mere 600,000 of us even saw Keith Olbermann's clarion call to save it, while the rest of the 299,400,000 of us were out drinking, watching reality show reruns or shopping for hotdogs and fireworks.

So I cried for all those reasons (well that and maybe PMS played a little part) but after I dried my tears I had an epiphany (or a hormonal mood swing if you will): July 4th 1776 was not the day The Revolution ended and our democracy was born, it was the day The Revolution began. Our flag does not represent a nation, it represents a rebellion. Our Constitution is not just a document of laws, it is a roadmap towards an ideal form of government that is sure as hell going to take more than 231 years to realize. And, it gave us the tools to right our path when it wandered away from the destination of liberty and justice for all.

So on July 4th, instead of refusing to fly my flag as a signal of disgust for the criminals steering our nation towards a path of destruction as I had planned, I decided to fly it proudly. It's not theirs to twist into some sick symbol of fear induced obeiscence. It's ours and it will always represent the rebellion that created our nation in the first place.

And after I hung my flag, I went back inside and turned on my laptop. I went to both the House (http://www.house.gov/) and Senate (http://www.senate.gov/) websites, found my representatives of BOTH political parties and sent them e-mails asking that they begin impeachment proceedings against George Bush, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. On Monday, each office will also receive a phone call from me demanding the same. I'll wait a few days and do it all over again and again and again.

Then I wrote MSNBC a note supporting Mr. Olbermann's July 3rd Special Comment and forwarded the video clip to friends and family with a message asking them to do the same.

Of course taking the time to contact my representatives, forwarding the video clip of Olbermann's Special Comment and writing a note supporting him to MSNBC may not be as dramatic or violent as what our forefathers endured to win independence or what those who fought for abolition, civil and workers rights sacrificed.

But I am reminded of the words of two brilliant rebellious Americans. The first being Thomas Jefferson who once wrote: "Every generation needs a new revolution." and another named George Orwell who once wrote: "At times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act".

Maybe it's a stretch to imply that contacting your representatives, spreading the news to your family and friends or writing a network in support of an anchor are revolutionary acts but if we don't act now, someday they might be.




















































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