Birmingham High School, Entering Middle Age and We Make The Rules

Birmingham was great, diverse! Fun. So many experiences, so much learning. So many groups! And cliques. Maybe that was bad. But many – most? – of us surfed through different sets. Preppies, potheads, cutting classers, Braves. It was all good – except the neon fashion. I hope that never returns except at disco night at bowling alleys.
For me, the rigors of Advanced Placement classes weren't definitive – there were a variety of groups to enjoy at that school – jocks, brains, the painfully-image conscious (isn't that 'high school?'), even musicians! Being a populist never entered my mind. If a teacher was getting off, we'd have to speak up and bring us back to the subject. Sometimes we have to step in.

Certain teachers, like previously mentioned Mr. Federman, who taught Econ,. Death & Living and played guitar during hilarious parodies at school functions, could be hip and have their shit together. Ms. Spector was similar… fun, real, and a great teacher. Most or at least many of us seemed able to do the same… to take care of business, and still have a good time. I think that’s one of the hallmarks of our Generation X – not too square, unique enough to not be pigeon-holed, busy having a good time, but always stepping up when necessary to take care of business.

After attending UCLA, I was an editor on a book called Of The People: The 200-Year History of the Democratic Party. Being registered non-partisan (which I still am, I don’t like the notion of political parties) since high school, it still was and is clear that Democrats represent more progress, diversity and liberal behavior (read: freedom) than conservative Republicans. 

Today October 2010:

As our generation enters middle age, it’s important to remember that the world does not run on auto-pilot. Everyday people – you, me, all of us – help shape the rules, legislation and agenda. 

We shape the agenda by:

Voting.

By being open-minded and diverse, in our ideologies, cultural/musical tastes, and friendships.

By watching certain TV shows, buying certain products, recycling – being aware of our actions.

I encourage you to try buy local and/or organic food when available; to buy products with recycled materials, and to recycle (if you don’t already do this). These things add up, keeping money in our own communities, knocking down the price of transporting goods, and keeping some chemicals out of our landfills and keeping  trees from getting cut down.

And, by voting (worth repeating).

As a quick example of buying healthy products, buying fresh, non-chemically tainted salmon sounds best, right?

Right now some scientists are still trying to create a FrankenSalmon – this is bad for a number of reasons (see post on FrankenSalmon).

Here is a petition to sign to tell the FDA we don’t want no stinking FrankenSalmons – now you’re already jumping into the next section – sign it now please... yes, right now:

http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-your-senators-to-ban-ge-salmon 
http://news.change.org/stories/a-second-attempt-to-ban-genetically-engineered-salmon

We shape the legislation by acting:

Politicians don’t stay in office if they make unpopular choices. They are voted out.

We inform politicians of our preferences by email, letters, phone calls, signing petitions and voting.

EMAILS ARE EASY! Signing a petition usually takes less than 30 SECONDS.

Please participate at least at the level of signing email petitions, once a week or a few a month. And especially if I forward one to you!

 You are part of a large group of smart, thoughtful citizens trying to help us (1) not get poisoned by the food we eat; (2) not let our water and air quality give everyone cancer or other diseases; (3) keep government, special interests and business from eroding the rights, freedom, and well-being of ordinary citizens, (4) keep companies from preying on investors, chewing up our 401ks, and walking away, etc.
(Recent add: look at EGYPT, and the changes the people are orchestrating there, today in February 2011. Incredible. Please never ever question whether your standing up to fight for change is futile. We can help CHANGE THE WORLD.)

We shape the rules:

I’d rather be out there enjoying myself, playing some music, watching a good movie (or even a Will Ferrell movie), or exploring the internet (thankfully not the goofy Facebook games, yet). And I do.

But at times, probably a little more often than most of us would now prefer, we have to act. An election is coming up in November. This is our generation.

November 2010:

Let’s act. Do we want Texas oil companies via Prop. 23 to sabotage California’s clean air plans? No on 23. [Backflash: Done.]

Should we legalize marijuana? Yes. [Backflash: Almost done.] It’s less dangerous than alcohol, creates crazy violence at the border and in street gangs, and will always be there anyway. We could use the taxation on it too. I personally would love to see some strains of the old mild 70’s herb re-planted. Don’t like that 25% indica.

Democratic candidates too please [Backflash: Done.]  – Meg Whitman is running an aggressive campaign. But talk about right-wing. We’re set up for more Enrons and deregulation and, well, we saw how that worked in Wall Street and the housing mortgage market the last handful of years. Not. Everything that needs attention in the State of California cannot be fixed by tax-cuts and de-regulation. California is not at the bottom line a profit-making company. It is a modern society, a multi-cultural, multi-faceted apogee of the human experiment. To treat it as basically as a profit-generating factory demeans and belittles all of us.

Currently, in early 2011, there are human rights advances leaping forward, in Egypt, Iran again. People want freedom, fairness, a democratic say in things.
In the U.S. budget battles are being waged. Shouldn't we all have a say where our taxpayer dollars are being spent? Are you writing your senators, signing petitions, for example to keep our schools well funded, our air and water clean, to keep social security well funded?
I hope so. We make the rules. We shape the agenda.

Stand up and be counted. Help out.
Speak out, sign petitions, 'like' positive issue posts on Facebook, vote.
WE CAN HELP SHAPE IT.  It's going to be our world.

Be well, I’ll be posting more soon,

Colby