Original_To:  BITNET%"POLITICS@OHSTVMA"
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
Date:         Fri, 13 Nov 1992 03:28:00 EDT
From:         CLARK@EVMSVMS.BITNET
Subject:      Things

I was just thinking about something.  This Rush guy has a best-selling book
entitled _The Way Things Ought to Be_.  Don't know it; won't read it.  I can
get all the bovine fecal material I need from our gun-totin' Bible-thumpin'
regulars on this here list.

But one thing struck me - the title.  For going on twelve years now (longer,
but the last 12 consecutively) I've been thinking that the way things ought
to be and the way things are don't match up.  Let me give you some examples:

You ought to be able to afford your own home.  Not a palace - but a home that
you afford no matter what your profession - ditch digger or doctor.  But you
can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able to work hard at your job and get something fair in return.
Like a decent wage.  Advancement opportunity if you're good enough.  Some way
to take care of your family if you get sick or hurt.  But you can't. Not
anymore.

You ought to be able to walk the streets at night without fear - not because
you're packing heat but because your neighborhood is safe.  But you can't. Not
anymore.

You ought to be able to walk into a company the best qualified candidate and
walk out with a job - regardless of your color or gender or orientation or
affiliation.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able, if you apply yourself, nose to the grindstone, and work
your tail off, to receive the best education and professional preparation on
the planet.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able to love whom you choose - and raise a family if you so
desire - without legal or social interference.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able to have the information and means to stay healthy - and if
you should get sick, you ought to have access to the finest medical care on the
planet.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to able, as a hard-working member of society, to afford the basics of
food, clothing and other necessities of life without going into debt.  But you
can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able to be judged on your merits and talents, and not prejudged
on the basis of your outward appearance.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

You ought to be able to be free of presun

to be able to be free of presumptive justice, and not simply arrested
and/or convicted due to the color of your skin.

You ought to be able to love this country, be proud of it - and still fight for
changes you may believe are needed without being told to love America or leave
it.  But you can't. Not anymore.

You see, we may have had some of these problems before 1981, but they sure have
increased since then.  What I see as ought - ain't.  And I see why.  But I also
see something else:  we're in for a change.  Maybe I can have hope, now, that
things may be different with a new leadership for the country.  Maybe now, I
won't have to see so many *oughts* - and see some *ares*.  Maybe, just maybe,
things will start to be what they ought to be.

Looking for hope in the wee hours....


-T.

"To know things is to be learned.  To know others is to be wise.
 To know the self is to be enlightened."

                        -DeMello, _Taking Flight_.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU