I heard song today I'd not listened to in a while. I love the song but it nearly brings tears to my eyes when I hear it because it is true to life. Some may groan (you know who you are) but I'm a big fan of John Mellancamp. He's a populist troubadour and he sings about the what he knows... the people. He wrote a soung several years ago on his Big Daddy album. It was called Jackie Brown

The lyrics:

Is this your life, Jackie Brown?
Poorly educated and forced to live on the
poor side of town

Is this your daughter, Jackie Brown?
This pretty little girl in worn out clothes that have
been hand-me-down

Is this your wife, Jackie Brown?
Sad blue eyes, walking on eggshells, so you
don't see her frown
Is this your family Jackie Brown?

Dream of vacationing in a mountain stream
and giving the world more than it gave you
What ugly truths freedom brings
and it hasn't been very kind to you
Is this your life, Jackie Brown?

Is this your meal, Jackie Brown?
Barely enough, I've seen people throw more
than this out

Is this your home, Jackie Brown?
This three room shack, with no running water
and the bathroom out back

Is this your grave, Jackie Brown?
This little piece of limestone that says another desperate man
took himself out
Is this your dream, Jackie Brown?

Going nowhere, and nowhere fast
We shame ourselves to watch people like this live
But who gives a damn about Jackie Brown
Just another lazy man who could take what was his

One hell of a life, Jackie Brown
Forever more, Jackie Brown
Well amen-n-amen, Jackie Brown

People like this exist in our country. I've seen them, worked with them, maybe even been one at one time. Sometimes I forgot why I try and fight and rant about all this stuff and what it really means. Then I hear something or see something and it reinvigorates me. This song is one of those things.

People in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast still struggle. Bodies are still being found. The government at all levels continues to flounder around as the politics of the moment drowns out those who already drowned once. The president made promises...as all politicians do and they forget about them. Pictures of bodies floating and buildings burning still haunt the memories of many in America as the dirty underbelly was exposed but we've successfully rolled back over. Hopefully we won't fall back asleep.

One headline said the president's state of the union address tomorrow will be "visionary and directional" as the House gets set to vote on a bill that would cut $39 billion from the national deficit over the next 5 years. And in the process they will cut food from the mouths of babes, cut medicine away from the elderly and infirm. We'll save money because more people will be forced to do with out.

ExxonMobile announced their 2005 earnings. They made more money last year than any corporation ever made in the whole history of this country. I bet the stockholder are happy. The oil companies also get subsidies and tax breaks. They cut the federal government out of royalties. Gas prices have doubled at the pump in the last year and heating costs are higher than they've ever been oil prices went up again today.

Kraft announced they're laying off 8000 people. Our own local company Lexmark announced massive layoffs. We barely missed the Ford restructuring. General Motors had record losses in the last quarter again. The airlines continue to have problems. The top job prospects in America right now involve retail sales and customer service. That's where the future lies. Corporations continue to shaft the men and women of this country, not just the brutally poor, who don't even get counted.

But then we have those poor. The huddled massives yearning to breathe free. The problem, much of the air is difficult to breathe isn't it. Those folks who in New Orleans who didn't leave because they had no where else to go anyway? Who continue to remain jobless and homeless like unwanted refugees in a war torn nation. I could continue to rant but it's time for the people to mobilize... to take care of their own. It's not about just giving money either. It's to put your actions where you mouth is. I suppose I'm preaching to the choir but it's important.

There are lots of organizations who use your help. A soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, food bank and tons of other places. This isn't about conservative or liberal, baptist or atheist or whatever. It's about being human, helping others be human and live better. The reason to do it may not even be for them. It's for yourself.




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