Response to the President's address to Netroots Nation

My reaction? I'm an advocate for change. I'm going to keep pushing for change, and the acceleration of that change. The Federal Government needs to do two things. First, prop up the state governments that are facing deficits. No more cuts to state education budgets, or health care budgets, or unemployment benefits. Put resources into the hands of people, not banks or corporations. Second, make a huge, HUGE, investment in renewable energy, one that makes up for the last 30 years of inaction. We need solar panels on the roof of every government building in the country. We need a line of solar panels along every inch of Federal Highway. We need to revitalize our rail infrastructure and push it forward 50 years with high speed rail paralleling the Highways from coast to coast, border to border.

All of this is going to take money. It's money that we have to spend if we are going to save our country, or civilization and our planet. I honestly believe that it is possible for us to reverse course and fix the problems that we have created over the past 200 years through the industrial revolution. Yes, we can do this.

If we don't... If we continue as we are now... If we advocate for, or even tolerate the systems and attitudes that we see in the media today... Well, then we are sentencing our children to death. We will not just hand the next generation the problems we have created, we will have ended their future. I have friends that tell me that I'm wrong, that there will be small pockets of humanity that survive in specific places around the globe. Is that really what we want to resign ourselves to?

Mr. President, you have done a lot over the last year and a half. Thank you for working so hard. I'm not going to say that you have done a poor job. I think you've done the best job that you could do with the tools that you have. But as you said on the campaign trail, it's not up to you. It's up to us.

Red, White and Blue

Red, White and Blue
by Chad Lupkes

I would like to talk about what being an American means to me. To do that, I want to review the colors on our flag. Those colors are red, white and blue.

Blue represents opportunity. The blue sky on the horizon, a horizon that we constantly strive to reach. We may be distracted by the treasures and comfort that we find, but we must continue to strive to achieve, to learn new things, and find new paths.

White represents fairness. The white paper that we use to vote, the paper that we use to write our laws. With the rainbow of ideas, ideology, race and culture, the law must be written to be fair to everyone. This helps to ensure that we leave nobody behind as we strive toward that horizon.

Red represents sacrifice. The red blood that is spilled on the battlefield, the tears that we shed in memory of those who have sacrificed everything. The sweat that comes from our efforts to regain what was lost. We must never forget those that we have lost, and we must be there to help the ones who have sacrificed for us.

This is why we support our veterans and active military. Their sacrifice ensures our right to strive toward that blue horizon, writing our laws to leave no one behind.

The original meanings of the colors only came to apply to the Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress on June 20, 1782. This from USFlag.org:

"The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

The meaning of the colors is always subjective. But that does not diminish the pride that we feel on July 4th.