A little addendum I'd like to add for this week's post:
This blog will undergo some changes, in order to celebrate it's first anniversary. It will be the fourth change in memory, and I won't republish the old posts so you can see the differences. Though minute, these changes will be noticeable; and like the Atlantic Avenue station in Brooklyn, they will occur in series starting as early as tonight.

Looking at the clock, I just remembered that Saddam's time is up, and war has just begun. It is suffice to say that despite all pleas, (from right here at home, to far away in France) Bush, like his senior back in 1990, was determined to go to war with Iraq. And no protest or demonstration is going to change that. Granted, there are many facets that one has to consider. Like 9/11, or the notion of Hussein having chemical weapons, or the issue with US controlling Middle Eastern oil, or the hope of catching two birds (the other being bin Laden) with the same stone. But no matter how you look at it, war was inevitable. It's funny, my mother taped Bush's 48-hour warning to Saddam so I could watch it, and watch it I did. But do you know who I saw? Not Dubbya, nor his father, but Theodore Roosevelt. And his Roosevelt Corollary. That's what I saw. The similarities are striking...

Here's something I've noticed. On the bus, I was reading the paper; and a gentleman approached me with comments about the cover. "Well, we voted him into office, right?", he joked. I know I didn't, I replied. Then I realized something: I didn't even vote! Here it was, since I can remember, people (black and white alike) were encouraging us youth to vote. And in the Presidential election, one of the most important elections, I didn't even vote. It harkened back to my Accounting class a year ago, where my professor called us idiots for not voting (okay, let me use his terminology: stupid, fuckin' idiots). And if I'm not the only one, well consider the following:
The election is the oldest tradition that America still exercises. They even use the traditional means to collect the votes, despite all the technology of today. Yet every year, I'm supposed to get sucked up into this Democratic vs. Republican vs. Independent party machine, and stick by some politician; whose main goal is to tell (not give, just tell) the people what they want to hear for the next few months, and avoid scandals long enough to get elected. And what do they do when they're elected, exactly what they promised not to do when they were running: raise taxes, and cause all sorts of problems for the community. Either that, or carry someone else's battles, and take a nation into war. Remember the "Bloomberg. Businessman, not a Politician" slogans? Yeah, I didn't think so, either.
Moreover, black people (my people) fought long and hard to earn this treasured right to vote. But, is this the great privilege they fought for? The right to feed into someone else's lies?? The right to be disappointed when the person they vote for wants you to pay more to get to work, but won't improve the conditions of your commute to work? Is that what my ancestors really wanted? All right, maybe that wasn't what they wanted. Maybe they wanted to see a black President. But when I think long and hard, what will this Black President do once he goes in? Listen to a bunch of Congressmen, and bomb some country whose name cannot even be pronounced? Am I really a stupid fuckin' idiot for not adding my six cents to this rotating machine of nonsense? I think not.
Well, all I can say is that we as a people need to fight again; not for the right to vote, but to change the way we think and vote. Not to elect just anybody into office; but for the right to know what goes on in that office, and to see results. No change occurs overnight, but it doesn't take four years to see it either. And most importantly, we need to fight for the right to overthrow. Because what kind of democratic society am I living in if my protests against war go in vain; what, because I don't know what I'm talking about? That is not what you'll be saying when you want my vote in the next couple of years, right!?! Oh yeah, we're in a republic society...

This is why I seriously stay away from politics. If you're on there for too long, it gets real messy.

Another thing of note is that we (New York City) are back on Orange Alert. National Guard and local police are working together to keep streets and subways and all possible terrorist spots safe. Well, I don't know about you guys, but the mere presence of the NG doesn't make me feel for a need not to panic; they are mere indicators that something is gonna happen. Feel safe? Some of my kliq don't feel safe. In fact, some are worried. After an IM chat with Maylene, I offered her escort to work the next morning to let her know that nothing's gonna happen. She felt better hearing my confidence, but the worry is still there. Some think another 9/11 will occur; while the general population is racing to Costco for wartime supply of batteries.
And me, I only think of when Bush the Senior went to war a decade and change ago. It was just another year at grade school, and like then, I really wasn't fazed by all this. The only difference between then and now is that I now stand a chance of being *gulp* drafted. Other than that, I see no need to fear. I would like to; but then again, I really don't...
What I'm saying to wrap this one up is that there are more important things to fear, God's wrath is an example that comes to mind, than some terrorist threat from someone halfway across the world. So I pray that you all will have the peace that surpasses all understanding, that we all look pass what the world wants us to believe, and keep our eyes focused on the real issues: like unity, respect, and freedom. I pray that God blesses you, and that we will all live past this tribulation.

Okay, one last thing, and then my lil' eConstruction workers will start their shifts. You would think that with the city on Orange Alert (what happened to yellow alert?), people wouldn't act as shady towards each other. No no no, not in NYC. I see more of the same; people stepping on your feet, and thinking it's cool because as long as your shoes didn't go off, nothing's wrong. And all they do is feed off the fear the media gives us, and mob stores for the last pack of batteries, flashlights, and portable TV's. One lady felt my big toe as she stepped on it while on her way to Target, and said nothing. I joked "Hey, what happened to the Y2K-bug supplies you bought three years ago? Or the post 9/11 supplies afterwards?" And while the people near the area got the joke, she had the gall to turn around, look juxtaposed, and try to belittle me! I'm not the terrorist, just another obstacle she had to overcome to get the last pair of batteries! How dare he say that? Is that what people have become nowadays!?!
Now, here's the kicker: you would think that the religiously minded would provide the example as to what to feel and how to act in such situations. What are they doing? Sneering at me, because I pass their church and say hello. In turn, they go "who does that guy think he is..." Now I know I'm am not supposed to criticize. And I will not name names or places, but don't you think that as believers of any religion, that one should encourage everyone, believers and nonbelievers alike, especially at a time like this? And to think, they act like this to their own people...
My fellow New Yorkers: can we exercise just a little common sense here? Do you think now's the time to be giving a cold shoulder, when you need all the help you can get?? I would think that now, the more people you know, the better. Yet, you still think of only yourselves, and those you feel are most important to you, forgetting there is still a society you must live in.
Take it from a West Indian/American: Look out for your fellow man. If you have, make sure someone else does, no matter who it is. And most important: if you're gonna step on someone else's foot, don't forget to say excuse me, dammit!!!