I apologize.

I apologize to the right-wing and to Christian fundamentalists of our
country. I was wrong to presume to believe that a majority of
Americans believe in truth and justice for all our citizens, for the
disenfranchised, for minorities, for the elderly who contributed all
of their lives to our great land, for the young women of this country,
who may soon have their right of privacy severely restrictedin the
name of religion, for the poor in this country, who stuggle every day
to put food in their children's mouths, pay the rent, and keep the
heat on, and for the millions of Americans, children and adults, who
have no health insurance.

I apologize for believing that the owning a gun should be a priviledge
not a right, and that owning a semi-automatic weapon is antithetical
to a modern and free society.

I apologize for believing that the right to speak freely and in a
public forum should not be abridged, neither in times of peace nor in
times of war. I apologize to the Bush administration for believing
that we should not be beholden to foreign governments, all of whom are
oppressing their own people, for oil regardless of how much money a
few rich people might lose in the short term.

I apologize for believing that there is an alternative to destroying
our environment is the price we have to pay for being energy
independent. I apologize for believing that insisting on peace between
Israel and the Palestinians would solve more problems in the region
than attacking a country, devestating their infrastructure, and
occupying their land.

I apologize for believing that we should honor our veterans, our
commitments to them, and support their families, no matter what war
they fought in, even if the war was unpopular. I apologize to the rest
of the world for truly believing that we are more than the arrogant
bully we really are. You deserve better from us, and I apologize for
believing that we are better.

Why am I apologizing? I'm apologizing because it's my fault. I didn't
fight long enough or hard enough to make things right. I am one of the
priviledged in this country. I have a decent job, good health and good
health insurance, generally avery good life, more friends than I
deserve, people who love me, and enough time to enjoy much of what
life can offer. I thought that if I made a modest contribution of
time, money, and passion to the cause of equality and justice for all,
those things that I believe in would come to pass, and that we would
all be better off. I was wrong.

I now know that I may have waited too long to make a difference, to
reverse the slide down the slippery slope of the aborgation of our
civil rights, and away from the national and international obligations
we have as the most powerful nation on Earth to stand up to the
tyranny that exists both here and abroad. I am not sure that I'm
arrogant enough to believe that I can still make a difference, nor am
I sure that any one person can make a difference.

I pledge to try harder. No more apologies.

--
Jonathan Ganz (j gan z @ $ail no w.c=o=m)
http://www.sailnow.com
"If there's no wind, row."