nlivingston

I Remember…

I remember blue eyes sparkling like the brightest stars in the sky

I remember laughter and joy

I remember nights entwined in passion, and days of longing

I remember whispered words, and smiles bright as sunlight

I remember your smell and taste, sweet as honey and lavender

I remember you.

I remember us.

But where are we now?

Apart with our memories

Apart with the longing and hope for the future

Fleeting thoughts of the past

Apart from each other, so close yet unable to touch

Apart from the stars and the sun

Apart from you.

Apart from us.

Alone with the fleeting love

Alone with the nightfall and the rising of the cold sun

Alone the past closing around us

Alone longing for the slightest touch

Alone trying not to forget

Alone without you

Alone without us

I remember a June- 15 years hence

I remember November, twice

I remember 274 score of days

I remember countless hours of wanting

I remember the wasted days that will never return

I remember you

I remember us.

I fear failure

I fear the loss

I fear the loss of sensibilities

I fear the uncertain times to come, the end of days

I fear losing the stars and the lavender

I fear you

I fear us.

I dream of the future

I dream of the past

I dream in vivid color and stark black

I dream of new chances, wishes and prayer

I dream of a new beginning

I dream of you

I dream of us

I remember the good

I remember the snapshots of happiness

I remember holding you

I remember wanting you

I remember needing you

I remember you

But most of all I remember…us

My Manifesto

Nathan Livingston

They killed it; they took it out by the woodshed and shot it in the head. It was the first week in February of 2009, it was cold outside, and it took them less than two weeks to decide to kill it. I feel like a kid running around trying to tell somebody, anybody, what they did, but all I find are the same mindless zombies that gave them the gun in the first place, blurry eyed and hopeful for the change that will never happen. There will be change, be sure of that, but not in the way they hope for, it will be something more sinister, more hidden, and far worse than anything we have ever seen before. The Next execution is lined up and the gun is loaded; I am hoping that it will take more than one bullet to kill our democracy. Yep, they killed the economy it took only one bullet. It was large but it struck home quickly. The next steps our protectors take will be a bit more careful, but well planned. We are on a road to socialism, the road is unpaved and broken with potholes, but they will tell us it is smooth and new. Of course, we will believe them, we always do. Welcome to the new Post-American Socialist society.

            It is time that we read the writing on the wall. It has been there since the “New Deal,” it says, “I am from the Government, and I am here to help.” If you just got chills from that line, I am with you. We have been on this road for a long time. Social security; out of control spending, and blanket welfare are just the start. Everything that will be done to us will be for our better good, and we will take it, blindly, like a baby bird eating the regurgitated leftovers from its mother’s beak. Spoon-fed at every step, it will seem that our lives are to become happier, and more secure. When in reality we are sacrificing everything that made this country great. We will give them everything including our basic freedoms, and ask nothing in return. We deserve everything that is coming. We gave them the gun, and we even loaded it for them, all they have to do now is pull the trigger. We cannot stop it; it is over for us.  The bastions of free thought and free will have left us to die in the sun, with blank smiles on our faces and a welfare application in our pockets. Congratulations on your successful suicide.

            We gave them the power. We voted them into office, and they ran with it. Making statements such as “We won, we wrote the bill,” and “the Republicans are trying to stop us, they don’t want us to do anything.” The funny thing is, they cannot do a damn thing to stop it even if they wanted to, which I am starting to highly doubt. The separation of the political parties has become gray, there is really only one party left. They all want to spend your money, tax your income, and socialize everything. We as a nation have lost our way; we quote the Founding Fathers freely without really remembering what they stood for in the first place. We claim that we love our constitution while we turn our backs on it. We say we are free while being watched and controlled. Our government tells us what to think, how to live, and we take it at face value, without question. We are the sheep that run in the direction that the farmer’s dog tells us to go. The time has come to wake up, shake the cobwebs from our eyes, and see what is going on around us. The only question that remains is whether it is too late to do anything about it.

            Whether or not we can stop it, may be a moot point. The ability to stop it would mean that there are people that want to stand up and fight for what is correct, and just. The people that claim they are fighting put up a weak front. The officials who we call our representatives hide behind respectful words, and political correctness. They say, “I disagree, but only if it is OK to do so.” These are the polished, polite, etiquette ridden, mindless holders of the gun. These are the two-headed beasts of our Government. They speak through not only both sides of their mouths, but with the forked tongues of both heads. The New Government of the Post-American Socialist society thrives on Orwell’s DoubleThink. They tell us to be “financially responsible” while they spend and borrow trillions of dollars from our grandchildren. They say that we NEED “free” healthcare, while knowing there is nothing “free” about it. They say they have the best intentions to help the lower classes, yet they make sure that they receive their raises every year. They say that the leaders of industry cannot have jets, yet fly theirs (at your expense) every week. The very word bonus has become a word of insults and suspicion. They are the Tsars, the opulent, the hypocritical, plastic smiling, firm handshaking liars. The new oppressors of our time. They believe that they are doing the right things but know inside that it is all a fallacy, propaganda, used to control the blind sheep of this society. They lay taxes on you and everyone you know while hiding their money offshore. They hold you in their silken gloves of control. They claim they love you while continuing their disgusting practice of handing you money, while stealing your wallet from your pocket. While private sector jobs are failing, they boast they are creating jobs. These are jobs in the public sector, which you and I pay for. This does not stimulate our economy, only weakens it. It does not matter anymore. It is dead, and they do not care; nor do you.

I hear you, everyday in your worship, like monks in front of your idols and incense. Ever wanting, ever trusting that there is hope and change if only you believe hard enough. “He speaks so well!” you say, “he will save us!” you scream. The “yes we can!” mantra falls from your lips like the bile and vomit after a night of too much gin. Foolishly following the person in front of you, but to where? Not one of you can say. You are the blind masses, being lead by a blind dog, around a blind curve, and over a cliff, that everyone saw coming. You are the undervalued inhabitants of an overvalued system.  The end is near, and it will be more horrific than anyone has ever seen before, there will be suffering, pain, and death. Will you see it as the change you have believed in for so long? Will it be the hope of your dreams? Will you follow into the ever-present darkness believing that there will be light and a Utopia at the end of it all? On the other hand, will you see the truth? Will you see the reality of everything around you? Can you see with certainty that the darkness is just that, darkness, where the shadows await their pray.           

The time for Revolution has come. We all must unite, not just the Captains of Industry, these strikers of Rand, or the working class Proletariats of Marx, but everyone, all classes, all races, all genders, ethnicities, religions, and beliefs. The time is now to say enough, to end their gracious, pleasant, and helpful oppression. Their Peter to Paul economics control and cloud your vision. It is time to say no to the puppet prince and the court of jesters we call our leaders, our protectors, and our government. “Revolution implies violence,” you cry. “Mutiny, riots, insurrection, upheaval, and rebellion” you howl! However, Revolution can also mean change, development, reform, and transformation. I do not suggest that we take up arms, storm the foundations, and buildings of our government. What I do suggest is to question everything, make them prove their actions to us. Ask them the simple questions we learned in the early years of our learning. Who? What? When? Where? Why? And most importantly How?

Who will this help, and who will pay? What will this solve? What will be our return? When can we expect results, and what happens when it fails? Why now? Why is it set up the way it is? Where will you get the funds to support your proposed actions? How will this help, How are you paying for it, how is it going to improve my life, or the current situation. How will you prove it to me, how, How, HOW?  Tell them that they need to prove it to you before they make up their minds; tell them you need the time to read their proposals. Tell them we are no longer going to let them slip their pet projects in with other proposals. Tell them that the pork belongs on the table where we can see it. Tell them that you are the real power in this government!  It is time we unloaded the gun and took it away from these children.  Tell them to stop playing cowboys in the yard, and be responsible for only the action we tell them we want, not the ones they think we need. I do not need their help, nor do you. They need to do the jobs we gave them and stop playing make believe Kings and Princes in the high castles we built for them.

We must not forget what our Forefathers believed, and built our great country on.  Abraham Lincoln once gave a small speech from the back of a railcar. Within it he said we, “…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Thomas Jefferson said, “A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.” In addition, as the first to hold our top office, George Washington said about government, “The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.”  The time for patience has passed, the time for us to raise our arms in disgust is now. Raise your fists and declare, “I shall no longer live for you; you are my servant, I SHALL NOT BE YOURS! My life is mine to live; my wealth is mine to share with whom I please! My freedom is to choose my own path, my method, and by my means! Nevermore shall I follow blindly forgetting my past, nor lose sight again on my future! For my life! For my Liberty, and the Freedom of all! I scream from the highest mountain tops, NEVERMORE!”