Letter to the editor

Chicken Little was right, he always gets a raw deal

Dear editor,

Yet, when all the smoke cleared, wasn't he correct? The sky was falling! Sometimes, progressives like me are like Chicken Little. We study history, read the alternative news and books, and we know things aren't kosher. Then we sit in front of the boob tube, and watch C- SPAN's coverage of Congress and government, and we want to throw a shoe at the screen. The utter nonsense and stupidity of these so-called experts and elected officials. The sky is indeed falling.

Here's the deal: If you agree so far with this argument, what are you going to do about it? Venting to friends and family is simply not enough at this crisis point in our republic. It is time to be more like Chicken Little and less chicken-hearted. We need to join together and stand up for our rights and our democracy. Each and every Tuesday, for over 18 months now, a group of us has stood on the same street corner in Port Orange, FL. We oppose the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and are calling for the impeachment and/or indictment of this president, vice president, and select members of their cabinet.

At first, we were only able to summon up about 10 regulars to show each week, sign in hand. Now, we do have almost 25 folks who we can count on each Tuesday afternoon for that one hour. One hour? Is that asking too much of the 100, 000 folks in our area who probably agree with us on this issue? Yet, despite the many hopeful displays of " automobile solidarity", few if any will do as my sign states: " We Need You... Please Park and Join Us!"

I spoke to a local TV anchor recently. I have called often in hopes that her television station would finally cover our weekly anti-war protests. As a news anchor, I felt that she should "see the story behind the news;" we are the only group standing regularly on street corners in the entire county in protest to our government's policies. The anchorwoman finally told me the truth, her truth and the mainstream media's truth: "I drove by one afternoon to see firsthand what it is all about. If there were a mass of people out there, that would be newsworthy."

When the economy finally bursts due to the Bush/Cheney policies, then perhaps our street corner will be filled to capacity. Maybe we need a few hundred more Chicken Littles now, before that day comes. And it's coming, folks. It's coming.

Philip A. Farruggio Port Orange