I Believe

NORMA SHERRY

Together Forever Changing

An Article

I BELIEVE

It's a new year: 2004. A time to reflect on all that's past and a time to be filled with the hope of all that's new. Try as I might, though, I find it very difficult to imagine that this new year, this the fourth year in the new millennium holds any more promise than the years that came before.

My positive side, and the one I dwell in most often, wants to believe that we will put an end to hungry children, suffering children, abused children, medically uncared for children. I want to believe that we will learn to live with one another peacefully, neighborly. I want to believe that as the richest country in the world, we will put an end to starvation and homeless-ness; that we will learn to be more tolerant and understanding of one another; that we will be less judgmental.

I want to believe that our elected representatives are really looking out for our best interests. I want to believe with all my heart that our young men and women are fighting in faraway lands for honorable reasons. I want to believe in truth and honesty and personal responsibility, and that we are all held to the same high level of accountability.

I want to believe in the good of humankind. I want to believe in the inalienable rights bestowed upon us -- each and every one of us -- by our forefathers. I want to believe that we live in the finest country in the world. I want to believe that we are not heading towards the slippery slope of fascism. I want to believe that our elections are not rigged; that our voting machines are not suspect.

Oh, I so want to believe that our government didn’t lie to us, but I heard the lies with my own ears. I want to believe that there was a reason – a good and honorable reason - that we sent our children to battle and to find one of the world’s despotic leaders. I want to believe there is a legitimate reason that we have lost seven of our twelve amendments in our Bill of Rights, and are systematically losing our civil liberties. I want to believe that there is a true and important reason why we have been lied to, deceived, and misled.

I want to believe in the true equality of men and women in the workplace. I want to believe in equal pay for equal work. I want to believe that the more than three million workers whose jobs and livelihoods were out-sourced to lands far from our shores will find work commensurate with their skills and knowledge. I want to believe in the principal of ‘a chicken in every pot and a car in every driveway’.

I want to believe that illiteracy will cease and that the term will become obsolete. I want to believe that every child – no matter their financial status – will receive an excellent education. I want to believe that every child will have the same opportunity to go to college. I want to believe that educators, teachers, and scholars will earn a salary that reinforces the importance of their positions. I want to believe that the brightest and the best will educate our youth.

I want to believe that no elderly human being, no disabled individual, no child, or any person will go without proper medical care or medication. I want to believe that no physician or hospital will withhold medical attention for the lack of money or medical insurance.

I want to believe in the dignity of life, and that in this fourth year of our millennium every life will be a life worth living. I want to believe that we will offer shelter and food to those without, and that we will have the humanity to care for one another. I want to believe that we will become a compassionate society and that we will realize that we are responsible for the well-being of each other. I want to believe that there is a common understanding that we need to help those who cannot help themselves.

I want to believe that our policemen and women will be chosen carefully. I want to believe that no individual will be wantonly abused, beaten, or killed by those chosen to protect us. I want to believe that the standard by which officers of the law are selected will be stringent and exceptionally astute.

I want to believe in honorable and just judicial decisions. I want to believe in equal protection under the law -- with or without a ‘dream team’. I want to believe in impartial, even-handed, and unprejudiced jurors. I want to believe in truth and honor, and that the punishment will be equal to the crime. I want to believe that our Justices on the Supreme Court are steadfast and diligent in following and interpreting the letter of the law.

I want to believe that we can rid our communities of slums and sanctioned ghettos. I want to believe that children can live without fear of a stray bullet – or an intended one. I want to believe that we can create living conditions for every human life that is clean and safe.

I want to believe that our drinking water is pure, that our beef is without disease, that our forests aren’t being depleted. I want to believe that we don’t shamelessly turn a jaundiced-eye to the fields strewn with enslaved illegal laborers. I want to believe that our clothing manufacturers and our corporations aren’t taking advantage of impoverished workers in countries abroad. I want to believe that our air is clean, that our food is free from carcinogens and other toxic chemicals that can cause a myriad of maladies.

I want to believe that we are more good, more kind, more loving than not. I want to believe that these beliefs are not so different from what you may believe. I want to believe that if we all combined our beliefs with our might, with our minds, our hearts, and the sweat of our brows, we could make 2004 a truly new year.

Norma Sherry is co-founder of TogetherForeverChanging.org, an organization devoted to educating, stimulating, and igniting personal responsibility particularly with regards to our diminishing civil liberties. She is also an award-winning writer/producer and host of upcoming television program, The Norma Sherry Show.

Email Norma: norma@togetherforeverchanging.org

Links to Our Pages

The Purpose and The Vision:

Our Purpose

Our National Proposal and Vision

In Defense of our Civil Liberties

Articles by Norma Sherry

The Day Democracy Was Put On Hold by Norma Sherry

Freedom is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose by Norma Sherry

Ain't Gonna Work on Maggie's Farm No More (Outsourcing American Jobs) by Norma Sherry

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie (Outsourcing American Jobs) by Norma Sherry

Dear American Worker (Outsourcing American Jobs) by Norma Sherry

Once Upon a Time in America (Not a Fable) (Outsourcing American Jobs) by Norma Sherry

I Believe (A Retrospective and a Promise) by Norma Sherry

We Can Make a Difference by Norma Sherry

What Price Glory? by Norma Sherry

Six Steps to Get The Vote Out by Norma Sherry

Not So Gay Times by Norma Sherry

...And God Said by Norma Sherry

Where, Oh Where Have All The Jobs Gone? by Norma Sherry

Never Again by Norma Sherry

A Deadly Secret by Norma Sherry

Pathology of Malpractice by Norma Sherry

Reality TV by Norma Sherry

One for the Gipper by Norma Sherry

Jobs, Jobs, Everywhere Jobs and Not a Job to Find

HIPAA and Other Assaults Upon Our Civil Liberties by Norma Sherry

Eyes Wide Shut by Norma Sherry

Skewed Vision by Norma Sherry

Sugar-Free Reflections of a Democratic Convention by Norma Sherry

Michael Badnarik: Libertarian Candidate for President by Norma Sherry

Que Sera, Sera by Norma Sherry

Suffer the Little Children by Norma Sherry

Katrina's Wrath, America's Shame by Norma Sherry

If it Were Up to Me by Norma Sherry

What Have They Done to my Song? by Norma Sherry

A Child's Dilemma by Norma Sherry

The Ride Home by Norma Sherry

Whose Life is it Anyway? by Norma Sherry

Reaping Profits for the Reaper by Norma Sherry

Genocide by Norma Sherry

A Tribute to the Life of Reverend Dr. Taylor Scott IV by Norma Sherry

Articles by Philip J. Rappa

Warning on Yawning by Philip J. Rappa

What Have We Learned Since 911? by Philip J. Rappa

Rhapsody for Democracy by Philip J. Rappa

Help Me if You Can, I'm Feeling Bad by Philip J. Rappa

In God We Trust by Philip J. Rappa

Fear and Loathing in America by Philip J. Rappa

Open Letter to the President of the United States of America by Philip J. Rappa

The House Always Wins by Philip J. Rappa

Alpha and Omega by Philip J. Rappa

Oh-Sum-Bodies-Been-Lying by Philip J. Rappa

Requiem to the Silliness I Learned in Civics Class by Philip J. Rappa

Storm and Strife by Philip J. Rappa

The Ill-Begotten: Reflections of Unconstitutional Precedence by Philip J. Rappa

High Noon in America by Philip J. Rappa

Do the Hokey Pokey by Philip J. Rappa

Articles by Others

Lawyer's Band to Save the Constitution

Raid on Patrons

Philip's Story:

Philip's Personal Story

Philip's Presentations on Personal Responsibility

A Little About Norma:

All About Outsourcing:

Businesses that Outsource

What You Can Do About Outsourcing?

Press Releases:

Front Page Story of Creator's Norma & Philip

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