Learning from North Carolina: Get Out There and Work!

Over the last two years, decent and caring North Carolinians have had to learn how to combat an aggressive attempt to turn back the clock on voting rights and other issues.  It took some time, but progressive leaders in the Tar Heel state have been able to show disheartened citizens that all is not lost in their state.  First came weekly protests at the state Capitol.  Now there is the campaign of U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, surely the biggest surprise of the season, leading her Republican challenger in several polls by a small but clear margin. 

It seems that when a candidate sticks to bread-and-butter issues, the electorate responds.  Democrats are, of course, doing this across the board.  The biggest obstacle to truth in America now is the media -- a media which gulps down huge splashes of ad money like a bloated whale in a sea of sardines.  If the Koch brothers can spend multi-millions to tip the scales in races all over the country, that is of no concern to the amoral media.  Where is our free air time for our democracy -- a plan which was announced several years ago?  Other major industrialized countries have such a requirement.  America squanders its media opportunities in banal "political ads," with little or no obligation to tell the truth.  It is indeed a sad state of affairs.

Yet somehow the picture is not entirely dire.  For here and there appears a Kay Hagan, or a Greg Orman, or any of a number of solid, courageous Americans ready to do their duty for the country through government service.

Hip, hip, hooray for responsible courage in America!