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I am normally a fairly complacent person. Not this time... Holding stress in is a potentially fatal thing to do and I need to let this out. I am a felon. Not because I go out of my way to hurt people. Not because I am an inherently evil person. It is because I made a mistake that got me a misdemeanor charge, followed by a traffic stop that taught me just how far out of hand things have gotten. As it turns out, driving while suspended (which many people reasonably consider necessary in our society) is one of those "we don't want citizens, we want inmates" kind of laws. Here in Ore*on, it ranges from a violation (like a seatbelt ticket) to a felony (like murder). Upon further investigation, it is one of many laws that seem to exist strictly to turn average people into criminals.
I call bulls***. I am under thirty, but I find myself using this phrase: "Back in my day." Back in my day (i.e. the 80s), a felony meant bad. Really bad. It used to mean the offendor truely offended society. Now, they are making felons of people who drive when they shouldn't, people who say unpopular things, people who are not bad people... They say driving is a privilege and not a right... Tell that to anyone who has a job and a home more than an hour's walk apart. Tell the politicians who have racked up criminal charges like a kid in an arcade racked up tickets to buy whistles and candy. Sadly, our "leaders" tend to commit, and get away with, more crimes per capita than the "bad neighborhoods" they are constantly promising to "clean up." The problem is, they get this neat little security blanket that says that they have to be impeached first before they can be charged with crimes, and even then, when do they ever face justice...? I say, as citizens and voters, let's turn the tables. Let's see how those who want call everyone a criminal react if we (their bosses, so says all the paperwork that gives them power) turn it around, and try to hold them accountable for their actions. How do you think these bast***s (not all of them, just most) would respond if we, the public, demanded that our elected officials own up to their actions -- face the same consequences that we do for what they've dubbed crimes. Or maybe even be charged with treason when they knowingly act against the wishes of their constituents (because what is treason if not doing what is wrong for your country?) As it sits now, there are not enough people willing to stand up for what this country once, and should, stand for. With a little effort from a lot of people, we might have a chance of keeping the United States of America a free country. But what do I know? I'm just a felon.
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