Hi. I'm a high-schooler scared of where this country's heading.

[Craig3410]

From everything I can gather, thanks to this stupid, mother***ing asshole, by the time I'm 40 or so, this country will be in complete shambles.

-Bush basically wants to all but eliminate Social Security
-He's eliminating all opposing opinions in the WH, Congress, and the Supreme Court
-Apparently, in his dream world, being Democratic, gay, lesbian, non-christian, or not caucasian would be a capital offense.
-He's sending off kids only a couple years older than I am t,o die in a needless war

And the worse part of it is that nobody in DC wants to stand up to him. The Democrats are just letting it slide.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. From the mouth of babes...

[tanyev]

2. Welcome to DU!

Why aren't you in school right now??

[Craig3410]

7. Who says I'm not?

I'm in the library right now. :)

[tanyev]

11. OK, carry on.

Sorry, I'm a former teacher. :hi:

[sniffa]

3. your wisdom beLies your age

weLcome to DU. :hi:

i've moved beyond fear and have hit acceptance. now i'm going to sit back with my popcorn and watch it unfoLd. i'm not that much oLder than you so i'm sure we'LL be around to sweep up the ashes. hopefuLLy, anyone that enabLed him wiLL recognize the error and feeL shame - if not, i'LL gLadLy remind them over and over.

[rainy]

4. Welcome to DU. Craig

Nice to see the young people paying attention. You are so right. It is scary where we are headed. We here at DU beleive that the corporate media is serving the corporation party and making this surreal America where black is white, war is peace etc...
Hope you stick around, and, bring some friends.

[saltpoint]

5. Hello and welcome.

Some of he rest of us are a little scared, too, but we're a feisty bunch generally and there's some signs of life in the Democratic Party.

If you're focused on the problem (and you described him very accurately), you are already helping make things a lot better.

Hat's off to you and good wishes.

[quispquake]

6. Welcome to DU!!!

The amount of things the Bushites are doing can be pretty overwhelming at times, but DU is such a great place to stay informed, and to learn about things that you can do yourself to stop this stuff from happening...I find a lot of strength in this community that keeps me from despairing, and I think you will too.

Looking forward to more of your posts!!!

[smbolisnch]

8. Welcome to DU Craig!

Are you playing hooky?? :P

[Sperk]

9. As a mother of a High School student, I'm worried too.

But, I do feel that like all abusers, this administration and the extremists behind him, will NEVER have enough. They will be their own destruction. And if the Dems don't develop a very strong offense, they too will be greatly harmed.

[ContraBass Black]

10. Yes. Very good.

Now, stand up and start screaming.

Spread the word far and wide. Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere, as if it were the gospel.

Pressure your elected officials. Encourage like-minded individuals.

Be strong, be resolute, and continue to examine your principles and the world around you so that you will also be right.

[tk2kewl]

12. Spread the word dude!

Make sure your friends understand how evil bush*Co is too.

Welcome to DU

[B3Nut]

14. Yikes.

I hope you don't get abducted by those nefarious thieves of humanity known as draft boards...you know as well as I do they're gonna start cranking them up soon. Their denial of that is all but concrete proof that they will. Be prepared to defect to Canada... ;)

TP

[obnoxiousdrunk]

13. Welcome to DU Craig

Quiet a relief to see youngsters like you are paying attention. That's a good sign.

[rurallib]

15. congratulations for waking up at such a young age

Do you think you can tear your friends away from the video games and other distractions to get them to realize what is going on? **** has screwed things up for a generation or more to come.

[MindPilot]

16. You are very correct to be scared

I know exactly where you're coming from. All the things my generation (I'm 50) worked for so hard are being destroyed.

It's great to see you here and see you thinking about what's going on.

I'm curious; what is the tone among your peers? Do they generally feel like you do? Do they not know or care?

And most importantly, when someone claims to be in favor of the Iraq War do you politely give them directions to the recruiter's office?

[Yupster]

17. Don't be so glum yung'in

This country's been through a horrible Civil War, and when I was younger than you we used to have drills where we hid under the desk in case 1,000 nuclear missiles would hit us all at once.

As Billy Joel said (he's an old singer) "We didn't start the fire...". History always has plenty going on. I wish I was your age so I can see more of where it will lead us. I remember how big a deal the first calculators were. Best wishes, but don't be so pessimistic.

[ghostsofgiants]

18. Welcome to the site.

Thanks for making me not feel quite so young, haha.

[eallen]

19. Don't let it distract you from the rest of life.

Yes, those are scary things. But these kind of political and religious movements ebb and flow.

Your post makes me think back to when I was a junior in high school. Now yeah, I know it's a bore to hear an old fart talk about when he was young. But bear with me a bit. Nixon was president. His level of dishonesty and corruption exceeded even the current president's. A conservative nation was so enamored of him, he had just been reelected president in the largest landslide in US electoral history. We were still in Vietnam. The seniors one year ahead of me were comparing draft numbers. Things seemed pretty bleak politically. But there's nothing like being young and full of piss and vinegar, with lots of learning and living yet ahead of you. Shoot hoops until you're exhausted. Read a book every week, not about Bush. Stay up all night with your friends. Keep your grades up, and get into college. When you're hitting your stride, Bush will be history. Bad history.

Of course, we had better music. :hippie:

[hiley]

20. So correct

and since " the Democrats are just letting it slide "
We have to push them to do the right thing at every angle.
I am in Arkansas too so you know our Senator's are always a little weird considering they are supposed to be Democratic.
My Represenative is John Boozman and he is the most stubborn repug but I write him damn near daily and sometimes on several issues a day.
Pain in the butt however how esle will he know not all agree with bush & co.
Keep your head up and dig in for the long haul...

I love that you are in high school and are so concerned. You are an excellant person !

[yurbud]

21. your generation will undo right wing power grab

Young voters overwhelmingly oppose Bush. They don't buy the coded racism and open homophobia, and they directly feel the effects of the right wing's budget priorities in their schools, the cost of going to college, and the access to college.

How hard it will be for you to fix things depends on whether those of us a bit older can get our shit together and make a dent for you first.

[Cuban_Liberal]

22. Welcome to DU, Craig!

:hi:

[Vidar]

23. Welcome to DU. You have a pretty good grasp of the problem.

[liberalitch]

24. As a high school teacher..

I usually try to calm my students' fears while trying to be honest with them....
but.... craig, honey, be afraid be very afraid...
These people are very dangerous, so dangerous they ought to glow in the dark as a warning.

They are selling you down the river.... and you're one of the intelligent youngsters who has a future and and the means to make it happen.
Some of your classmates (bless their hearts) don't have the money or the gray matter to make it happen.... what will happen to them? ...I'll tell you.
They will be the new peasantry.... bound to a farm or some service job... those not lucky enough to experience something like sharecropping or industrial slavery will become angry and predatory.... you'll need an assult weapon and an electric fence.
Study hard.... good luck!
Welcome to DU!

[otohara]

25. Welcome To DU

young grasshopper - you are so right :grr:

[seabeyond]

26. so what are you going to do

i ask my 9 and 7 year old. they have a voice, they are smart. what are they going to do. ask my nephews and nices. only one niece gets it. the other three are in huh.

what do you want to do

[sweetheart]

27. Just make sure you get in to university

If the draft is in play, get in to a foreign university, like in
canada or europe... (foreign is actually cheaper, as the tuitions
are drastically lower... and the schooling is same same).

As the bush nazi's develop their witch hunt, your college education
will be your ticket to emigrate if you need to... as skilled workers
are needed overseas, and the degrees can be quite important... as well
learning french is a plus for canada and europe, if you might have to
lay low during the coming nazi terror.

I hear your concern about the mother ship, but as an individual, you're
in the drivers seat, and much better positioned for this monster than
those of us who are older and can not so easily re-tool or emigrate
for the new walmart poverty nation.

[ChairOne]

28. Good. Never forget that a vote for war....

... is a vote for you and your friends to go die.

Make sure it's for a good reason.

[peekaloo]

29. Welcome to DU and do not be afraid to say these things to

everyone within earshot.

:hi: