A DREAMER’S SPEECH By Hugo Hanriot Alfred was young, well-educated, a visionary with an inquisitive and independent mind. He looked from the speaker’s podium at the thousands of people waiting for his speech. He felt motivated, willing to spew his beliefs straight from his soul, regardless of the consequences or the reaction of the masses. The crowd had been aroused by the previous speakers – all professional leaders, who knew what button to push within the boundaries of the organizers’ interest. Alfred, one of the volunteers helping in the Washington protest rally, was asked by the rally leader to fill the gap created by the delay of a popular congressman, the main speaker. To the surprise of the organizer, Alfred accepted the challenge without hesitation. “Don’t make a speech; just act like a cheerleader. Shout some slogans to make the crowd react with cheers, and pray for the congressman to show up soon,” he was instructed. “And don’t forget to leave the microphones as soon as you see the congressman stepping onto the stage.” Alfred’s strong beliefs encouraged him to ignore the instructions and speak out: “We all love and want the best for our country; that’s why we are here. But we are frustrated. In the last election we voted for candidates that promised us changes. Why did they, as soon as they went to Washington, choose to ignore their campaign promises? We fools should know better; we are the ones that keep reelecting them. Do you know the largest grassroots movement in American politics is fighting for “term limits?” The reason term limits have been shouted down is because politicians know it will mean the end of their sweet political careers. And they have plenty of company; the lobbyists oppose it because it will kill the need for their services, and powerful groups and corporations don’t want it because it would threaten their fat perks from the government. . Our elective representatives know well how to play the game; as soon as they step in Washington, they began planning their reelections, selling their souls in exchange for campaign donations. Their goal is to make politics a “job for life”, when it should be taken the same way as we accept a call for “jury duty”: you perform your duties and then go back to your regular job. To break this obnoxious chain, instead of reelecting them, we should elect people like us to Washington – and for a short term, to prevent them from falling into this current vicious cycle of life-time jobs. It’s the only way to make government sensitive to the needs and frustrations of middle and working class people.” In back of Alfred, the rally leader was being restrained by other volunteers from jumping over him. Next to the infuriated leader was the main speaker; the congressman had just arrived in time to witness Alfred’s opening remarks. His face had turned red; if it weren’t for the crow, he would have willingly joined the rally leader silencing the disrespectful agitator. Alfred’s speech was interrupted by a wild applause that roared over the Lincoln Memorial. He carried on: “The oil industry has working for them the largest group of lobbyists – they protect their tax breaks and other perks. Also they help the oil companies to perpetuate oil as the main fuel for heating and transportation. Our nation spends billions of dollars importing oil while we are sitting on the untapped world’s richest natural gas deposits. In less advanced countries than ours, natural gas had long ago replaced oil as a vehicle fuel. Isn’t it time for us to switch from oil to natural gas? It would also reduce the flow of dollars overseas, and lower the price we pay at the gas pump.” The applause grew louder and longer. Standing behind Alfred, the congressman and rally leader, pressured by the thunderous roar from the crowd, joined in with the audience’s applause. “Here is another example of how dysfunctional our government has become,” continued Alfred. “There is no ending to his speech,” the congressman complained in the rally leader’s ear, alarmed by the audience’s vocal support for the young agitator. “I told this nut not to make a speech. But if I stop him now, the crowd would eat us alive.” “What about Wall Street?” shouted Alfred. “Wall Street’s greed almost cost our nation a second depression. But right after the culprits of these crises – the biggest brokerage houses and banks – were bailed out by our government, with our money, they returned to their old practice of rewarding themselves with huge bonuses. Guess what? They also have a large group of lobbyists behind them!” “Were did you find this monster?” the congressman faced the rally leader, angered. “This guy is inciting the crowd against all our institutions.” Trying to dissimulate his anger, he stepped down from the podium and left. The rally leader followed him, so did other volunteers. A few minutes later the sound system and the microphones went dead. Alfred, surprised, turned around for help; he then realized he was alone on the podium. The crowd – as surprised as the young speaker – before dispersing, awarded him with a last loud cheer. After calming down from his rush of adrenaline, Alfred walked to the parking lot where the three buses that transported the group of volunteers to Washington should have been waiting for him. They had long left, leaving him behind for hijacking the protest rally. I’ll see you next week with a new story. TO READ MORE OF HUGO’S STORIES GO TO amazon/author/hugohanriot TO GET OUR NEWSLETTER VIA E-MAIL FEATURING OUR WEEKLY FREE NEW STORY, GO TO THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN OF STORIES4REAL.COM AND USE THE “REGISTER” OR “SUBSCRIBE” BUTTON. TO SEND A COMMENT ABOUT THIS STORY VISIT facebook and search for Hugo Hanriot
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 15:59:05 +0000
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