Greg Hartnett

Like most dissenters, I complain a lot. I am pretty disillusioned with the system, and from a fairly early age decided that I would always stand as a dissenting voice. My wife frequently accuses me (fairly) or arguing in favor of a belief or idea that I don’t even believe in. I have always felt that the “devil’s advocate” should always be heard from. Without somebody presenting a dissenting viewpoint, how could we truly reach an informed decision.

Over the last couple of years, my disillusionment has only grown. I have never been a fan of government, and stand in a state of distrust regarding any form of authority. However, the direction of the government over the last handful of years has truly brought my blood to a boil. The complete arrogance, and lack of accountability of the current administration, as well as the short-sightedness of their actions, have brought me to a point in life that I feel I can no longer idly sit by. No longer can I simply curse “the man”, and live my life the way I want. As a father and citizen of this planet, I feel that it is my obligation to do something. SOMETHING. I don’t have any grand illusions of changing the world, bringing about world peace, curing cancer, or solving world hunger. I just can’t stand the idea of doing nothing but complaining. That actually makes me worse doesn’t it? If I realize there is a problem, and know that there are things that could be done, and then choose to not act. Wouldn’t that make me almost equally culpable? At at a minimum, I should put up or shut up.

Today I decided to put up. I have decided that for the next year, 52 weeks in all, each week I will participate in at least one activism related activity. I will note each activity here, and let anybody who may be interested know of any way in which he/she could participate.

Tonight, I emailed my state representatives telling them that I was tired of the gun laws in this country. There is a new law being steamrolled through congress, S.397 I wrote my representatives telling them that if they vote in favor of the “Firearms Manufacturers Protection bill”, that they would lose my vote. I found out about the bill online, and discovered that the folks over at the Brady Campaign have made a standardized template that will automatically mail your letter to your Representative and Senators.

If you haven’t been squeezed too thin, you may want to consider donating some of your hard earned cash. Every bit helps.

now playing:
Big Cheese from the album “Bleach” by Nirvana