Okay- I think that I, along with many others, have sort of drifted along through this summer of our discontent; of bizarre town hall meetings packed with loud, rude whacko's getting all riled up about socialism and healthcare; of all sorts of things that fill the web pages and tv sets and then float off into the ether. I've been kind of drifting since the election, as far as politics go. I think we all- or a vast majority of us- just thought "well, we elected the good guys, now we can get on with our lives and all shall be well". It's like we all turned into Uatu, the Watcher. Uatu was this bald dude who lived on the Moon and watched the world spin along and do it's thing- but never got involved. He also would narrate the "What If?" comic book- with storylines like "What If Spiderman joined the Fantastic Four?", or "What if Captain America was the President of the United States"- kind of cool conjecture on reality and the butterfly effect and all that.
And that's me of late- a couch potato on the moon watching the world spin, speculating on questions like, "What if we had universal health care? What if I was a commie and didn't know it? What if all those phoney looking angry folks at the town hall meetings really were bunch of fakes, like those dudes in Florida who stormed the recount when Bush stole the election?"
Well, the time has come to shake off that alter-ego, and get busy.
I don't know why, exactly, but of late I am filled with this need to do something more than just sit on my ass. Maybe it's because I watched Obama's speech to school children yesterday- maybe it's a reaction to the insanity of all those on the right who scream so loudly about the End of Days coming in the form of socialized medicine- I don't know. All I know is that break time is over, and it's time for all of us to do more than just watch. It's time for us to re-engage on the level we did during the election- or even more. Time for us to call our senators and representatives and governors and friends and strangers- to stand up and be counted.
To become Norrin Radd, The Silver Surfer.
That's right. I said it. Time for us to wield the power cosmic and go up against impossibly huge foes like Galactus, devourer of worlds, Satan (i.e. the G.O.P.), and the Insurance Industry.
The Silver Surfer sacrificed everything he had to save his world- he gave up his home, his family, the love of his life-he even gave up his hair- all of it, and this was before it became cool for dudes to shave their heads.
Yes, at times it might be lonely, gliding through the galaxy on our cosmic surfboard- but it's the right thing to do.
I called both my senators the other day, and when I did, I felt the power cosmic coursing through my body. It was excellent- and so freakin' easy. I mean, what excuse do any of us have for not contacting our elected officials in this age of the internets?
So come on, my fellow heroes- time to gear up and kick some ass.
I challenge you all to watch the President's speech tonight, and then talk to at least five people about it afterwards- five people whom you haven't spoken to in at least one month.
Surf's up.
