Jackson Free Press

What you don't know: filibuster, n. the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action.

Or, as it is more commonly known, what you did as a kid when mom caught you with your hand in the cookie jar. For me, and for a lot of guys, it's what our explanations sound like when we've come home a little late.

Here's my point. To the average layperson, the word "filibuster" may mean one of the above. To another cross section of the population it may mean something else entirely. To my comrades in the hip-hop generation, it may hold no significance whatsoever. It is indeed only a word. But that word could possibly hold the key to our futures—young and old.

Let me break it down for you in case you've missed anything. The U.S. Senate has been at odds lately over the use of this "filibuster." They've only just recently reached a truce, in principle. In political terms, a filibuster is a tactic used by the "minority" (in this case, the Democrats) to block the passage of bills or appointments presented by the "majority" (you guessed it, the Republicans).

In laymen's terms again, it's one party's way to stall, discourage or better yet, bullsh*t just enough to break the other party's spirit. It's a practice performed for years, but just now it's become an issue (probably because it's working against the Republicans). Unfortunately, politicians count on our ignorance to keep such issues from becoming a lightning rod for activism.

Let's face it, Republicans are now having their day. Life goes in cycles, and right now they have the best hand. And while they are in control, you can be assured that they are going to push as much "morality" on us as possible. They are going to tell us how we should worship, who we should marry and what we should do with our own bodies. They're going to place as many conservative judges on the bench as they can. And they, in turn, are going to judge us.

We can only hope to change things during the next election. But for now, I implore you, read! Read like your life depended on it. Read every headline. Watch the news. Watch at noon, 5, 6 and again at 10. What you don't know can hurt you. In the next four years, Bush and his cronies on Capitol Hill are going to try to pass every piece of conservative legislation they can. They are counting on your apathy to push them through. And they are counting on pushing through radical judges to back them up.

They are counting on what they perceive to be our nonchalance, our selfishness, our underachievement to succeed. They hope that we of the hip-hop demographic will not care about the importance of a mere "word."

But I'm watching. We are watching. Just as it did in the days that the Dems ran the yard, the filibuster needs to stay. It keeps the playing field level. In the end, partisan politics makes grown men look like kids fighting over whose clique is the coolest. Ultimately, nothing gets done. Let's at least make them work for it, huh?

And that's the truth ... sho-nuff!

Previous Comments

ID

70083

Comment

Please give your definition or example of "radical judges."

Author

brandon/jade

Date

2005-06-02T08:31:11-06:00