IM ANGRY!!!!!!!!!

by Linda Strawberry

the problem is i dont know where to begin. all i know is im upset right now. not even so much at the state of things as the state of people. people saying things like "i dont follow politics..ignorance is bliss" "i dont like paying attention to what's going on because it fills me with negative thoughts" ignorance might be blissfull but its still ignorance!! what has happened to us that we are so afraid and complacent... that we are so broken down that we would rather keep quiet and not tip the balance. what about freedom of speech? what about freedom of information? freedom of the press? are all our freedoms gone?

it takes so much courage to look straight into the ugly face of things. to acknowlege whats actually going on instead of what we wish was going on. everything's fucked up right now and this is supposed to be a democracy. power of the people. so why is everyone so afraid of the government? is it because we have tracking chips in our passports now? is it because we say a couple of words into our phones and we appear on some security list? that the government can bug us and track us if they want to? that we can get thrown in jail without the right for an attorney if the government decided we are a possible 'terrorist'?
is our government the real terrorist?

i cried while watching 'sicko' micheal moore's new documentary. ive been really sick since the beginning of june. i am currently struggling as a DIY independent artist so i dont have health insurance and a strong bank accont. i fear going to the doctor or hospital. i finally just went because i was worried and i wanted to get checked out. now i have a 3 thousand dollar billfrom 2 hours of medical care!! the only alternative is a free clinic and they arent always reliable and its hard to get in. it is so demoralizing. it makes you feel like you dont matter. that no one cares if you get sicker and die. in this country they only care about money. they make more money for NOT taking care of you when you are sick. watching 'sicko' made me so mad. i want to move. i want to go somewhere where they care if my stomach hurts or if i need an x-ray. i want to go somewhere where i know my money is going to help other people who are sick too. an environment where people arent losing their homes and lives just to pay for their prescription drugs.

i feel so dubious about the upcoming elections. its not like we are going to have another abraham lincoln. or someone who isnt being bought by all the lobbyists and rich people. i dont even see the individual parties anymore. they are all equally corrupted. what has happened to america.. what has happened to americans. at least my idea or what i was raised and conditioned to think america was.... people here dont want to know things. overall here in america we are just getting fatter stupider and lazier. our fda is corrupt. they approve harmful things like splenda but wont approve stevia which is harmless. i heard something like.. gas is going to be FIVE dollars by the end of summer... oil companies are making more money than ever! we are slaves. especially here in los angeles where people dont walk anywhere.. and there's no real effective public transportation.... who can afford five dollars a gallon!! fuck us. and fuck the atmosphere i guess.. as long as the rich are getting richer!

we are an overworked overtired oversaturated overeating culture. but we cant be bothered to care about what's happening to us. we'd rather turn the tv on to watch the latest reality tv show or read a magazine about paris hilton. we are just marching ourselves straight into a nightmare..
how many people know about the document our president signed to eventually combine canada and mexico and the u.s. into one nation with the "amero" as currency... isnt that alarming? what about these new id's they are going to give us by 2008 that will have all our personal information scannable on the strip? what about when they start microchipping US?
its terrifying how many things are wrong with our country. i dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist... but what if its true that it was a government scheme to further the agenda of the richest people in the world that REALLY run things and are moving us around like pieces on a chess board? obviously those buildings werent knocked down by planes.. it was a planned demolition..

people just dont want to open their eyes. they dont want to look around and see. its like the game that my cat plays.. he will hide his head under something and i swear he thinks we cant see him then. are we just osterich's sticking our heads in the sand? our media is totally corrupt too. they just say what they are told to say. i guess everyone can be bought in this country.
someone wrote me a message saying "welcome to the truth movement" is there really a truth movement? can i be a part of it? i am not going to be afraid to look at things under the harsh light of truth. i care. i care about myself and i care about my family and i care about you. i will say whatever i think and i will care about what's happening. im not scared of the old rich fucks that run the music business. im not scared of the old rich fucks that run our country either....
if i end up on a list somewhere then FINE!!! bring it on!!!!

im not trying to be a greedy rich corrupt human. im not going to live my life just to stockpile money and things. im just trying to be a healthy happy productive human being. i want to make my art... i want to sing my songs... i want to do what i can for the people i love.. i want to be loud and obnoxious about the things i stand for.... THAT is what freedom means to me. and dont anyone dare call me unpatriotic.... im patriotic BECAUSE have the balls to care about whats ACTUALLY happening to my country. im not anti republican or anti democrat or anti anything. im for all of us as human beings. we all have to care about each other and stick together or we are doomed.

i want to live in an educated sentient fearless society. where people love themselves enough to take care of themselves and other people. where the rich and poor get the same health care. because no one is more valuable than anyone else. im asking you... what are you afraid of? are you afraid of the government? are you afraid of the truth because its hard to hear? are you afraid of terrorists? are you afraid to go to the hospital? fear is a corrosive disease. it gets inside your heart and starts to freeze you.

ive got to go now and get on the phone and try my hardest to fight for an appointment at a free clinic just so i can know if i need an antibiotic or not. since that's my only option in our fucked up health care system. i only wish i was in canada where my grandmother and aunt are so i could walk into a hospital and actually feel like someone cares about me getting better...
god bless..

Linda Strawberry is an independent songwriter and musician who lives in Los Angeles.