Announcement: The person who normally writes on this blog has had her body possessed by an entity known as Cat of Arc. Usually this entity resides in some other dimension, but occasionally is activated when lies and distortions in the world become so outrageous that something must be said. Cat of Arc is a crusader who has visions and very very lofty ideals. Cat the poet/photographer/artist et al, tried unsuccessfully to keep her off this blog, preferring not to make her blog political, but the entity has usurped it in order to communicate her vision in the broadest way possible.
Without any further ado, meet Cat of Arc, the digitial crusader:
Hello to you all. I thank you for allowing this momentary intrusion unto the sanctity of this sacred space. I promise to state my case, and then to return Cat and her blog to their rightful place in the world of the arts.
At the moment, in this country of the USA, there is a war brewing on the subject of Health Care. You may remember a few posts back, Cat the poet had a dream and posted it in the form of a poem. I gave her that dream, and I am here to translate that dream for you now.
The Bridge
By Catherine Vibert
Translation
By Cat of Arc
I stood at the sea,
Looking skyward at bridges,
Unfinished, empty
Translation: The bridges are the attempts made for the last century to initiate universal health care in this country.
No permit issued
To put supports in the sand,
They rusted away
Translation: All attempts made in the past failed.
Sand backfilled the holes,
Somehow this is a good thing,
A new day, fresh start
Translation: Sand is unstable, the fact that it has filled in the places where support once was is good because it shows the world that support is needed. The un-stability of the free market is not fulfilling the needs of the masses. Is there a critical mass to prove the need for support? It may be so…
Strung above me now
An engineering wonder
Has started anew
Translation: A new attempt which includes our capitalist system AND a public option, something that has never been tried. An attempt is being made to include everybody and offer the people choices.
How far must I dig
Beneath the unstable sands
To find bedrock?
Translation: The will to get this done is the bedrock. The lies and distortions are the unstable sands. At the current moment of writing this, I am seeing stronger currents of un-stability, and the bedrock feels farther down than I can sense.
How strong are the strands?
Cars might fall into the sea!
Paralyzing fears
Translation: These are the fears of the masses. They are fears that are being preyed upon by the same capitalist powers that have stopped all the attempts in the past. There is no goodness in what these powers are doing. They are distorting truth and saying outright lies to activate and manipulate the masses that would be fooled into fighting for their cause of greed. It is the purest form of evil and many people are being pulled into this vortex of falsehood.
Before I build it
I kneel down and pray to You,
Help me find the rock!
Translation: YOU, that’s right, YOU, the one whose eyes are passing by these words. I pray to you in the name of all that is good to take this month to become an active thorn in the side of your congress representatives and senators. One crazy visionary can’t do it alone. She needs an army of righteousness by her side.
I see the city
Shining there across the sea,
And now I must build.
Translation: Health Care Reform with a strong public option. Call your representative and your senators and go to your local town hall meeting to declare your support. We can get this done!
Go forth my fellow crusaders, and fight for what is right and good.
See these websites to arm yourselves with the actual facts:
www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
and a purportedly unbiased site:
I appreciate you allowing me this forum to communicate my vision. I will now return this blog to its rightful owner.
----
(Logo design and artwork by Arthur Vibert)
(Cat the poet/photographer, etc etc, will return soon to resume her normal programming.)
29 comments:
well, cat of arc is not a stupid cat. maybe the big guys up there should listen to the little folk on the ground more. but isn't this the case in most countries, regarding most policies? the big guys decide, the little guys must just fall in.....
Cat of Arc may be an idealist, but that kitty's made of steel. ;) Go, Arthur, on that logo!! Loved it.
And I'll ride alongside you. I have contacted my congressmen. Obama also wants me to visit my Senator's office, which I could do when I'm up there. You're right--this is too important not to do our parts as citizens. And I do hate the fearmongering that's going on. In addition to all the distortions. Likely, the plan we get will be watered down to a great degree, but it's still an important step forward.
I liked how you personalized this with your poem, Cat. You've been passionate for some time. And it's good to put our best ideals into action. Instead of just dreaming away. ;)
Goodness, that cat of arc sure has her feline head on straight. Where can I sign up?
Brilliant, Cat! Thank God I came back in time to see it. ;)
Olbermann had a great rant last night which used, as it's starting point, Sarah Palin's "death panel" comment. And again, just as during the election when she stood smiling while people yelled, "Kill him" in reference to Obama, I have to wonder why, oh why, this woman seems to want to provoke actual violence.
From a selfish perspective, I hope we have not seen the last of Cat of Arc. :)
Cat of Arc - this may be the start of something big! I'll take some time now to look at the links, Cat, and fyi -- WAY back in 1973, the national college debate topic was "universal health care". Why has it taken this long for us to come this close? Oh, and by the way, my partner and I were the college debate champs that year! We argued in the affirmative!
wow. i totally missed the message of "a bridge" (insofar as a poem can have a meaning, or at least an objective one, which is neither here nor there at the moment) - anyway - thank you, cat of arc (she of the kickass logo) for translating it for those of who sometimes need things spelled out.
healthcare is such a mess right now it's difficult to imagine a reasonable and socially responsible and affordable solution. i'm not nearly as aware of what's happening now as i should be, but i will say, perhaps at my own risk, and as a rule of thumb, that i generally prefer less government involvement to more, mostly because of every experience i have ever had when required to interact with any government agency.
that said, i clearly need to learn more about what's going on before i can form a worthwhile opinion on it. to that end, you have greatly inspired me.
Joaquin C wrote: "healthcare is such a mess right now it's difficult to imagine a reasonable and socially responsible and affordable solution."
I agree with her mostly. Except I have been keeping up with the DAILY changes the lawmakers are pushing around.
I like best the argument...that if it is good enough for me, why is it not good enough for the men and women who represent me in Comgress, and other governmental agencies?
Bravo, Cat! Well done.
Shadow, so true...yet health care is one thing that most countries actually do have. Not ours. It's time!
Go Sarah! You rockin' idealist, you!
Rachel, You're always welcome to come down here and fight for this! You're so lucky to already have it in place up there.
Jennifer, God I miss your blog. Can you please start writing again! I'm glad you like Cat of Arc. She likes you too. ;-)
Karen, Why does it not surprise me that you would win such a debate? It has taken far too long to put such a program in place in this country. And I hope to god it gets through this time.
Joaquin, for your reaction alone I am so glad I posted this. Thank you thank you thank you! :-D
Steve-and what's good enough in congress should be good enough for the masses!
Rick, yeah I did tell you I'd be doing this like well over a month ago. Cat of Arc is a little shy at times, being an introverted idealist and all. :-D
I'm shocked by how many people apparently think everything's cool.
I'm a health care lawyer, so I understand the complexities. A better system alone won't solve the problem, but it's a pretty good start.
Jason, really? Wow, so you get to see first hand the horrors and realities. My dad worked in a law firm for insurance companies as well. It's horrific the lengths they will go to to avoid paying. What it has to do with health 'care' is actually very little, eh?
Riva, now THAT is funny! :-) Thanks for the link, too cute!
Freedom of speech is such a beautiful thing, isn't it?
I didn't realize the poem was about healthcare, either. I love the poem.
The one thing that has really bothered me is the way the people who are protesting are being portrayed in the media. Sure, there are some a-holes or a few freaks on both sides. But the protesters I know personally are smart, decent people. They're not part of a huge group. They don't listen to Rush Limbaugh at all (most of them are Democrats). They're very smart individuals who are not into groupthink. They have read the house bill for themselves...over a thousand pages! They just have questions and concerns. I applaud their right to protest, just as I applaud the other protests I've witnessed throughout my life. I may not always agree, but I am so appreciative of the gift of speech we have been given.
As long as it's nonviolent and doesn't destroy anyone else's property, I'm all for protests on both sides. It keeps us thinking and questioning. Thanks for adding your voice, Cat!
Heya Julie! Yes, protestors that have legitimate questions are what this country is all about! But that isn't all that is out there. The media is portraying all of it, and some of it is pretty darned scary. I have never been so worried in my life about the state of things in this country.
Protesting in a civil way, cool. But not the way I'm seeing, and I don't think it's your friends that are the ones we need to worry about. Sounds like they are informed and interested in a discussion. Not parroting the pundits who are enciting violence with lies and distortions. As my father likes to say, "Why are they shooting themselves in the foot?" Thanks for your comments Julie, I appreciate them very much.
if !supportEmptyParasendif
if !supportEmptyParas[endif
Does Cat of Arc have a hairball caught in her throat?
If so, the doctor will be utilizing a strict free-market approach to surgery.
Doc: It looks like the nurses got you prepped for the procedure. I have one question: Are you able to pay for this upfront?
Cat: Does it matter? You must give me the care I need regardless. if !supportEmptyParas -->cough, cough, cough!
Doc: Find someone else to do it.
Heya JR, I think your message got converted into some strange HTML thingy that isn't what you meant? Can you try again?
Now I can't be of any help there, can I?
I wish Cat of Arc, all the best with her battle. Go Cat Go!
PS: Great work by Arthur. :)
Nationalize all health care now and ban health as a center of profit for mega-corporations. health care is a right the same as free speech and K-12 education.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Wish you were here to crusade with us Aniket!
Walking Man, yeah! Right? Totally. Like school, like the fire department, like the water works, like the roads we drive on. If we're going to have a government at all, it should be for the benefit of the people.
AWESOME! Long may she prowl on her crusade and avoid powerful people with fire pits!!! We so need to battle the general apathy that is Western civilisation and stand for something!
"...health care is a right the same as free speech and K-12 education."
But what about the heroin addict that continues to abuse his body? When does healthcare no longer become a right? I'm sure, at some point, we need to examine the bottom line.
OMG JR, are you suggesting that we should RATION health care?? ;-)
I agree with you, there should be a few bottom lines.
I also feel that that bill as it stands HR3200, is worded pretty ambiguously in many places, leaving room for all of this hoopla we are seeing currently.
We need programs to teach and reward health and wellness, for instance, so people learn how to take care of themselves properly so as NOT to tax the system.
Such an intense Topic, Cause, Need!
Leave it to my sista Cat to share her vision ~ You're awesome!
Cat of Arc is awesome!
Arthur is awesome!
I'm on it!
hugs, Hon!
~Calli
Cat of Arc - turn back the blog to CatVibe, but stay around - lead the crusade - translate for the masses - help them not to fear change, truth, generosity, kindness.
Thanks Bonnie! What a wonderful thing to say. :-) Catvibe will return as soon as her other computer is back from the shop! :-)
A cat of many colors...all bright and saturated...I will grab my sword
Hugs
Linda
I'm all with Cat of Arc and hope she won't end as Joan... Your opponents are mighty and they all worship the god Money. Good luck dear Cat of Arc and... Cat! :-)
That's really a good way to pass on the message. From the comments here I see it is quite a problem out there, just let's hope that things will get better.
lovely!
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