Coffee Party – St. Augustine, FL

by Lee Henry

Saturday March 13, 2010 was the first meeting of the Coffee Party in St Augustine. The turn out, or lack thereof, seems indicative of the apathy which has permeated the American peoples’ attitude to politics for the last few years. “We the people” seem to no longer feel that our government represents us; that it is the creature of big business and special interest groups, and has no understanding of the needs and wants of the average citizen. We believe that our leadership has devolved into petty bickering and posturing and produces nothing of intrinsic value from which we can create anything positive. Senate debates appear nothing more than school yard squabbles between 5 year olds and public debates have become nothing more than vicious rhetoric and finger pointing. If our great country is to survive we need to be aware that ultimately we are all on the same side and the only way that we can improve anything is through decision-making based on intelligent and informed debate.

The period in which this country was founded is now known as the Enlightenment. It was a period when the old ideas and values were replaced by new ones with the central philosophy being that we are all of value and could contribute to the betterment of our fellows.  It is important that we do not lose sight of this as our world enters a pivotal time in our history. Greed, envy and selfishness have become aspirations. People demand rights without accepting responsibility and this reflects itself in the way our leaders behave, they lie, cheat and steal from us and we have become so cynical that we do not hold them to account but simply accept it. We can no longer entrust the future of ourselves, or children or our country to the results engendered by the current process. We must find a way to be heard, to be included in the process, to take back the power which was won for us by our forefathers.

We ask that you join us at our next meeting; change on the magnitude all of us desire cannot be left in the hands of the few, but can only be obtained by the efforts of many. Government “by the people, for the people” means exactly that. We need to come together, now, as intelligent human beings and take control of our own destinies lest we allow the continued rise of this nouveau aristocracy to destroy everything that has been built. We cannot do it if all we do is obstruct, criticize and fight each other. We can only do it by working together, making an effort to understand each other, and striving to find common ground through discussion and informed debate. This cannot be done if the silent majority stays silent.