I Am That Somebody

I have been following the story of a horse and animal rescue farm that the county is trying to close down.  The rescue group was started by a woman who would rescue horses from abuse or abandonment. The purpose of the rescue farm is to rehabilitate and find new homes for them.  For almost two decades the farm has been dedicated to rescuing animals while struggling to surve on donations and fundraisers.  In 2010,  the county decided her operation doesn't comply with zoning.  They fined her $5600, which she was able to raise through the donations of others.  Now the requirement is to totally renovate her operation within six months or close it down.  The cost is just under $50,000 and she doesn't have it.  The county doesn't care about the fate of the animals or the fact that, in a world where cruelty has become daily news, this is a place of compassion. Many of my friends are very upset and hoping somebody will be able to help.

http://www.wildhorseranchrescue.com/help.html

Years ago I volunteered for a homeless school in downtown Phoenix.  This school offered a temporary refuge to homeless children and gave them an opportunity for an education that they would not have received any other way.  The school operated as a nonprofit, not as part of the county school system.  In spite of the challenges, the school was not only a performing school but was a school with high performance scores.  Maricopa County instigated several investigations.  The director was charged with mismanagement and the county took over.   People were upset and hoping somebody could step in to help.  After a fight, the school was allowed to remain open but the state had it merged with the county school system, replaced the staff and adminstrators with their own people, and moved it to Paradise Valley.  The director was cleared of all wrong doing, but the move was counterproductive. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Pappas_School

In the news today, a bill was proposed to deny citizenship to babies born within our borders.  Although I am adamantly against illegal immigration, a child has no voice.  If he is born in the USA, there is no guarantee it would be welcomed in the country of it's parents.  If a child is born on US soil, then I feel it should have some type of optional citizenship rights.

You can never change what you tolerate.
Joel O Steen

There is a commonality in the three situations. In each, the government is attacking the powerless.  Those who have no voice seem to be targeted yet the government ingores the human factor.  

 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was instrumental in starting the movement to give women the right to vote.   Ms. Stanton and her husband were active in the anti slave movement.  It is rumored that she and her husband would often help slaves escape by hiding them in her cellar.  In 1840 she was denied a vote or a voice because of her gender at an anti slave convention.  She  realized that if she was unable to make her voice count she could not make a difference.  Thus began her crusade.

Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.

Ronald Reagan

On my way home from work yesterday I drove by the homeless school.  The property and startup funding for the school was donated.  Although the county was successful in vacating the school, ownership was established in a way that the property cannot be easily seized.   As I drove by,  I saw the large empty bus barns and a silent school yard  in a place where children once played.  This was also a place of compassion that once offered a feeling  of security  to children who had nothing else.

The world is full of suffering.  It is also full of overcoming.
Helen Keller


The horse rescue  farm has been weighing on my mind heavily in recent days.    For a short time,  I wondered if somebody would be able to help,   After driving by the school yesterday, I went home and called the horse rescue to make a donation and offered to volunteer to help as needed.  Next, I will use my voice and write letters to senators and congressmen. 

Don't be afraid to see what you see.

Ronald Reagan


I refuse to live with blinders over my eyes while trying to fool myself into believing that the injustices in this world are every one else's problem.  Although I cannot change everything, right every wrong, or convince the heartless to find a heart,  I can do my small part and hope that my contribution  is just enough to make a difference. 

My ancestors fought and sacrificed to give me  the right to have a voice in this world.  If there is an injustice, I have an obligation to speak out.  If I had no voice, I  hope that someone would speak up for me.   For a moment I was waiting for somebody else to speak up and try to make things right until I realized ...I am that somebody else.

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.

Ronald Reagan