I sit and ponder what is the purpose, what it means, and why we are supposed to be here. I do not wish to have power, yet power is exactly that which creates and destroys throughout the world. Is there something else? I don't wish to have power, I seek to eradicate it. Yet, some believe that that too is an erroneous goal? Should we sit back and allow evil and oppression take place with out actively seeking to stop it? These are questions which I want answered. My belief is that one must work actively to eradicate oppression and that one must constantly criticize and deny the authority of oppression wherever it veers its head. I wonder how much I am able to do. I write, I attend protests sometimes, yet this does not seem to be enough. I look at the examples of Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, and Malcolm X and am encouraged, wondering what advice they would have for me in my search for my place in the world. Turning now to a bit of news, more soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Somehow I see that as justly deserved. I want to know the answer. I want to know the solution. I want to know why-I already know why- but how to stop the flow of minorities and the poor into the military with promises of education and stability in return for service- if they make it back alive...it is an awful system and no one should be apart of it. I often ask myself.where is is there integrity? I know that these people are poor and for them the military is the only option....but there are simply some things which are a matter of conscience. I cannot feel any sympathy for them. They are footsoldiers of the white male power structure -neither forced or goaded. They have been tricked by a brutal bully.