Free Southern Illinois!

Hollywood celebrities often attach themselves to humanitarian efforts of noble purpose but with little hope of actual success. A great example of this is the “Free Tibet” movement. Over the years notable actors such as Richard Gere and Harrison Ford have attached themselves to this movement and lobbied for change. For those who are unaware, the Tibetan plight can be summed up something like this:

Poor, peace loving, rural Tibet has been overrun by the large communist military regime of China. They have no army and no defenses. Their new overlords create and enforce new laws, define their school curriculum, eliminate their culture and individuality, and essentially wipe out any and everything that is Tibet.

Through protests, political appeals, and personal pleading, the Hollywood types hope to bring awareness of the Tibetan plight to the attention of the American public. Their hope is that this will generate enough sympathy to create boycotts of China and political sanctions. Unfortunately, the movement has not made much progress over the years. Tibet is far away so it has little impact on the average American, it is of little or no economic or strategic value, and the Chinese couldn’t care less what Hollywood actors think of them. It’s time for Hollywood to move on to more viable causes.

It’s time for Hollywood to champion a cause closer to home and more near and dear to the hearts of the average American. It is time to free Southern Illinois. Much like Tibet, it is time to liberate the southern portion of Illinois from the communist dictatorship of the north (Chicago). Southern Illinois is a beautiful land of woods and streams, lakes and ponds, majestic hills, and bountiful farmland. Unfortunately, it struggles under the yoke of tyranny. That tyranny comes in the form of political oppression from the vastly populated Cook County in the north. Cook County consists of 946 square miles of land and holds 5.3 million people. That’s 42% of the Illinois’ 12.7 million people living on only 2% of Illinois total land area. The masses in urban Cook County make the laws and set the rules for all of Illinois. They choose their own representatives, leaders, and politicians. The people of southern Illinois have no voice in their government. Laws that make sense for the masses of the north are cumbersome and make life harder for those of the south. What Chicago wants, they get and those from the southern reaches are left to suffer, but they must still work and toil and send their tax dollars to the north. There are some resistance movements (www.gunssavelife.com) but they are few and there is little that they can do.

It’s time to end the suffering and Hollywood can help. The actors and actresses need only promote the freedom of Southern Illinois. Split Cook County from Illinois much like the District of Columbia is split from Virginia, and allow the rest of Illinois to elect new leadership and blossom into a land of plenty. Help put an end to oppression and tyranny in the United States and make life better for the average American. Hollywood can bring this issue to the forefront and help make the world a better place. Start the boycotts, write to Washington, and call CNN! Like many Americans I’ll be happy to jump on this bandwagon. Somebody please send me a bumper sticker. FREE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS!

Date Added: 03-01-2006