blueyedpoet
Refugee
Okay, I know this might be a bit long, but I just wrote this for God-knows-why. I hope it stimulates conversation. Oh, by the by, I hope my comments about the British monarchy are not offensive - I love the British!
Blog
America's Soul: Just Devils and Dust
While it may have a, well let’s face it, trite sort of ring to it, the lyrics, “There can be miracles,
When you believe, Though hope is frail, It's hard to kill, Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe? Somehow you will; You will when you believe,” - which have been sung in my head again and again today - really have me thinking. I know, how can I actually attain some sort of message from a Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston song written for a sub-par religious cartoon?
Here’s the thing, today the world looks bleak. You don’t need me to tell you that. You already know that we have falsely, unjustly imprisoned kids in our War on Terror; you already know that we have illegally kidnapped suspicious individuals in America and sent them to countries that torture such individuals; you already know that we have been lied to time and time again; you already know that it’s not okay for a president to receive fellitio in the Oval Office and lie about in court, yet it is okay for a president to fuck over an already fucked up country and lie about it whilst addressing Congress and citizens; you already know that a radical movement to persuade government to take away rights of marginalized people is gaining traction and succeeding; you already know we are letting an entire continent burst into the flames of AIDS, extreme poverty, and other crippling diseases; and, you already know that we have lost our belief in America.
Hope certainly is frail. How could it not be? That last, incredibly long and dramatic paragraph certainly crippled my hope. And, though I know not why, we must believe. We must have hope that our belief in progressive ideals will overcome the seemingly insurmountable mountain.
Without hope and belief, Mother Theresa would not have been able to rise up every morning and care for God’s children. Without hope and belief, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been able to rise up every morning to confront hate. He even claimed to have seen the mountain top when all of God’s children - black, white, Jews, Gentiles, homosexuals, and AIDS victims - will join hands and sing songs of freedom.
The opposite of hope is fear. Anyone who has ever discussed racism, or any other form of prejudice, can speak about how fear is caused by ignorance. And, fear results in hate. We fear terrorist attacks. And, after 9/11, the Madrid and London attacks, it is certainly understandable. However, fear has never produced a single positive result. America has a tumultuous history of fear being the root for some incredibly dark moments. For instance, fear led to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War Two. Today, there are children locked up in Guantanomo Bay because we fear. Fear must not be allowed to cripple the American ideals. If we allow fear of terrorism to deconstruct our freedom, then we might as well declare Osama “winner.”
A radical group has gripped fear into many American lives. Pointing out the many ills of society, this radical group puts the blame on “the queers and their gay agenda.” They insist that if we allow “those queers” to marry, the foundation of marriage will crumble. How? What about the over 50% of married couples in this radical group who give this foundation of marriage the finger by divorcing? We fear what we do not understand. This fear leads to outright hate. Who hasn’t heard the mantra “God hates fags”? Can you think of anything more cruel, more hateful, more outrageously antithetical of a loving God?
I believe this country has a soul. I also believe this country’s soul is one that thrives on progress. We progressed the theory of democracy by rejecting the cold, tired British monarchy. We then continued to progress by rejecting the cold, tired notion that one human can own another sentient being. Further down along the road, we continued to progress by giving equal rights to people regardless of their skin color. Today, we can continue on our exodus by rejecting our government’s stance that the way to defeat terrorism is to terrorize, by treating, caring, and tending of the poor, and by advancing the rights of the homosexual community.
We must reject fear. Fear dirties our soul. Just ask the man who was “Born in the USA.” As the Boss sings, “Fear's a powerful thing, baby. It can turn your heart black you can trust. It'll take your God filled soul, And fill it with devils and dust.”
Blog
America's Soul: Just Devils and Dust
While it may have a, well let’s face it, trite sort of ring to it, the lyrics, “There can be miracles,
When you believe, Though hope is frail, It's hard to kill, Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe? Somehow you will; You will when you believe,” - which have been sung in my head again and again today - really have me thinking. I know, how can I actually attain some sort of message from a Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston song written for a sub-par religious cartoon?
Here’s the thing, today the world looks bleak. You don’t need me to tell you that. You already know that we have falsely, unjustly imprisoned kids in our War on Terror; you already know that we have illegally kidnapped suspicious individuals in America and sent them to countries that torture such individuals; you already know that we have been lied to time and time again; you already know that it’s not okay for a president to receive fellitio in the Oval Office and lie about in court, yet it is okay for a president to fuck over an already fucked up country and lie about it whilst addressing Congress and citizens; you already know that a radical movement to persuade government to take away rights of marginalized people is gaining traction and succeeding; you already know we are letting an entire continent burst into the flames of AIDS, extreme poverty, and other crippling diseases; and, you already know that we have lost our belief in America.
Hope certainly is frail. How could it not be? That last, incredibly long and dramatic paragraph certainly crippled my hope. And, though I know not why, we must believe. We must have hope that our belief in progressive ideals will overcome the seemingly insurmountable mountain.
Without hope and belief, Mother Theresa would not have been able to rise up every morning and care for God’s children. Without hope and belief, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been able to rise up every morning to confront hate. He even claimed to have seen the mountain top when all of God’s children - black, white, Jews, Gentiles, homosexuals, and AIDS victims - will join hands and sing songs of freedom.
The opposite of hope is fear. Anyone who has ever discussed racism, or any other form of prejudice, can speak about how fear is caused by ignorance. And, fear results in hate. We fear terrorist attacks. And, after 9/11, the Madrid and London attacks, it is certainly understandable. However, fear has never produced a single positive result. America has a tumultuous history of fear being the root for some incredibly dark moments. For instance, fear led to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War Two. Today, there are children locked up in Guantanomo Bay because we fear. Fear must not be allowed to cripple the American ideals. If we allow fear of terrorism to deconstruct our freedom, then we might as well declare Osama “winner.”
A radical group has gripped fear into many American lives. Pointing out the many ills of society, this radical group puts the blame on “the queers and their gay agenda.” They insist that if we allow “those queers” to marry, the foundation of marriage will crumble. How? What about the over 50% of married couples in this radical group who give this foundation of marriage the finger by divorcing? We fear what we do not understand. This fear leads to outright hate. Who hasn’t heard the mantra “God hates fags”? Can you think of anything more cruel, more hateful, more outrageously antithetical of a loving God?
I believe this country has a soul. I also believe this country’s soul is one that thrives on progress. We progressed the theory of democracy by rejecting the cold, tired British monarchy. We then continued to progress by rejecting the cold, tired notion that one human can own another sentient being. Further down along the road, we continued to progress by giving equal rights to people regardless of their skin color. Today, we can continue on our exodus by rejecting our government’s stance that the way to defeat terrorism is to terrorize, by treating, caring, and tending of the poor, and by advancing the rights of the homosexual community.
We must reject fear. Fear dirties our soul. Just ask the man who was “Born in the USA.” As the Boss sings, “Fear's a powerful thing, baby. It can turn your heart black you can trust. It'll take your God filled soul, And fill it with devils and dust.”
oops. 
I suppose if I were less of a nerd, this would make me think first of "Sweetest Thing"--but what it really reminds me of is e.e. cummings' Buffalo Bill's:
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