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Mistletoe Angel
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Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

0 posted 2004-11-03 04:26 PM


(Throughout the history of our nation, we have been granted the rights to resist our government in times of crisis. From the fight against slavery to those who protested going to Vietnam to resisting the draft and to multitudes of smaller events that occur within our own communities, cities, neighborhoods, dissent has long been a value we have cherished, which is right now endangered by the manufacturing agents running our domestic policy, publishing fear and anguish all across the headlines.

Even now in times where our right to protest has been crippled, these institutions are as valid as they've always been, therefore I ask of you who despair of these current conditions and disagree with these policies to stand up now and let your voices be heard, for we all are entitled to our own destinies that our rights of dissent and questioning are values, and to protect them must be fought for, not with fear or weapons but with the heart.

I am a proud liberal independent progressive, and let me also be proud to say despite the disappointment, the grief, and the broken heart inside of me from the election results, I am not moving to Canada, I am not moving to the U.K, I'm not going anywhere! I am proud to be an American, and am no quitter, because America is and always will be the land of opportunity! I still believe hope is on the way, and by building communities and bridges between one another, our progressive interests will be heard, and whether your candidate won or lost last night, in respecting and accepting each others differences without hesitation, and finding it in all our hearts to see we were not meant to live and be identified under nothing but ridiculous labels and stereotypes like these that keep us apart, but simply as Americans and Gods children, we will all be winners in the end!

Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, independent, or perhaps are not even interested in politics, I ask that we don't take our emotions out on one another in a negative light, or turn our backs on one another with our noses stuck in the air. Let us respect our differences and embrace one another, not as political rivals but as friends, neighbors, siblings in spirit, as God's children. Let us treat each other as fellow Americans, and find a little trust and accountability between one another in resolving the conflicts of interest between us.

I will continue to march against this war, and I will continue to cry "Not By Our Hands, Not In Our Name!", but rather than feel offended by these strong statements, let us keep our ears open and respect what the other side has to say as well! God Bless You All! )


Not By Our Hands, Not In Our Name
By: Noah Eaton
3/1/04
.
.
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...it all happened fast,

wish-wash wishful thinking...
.
.
.
smoke and mirror trick,

your eyes surrender to strabotomy...
.
.
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the media is agitated, intimidated,

questioning is taken as treason...
.
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there’s no reason to debate,

in debate there’s no reason...
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meanwhile, the morning has barely started,
eardrums are shattered by arrogated repercussions,
a blank check without signature’s being held by the government...
.
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.
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Not by our mouths,

will we let fear silence us,

not by our hearts,

will we deem our siblings as evil,

not by our lungs,

will we breathe the vanity press,

not by our will,

will we leave behind nameless,

not by our hands, not in our name…

.
.
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…they decline to speak,

they’ve all got their straight tickets...
.
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they keep their hands in their pockets,

camouflaging their recklessness...
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secret police at secret proceedings,

before secret courts by the hour…
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the executive branch usurps the others,

order strangles you like an Eton collar...
.
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my friends, you are my relatives,
but you’re not my dutch uncle,
"you’re either with us or against us",
I hate to burst your bubble,
we refuse to let you speak for us all,
hand over our conscience,
for manufactured trouble....
.
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Not by our mouths,

will we let fear silence us,

not by our hearts,

will we deem our siblings as evil,

not by our lungs,

will we breathe the vanity press,

not by our will,

will we leave behind graves without names,

not by our hands, not in our name…
.
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Wild spirits can’t be broken,

but stalking horses can be tamed,
.
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there’s no more time we can afford to lose,

let us not keep watching the world today,
.
.
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I’m erecting a new underground railroad,

I’m going to push ahead with this housemaid’s knee,
.
.
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offsetting the juggernaut,

by my word and deed…
.
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I’ll amplify the low frequency,
expose the metonymy machine behind policy,
fear won’t emancipate one in mental slavery…
.
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Not by our mouths,

will we let fear silence us,

not by our hearts,

will we deem our siblings as evil,

not by our lungs,

will we breathe the vanity press,

not by our will,

will we leave behind graves without names,

not by our hands, not in our name,

NOT BY MY EYES,

NOT BY MY EARS,

NOT BY MY MIND,

NOT BY MY FINGERS,

not under my name...
.
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.
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.
.
.



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

© Copyright 2004 Nadia Lockheart - All Rights Reserved
DavePage
Member Elite
since 2003-12-21
Posts 2917

1 posted 2004-11-03 05:14 PM


Amen to some of it

We need to work together and I am UK but I have a dread of the wasters remaining in power here.

We have the hightest fuel costs in Europe, a Nanny State with a Chancellor I still consider a Stalinist Control Freak and a Lawyer and his wife running the country.

They said years ago never let an Accountant or Lawyer run your country.

In the UK we have the equivalent of both.

America has voted and the world must accept its decision, whether it likes it or not.

In the UK we lack the freedoms of America.   Ageism is rife, talent squandered and a Prime Minister and Chancellor raising taxes to please their friends who they then pass the money, while in the best tradition of a software house I once worked for, everything is constantly changed and will always be put right in the next version, so dont bother us with complaints about disfunctionality.

Dave

Janet Marie
Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554

2 posted 2004-11-03 09:15 PM


Noah...regardless of ones political choices and alliances...your passion and drive cant help but be a light....I hope you never let the fire burn out...that apathy and age, or someone elses agendas wont take away your "energy of the innocent" and that you can make the positive changes you seek.
You certainly are on the road for that direction...

Rock on groovy guy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have prayed for America
I was made for America
Her shining dream plays in my mind
By the rockets red glare
A generation's blank stare
We better wake her up this time

The kid I was when I first left home
Was looking for his freedom and a life of his own
But the freedom that he found wasn't quite a sweet
When the truth was known
I have prayed for America
I was made for America
I can't let go till she comes around
Until the land of the free
Is awake and can see
And until her conscience has been found


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can't even say the names

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Jackson Browne
from "Lives In The Balance"

Poetry is emotion put into measure.
The emotion comes by nature ...
but the measure is acquired by art.

Thomas Hardy


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