A Year in Good Standing

2007 is going to be the most significant year in our nation's history since 1968. It will be a year of progress and change, not because of the Baker Group or some insight on the part of Bush & Cheney. The progress will, however, take much of its form within the new Congress. But, most of all, it will be the result of the tireless efforts of the activists found across the nation at the grass-roots level.

Just a few short years ago, many of the ideas and beliefs expressed on DU were the type of things that the corporate media scoffed at. Things have changed. That change wasn't from the top. It started at the grass-roots level. That change in perception resulted in the new Congress.

In the past few weeks (and months and years), it has been evident that there are a wide range of thinking, beliefs, and values to be found within the progressive community here. This is a strength. We face a wide range of problems in this era, and a narrow range of thinking will offer few solutions.

When I was young, Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman taught me this: "Think for yourself, and act for others." He also taught me that there is strength in unity. One of the things that unites people on DU is a common enemy: an enemy of people as individuals, that dictates who can or cannot get married; an enemy that denies certain people the medical care they deserve; an enemy that will dump its poisonous waste products into the environment you inhabit; an enemy that makes it too expensive for some young people to get the education they deserve; an enemy that declares preemptive wars based upon gross lies, and fully expects others' children to fight, kill, and die in it; an enemy that wants to deny you and I any access to that Constitution and its Bill of Rights that makes this country worth our investments.

Chief Waterman taught me that this common enemy will attempt to isolate us, so that it can break us as easily as it can break an individual finger. Yet when we unite, we individual fingers form a powerful fist. We can use that fist to protect our common interests. We saw the result of that "fist" in the voting booths last November. We need to see a lot more of it in 2007, taking full advantage of those tools listed in that Bill of Rights, and protecting those treasures found in the entire Constitution.

Happy New Year, DU !!!



Get Up. Stand Up
by Bob Marley & Peter Tosh

Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!

Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don't give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can't give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don't give up the fight! (Yeah!)

We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

Every time I see a person standing with a BRING THEM HOME sign, every time I read a letter to the editor supporting a populist idea or see the side of a barn decorated with a peace symbol, I`m reminded of the power of one.

Happy New Year to you,too!

http://www.toronto-lime.com/music/reggae.htm

Scroll down to Classic Rockers - click Real Situation - enjoy.

Let's hope we can stop them. I'd love to sing One Love in 2007.

Thanks for that. Thanks for keeping the hippie dream of love and sharing alive. I hope our voices get stronger in 2007.

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

A wonderful post. Think for yourself, and act for others. A lucky boy to have such a noble mentor.

I sense greatest change. Even in my personal life I am amidst it. It looks like I finally sold my farm. And with an entire entourage of tractors and cranes and trucks and machines, I have no idea where I'm going. It's a leap. I waver between fear and relief and adventure. Fear that it may get ugly. Relief that I am leaving this forest clearcutting town. Adventure because something good might happen. Now it's time to follow the path that brings good. Instead of forcing, follow the path that feels right. Avoid the fear and worry. Find the beauty.

I know it's about ME, but I only mentioned it because I believe it parallels the sentiments we have about our Congress. It has been ugly. We don't know where it's going to go. We have grave doubts that the new Congress will be worthy, and do the right things. But we have hope, and a newfound knowledge. And with our voices we will make our needs heard. I believe we are on the right path. Too many have suffered for too long. It can't be dark this long.

Now the clouds are turning orange and red. It's a new day. It's a new year. Finally.

Another thing I was taught was that when people say to "look at the sky" for signs, it's not always meant as "look up." Sometimes it means "look over." I like this spot, because I can look over at the sky.

That's beautiful. Vigilant eyes need to rest once in a while.


This was my front yard a few years ago. The horizon is the town of Mendocino. At night a lighthouse could be seen.

talked about the importance of having your personal spot. We are lucky to have found such spots.

this photo, a lovely female figure emerges.

K & R

for another very positive post. How fortunate to have such a wise person in your life at an early age. Thank you for passing his wisdom on to us. We ARE stronger than we know.

Happy New Year, H2O Man.

"The genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges, or churches, or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors, but always most in the common people." -- Walt Whitman

"There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Eagle Speaks
"With Zeus I descended from Olympus into mortal fields of play – to raise Caesars from their funeral pyres and bring Soma, Indra's liquid fire. In Egyptian hieroglyphics I am A, the origin, the day.

"On starry nights you can see me leading Aquarius to the New Age, and from Christian pulpits I carry the Word upon the four winds.

"These honors rightfully belong to my old-world cousins, for I am the American Bald Eagle. My headdress is the color of the Sun. My allies are the thunderbolt and the rainbow. My feathers, a blessing to medicine men and a boon to warriors. My flight, a prayer rising and grace descending.

"I soared above the valleys of your grandfathers' great grandfathers, adrift on warm thermals fragrant with summer rain. Lifted by an upward urge, in ecstasy I flew.

"I remember the day my journey began to become the emblem of your nation – many thousand moons ago in the year you call 1737, in the woodlands the English called Penn's Sylvania. For a day and a half, three men ran through Lenape homeland. What was to be a walking purchase took twice the land promised. The Lenape people lost their favored hunting grounds. Later, others lost much more.

"Twenty summers passed until a man of truth listened to the Lenapes. He helped their voices reach the English island King. Peace was restored for awhile between the colonizers and tribes. This man was an outsider, but the Lenapes saw him as their brother and adopted him, sharing secrets of centuries and the mystery of my kinship with Native Americans.

"This young man carried my vision throughout his life. As an elder, he found himself at the center of a whirlwind that became a Revolution. His name was Charles Thomson, and he honored his knowledge by choosing my image to help bind the new Americans into one nation. He placed me on your Great Seal. Gave me a bundle of brave arrows and a branch from the tree of peace.

"For those who say I represent power and might, I tell you that is not me. I am more of harmony and height, soaring spirit and joy of freedom. Yes, I have strength – so I can nourish the young nesting atop great pines and upon steep cliffs.

"Let me be a living reminder, a messenger of unity from the Grandfathers of your nation. You are one with your ancestors, one with your descendants, one with creatures of earth, water, and sky – even the rooted ones. Remember this, and let your heart soar with the spirit of the Eagle."


-------------------------

There are those who claim to be brave warriors who fill their guns with pellets and shoot the baby eagles in their nests. They boast about shock and awe and missions accomplished. But someday the great mother eagle will return in full power to avenge her young.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnUskMM9fP8

Follow Through

Make up a story when you go to sleep tonight
Wake up in the morning and hold it down deep inside
And you can be a dreamer
You can be your dreams come true
Let imagine lead, reality will follow through

Some of us dance to the sound of fortune and fame
Others want to march all around defending their domain
But you can be a dreamer
You can be your dreams come true
Let imagine lead, reality will follow through

If darkness and pressure try to turn your story down—
look back, think hard about how that story really sounds
Then you can be a dreamer
You can be your dreams come true
Let imagine lead, reality will follow through

Michael Hedges

was an incredible fellow. It's so sad he's gone.

Waterman is flowing this new day.

Happy News Year.

:kick:

I always look forward to your wisdom and thoughtful posts. I also respect the elders you are so fortunate to have in your life. But I do have one question for this post. It has been biased toward our enemies...don't your elders respect friendship more? Just a question, not a judgment, I don't know the answer.

biased toward our enemies ... don't your elders respect friendship more?"

I'm not sure what you mean. Could you explain?

Very nice.

:toast:

...bubble up, trickle up Democracy!

I heard Alice Walker say last night, about freedom and civil rights (paraphrasing), We (the Black community) didn't get it from the Constitution. We made it happen!

Lucky We, we have the paperwork. We just need to see that those in office can read it, and will honor it!

That dried ink on old paper doesn't bring democracy to life. Our actions do. And we bring that dried ink to life in doing so.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year :hi:

:)

It's been a year not just of talk but of action. This election year was a chance for many of us to put ourselves on the frontlines of the fight, and the next two years offer even greater opportunities. We must take back the WH in order to take our country back. We will do it.

xx
S

and we want it -- now!"
-- James Douglas Morrison




One positive thing is that there appear to be many interesting candidates within the democratic party who are fully capable of serving as president.

The NY machine Dems still don't get it. JFK would have laughed his head off at that.

What an inspiration! I just shared that with a friend, and it resonated with her, also.

I feel a bumpersticker coming on.... :)


In the end, though, we must be united by more than a common enemy. We must be united by our common vision for the future, and that entails that acting for others, not just ourselves.

We have a long way to go.

Don't like broken fingers

....:kick: and R! and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Uplifting and inspiring.

"Think for yourself, and act for others." Words to live by, and cherish for their wisdom.

:kick: