Post by Duchess of Lashes on Feb 2, 2006 17:41:56 GMT -5
I really wasn't sure where to put this - it is for LIBERALS only - but it is also a rant of sorts - my little rant for the day.
We want a better America, an America that will give its citizens, first of all, a higher and higher standard of living so that no child will cry for food in the midst of plenty. We want to have an America where the inventions of science will be at the disposal of every American family, not merely for the few who can afford them; an America that will have no sense of insecurity and which will make it possible for all groups, regardless of race, creed or color to live in friendship, to be real neighbors, an America that will carry its great mission of helping other countries to help themselves.
Sidney Hillman
These simple words are etched in a concrete plaque, mounted in the brick column of the gated entrance to Hillman Cooperative Housing, a public housing project in New York City.
As we passed by, I paused to read them, and then asked Tracy if she would take a picture for me, because I wanted to remember; the message conveyed by those words, in their simplicity and truth, was powerful and it touched me. I thought as I read them that the elected officials in Washington, particularly those currently occupying the highest offices, holding tightly to the reigns of power, have surely forgotten what it is they are there to do.
Mr. Hillman knew; he envisioned it; his ideals were possible then; I don’t believe they are anymore. When we did we, as a nation, allow ourselves to stray from the ideals and principals on which this country was founded? When did we choose to take the fork in the road that led us so far away from what once was and should be still our ultimate destination?
It is a sad reflection of that choice that we now find ourselves, after almost six years of this particular Presidency, mired in controversy worldwide, targets of an ever-growing hatred, boiling beyond recognized enemy borders, the seeds of loathing planted deeply and cultivated in foreign soil; our sons and daughters dying for a cause that has yet to be truthfully justified; living in a state of such insecurity that we have stooped to spying on our own citizens, that action, spun to those still naïve enough to listen and believe, as self-protectionism; our freedom to speak or allow our voices to raise up and be heard, suppressed by the threatened consequences imposed by the iron fist of justice; the gap between rich and poor America far wider than it has ever been before, the necessities of everyday life still unattainable for so many; the interest of corporations and big business sitting proudly atop the priority list, the welfare and well-being of the down-trodden relegated to the bottom.
I am but once voice; the voice of a mother who fears for the future, wonders if the country I have called home for the last 20 years, the birthplace of my child, will ever shine again, able to recover from the damage so readily wrought, not only to its own reputation, but to the reputations of those of us who sit in direct opposition to the actions taken by this administration.
My hopes are simple; I want my child to grow up, accepting of his fellow citizens regardless of ethnicity, in a country where the dreams of childhood are still reachable goals, where there exists a resilient sense of responsibility and community. I hope the next person to take the helm of this listing ship does a far better job of steering that course, righting this vessel and making it possible for my hopes and my child’s dreams to be realized.
We want a better America, an America that will give its citizens, first of all, a higher and higher standard of living so that no child will cry for food in the midst of plenty. We want to have an America where the inventions of science will be at the disposal of every American family, not merely for the few who can afford them; an America that will have no sense of insecurity and which will make it possible for all groups, regardless of race, creed or color to live in friendship, to be real neighbors, an America that will carry its great mission of helping other countries to help themselves.
Sidney Hillman
These simple words are etched in a concrete plaque, mounted in the brick column of the gated entrance to Hillman Cooperative Housing, a public housing project in New York City.
As we passed by, I paused to read them, and then asked Tracy if she would take a picture for me, because I wanted to remember; the message conveyed by those words, in their simplicity and truth, was powerful and it touched me. I thought as I read them that the elected officials in Washington, particularly those currently occupying the highest offices, holding tightly to the reigns of power, have surely forgotten what it is they are there to do.
Mr. Hillman knew; he envisioned it; his ideals were possible then; I don’t believe they are anymore. When we did we, as a nation, allow ourselves to stray from the ideals and principals on which this country was founded? When did we choose to take the fork in the road that led us so far away from what once was and should be still our ultimate destination?
It is a sad reflection of that choice that we now find ourselves, after almost six years of this particular Presidency, mired in controversy worldwide, targets of an ever-growing hatred, boiling beyond recognized enemy borders, the seeds of loathing planted deeply and cultivated in foreign soil; our sons and daughters dying for a cause that has yet to be truthfully justified; living in a state of such insecurity that we have stooped to spying on our own citizens, that action, spun to those still naïve enough to listen and believe, as self-protectionism; our freedom to speak or allow our voices to raise up and be heard, suppressed by the threatened consequences imposed by the iron fist of justice; the gap between rich and poor America far wider than it has ever been before, the necessities of everyday life still unattainable for so many; the interest of corporations and big business sitting proudly atop the priority list, the welfare and well-being of the down-trodden relegated to the bottom.
I am but once voice; the voice of a mother who fears for the future, wonders if the country I have called home for the last 20 years, the birthplace of my child, will ever shine again, able to recover from the damage so readily wrought, not only to its own reputation, but to the reputations of those of us who sit in direct opposition to the actions taken by this administration.
My hopes are simple; I want my child to grow up, accepting of his fellow citizens regardless of ethnicity, in a country where the dreams of childhood are still reachable goals, where there exists a resilient sense of responsibility and community. I hope the next person to take the helm of this listing ship does a far better job of steering that course, righting this vessel and making it possible for my hopes and my child’s dreams to be realized.
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