ConnieMadden
11-06-2008, 02:02 PM
WE WON, WE WON, WE WON! EVERYTHING BUT PROP. 8.
Tears and laughter in Petaluma - and around the globe.
First, there is the Obama miracle - a family of warm, smart humans, people with huge heart along with intelligence, the big guys who can't be run off - the Obama's take on the White House and all that entails. Maybe we'll just all be humans and drop the labels eventually, black, white, purple, Muslim, Jew, African, foreign, local. Just humans. Let me try description in a poem:
Obama won: New Hope for Mother Nature
Tears of joy won't quite drop.
For fear the world will weigh too heavily.
Here it comes! Talk of the World NPR radio show
Brings wondrous talk of Hope from every corner;
People round the globe believing our New Hope
Will end war in the Middle East, prevent development of
Nuclear weapons in Iran; bring prosperity to all-somehow.
Stop! YES!!! A small miracle has occurred: we got past our
Nasty prejudices and voted for Grace, Patience, Talent.
Right to hold high expectations, we must never forget
This is a Human, not a God among us. We are not Saved.
Give the guy a breath; give him whatever he needs;
Believe he's honest, talented, a lover of humankind,
Not just his private club of rich guys. Have hope-
Though fear is justified, let the universe protect New Hope
And help us truly Come Together as a Human Race to
Heal Mother Nature, End War, Begin the Deep Peace
We must have to face off The Weight of the World,
Hunger, drought, nuclear annihilation, greenhouse gases,
Lack of compassion of Humans for Humans known as war.
All We Need is Love, to Come and Work Together.
More work than any can imagine.
Our Petaluma story isn't quite so dramatic, but, well, it's thrilling in a quiet way. After years of work toward this election, Petaluma will again enjoy a SMART majority at City Council - people dedicated to a sustainable way of living, eyes clearly on a healthy future for our town economically and believe we'll keep our fine character.
Thank you to David Glass and Tiffany Renee for putting your lives on hold to work cheap fors all on Council. Your work is cut out for you! Prime pieces of real estate need designation - how to really KNOW a new project will provide a net positive result for our town as our General Plan and the new FEIA resolution demand? We must try and now we can. There will be droughts and floods, a need to bring our our diverse community together to get to know and take care of each other. Schools need money; everyone needs money and many are losing jobs. Many are gettiung old; we're all going to. We can build revenue by courting new businesses and tourism and probably do pretty well - especially with year-round Farmers Markets and care toward a healtlhy local economy. Go for it, good people!
I am grateful, too, for the passing of Prop 2 - Be Kind to Animals - or a step toward that - and SMART Rail will be ours - we'll need it. Actually, happy with nearly all election results including victories for Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Senator Mark Leno, and thank you thank you people were smart enough to vote Against Measure K.
A huge shift has begun. We have much to do and if we are brave, we can join together and get to work. Glad to have this from Alice Walker:
Open Letter to Barack Obama (thanks to Ellen Bicheler, Daily Acts)
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being
the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you,
North America is a different place. It ! is really only to say: Well done.
We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best
of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would
actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your
rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a
balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the
world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the
world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however,
is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits
sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely
daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to
seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and
stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of
scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate.
One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no
excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real
success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may
buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and
space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet
clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the
reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most
damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those
feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain
religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies,
but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is
understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and
are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely.
However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often
fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing
of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor
people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the
Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that
must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be
lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to
animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And
your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust
characterizations, distort! ions and lies, is that expression of healthy
self-worth, spiri! t and so ul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can
find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the
world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker
Tears and laughter in Petaluma - and around the globe.
First, there is the Obama miracle - a family of warm, smart humans, people with huge heart along with intelligence, the big guys who can't be run off - the Obama's take on the White House and all that entails. Maybe we'll just all be humans and drop the labels eventually, black, white, purple, Muslim, Jew, African, foreign, local. Just humans. Let me try description in a poem:
Obama won: New Hope for Mother Nature
Tears of joy won't quite drop.
For fear the world will weigh too heavily.
Here it comes! Talk of the World NPR radio show
Brings wondrous talk of Hope from every corner;
People round the globe believing our New Hope
Will end war in the Middle East, prevent development of
Nuclear weapons in Iran; bring prosperity to all-somehow.
Stop! YES!!! A small miracle has occurred: we got past our
Nasty prejudices and voted for Grace, Patience, Talent.
Right to hold high expectations, we must never forget
This is a Human, not a God among us. We are not Saved.
Give the guy a breath; give him whatever he needs;
Believe he's honest, talented, a lover of humankind,
Not just his private club of rich guys. Have hope-
Though fear is justified, let the universe protect New Hope
And help us truly Come Together as a Human Race to
Heal Mother Nature, End War, Begin the Deep Peace
We must have to face off The Weight of the World,
Hunger, drought, nuclear annihilation, greenhouse gases,
Lack of compassion of Humans for Humans known as war.
All We Need is Love, to Come and Work Together.
More work than any can imagine.
Our Petaluma story isn't quite so dramatic, but, well, it's thrilling in a quiet way. After years of work toward this election, Petaluma will again enjoy a SMART majority at City Council - people dedicated to a sustainable way of living, eyes clearly on a healthy future for our town economically and believe we'll keep our fine character.
Thank you to David Glass and Tiffany Renee for putting your lives on hold to work cheap fors all on Council. Your work is cut out for you! Prime pieces of real estate need designation - how to really KNOW a new project will provide a net positive result for our town as our General Plan and the new FEIA resolution demand? We must try and now we can. There will be droughts and floods, a need to bring our our diverse community together to get to know and take care of each other. Schools need money; everyone needs money and many are losing jobs. Many are gettiung old; we're all going to. We can build revenue by courting new businesses and tourism and probably do pretty well - especially with year-round Farmers Markets and care toward a healtlhy local economy. Go for it, good people!
I am grateful, too, for the passing of Prop 2 - Be Kind to Animals - or a step toward that - and SMART Rail will be ours - we'll need it. Actually, happy with nearly all election results including victories for Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Senator Mark Leno, and thank you thank you people were smart enough to vote Against Measure K.
A huge shift has begun. We have much to do and if we are brave, we can join together and get to work. Glad to have this from Alice Walker:
Open Letter to Barack Obama (thanks to Ellen Bicheler, Daily Acts)
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being
the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you,
North America is a different place. It ! is really only to say: Well done.
We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best
of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would
actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your
rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a
balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the
world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the
world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however,
is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits
sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely
daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to
seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and
stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of
scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate.
One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no
excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real
success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may
buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and
space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet
clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the
reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most
damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those
feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain
religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies,
but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is
understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and
are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely.
However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often
fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing
of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor
people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the
Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that
must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be
lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to
animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And
your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust
characterizations, distort! ions and lies, is that expression of healthy
self-worth, spiri! t and so ul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can
find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the
world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker