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Everyday Warriors
[Editor's Note: This piece comes to us from DCP blogger, Michelle Lindsey. Let's take this with us as we move forward on the many fronts where we are engaged in the defense and restoration of democracy. Many thanks, Michelle.]
Everyday Warriors
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Those are words that Theodore Roosevelt lived by – and they are words that can, and should, be relevant in all our lives.
We each have a unique voice, and using that voice for good, and for positive change, is a vital element of our democracy, and a vital essence of the vibrancy of our nation. There are so many ways one can make a difference – and on so many different scales.
Within the heart of each of us, in the place where beliefs and conviction unite with action, lies a warrior. When we summon our courage and step up to take action, in ways both big and small, that warrior faces the front lines, where the battle is drawn, ready and waiting to be fought with purpose, courage, strength, compassion, and conviction.
As Americans, we are blessed and fortunate enough to live in a free and democratic society – but in order for a democracy to serve its full potential, it requires action and involvement from its citizens.
In order to work, prosper, and thrive, a democracy requires all of its citizens to raise and share their voices and their views. It should inspire all of us to be informed, engaged, and involved – not just those in Washington, or in the state capitols, but all of us in our own towns and communities.
When our country was founded, it wasn’t just a few that bore this nation and made it great, but rather it was many – it was all the people of this land – every man, woman, and child, who had to stand up, fight for their rights and freedoms, give voice to their values, and be involved in the process. It was that involvement that gave birth to the most grand and free democracy on the planet.
And that democracy still lives – but only if we choose to engage it.
We cannot just sit back and say, "Only those elected to office should be concerned with our country. Only they should be the ones taking action – but rather all of us must be involved.
We’re all in this together, and for a democracy to survive and prosper it requires thoughtful and respectful action from all its citizens. I know, however, that many folks shy away from involvement with feelings of inadequacy or the like - and that is one of the supreme tragedies within the grassroots of America. Each and every one of you are important!
Your dreams, values, and concerns are important.
Your voice is important. And your voice is a glorious gift and essential addition to this democracy.
Speak up! Share your ideas! Voice your concerns! Defend your values!
Fight for your beliefs!
Being involved is not tough – it’s simple!
Just take that first step. Write that letter to the editor, make that phone call, wave that sign!
I've been a newspaper columnist and magazine journalist since I was 14. God gave me the gift of words and I’ve committed my life to using that gift to try and put a little light out there, to try and make a difference, in whatever way I can. And because of the experiences I’ve been blessed with over the past years, writing for many different publications, I've seen countless and varied works from people across this great land. I’ve read letters and contributions from some of the country’s finest journalists – and I’ve read letters and contributions from countless grassroots activists and everyday. Americans who have taken that step to speak up and speak out about what they believe in.
I want to tell you that sometimes the greatest contributions come not from seasoned journalists, but rather they are letters and contributions of passion and purpose from everyday folks - everyday warriors - everyday believers in the causes, issues, and values that shape our lives, our country, and the world.
Growing up as the daughter of a football coach taught me many lessons early on, among them: Just because you may not be winning, doesn't mean you quit playing the game.
A variation on that is also: Just because the road may be long, winding, steep, or difficult, doesn't mean you don't make the journey.
And just because you're losing a battle, that doesn't mean you should stop fighting.
If you believe in it, then it's worth fighting for.
We must continue to stand up for what we think is right, and just, and for what we believe in.
We've all been given a voice - our own unique voice inside of us - deep in our hearts. And it's in finding that voice, listening to it, and then turning it into a greater good that we find a fulfillment of purpose.
Be inspired! Be involved!
Use your voice for positive change!
Make a difference!
In “The Grapes of Wrath,” the character Tom Joad laments:
And we’ll be there – those of us who know that there’s always something worth believing in.
And if there’s something worth believing in, then it’s worth dreaming of, worth working for, and worth fighting for.
We’re everyday warriors, and we’ll never surrender.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050529/ap_on_go_su_co/bush_supreme_court
White House Researching Potential Justices
Michelle,
THank you for inspiring words on this Sunday. This coming week, the DCP will participate in Take Back America: http://www.ourfuture.org/projects/national_conference/2005/about.cfm
We hope each and every person who reads this blog or forum will visit here and post as we attend sessions with Howard Dean, Arianna Huffington, Donna Brazile, Antonio Villaraigosa, John Kenneth Galbraith, Thomas Franks, Jim Wallis, George Lakoff, Sid Blumenthal, and John Edwards. We are carrying YOUR messages to these folks as well.
We will be blogging live, videocasting, and podcasting, we will have photos and live chats as we can.
So thanks, Michelle, for beginning what promises to be a week of opportunities for all of us, and for the future of our country.
We represent YOU.
Michelle,
Those words are so incredibly inspiring. To me, they represent exactly how I felt when I originally joined the johnkerry.com website. I was full of fear and a strange whisper of power inside me just waiting for release. The act of becoming involved instead of remaining a victom gave me the courage to reach outside my comfort zone and learn to use the hidden power within me to overcome the adversity in our world.
Thank you, Suz, so very much for your kind words. It is YOU and your courage, words, and actions - and the courage, words, and actions of this wonderful DCP community - that inspire me. You make a difference every day just by believing in something and having the will, vision, and initiative to stand up, speak out, and be involved.
So thank you all for inspiring me! :)
Thanks so much for sharing that information, Karen. I will certainly look forward to participating! I hope this will be a banner week for the true valor of democracy in our land that is not dead, only dormant - and waiting for folks like us to stand up and speak and act on its behalf. You guys are wonderful, inspirational, and courageous difference makers....and I am honored to be a part of your community....our little band of everyday warriors. :)
Michelle, welcome to the "Band of Bloggers."
Michelle,
Your comment above reminds me of some discussions I've had with people here. Some are frightened about what the government is doing. They come to me and they speak to me as powerless victoms. What can I say? It's not like I don't understand their perspective, because I do!
So I tell them what I feel. I feel worried. I feel worried about what will be left for the average person, but I also feel like if I don't fight then I will simply make it easier for them to destroy us. So for each person that tells me their frightened, I say, "Join the rebellion. Speak up!" We all will be able to draw courage and inspiration from each other.
Oh, I need to define my word "here". When people speak to me locally in my hometown is what I meant.
(oops)
THIS is what its all about. What Great thoughts and Ideals.
Millions of Evangelicals are reflecting deeply about their Faith. The direction its been taken and the Actions that resulted, Do the fruits of their actions Honor their beliefs. Does the Blood of hundreds of thousands Iraqis cry out any less to God.
Millions of Conservatives reflect on the Direction their Government has Taken. The massive deficit and budget shortfalls, the attempt to obliterate the Senate Rules, the willingness to betray the Constitution to a Religious extreme.
This is Battle, and a righteous one. Its for the Soul of this Nation, the Literal Constitution, and our responsibility when we unleash our awesome Military Might. It is our Burden as Citizens.
We must call to testify before the Nation our leadership regarding fabricated intelligence to justify the Invasion of Iraq. If they have abused their responsibility, by definition they have abused our government, our Military, and the brave soldiers that have been wounded, maimed and died in Iraq.
There is enough circumstantial evidence released (so far) from England and inside the US to provide respective branches of Government with powers granted in the Constitution, to bring testimony required under our system of Law.
If this Administration betrayed the Nation, it was done before the World, openly, with intent. It is before the world that this Congress and Senate must openly investigate and arrive at the truth as well.
LET'S ALSO REMEMBER JOHN KENNEDY, FOR TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY:
What JFK Might Tell our Leaders Theodore C. Sorensen Saturday, May 28, 2005 by the Boston Globe http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0528-20.htm
Tomorrow would have been John F. Kennedy's 88th birthday. Were he still alive, I have no doubt that, with his customary idealism and commitment to country, he would still be offering advice to our current leaders in Washington. Based upon his words of more than 40 years ago, he might well offer the following:
To President George W. Bush on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea: ''The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough -- more than enough -- of war." (American University commencement, 1963)
To President Bush on stem cell research: ''For those of us who are not expert ... we must turn, in the last resort, to objective, disinterested scientists who bring a strong sense of public responsibility and public obligation." (National Academy of Sciences, 1961)
To Vice President Dick Cheney on international organizations, alliances, and consultations: ''The United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. We are only 6 percent of the world's population . . . we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind." (University of Washington, 1961)
To Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on terrorism: ''If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." (Inaugural address, 1961)
To United Nations ambassador-designate John Bolton on diplomacy: ''Civility is not a sign of weakness. The United Nations [is] our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace." (Inaugural address, 1961)
To Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on space: ''We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. This new ocean must be a sea of peace, [not] a new terrifying theater of war." (Rice University, 1962)
To House Majority Leader Tom Delay on fund-raising: We need ''men of integrity whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust." (Massachusetts farewell, 1961)
To Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on judges: ''To maintain the constitutional principle, we should support Supreme Court decisions, even when we may not agree with them." (News conference, 1962)
To White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on negative news media: ''It is never pleasant to be reading things that are not agreeable news, but it is an invaluable arm to the presidency as a check on what is going on . . . [e]ven though we never like it . . . and wish they didn't write it . . . we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press." (Television interview, 1962)
To pastor-in-chief Pat Robertson on church-state separation: ''I believe in an America where no [clergyman] would tell his parishioners for whom to vote, where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the public acts of our officials, where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. The presidency must not be the instrument of any one religious group." (Houston ministers, 1960)
To Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes on propaganda: ''The United States is a peaceful nation where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction not belligerence." (undelivered Dallas speech, 1963)
How I miss his friendship. How our nation misses his wisdom
Posted by: Fe at May 29, 2005 04:48 PM
Thanks for posting that, that's really perfect.
"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
OT but important...
U.S. Current Account Deficit may hit $900 billion next year
Axel Merk, May 26th 2005
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is warning that the U.S. current account deficit will hit $900 billion or 6.7 percent of U.S. gross domestic product in 2006. These very large numbers are caused by a continued reinforcement of global imbalances: on the one hand, a very low U.S. savings rate, high U.S. consumption fostered by very low interest rates, and cheap Asian goods flooding the U.S. market (cheap because Asia subsidizes their exports through low exchange rates). On the other hand, we have lackluster demand in Europe and some Asian countries, notably Japan. OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis told the Financial Times: “We are not saying there will be a doomsday tomorrow morning ... but because the adjustments [to global imbalances] are relatively slow, we are running the risk that an accident will happen. [..] Time is running out – the numbers are getting big, big, big.”
As pressure has mounted on China to revalue their currency, China has instead opted to impose export tariffs on select textiles and other goods. For China, this path of appeasing Western complaints about dumping their markets has the advantage that they do not have to devalue their massive currency reserves, that the Chinese government increases tax revenue, and that they can micro-manage their economy. Whether this is enough to counter the momentum of blaming China for all that is wrong with the global imbalances remains to be seen. As we have mentioned before, while China is yielding in the textile battle, China is winning the high-tech war: China recently introduced legislation to require foreign companies supplying high technology products to the government to have China based research and development.
-----------------snip----------------------------
http://www.merkfund.com/merk-perspective/insights/2005-05-26.html
Nice work Michelle!
Indy
That is staggering!
Well I got the word on the French referendum on the EU constitution. The people have spoken and they have said "no" to rapid free trade and outsourcing, even if it slows down the development of the EU a little. & the people of Netherlands are likely to do so on Tuesday.
This is not what the establishment wanted, but it's how the people felt, considering the influx of cheap Chinese goods, the increase in their currency to where their own goods aren't competitive, the erosion of their social programs and unions - so it is democracy.
I talked to a "oui" voter and a "non" voter and both were happy, because the people had the say on this one.
I say right on! The struggle for freedom and democracy marches on all over the world and it isn't something that can be imposed by leaders (so I wish our "Fearless Leader" would stop his midleading/cheerleading) - it comes from within.
Words To Regret in Three Years
Wolf Blitzer interviews Sen. John McCain (R), Arizona...(tipped to be his party's presidential nominee in 2008.)
Blitzer: Especially this weekend, lots to talk about but Iraq tops the agenda, right now. More than two years after the start of the war, more than 1,600 U.S. troops dead, approaching $300 billion in U.S. expenditures. Is it worth it?
McCain: I think it's worth it.
CNN's "LATE EDITION" -- Sunday 29 May, 2005
i didn't realize Bernie Sanders was a Socialist!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5040206,00.html
This is rather exciting! He could end up in the US Senate. He is the frontrunner.
McCain: I think it's worth it.
CNN's "LATE EDITION" -- Sunday 29 May, 2005
Posted by: not my president at May 29, 2005 09:33 PM
I sure hope that the DNC runs that one over and over during his next re-election campaign.
Posted by: oncall at May 29, 2005 10:53 PM
... and while watching the basketball game tonight, a commercial came on for an upcoming made-for-tv movie on TNT based on John McCain's P.O.W. years called, "The Faith of My Fathers".
Let's see... we got "faith", "father", and war hero all in there... yup, it's an early republican presidential campaign commercial, alright.
PAC-MAN
Stem-cell pioneer criticizes White House policy
No politician can stop progress, Korean scientist says
By Jon Herskovitz and Jack Kim
Reuters
May 29, 2005
SEOUL, South Korea - The Bush administration's reluctance to fully support stem cell research is impeding U.S. research that has the potential to make major medical breakthroughs, South Korea's top cloning expert said Sunday.
Woo Suk Hwang, the head of a team of South Korean scientists who cloned the first human embryo to use for research, said in an interview with Reuters that stem cell science will advance because of its enormous potential, and will not be halted by political interests.
"The scientific effort to resolve the pain of patients with incurable conditions is very honourable, and I believe no mere individual politician or party can stop the historic trend," Hwang said at his laboratory at Seoul National University.
"Solving these problems is a common responsibility of humanity," he said.
Read more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8030205/
Posted by: MoNkEy at May 29, 2005 11:37 PM
Let's shove this on the faces of the self-righteous Korean community here in Southern California. Their pro-Bush, pro-fascist politics is out of sync with the reality of not only America, but their own home country as well.