I saw a picture of a highway with cars headed away from the photographer and north out of Florida. When I saw the word "goodbye', I was expecting the picture to be about the annual exodus of the snowbirds. I was wrong. The original poster wrote about gleefully saying goodbye to all the "deadbeats who don't want to work and drug users" who would be leaving Florida to go to States where drug testing is not required to receive public assistance. I am still stunned, though I shouldn't be, at how many people not just here in Florida, but across the country, really do believe that drug users and deadbeats are the largest group receiving public assistance.
There is a reason so many people believe this misconception about who receives public assistance. Fox News, Right Wing television and radio personalities and the Republican Party have made this one of their biggest messages in an effort to gain support to destroy social service programs. Painting a vivid picture of deadbeats and drug users really does have a tremendous effect on how people perceive those receiving assistance. Would anyone really feel so angry about senior citizens on Social Security, people with disabilities or veterans receiving assistance? Of course not, unless a person is so heartless as to really believe people deserve to starve.
Some working people also receive public assistance because they are unable to find full-time work or find a job that pays enough to feed their family. Raising the minimum wage would certainly help. But that is a difficult conversation to have when wealthy corporate owners are spending so much money to prevent that from happening. There is also the impact raising the wage would have on small business owners who would struggle to meet payroll demands. The tendency is always to focus on the big corporations as though big corporations own and operate every business.
Surely demonizing people is not the answer, yet that is what is happening. Worse is that the lie is being endorsed by staunch, proud conservative Christians who quote from Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians that people who do not work, should not eat. They, of course forget all about Jesus saying sell what you have and give to the poor. (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 18:22) There are also verses in the Old testament as well as the other verses in the New testament about feeding the poor, caring for the elderly and taking care of the sick. All of which are conveniently ignored in an effort to destroy life saving programs.
If only people would actually take time to find out if the information they pass along is actually truthful instead of allowing their emotions to be manipulated, this country might actually move forward, rather than backward. If only this outrage at all those drug dealers and deadbeats who refuse to work who are receiving so much public assistance, which in fact is not the millions about which conservatives rant and rave and whip people into a frenzy, was directed at those who are not paying their fair share in any type of taxes, the deficits would drop and social programs would be infused with life giving money. Where is the outrage about this?
Where is the outrage about children who are starving/ Where is the outrage about the elderly who have to choose between eating and paying bills? Where is the outrage about veterans living on the streets? Where is the outrage about anyone living on the streets? Where is the outrage about people digging in dumpsters for food?
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
we can not give up
Once again, the inspiration for this blog post came from a conversation with my sister. We were talking about the influence Fox News and the right wing conservatives have on the voters. As my sister pointed out, millions of dollars are constantly being poured in to advertising to promote a very specific message that appeals to a group of people who vote in every election. Along with the money, there is also the problem of gerrymandering which is not a new issue but has certainly become more prevalent. All of which seems to bode well for conservative Republicans and doom the Democrats.
But money cannot not vote. Corporations cannot vote. The 1% can not cast more votes than the 99%. Yes, the corporations can try to persuade their workers and the conservative Christian preachers can often sway their parishioners. But I still believe there are more people who oppose the policies of the Right Wing Republicans than support them. The problem is that all those people do not always go out and vote. The core voters in the Republican Party, the ones that will vote in every election, out-number those same voters in the Democratic Party. Why? The simple answer is that the Republicans are much better at getting out their message than the Democrats are at getting out their message.
The liberal groups on Facebook constantly post about what the Republicans are doing and how harmful their policies are. But that didn't seem to matter enough to prevent Republican victories in the last election. So what does matter? When people choose to stay home rather than vote, they allow others to make choices for them. Why do they choose to not vote? Some people do not think their vote will matter, but it will, if only they would cast it. If only they would add their votes to all the others who also believe their vote will not make a difference.
We are stronger when we stand together. We can create change when we work together to make the change happen. We can not and must not give up because that is what the conservatives and billionaires are counting on to happen. They want us to believe that we are defeated. They want us to believe that our votes do not count. But the only way our votes will not count, the only way we will be unable to create the change we want, the change that is what our country needs, is if we stay home and do not vote!
Stand up, stand together, go to the polls, vote and with each vote we will echo the words of Abraham Lincoln "that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth."
But money cannot not vote. Corporations cannot vote. The 1% can not cast more votes than the 99%. Yes, the corporations can try to persuade their workers and the conservative Christian preachers can often sway their parishioners. But I still believe there are more people who oppose the policies of the Right Wing Republicans than support them. The problem is that all those people do not always go out and vote. The core voters in the Republican Party, the ones that will vote in every election, out-number those same voters in the Democratic Party. Why? The simple answer is that the Republicans are much better at getting out their message than the Democrats are at getting out their message.
The liberal groups on Facebook constantly post about what the Republicans are doing and how harmful their policies are. But that didn't seem to matter enough to prevent Republican victories in the last election. So what does matter? When people choose to stay home rather than vote, they allow others to make choices for them. Why do they choose to not vote? Some people do not think their vote will matter, but it will, if only they would cast it. If only they would add their votes to all the others who also believe their vote will not make a difference.
We are stronger when we stand together. We can create change when we work together to make the change happen. We can not and must not give up because that is what the conservatives and billionaires are counting on to happen. They want us to believe that we are defeated. They want us to believe that our votes do not count. But the only way our votes will not count, the only way we will be unable to create the change we want, the change that is what our country needs, is if we stay home and do not vote!
Stand up, stand together, go to the polls, vote and with each vote we will echo the words of Abraham Lincoln "that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth."
Thursday, March 26, 2015
another shooting children killing children
Last night, in Florida, a mother of four lost two of her children Her thirteen year old son shot and killed his six year old brother, then committed suicide. A sixteen year old brother was also shot. An older brother was not home. The mother was at work. I cannot imagine the grief that comes with losing just one child. But for this mother, the grief must be and will continue to be unimaginable. How will she deal with the unspeakable horror that two of her children are dead because of a murder then a suicide?
The news account suggest that a food fight led to the deadly shooting, Why would a thirteen year old boy believe that a gun was the solution? Was he just trying to scare his brother? Did he know the gun was loaded? Was the shooting an accident? Did he take his own life because he could not deal with the shock and guilt of having just killed his brother? All those questions will remain forever unanswered, buried with the young teenager who chose to handle a problem with a gun.
There will be questions about the gun. Where was it kept? Why wasn't it secured so that an angry boy couldn't use it to shatter his family? There will be endless days and nights of grief and wondering why this tragedy happened and could it have been prevented. There will be yet another debate about guns and gun safety and the need to ensure that those who have guns ensure that those weapons are kept secure and out of the reach of children. But many children are exposed to guns at an early age and taught how to shoot. So where do we draw the line? How to we stop this tragedy from happening again and again?
What will be even more appalling than this tragedy will be the people who will still believe that nothing should be done to try to prevent this from happening again. This is not a second amendment issue. This is not about wanting to or trying to take away anyone's guns. This is about children killing children. This is an epidemic that we can and must stop!
The news account suggest that a food fight led to the deadly shooting, Why would a thirteen year old boy believe that a gun was the solution? Was he just trying to scare his brother? Did he know the gun was loaded? Was the shooting an accident? Did he take his own life because he could not deal with the shock and guilt of having just killed his brother? All those questions will remain forever unanswered, buried with the young teenager who chose to handle a problem with a gun.
There will be questions about the gun. Where was it kept? Why wasn't it secured so that an angry boy couldn't use it to shatter his family? There will be endless days and nights of grief and wondering why this tragedy happened and could it have been prevented. There will be yet another debate about guns and gun safety and the need to ensure that those who have guns ensure that those weapons are kept secure and out of the reach of children. But many children are exposed to guns at an early age and taught how to shoot. So where do we draw the line? How to we stop this tragedy from happening again and again?
What will be even more appalling than this tragedy will be the people who will still believe that nothing should be done to try to prevent this from happening again. This is not a second amendment issue. This is not about wanting to or trying to take away anyone's guns. This is about children killing children. This is an epidemic that we can and must stop!
Saturday, December 20, 2014
The importance of knowing Early American History
During a telephone conversation with my sister, she mentioned that she had started reading one of the books I sent her, A Brilliant Solution Inventing the American Constitution written by Carol Berkin. We talked about the how much the beginning of the book and the issues that the new country faced were similar to issues we are dealing with now. Part of the problem we face as a country today is that many people do not have enough knowledge about our country's history to be able to distinguish between what is factual and what is mere opinion which people then believe to be factual.
A perfect example of misinformation is The Tea Party which claims to be carrying on in the tradition of the colonists who took part in the dumping tea in Boston Harbor. The present day Tea Party claims that their opposition to taxes is similar to the colonists opposition to taxes. But the colonists were not opposed to paying taxes. They were opposed to paying taxes placed on them by the British parliament because they had no direct representation, a violation of their rights as English citizens. The taxes we pay today were passed by members of Congress who represent the citizens of the United States. So whatever the present day Tea Party represents itself to be, it is certainly not carrying on in the tradition of the colonists prior to the American Revolution.
The factions that have divided and rendered both the House of Representatives and the Senate incapable of getting much passed were concerns of the citizens of the newly formed United states when the Constitution was drafted and sent to the States to be ratified by the people. Hamilton, in Federalist Number 9, used the words of the philosopher Montesquieu to demonstrate that larger governing bodies can be an effective force against factions gaining control because the other members of the governing body would act to stop that from happening. Hamilton chose to quote Montesquieu directly because the Anti-Federalists used Montesquieu's writings to oppose a central government. Montesquieu believed in very small republics.
Madison, in Federalist 10, acknowledged that factions and parties will form. He defined a faction as: "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." Madison believed that "if a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote." The faction could "clog the administration". Madison also knew that factions could gain a majority and believed that "the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens." But Both Hamilton and Madison believed that Congress would ultimately do what was right and best for the citizens. Both men were proven wrong especially by the government shutdown as well as the inability of the most recent Congress to enact much of anything substantial..
The present day Conservative Republicans and Tea Party members also share something in common with the Know Nothing Party from the 1850s: opposition to immigration. The rhetoric of the Know Nothing Party prompted Abraham Lincoln to write in a letter to Joshua Speed August 24, 1855: When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty-to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy (sic). The same opposition to immigration is still alive and well today only the ethnicity of the groups has changed and ironically is being voiced by the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those immigrants who were allowed into the United States.
The Republican Conservatives and Tea Party leaders along with conservative commentators, while attempting to represent themselves as carrying on the tradition of the 1776 have, in fact, been for several years now engaging in rhetoric similar to the dialog of the 1850s. Just as plantation owners, who were the party leaders and held positions in Federal, State and Local government, convinced poorer whites in the South that protecting a system that they would never be a part of was in their best interests, so Republican Conservatives and Tea Party leaders along with conservative commentators continue to convince many groups that any policies which would really be good for them, are in fact bad. Much of the talk has called for resistance in such a way as to be seen as a movement to destroy our American democracy.
Some of the Framers of the Constitution were deeply concerned that voters who were not well-informed might be misled or swayed by their emotions and not make the best choices when voting for elected officials. Part of the problem we face today may very well be a lack of knowledge among voters about our country's history. This lack of knowledge can make it difficult for people to understand that opinions expressed by commentators are not always factually correct. Additionally, politicians, who either deliberately or because they, too, lack historical knowledge, provide incorrect information which people all too readily take as factually correct.
Books such as Pauline Maier's American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, Jack N. Rakove's Original Meanings POLITICS AND IDEAS IN THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION., Carol Berkin's A Brilliant Solution Inventing the American Constution and James McPherson's Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution are excellent sources for anyone interested in learning more about American History.
A perfect example of misinformation is The Tea Party which claims to be carrying on in the tradition of the colonists who took part in the dumping tea in Boston Harbor. The present day Tea Party claims that their opposition to taxes is similar to the colonists opposition to taxes. But the colonists were not opposed to paying taxes. They were opposed to paying taxes placed on them by the British parliament because they had no direct representation, a violation of their rights as English citizens. The taxes we pay today were passed by members of Congress who represent the citizens of the United States. So whatever the present day Tea Party represents itself to be, it is certainly not carrying on in the tradition of the colonists prior to the American Revolution.
The factions that have divided and rendered both the House of Representatives and the Senate incapable of getting much passed were concerns of the citizens of the newly formed United states when the Constitution was drafted and sent to the States to be ratified by the people. Hamilton, in Federalist Number 9, used the words of the philosopher Montesquieu to demonstrate that larger governing bodies can be an effective force against factions gaining control because the other members of the governing body would act to stop that from happening. Hamilton chose to quote Montesquieu directly because the Anti-Federalists used Montesquieu's writings to oppose a central government. Montesquieu believed in very small republics.
Madison, in Federalist 10, acknowledged that factions and parties will form. He defined a faction as: "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." Madison believed that "if a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote." The faction could "clog the administration". Madison also knew that factions could gain a majority and believed that "the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens." But Both Hamilton and Madison believed that Congress would ultimately do what was right and best for the citizens. Both men were proven wrong especially by the government shutdown as well as the inability of the most recent Congress to enact much of anything substantial..
The present day Conservative Republicans and Tea Party members also share something in common with the Know Nothing Party from the 1850s: opposition to immigration. The rhetoric of the Know Nothing Party prompted Abraham Lincoln to write in a letter to Joshua Speed August 24, 1855: When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty-to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy (sic). The same opposition to immigration is still alive and well today only the ethnicity of the groups has changed and ironically is being voiced by the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those immigrants who were allowed into the United States.
The Republican Conservatives and Tea Party leaders along with conservative commentators, while attempting to represent themselves as carrying on the tradition of the 1776 have, in fact, been for several years now engaging in rhetoric similar to the dialog of the 1850s. Just as plantation owners, who were the party leaders and held positions in Federal, State and Local government, convinced poorer whites in the South that protecting a system that they would never be a part of was in their best interests, so Republican Conservatives and Tea Party leaders along with conservative commentators continue to convince many groups that any policies which would really be good for them, are in fact bad. Much of the talk has called for resistance in such a way as to be seen as a movement to destroy our American democracy.
Some of the Framers of the Constitution were deeply concerned that voters who were not well-informed might be misled or swayed by their emotions and not make the best choices when voting for elected officials. Part of the problem we face today may very well be a lack of knowledge among voters about our country's history. This lack of knowledge can make it difficult for people to understand that opinions expressed by commentators are not always factually correct. Additionally, politicians, who either deliberately or because they, too, lack historical knowledge, provide incorrect information which people all too readily take as factually correct.
Books such as Pauline Maier's American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, Jack N. Rakove's Original Meanings POLITICS AND IDEAS IN THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION., Carol Berkin's A Brilliant Solution Inventing the American Constution and James McPherson's Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution are excellent sources for anyone interested in learning more about American History.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Did you know the Nuns are back on the Bus and riding for us!
For the third time, Sr. Simone Campbell and a group of Roman Catholic Sisters decided to get back on the bus and visit ten States. Their first bus trip, in 2012, was in response to Representative Paul Ryan's Budget, which they felt would have a devastating impact on the elderly and disadvantaged. The Roman Catholic Sisters disagreed with Representative Ryan's statement that his budget fell in line with Catholic social teaching. That road trip led to Sister Simone Campbell speaking at the Democratic Convention where she said, "I am my sister's keeper. I am my brother's keeper." A reminder to us all that we are all in this world together and must care for one another.
In 2013, Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns on the Bus went on the road in support of immigration reform. Their theme was "RAISE YOUR HANDS. RAISE YOUR VOICE. They visited fifteen states, spending several days in Texas, Arizona and California, hoping to reach out to residents in those States to help them understand that those crossing the border meant no harm. They were just trying to to survive and make a better life than what they had. As a nation of immigrants, most of us are here because our ancestors also came to this country to make a better life. We might want to to remember that fact.
On September 17, Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns on the Bus began their third road trip in Iowa. Their theme is We the People, WE THE VOTERS. They have already traveled to nine States and will conclude with a visit to Colorado. They are speaking about the 100%. The need to engage everyone in the discussion, not just the one percent, two percent or ninety-eight percent. Sr. Simone said "You cannot buy our table of democracy." Sister Marge Clark said "All are welcome at the table, but the table can't be bought." Both were alluding to the billions of dollars poured into political ads for conservative Republican and Tea Party candidates. Ads that are filled with distortions and misinformation.
The Nuns on Bus spent time actively engaging in voter registration prior to the deadline and since have been encouraging people to vote, reminding us all that "we the people" must participate in order to bring about the change we want. Sister Simone has written a few Op-ed pieces. She tweets often about the need to vote. Her quotes should be on Memes and filling Facebook, but they are not. Instead many liberal groups simply repeat the same things over and over. Fortunately, filmmaker Melissa Regan is filming the events as part of her Nuns On The Bus - The Movie documentary.
These Sisters are not riding on a bus because they have nothing better to do with their time. They are riding on a bus because they believe that this is the best thing they can do with their time. They are riding on a bus because they care about our country, our democracy and want us to become "that more perfect Union." Shouldn't we care that much, too? Just imagine what would happen if we all did!
In 2013, Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns on the Bus went on the road in support of immigration reform. Their theme was "RAISE YOUR HANDS. RAISE YOUR VOICE. They visited fifteen states, spending several days in Texas, Arizona and California, hoping to reach out to residents in those States to help them understand that those crossing the border meant no harm. They were just trying to to survive and make a better life than what they had. As a nation of immigrants, most of us are here because our ancestors also came to this country to make a better life. We might want to to remember that fact.
On September 17, Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns on the Bus began their third road trip in Iowa. Their theme is We the People, WE THE VOTERS. They have already traveled to nine States and will conclude with a visit to Colorado. They are speaking about the 100%. The need to engage everyone in the discussion, not just the one percent, two percent or ninety-eight percent. Sr. Simone said "You cannot buy our table of democracy." Sister Marge Clark said "All are welcome at the table, but the table can't be bought." Both were alluding to the billions of dollars poured into political ads for conservative Republican and Tea Party candidates. Ads that are filled with distortions and misinformation.
The Nuns on Bus spent time actively engaging in voter registration prior to the deadline and since have been encouraging people to vote, reminding us all that "we the people" must participate in order to bring about the change we want. Sister Simone has written a few Op-ed pieces. She tweets often about the need to vote. Her quotes should be on Memes and filling Facebook, but they are not. Instead many liberal groups simply repeat the same things over and over. Fortunately, filmmaker Melissa Regan is filming the events as part of her Nuns On The Bus - The Movie documentary.
These Sisters are not riding on a bus because they have nothing better to do with their time. They are riding on a bus because they believe that this is the best thing they can do with their time. They are riding on a bus because they care about our country, our democracy and want us to become "that more perfect Union." Shouldn't we care that much, too? Just imagine what would happen if we all did!
Friday, October 10, 2014
What will get Democrats to vote?
The 2014 election is less than one month from now. Thirty-six Senate seats will be decided. Twenty-one are currently held by Democrats and fifteen by Republicans. The political climate in Congress is so divisive that very little legislation has passed since since January 2013 when the present members of the House of Representatives, both newly elected and re-elected, took the oath of office along with those newly elected and re-elected members of the Senate. Congress has spent most of its time trying to find ways to stop funding for or repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, more commonly know as ObamaCare, So focused and intent are they on destroying something that is good for so many people, that they willingly, willfully and purposely shut down the Federal Government Will that get Democrats to vote?
The Koch brothers and other wealthy businessmen have been pouring millions of dollars in to campaigns for conservative Republicans and Tea Party candidates. The political ads are filled with distortions and intended to mislead. Fox News, the media outlet for the conservative wing of the Republican party, also fills the air with misstatements, half-truths and, in some cases, false statements. These conservatives count on a loyal voting base that does not take time to educate themselves about the facts but simply relies on and believes what they are told. They can be counted on to go to the polls faithfully. Will that get Democrats to vote?
The Republicans will surely cut social service programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps. They have already done so and will not be satisfied until they have either eliminated those programs or left them mere shells which help little if any at all. Will that get Democrats to vote?
Women still do not receive the same pay as men for doing the same job and that fight has been going on since the 1970s. Women's rights are being regulated at every turn by conservatives in State and federal government. Will that get Democrats to vote?
There are enough Democrats to make a difference across the country. Here in Florida there are enough Democrats in Broward County, along with those in Palm Beach County and Miami Dade County as well the Democrats throughout the rest of the State, to ensure that Governor Rick Scott loses and former Governor Charlie Christ is elected. But that won't happen unless the Democrats stand up, stand together and vote to make the changes we all know we must make. Will that get Democrats to vote?
The future depends on how we vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. If we Democrats choose to stay home and allow the Republicans to once again decide our fate, then we have only ourselves to blame and bear the burden of explaining to the next generation that protecting their future just didn't matter enough to us. Will that get Democrats to vote?
The Koch brothers and other wealthy businessmen have been pouring millions of dollars in to campaigns for conservative Republicans and Tea Party candidates. The political ads are filled with distortions and intended to mislead. Fox News, the media outlet for the conservative wing of the Republican party, also fills the air with misstatements, half-truths and, in some cases, false statements. These conservatives count on a loyal voting base that does not take time to educate themselves about the facts but simply relies on and believes what they are told. They can be counted on to go to the polls faithfully. Will that get Democrats to vote?
The Republicans will surely cut social service programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps. They have already done so and will not be satisfied until they have either eliminated those programs or left them mere shells which help little if any at all. Will that get Democrats to vote?
Women still do not receive the same pay as men for doing the same job and that fight has been going on since the 1970s. Women's rights are being regulated at every turn by conservatives in State and federal government. Will that get Democrats to vote?
There are enough Democrats to make a difference across the country. Here in Florida there are enough Democrats in Broward County, along with those in Palm Beach County and Miami Dade County as well the Democrats throughout the rest of the State, to ensure that Governor Rick Scott loses and former Governor Charlie Christ is elected. But that won't happen unless the Democrats stand up, stand together and vote to make the changes we all know we must make. Will that get Democrats to vote?
The future depends on how we vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. If we Democrats choose to stay home and allow the Republicans to once again decide our fate, then we have only ourselves to blame and bear the burden of explaining to the next generation that protecting their future just didn't matter enough to us. Will that get Democrats to vote?
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
I want us to be brave
I heard Sara Barellie's song Brave for the first time the other morning and the words inspired me to write this blog post. I want us to be brave enough to speak up and speak out. I want us to be brave enough to believe that we can make a difference if we stand together. I want us to be brave enough to say to the wealthy: "Your money may buy political ads filled with distortions. lies and negativity, but your money cannot cast a single vote! We have more votes than you and our votes count!" I want us to be brave enough to believe that, too!
I want us to be brave enough to stand with Sr. Simone Campbell who believes that "We the people of the United States have to form this more perfect union" and Sr. Marge Clark who says, "All are welcome at the table, but the table can't be bought." And all the Nuns on the Bus who are standing up for the 100% because, as Sr Simone says, "we need to have a conversation with the one hundred percent because too many people are being left out."
I want us to be brave enough to say "Yes, President Lincoln, we remember what you said at Gettysburg and we will stand together, united in our belief and determined to protect and pass on to future generations a government that is truly of, by and for all people."
I want us to be brave enough to believe that the Statue of Liberty and her message of hope to the "huddled masses" still means something to us today. That we, a nation of immigrants, will continue to welcome immigrants. That the torch in New York Harbor will never dim regardless of how hard a small group of people try to extinguish its flame.
I want us to brave enough to say, "This is our flag, our country and we will not allow anyone to be denied the freedoms so many have fought and died to defend because when we deny freedom to any group, we all lose."
I want us to be brave enough to go vote in November and make the changes some people think we can not or will not!
I want us to be brave enough to stand with Sr. Simone Campbell who believes that "We the people of the United States have to form this more perfect union" and Sr. Marge Clark who says, "All are welcome at the table, but the table can't be bought." And all the Nuns on the Bus who are standing up for the 100% because, as Sr Simone says, "we need to have a conversation with the one hundred percent because too many people are being left out."
I want us to be brave enough to say "Yes, President Lincoln, we remember what you said at Gettysburg and we will stand together, united in our belief and determined to protect and pass on to future generations a government that is truly of, by and for all people."
I want us to be brave enough to believe that the Statue of Liberty and her message of hope to the "huddled masses" still means something to us today. That we, a nation of immigrants, will continue to welcome immigrants. That the torch in New York Harbor will never dim regardless of how hard a small group of people try to extinguish its flame.
I want us to brave enough to say, "This is our flag, our country and we will not allow anyone to be denied the freedoms so many have fought and died to defend because when we deny freedom to any group, we all lose."
I want us to be brave enough to go vote in November and make the changes some people think we can not or will not!
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