What We Need In The United States Is NOT Division---

[Bluerthanblue]

to those not afraid of Kumbaya- to those so wounded they cannot imagine hope- to those who remember the deaths of JFK, MLK, RFK- To those who are hurting and angry and frustrated- To those who think their hatred is justified- to those who feel like giving in-
Or like we are going under~

Please listen

What we need in the United States is not division;

what we need in the United States is not hatred;

what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness;

but love
and wisdom,
and compassion toward one another,
and a feeling of justice
toward those who still suffer within our country,
whether they be white or they be black.

So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family
of Martin Luther King, that's true,
but more importantly
to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love -
- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country.
We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future.
It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country
want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life,
and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.

Let us dedicate to ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago:

to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that,
and say a prayer for our country and for our people. RFK 1968

my kids surprised me with a pizza and a movie tonite. a rare treat. Even though by the end we were all in tears. my eyes are aching and I cannot sleep.

If you haven't seen Bobby I encourage you to.
We need to learn from the past.

PEACE to all here at DU .. to EVERYONE ..especially those it's easier to hate.

Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution.

But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.


blu

[Adsos Letter]

1. These are beautiful words and sentiments...

but it still depends upon what unity is based upon, i.e.: what must be surrendered to attain unity. I can think of some very real ways that it could turn out badly.

[Bluerthanblue]

4. we are united by much more than

most of us realize.

We are being urged to focus on what divides us- When we get down to the meat of life- beneath all the garbage, we DO really need one another. Unity does have a price- I can't deny that, but what is the price for the way we have been living so far? Bobby Kennedy didn't think any price was too high in order to make this nation a better place for everyone. Neither did MLKjr- They didn't work and give their lives for their own individual "cause"- but for everyone. Even those that are commonly known here as "republic's".



I've lived too long to think that anger and violence is going to really solve anything.

and i'm probably not making any sense.

thanks for listening-
peace~

[Adsos Letter]

I agree with you in a very real way, and you are making sense...

I have lived quite a few years myself; and I agree that the things which reformers have shed blood for were universal truths, in the broadest sense.

My only concern is for the "unity" that can come from a populism which promotes the will of the majority over the rights of the minority.

:hi:

[2rth2pwr]

2. People will never agree on everything, democracy is the safest way devised to handle

disagreements. Disagreements are inherently divisive. Forced agreement would be the worst of all worlds.

[Adsos Letter]

3. you said it better than I did...

a firm restoration of the Constitution is a sure and necessary safeguard.

[Bluerthanblue]

6. I'm not advocating force agreement-

far from that.

I advocating not obsessing on what divides us. It IS possible to dissagree and not be rude, offensive, destructive. What hope do we have for ever coming to a better place if it is just going to be more of the same?

What hope does 2008 really offer as you read through DU these last several weeks?

What does 'safety' matter if we are enslaved to a system that is killing us?

thanks for listening, and responding-

I'm so weary of anger and outrage-

nite-
blu

[JeffR]

5. K & R

:kick: