DU Will Be In History Books: Minutemen of the 21st Century

[Shalom]

Congratulations to the DU community! Take a moment to give thanks to each other.

With only 100+ posts to my name, I know I am still a newbie member, but during the last few weeks the Democratic Underground has been THE PLACE where it's all been happening. And when the history books are written, well....I think the paragraph below by Wm. Shakespeare expresses it much better than I can:


We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here

----------------------------------------------------

Saint Crispin's Day Speech
from Henry V by William Shakespeare

This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[texpatriot2004]

1. Thank you Shalom, thank you

This is my favorite part:

"And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,"

Those that were "sleeping" will wish they had been there...here.

[Shalom]

3. Thank You TexasPatriot

My favorite portion is below, since it alludes to Kerry's "band of brothers", and to the brothers and sisters of the Democratic Underground:

From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

[texpatriot2004]

13. Yes, I like that part too. It took me back to the campaign

and the convention. I could see the Band of Brothers there on stage.

[jamboi]

24. Ha, that reminds me of the song that the hobbits sing @ the end of LofR

celebrating their heroes. :-)

[texpatriot2004]

2. DU - WHERE it's all been happening and

here's a poem for the WHY it's been happening.

Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes


Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

[Shalom]

4. Touche - Remember the Repigs Dissed Kerry for this Poem ? n/t

[bleever]

5. Thank you for that. What a great moment to reread this poem.

It never meant so much before.

[texpatriot2004]

15. I have read it many times since Nov. 3

I discovered it during the campaign. It is very appropriate. It touches my heart every time I read it, but since Nov. 3rd it is, like you say, even more meaningful. I love that part where it says:

"O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!"

Actually, there I love the whole thing but this part is powerful. I think of Langston Hughes and the times he lived in. Lately, I think we have an economic civil rights issue, maybe soon we will have a movement on this issue. Anyway, the fact that America never was America to him, to many, and yet the oath from BLEEVERS that IT WILL BE.

[mikelewis]

6. I actually prefer a more contemporary artist

EMINEM
Square Dance

Let your hair down to the track,
Yeah kick on back.
Boo!
The boogies monster of rap,
Yeah the man's back
With a plan to ambush this Bush administration,
Mush the Senate's face in and push this generation,
Of kids to stand and fight for the right to say something you might not like,
This white hot light,
That i'm under,
No wonder,
I look so sunburnt,
Oh no,
I won't leave no stone unturned,
Oh no i won't leave,
Wont go nowhere,
Do-si-do,
Oh, yo, ho, hello there
Oh yeah don't think I won't go there,
Go to the Beirut and do a show there
Yah you laugh till your muthafuckin' ass gets drafted,
While you're at band camp thinkin' the crap can't happen,
Till you fuck around,
Get an anthrax napkin,
Inside a package wrapped in saran Wrap wrapping,
Open the plastic and then you stand back gasping,
Fuckin' assassins hijackin' Amtracks crashin,
All this terror America demands action,
Next thing you know you've got Uncle Sam's ass askin'
To join the army or what you'll do for there Navy.
You just a baby,
Gettin' recruited at eighteen,
You're on a plane now,
Eatin their food and their baked beans.
I'm 28,
They gon take you 'fore they take me
Crazy insane or insane crazy?
When i say Hussien you say Shady,
My views aint changed still Inhumane,
Wait,
Arraigned two days late,
The date's today,
Hang me!

[Shalom]

7. It's The Same Song (or Poem) !!!

I sincerely believe that the Democratic Underground will be written up in history books, and when we're old, we'll be reminding folks (who will have heard from us over and over and over again) that we were there.

Much better than Woodstock (I was there, too...)

[mikelewis]

9. I think the DU is a great forum and the people here express view that ...

inspire me to do better and be a better American. Should posterity remember our conversations here, I think that would be a good thing. A great many minds have come together and sought one simple thing, the truth. That is the true gift that this site offers. It is here that a person can put forth an idea and have that idea evaluated for merit. This is done without the normal physical bais we deal with on a daily basis. I could be white, black, chinese, muslim, christian, none of it matters. The only thing that matters is the strength of my arguement and the conviction of my words. It would be a great thing to be remembered. In lieu of remembrance, I'll be satisfied with justice. That's why we post. I am honored to have added a small part to the debates.

Sincerely,
Michael Lewis

[Shalom]

11. We'll Be Remembered for Having Achieved Justice ;-)

It doesn't get better than that

[texpatriot2004]

18. We fight the good fight for all that's good. n/t

A virtual army.

[texpatriot2004]

16. You know, I am a little older but I was very moved by Eminem

I like this one you posted but his MOSH kicks ass. He is a powerful artist. I watched that MOSH video before the election frequently. I like the new ending too. How about you?

[faithnotgreed]

19. whats the new ending like?

[texpatriot2004]

22. It's good. They protest. They storm the capital in protest...

go right into the room where the senate meets, while they are meeting. It's a good ending.

[faithnotgreed]

27. sounds good. thanks.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shalom]

10. DU's been the clearinghouse, but many others contributed..

One great example - the "SCOOP" site in New Zealand has been amazing!! I sent some mixed up data to Alastair Thompson over there, who cleaned it up, posted it on DU and the SCOOP web site, and gave me credit. All of this while the MSM were caught napping...

You may have noticed Thompson's byline "althecat" on DU - he's been pushing and prodding us to get exit poll data. I know he's in a totally different time zone, but he seems to be online day and night, burning up the wires of the internet, communicating data and thoughts at the speed of light.

It's amazing - a truly global connection of kindred spirits around the world. This is only one example.

[Patsy Stone]

12. Apparently it's already happened.

First, the word "blog" is the word of the year: http://news.com.com/Blog+top+word+of+the+year/2100-1026_3-5471823.html

Tonight, KO's show was a bit of a Valentine IMHO to blogs, including suggesting that CBS just replace its evening newscast with a blog.

Second, as a shameless plug, I posted this over at kos a while ago. It's sort of my "Ode to the Bloggers." Some of the facts may have changed, I haven't read it in a couple of weeks, but the idea is certainly right there.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/11/32856/887

peace

[Shalom]

14. Let's Be Shamelessly Proud

Whether you agree with Wayne Madsen or not, he acknowledges DU in his latest article of 12/1/04:

http://onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/120104Madsen/120104madsen.html

Thanks to members of the Democratic Underground for sending me news items, leads, contacts, and other relevant information.

[Shalom]

17. Patsy: Great Minds Think Alike

But I'll give you credit for you and KOS getting there first!

"What the people on this and other blogs have done is monumental. If it serves solely to shed light on the sorry, sorry state of elections in this country of ours, we all get to sleep better at night. I congratulate everyone here. Even the naysayers. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

P.S.:

"In order for an idea to suceed, it must first be considered crazy"
Albert Einstein

[Patsy Stone]

21. Nice quote and thanks!

I'm just kvelling from the out and out Democracy in action here. It really gave me hope. A spectacular excercise in Freedom of Expression.

[Eloriel]

20. We ARE the history books, babeee

GREAT post. Thanks. And a hearty welcome to DU. You are absolutely right: DU is where it's at.

:toast:

[texpatriot2004]

23. Spoken like a true champ and a history maker.

[symbolman]

25. Now THIS I can get behind

The DU is a valuable resource, it has it quirks and stumbles but for the most part the DU is ON THE SCENE before it happens - I'm constantly amazed at the minds here..

the Kos story is right, we should replace CBS!

[Patsy Stone]

26. kick

[proudtobeadem]

28. Hey, I said the same thing here a few days ago...

"I think that a lot of good is going to come out of this and that we are in the process of making history.
Someday I will tell my children about this, about us, and I will be proud to say I was a part of it.
So I say lets get busy making history...we have long to go before we sleep!! "

I wonder if when all this is over if Kerry or Edwards will come visit us, that would be nice. :)

[Shalom]

29. Of Course You Were First, since Pride is in your name !! ;-)

After the visit, I suggest the Kerry-Edwards administration create a new cabinet position: Secretary of the Blogosphere.....and there are lots of DU'ers who I'd nominate for the post.

[ahyums]

30. It's true if this does happen it will be a major event in world history

and it will have been started right here, the dedication enthusiasm and belief I've seen on here have been utterly breathtaking, well done and as John Kerry said, together let's make history.

[merh]

31. I prefer the Margaret Mead quote

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

[Quakerfriend]

32. We are history in the making

So glad I found this site, and KOS too. Hearing from all corners of the world really feeds the energy we make!

[texpatriot2004]

33. Thanks to the DU Band of Brothers America has a chance n/t

Thank you for fighting together. Thank you for carrying this torch into the night and another day.