Login HereYesterday evening, I put up a post weaving together some disparate paragraphs and lines taken from speeches given by Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama at various Democratic National Conventions the last few years. I hoped in doing so that folks would pause for a moment and think...really think...about what it was that made them support progressive or liberal causes or politics through the years.
Because we are all so much more alike than we are different, no matter the particular button that we wear on our jackets this political season, whatever it may individually be.
It looks more and more like the political primary season is going to stretch onward for quite a while. And while the competition goes on to see who will be the presidential standard bearer of each party, the work and the issues that need fixing must not go unmentioned. Nor must they be allowed to be swept aside in a passionate fervor placing personality and party over the needs of real people in this country who have too long been forgotten.
To keep the work -- and the meaning behind it -- going, we need to pause on occasion and remember what it was that brought us to political activism in the first place. So, I thought this morning, we could talk a bit about what it is that got us started. Here's my story:
My granny -- my mother's mother -- raised her two daughters by herself after my grandfather took off with his secretary when my mom was three. He sold everything they owned out from under them (in the early 1940s when that was decidedly not done), and took his chippie off to the tropics. And my granny worked three jobs buying back her own house, keeping a roof over her children's head, and keeping them clothed and fed with the help of her extended family where they could. She never complained about it the entire time I knew her, but her heart was broken from that point forward. And I knew it.
As a child, I wanted to make that better for her. To right that wrong. And because of her influence on me growing up, I became keen to help others as she so selflessly helped anyone in need around her. She saw it as her duty, and I saw her as a sort of saint for it, I suppose. But she instilled in me a strong sense of right and wrong, of loyalty and duty, and of hard work and earning what you had. And not taking advantage of those less fortunate...because you never, ever knew when it could be you.
She was a strong Democrat, and I suppose that influenced me to become one as well. But the more I studied political theory and history -- especially the early writings of the Founders as well as the philosophers who influenced their thought -- and the speeches of all those leaders that I admired who came after them...well, that cemented it for me. Conservative thinkers offended me, especially Buckley's ossified classist ramblings. But liberals? So many of them lifted up my mind, and my heart, with a promise of justice and hope for all and not just a choice few.
Even today, when things look bleak, I pull out texts of Dr. King's speeches, or the JFK inaugural, or Paine's pamphlets, or any number of others and try to focus on what could be. What ought to be. What changes we ought to make for the better.
I am a liberal because I believe in working toward a more perfect union. That the best is yet to come, but only if we do the work necessary to get there. Standing still or going backward holds no interest for me, but moving forward to something better holds a lot of promise. The possibility of doing better, of being better, motivates me -- and my politics.
So, what's your story? Do tell. Pour another cuppa, and pull up a chair...
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Christy!
Morning, Christy…
Now to routine Sat. morning cleaning and breakfast. I’ll be back…
I’m lovin the moondance!
‘morning, Redd - beautiful writing…
just putting on the coffee - it’ll be ready in a minute.
Hi Christy. What a concept! But you have a certain very excellent writing style, and that was so different. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Anyway, you really made your point. Thanks.
Hey Christy
Saw “Iron Jawed Angels” last night on DVD about Alice Paul and the Suffrage movement during the Wilson administration. Great stuff and a very important reminder that political activism, in all its various forms, has been with us since before the dawn of the Republic. The women’s movement started over 100 years before Gloria Steinem in the names of Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
We have real progressives running on the democratic side this time-their progressivism enabled by the candidacy of John Edwards.
We don’t need John-”Less jobs, more wars”-McCain to give us a third Bush term. The American people I believe understand that too and really want change. The activism of the netroots has helped shape the narrative that is going on now. Just look how foolish Willard looked with his invocation of terror if a Democrat wins the WH. That argument resonated a lot four years ago-now it’s just a tinny, tired tune.
There is still much work to be done.
My parents came of age during the Depression, which had a great impact on my dad’s politics. He was a Dem, my mom was that now-extinct species, a liberal Republican. I was drawn to political science in college and finally got a BA in the subject. It’s been a life-long interest, although work did tend to get in the way - until I retired.
Good Morning Christy and everybody!
lovin’ the moondance, too
How long do we have to wait for what could be, what should be, what was promised to us? It’s going on 250 years and we have a long way to go.
what’s your story sanderO?
I would say that the enemy to freedom and the rights of all humans has changed since this nation was born. At that time the threat was mostly from monarchs and despots and less from greedy predatory corporate capitalism. The later has been ascendant and is more the problem in achieving the destiny of human rights and dignity for all humans.
We really need to reign in corporations. They are not driving the madness.
My story?
Christy -
Thank you for that lovely story about your gran; it’s easy to understand why you miss her so much. If there’s a *there* wrt an afterlife, she has a right to be well-pleased with the impact she had on her gran’chil’.
i thought that was one of the most depressing posts i’d read in a long time (i’m sorry, i know it wasn’t meant to be) - because what inspires me is certainly not the empty rhetoric of clinton, obama or maybe even edwards. especially after a week like last week - which i think was as bad as the week the MCA was passed.
i guess one of the things that makes me act is the idea of making the rhetoric be real - be something more than some post-modern fake wished for reality. but more than that, i am inspired by the example of others. not so much in my own family, though (except for, in some ways, my mom). i’m inspired by all the things i know people are doing, whether in public or in private, to give comfort to the suffering and to give hell to those who need a wake up call.
yeah, how did you come to political activism?
Used to think of myself as a liberal first, democrat second; now see the progressives doing the same. Thanks Christie for reminding me that I am a democrat first, then a liberal. Progressives take note: it is the democratic party and democrats are about the working class. If the election comes to be about latte issues, McCain will be the next president
I grew up in New England without a lot of money. My parents were Democrats but not really political.
I was a reader from an early age. I loved all the books about people helping each other. Books about woman who helped were favorites. There was a series of books with orange covers that told the stories of famous people and I read them all.
I have never understood why people would kill each other or discriminate and was anti-war in the sixties.
I have worked for Planned Parenthood and have counseled battered woman.
Naturally I am a Democrat but I have never been as involved as I am now.
I come from a family that is split down the middle — my maternal grandfather was a lifelong Republican. Yet my mother ran for (and lost) our small WV town’s city council as a Democrat in the late 60’s, a precedent that wouldn’t be repeated for more than a decade. I attribute my political activism to 2 things: the social justice I learned being raised in a small WV Methodist church (even though I am no longer a Christian) and my own awareness of racism and discrimination as I grew up and the dissonance that created for me when juxtaposed to my church’s teachings of God’s love for all.
As a gay person growing up in a very rural state with a different fundamentalist church on every corner of my hometown, I learned early to seek out information about fighting to survive in a society that was hostile to my very existence. My work in education for the last 2 decades led me to my current progressive views on poverty, equality, and being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper.
I have never understood the basic tenets of conservatism, the faux meritocracy, endless calls for tax cuts that take away very important social services that keep our national infrastructure working and viable, and wanting to maintain a past that was never very rosy for me or my family or the people I lived and worked with. When they embraced the “religious” right, I became a vocal and active worker for progressive policies and politics and have remained so for the past 30+ years.
I still dream a progressive ideals being advocated by a national politician and the Democratic party of which I have been a member for all these years. Hope springs eternal….
Ms S- a fascinating post. Having reached the pre- ahlzheimer stage, what I do recall are the moments of family discussions. Strongly liberal and even stronger Union lean. Those were the formatives.
However, what I come away from this post is the unique idea that “Looking Forward” MUST be built upon a detailed examination of “THE PAST”!
It’s all there. We just need to examine it.The tragedy is that we don’t.
Thank you. And speaking of courage…there was a great piece on PBS last night on some of the ’60s civil rights struggle, protesters, etc. Watching the marchers, the police etc, you could see again the poverty and bravery of people in the marches. Citizens who is the 60s were almost still enslaved and certainly without the vote. But they got on the streets and spoke out. Just the fashions revealed how far we have come. Many were Miss. citizens in deep poverty. Now, though still problems, those citizens are much more likely to have achieved some success, be well-dressed, clearly able to speak out and address the policies. Are we ina perfect world? No. But how enobling to see again the bravery of so many people demanding the vote, a voice, and dignity. There work has put a Black candidate into serious contention for the Presidency. Thank you for reminding us to celebrate courage, hard work, and perseverance.
My parents were born during the depression, FDR had a very big influence on their lives. I was in grade school when JFK came into offfice. My first time voting was the 1st post-Watergate election. I started my adult life when RR was trying to dismantle the social safety net. To some extent you are a product of your times.
I’ve always believed we are better as a community, working together for the things we cannot accomplish by ourselves. I’ve never bought into the theory that the government is the oppressor - we are the government after all. And above all else, this old hippie believes that we can and should work together to make things better for ALL citizens. That justice and fairness should not be available only to those who can afford them.
Thanks for asking Christy.
that was beautiful. thank you.
I have along story, but I’ll be brief because I really need to get to my Sat. morning routine…
I grew up in NYC. I was born in Nigeria, and I came to NYC with my parents when I was 14 years old. My dad worked in the Nigerian Mission to the UN. I went to Stuyvesant High School in Lower Manhattan, where I was one of two black kids in school. Most of my high-school friends were Jewish, kids of Red Diaper babies. Of course they got me into activism, and that’s how I got involved in the 60s–the whole 9 yards, the bee-ins in Central Park; I experienced the historic 1968 in NY. Stonewall; Concert for Bangladesh in 1970. And oh, I was also at Woodstock, where music was the membrane that brought people together. Woodstock was glorious: the rain, the mud, the weed, Sly Stone, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix…Those were my halcyon days…in Manhattan when I was young…
Now I live in Minneapolis, it’s 22 F outside, and I’m looking forward later to going to my favorite cafe in Dinkytown, the university neighborhood on the other side of the Mississippi River. There’s a hot spot at that cafe…
Going to the cafe with my Dell laptop of course. Never go anywhere without it…except when I’m off to shop just for groceries…
I watched my dad get up on frozen cold nights when the wind howled around the house and drive away in his work truck. It would be hours and hours before he got back, and I watched my mom try to maintain normalcy so we little kids wouldn’t be scared and yet she would clench her hands together when she thought we weren’t looking.
In ice storms and blizzardy nights, Dad would climb old wooden power poles built by the REC to restore electricity to remote families in the North Country. And come home to sit at the table and worry over making the paycheck stretch to cover the needs of a growing family.
I was raised blue collar, union daughter. And politically aware first for Kennedy and his Peace Corps.
But it was the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement that drew me out of college to travel the campaign road and return home disheartened, but never done. I saw the heavy burdens placed on blue collars back then, and things have only gotten worse, until even white collars are realizing now that it’s just a tiny fraction of “haves and have-mores” that dictate our country these days.
And that must change, so the activist tools I use have changed over the years, but my voice is still strong and no less passionate. And it began being raised blue collar.
Prairie Today: Mile Marker 60
oh, and for a different kind of inspiration, i want to thank elliot, who suggested this chocolate cookie recipe yesterday. i’ve only tasted the dough, but my-oh-my am i looking forward to cooking a few later today.
peace and inspiration to all today.
OT, This liberal is incensed that my University of Iowa is giving the criminal Rove $40,000 to speak on February 17. A man that is in contempt of Congress and an unindicted conspirator will get my Tax Dollars?
Calling all Hawkeyes. We need non-violent direct action. Oh
Did I tell you Gandhi is my hero?
Good Morning Christy and all the fine folks reading this.
Once Edwards dropped out of the race it forced me to make peace with voting for Hillary or Obama. I’ve been thinking about the whole process, because if I was in my 20’s, I’d be backing Obama with the passion that the folks who are in that age group are.
What I realized is that I got so caught up in the me factor, and my vote, that I lost a chunk of my idealism along the way. The problems that we face are bigger then my personal choice for a candidate. Either one of our candidates who will become the nominee is infinitely better for our values, our country and the world then McCain. I’ve always viewed the president as being a human being, not royalty and not a diety, and with that comes imperfections. It’s been an enlightening process for me, and I’m glad that it opened my eyes to how narrow my focus had become.
Mt Father was responsible for my interest in politics. He was a Tool and die machinist, a mouldmaker, a man of the Great Depression Era, who had an interest in political history. Diner was a time for discussion. Back then the family sat down for dinner, the t.v. was turned off, and all subjects wereopen for discussion.
Dad liked us to try to understand many contra American Government issues. In discussing Communism,(during the fifties), he would point out that if one was a peasant, free education and an opportunity for upward mobility within a Communist regime looked to be a pretty good deal for a peasant with no hope for his children.
During one of our last talks, he said that he never thought that he would die before Universal health care was achieved in the United States.
Discussion and downright argument was encouraged during dinner time. Although such an environment was probably bad for the digestion, it was educational in many ways. Lessons learned. Framing positions, History not taught in American Schools, at least 1-12, and having open mind.
Eliot,
It is hard to actually find the seed. I grew up in a fairly liberal bedroom community in Long Island at the end of the beat generation. I never took to pop culture and found myself listening to things like WBAI (Pacifica) radio and not top 40 as most did back then. Those were the days of Joan Baez,Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger (one of the greatest Americans) and other “lefties” who were reaching out in music and demonstrations… civil rights anti war and anti nuke etc.
I came of legal age during Vietnam and would have to face serving, getting deferment, being a CO or leaving the country. The war was the biggest conscious raising “event” for my generation. I was in college in Pitts when Kent State took place a few hundred miles away. I was around for Woodstock and the assassinations of JFK, MKL, RFK, MalcomX. I saw Israel go from what apppeared to be a democracy to a repressive theocracy. I read Chomsky and Zinn.
I have been moving left since my mind opened 40 years ago. I have seen no progress in human rights in my lifetime. Mostly window dressing.
That’s my story.
ahh selise, egregious really was the inspiration for the homemade cookies -and love- she would say :)
I’ll go get the milk
I have lived in NYC during Guiliani Time and was arrested for no reason at a Diallo demo and tossed in the tombs. I continue to demonstrate whenever I can and have attended most of the demos in DC and NYC.
Direct Action will do it, if anything will. Talk will not.
Don’t expect the political system (corrupted by corporate interests) to protect and advance human rights and democracy.
Christy, thank you for the powerful messages of your posts last night and this morning, but thank you even more for the inspiration that drew out the responses growing in the comments sections. Thoughtful, reflective, reminding ourselves why we care so we don’t lose sight of what needs doing.
Because it will be hard work, and the obstacles and distortions the right will throw our way will be huge. So we must renew ourselves for the challenges ahead.
This is an important milestone day in many ways. Because the common good is what makes us civilized…and we need remind ourselves of that from time to time. We have a mighty adversary with the latest technological tools to mask their inner barbarians. And they may be puffed up with self-importance, but the common good from the common man will be steadfast and endure. Because that is civilization…and community…and governance.
people are liberal/progressive because they are endowed with empathy. The story is immaterial - often very interesting and heart warming, but immaterial how they evolve to it: liberalism/progressivism will find them if empathy plays some roll in their being.
.
Good morning from L.A. What an inspiring post, Christy. Thank you for sharing some family history.
My Mom was raised on a Huron reserve in Canada, Dad was from a large Irish family that had settled in Minnesota in the 1940s. Growing up on a farm in NW Maine w/five kids, parents, grandparents, unmarried uncles, etc. we struggled. Mom & Dad managed to help every relative that ever needed help. It was their way. I slept in a bed w/two cousins for years until their folks could afford to get a place.
Mom & Dad took all of us to the polls w/them to vote from the earliest age. Must have been quite a sight. We read newspapers @ school when we were older & were required to discuss all kinds of articles @ the dinner table. It was a family duty you never blew off.
My parents were known as a “mixed race” couple up there so long ago. Where I live in CA now is so easy compared to the border town prejudices of my youth. Makes you tough, though.
Mom & Dad are gone a long time, one of my brothers never came back from Vietnam, one died young from HIV complications. The biggest life lessons learned @ home were to help others when they need it, forget the judgements, just get them the help they need. And never take your rights in this country for granted. Naturalized citizens like my parents really got that one.
Concert for Bangladesh: I was not supposed to there in the first place. A friend who had bought a ticket and was planning to go to Madison Square Garden that night changed her mind and decided to spend that weekend in CT instead, and gave me her ticket. At that concert, nobody was expecting to see Bob Dylan, who had not been seen in public since his famous motorcycle accident years earlier, until George Harrison walked onstage and said: I want you to meet a friend of mine.” Then Bob Dylan walked onstage with his guitar, and everyone went nuts!
And oh, it goes without saying that my friend has regretted that weekend in CT…hasn’t gotten over it, even now in Guatamala, where she continues her activism…
I was in NYC during Giuliani Time too…
Christy,
Storytelling is so essential to building a movement—it really is the only thing that has ever worked. Thank you for this.
I grew up in a household that never talked about or did anything about politics. I was in 7th grade when JFK was shot and remember it chillingly well. King and Bobby were shot in my jr. year of HS and not much penetrates hs brains—at least when it comes to politics. But I do remember watching the riots at the DCN in Chicago because they were happening about 20 miles from where I lived. It felt scary to me. The one thing in HS that really planted a spark in my head which didn’t grow until much later was working on the play “Inherit the Wind.” I couldn’t dream of how that would influence my later life.
Then, college and the war and the protests. Being a theater major my life was tied up inside a theater complex building and it was very odd. One day there was a peace march that went past my dorm window and I learned that some of the frat rats were joining in with the Natl. Guard to beat up on students. That wasn’t right. I went to marches when I could and when I thought it would be “safe.” Voted in my first election for a dem—of course. Haven’t voted otherwise since.
Then Watergate and Barbara Jordan and many years later, Thomas and Bork. I got into my present line of work and have become a radical promoter of justice. It started with pro-choice and gay rights activism and since this clown was appointed pres. has blossomed into trying to stick thumbs in a leaky dam to stand up for whatever rights were being threatened. Trying to stop a war, marching, writing letters, making phone calls all to no avail. Yes, some of us knew what a disaster it would be before it happened.
Coming here has broadened my reach and helped push me into doing way more than I had. Those wonderful lines and speeches in Inherit the Wind keep emerging at various places in time and in my life.
Good politics works to relieve suffering for the many. Bad politics is about furthering the welfare of the few with privileged and access to power.
I miss Abbey Hoffman.
I think he took his life because he saw it would never come to pass. I fear he may be right.
We are losing ground. Sad but true.
The caucus is is today. I just don’t know what to do. The plan had been to keep my mouth shut and then support the nominee… …but I’m finding it hard.
It’s a wonderful movie- wish I could see a stage production. Revival time?
For you, RevDeb:
Matthew Harrison Brady: We must not abandon faith! Faith is the most important thing!
Henry Drummond: Then why did God plague us with the capacity to think? Mr. Brady, why do you deny the one thing that sets above the other animals? What other merit have we? The elephant is larger, the horse stronger and swifter, the butterfly more beautiful, the mosquito more prolific, even the sponge is more durable. Or does a sponge think?
Matthew Harrison Brady: I don’t know. I’m a man, not a sponge!
Henry Drummond: Do you think a sponge thinks?
Matthew Harrison Brady: If the Lord wishes a sponge to think, it thinks!
Henry Drummond: Does a man have the same privilege as a sponge?
Matthew Harrison Brady: Of course!
Henry Drummond: [Gesturing towards the defendant, Bertram Cates] Then this man wishes to have the same privilege of a sponge, he wishes to think!
Wow, Millineryman, you always inspire me.
And Sander thanks for your story, and everybodies’ –fascinating.
I can’t claim any long political activism. I just hate George Bush and want that whole cancer excised from our government, from our society.
But as for my political sensibilities as it were, my parents taught us critical thinking, and gave us the freedom to think for ourselves. They created a safe and secure environment for us to grow up in. They provided us with a good education. They also respected our privacy, and our rights — like the right to appeal *s*
They taught us to respect the rights of others too, and they bent over backwards not to transmit their own prejudices. We lived by the Golden Rule and Reason.
Not ashamed to say they were Republicans. My father was on the school board and so was my mother’s mother, perhaps the inspiration for his run. (Boy Christy , your gran’s amazing!) They worked hard to bring up good citizens. I have many images of heading into the voting booth with my Mom.
This is what I want our government to ensure for ALL our children, a safe environment, a good education, respect for their rights and freedoms. Not too much too ask either
On MSNBC, in a speech to his supporters, said: “In this country, when things are right, we will keep it right. When things are wrong, we will make it right That all to be the cry of every conservative.”
He got that right…for progressives as well. As much as I hate to say it, it’s actually a really fine speech…for conservatives…
We were taught never to lie…period. there were no excuses for lies. Now lying is OK, pretty much through out our country.
Abbie Hoffman…
Wish I could be there, carrying signs:
Crime Pays
If I Break the Law Can I Get $40k?
Thanks Marie.
A few more:
It wasn’t until much much later that I learned more about the real case and the real figures who probably were even larger in real life than in the play—an odd reversal.
Wolcott has an amusing piece up today. We can dream of “Liberal Fascism.”
I don’t think you can expect too much from a president aside from critical thinking, honesty and respect for the constitution and the rights of all people.
Their role is to advance democracy and the welfare of our people. We are the nation. If our welfare increases, so does the health of the nation.
How this is done need not come from one person, but from all the thinkers he or she surrounds themselves with. Two heads are better than one. Ten are better than two. We need a president who seeks out advice. good advice, and has the wisdom to make the right choices. The president sets the tone. And they have to be free of any special interest except liberty and justice for all.
It’s up to the congress to make the laws and him to execute them… right?
its funny,one does not have to move mountains…if everybody just extended themselves a little bit….very Xtian,but MANY Xtians dont subscribe to that ANYMORE…funny dat
also America gets it,repukes not so much
AP Poll: Exiting Iraq would boost economy more than stimulus
Saturday February 9, 2008 1:17 am
Source: USA Today - AP
Published: http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....poll_N.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The heck with Congress’ big stimulus bill. The way to get the country out of recession — and most people think we’re in one — is to get the country out of Iraq, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
Ron Paul is out (sort of)
Something just occurred to me as I was slicing the garlic for my noodle soup (with haberneros, broccoli, and soy sauce), that we have already achieved history in America: For the first time in American history, the Dems will vote for either a black man or a white woman to be their nominee in general, and whether that person will or can defeat McCain is another story. But my point is history has already happened.
Emmett Till: meet Virginia Dare (supposedly the first white person, a girl, to be born in the US, in Roanoke Island). Of course that community disappeared mysteriously, and to this day no one knows whatever happened to them.
thanks! he’s always good
No, something monumental will happen and Gravel will be the nominee for the Dems and Cox will get nod for the Republicans.
I was raised Catholic, so I became a democrat in 1960, inspired by John Kennedy and his stirring oratory. I was in the ROTC in college, even though I thought the war was a horrible mistake, I believed that when the nation called, everyone should respond, and figured I would get drafted anyway. I went into the army in October, 1968, after the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy (who I saw a few weeks before he was killed) and the Chicago convention. I was unbelievably lucky: I was sent to Turkey instead of Viet Nam.
When I got back, I was sent to Fort Bragg, where I joined an anti-war group. I spent a lot of time listening to the stories of the young draftees, and realized how lucky I was in so many ways, raised in a comfortable home by smart parents, educated, and reasonably likely to be safe, no matter what I chose. They weren’t so lucky, but they were going to do what they could to protect themselves, and just like me, they were going to serve their country, no matter what.
That summer made me what I am, even though I didn’t realize it then.
This is notable but the important thing is what the nation does, that is our congress and our courts and our police and so forth. MLK asked us not to look at the color of someone’s skin, but the content of their character. So I don’t care if someone is white or black or female or gay, but how they act, what they agitate for.
Can we become a WE nation and think about each other and not about ourselves and our families for a change?
The enviro / energy thingy seems to be something that is giving everyone a connectedness even if it only a disparate need for survival. We need to achieve the same in human rights.
Apocalypse Now was on last nite………..WAR IS TOTAL HELL and an abomination..that is all
Good Morning everyone….
prolly not…sadly…too many cell phones(immediate gratification must be satisfied)
I was born into a multi-generational household at a time when the hunger and disappointment of the Great Depression still lurked in my extended families daily thoughts and the sacrifice and horror of World War II hung in the air as my father slowly recovered from his emotional and physical wounds.
Out of this gloom from which my family was emerging, they all, every damn last one of them, believed we had made it because one man had cared
about us. That man was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We were Yellow Dog Democrats and damn proud of it.
Morning pups,
I really had no interest in politics until a friend asked me to attend a Nixon rally at Madison Square Garden in I think ‘68. Large crowd outside working it’s way into the venue and suddenly we were approached by a man asking to see our tickets. Upon inspection of our tickets he asked us to follow him out to the street where he ripped up our tickets and walked away. Found out in the news the next day that hassidic jews and improperly dressed longhairs were denied entrance. Thanks Dick for helping me find myself politically and establishing my own personal dress code.
bluejeansntshirt
Service should not have to be in a military capacity. This is a perverted notion of patriotism. It is a shame that so many believe that joining the armed forces is “serving” the needs of the nation.
The threats to this nation are from within, from those who take our rights, deny us housing, heath care, decent living wages, access to education and so on.
While people are signing up to fight made up enemies from without, they took our democracy away from within. Bait and switch.
hmm wonder where all the ronpaulians’ votes will go, protest? or contest?
Surprise surprise. Vietnam. I was a 17 year old punk from the Chicago suburbs and suddenly I saw poor black and white kids thrown into this bullshit meat grinder mostly because of a lack of educational opportunity. Project 100,000 took that many men a year into the Army and Marines who could not meet MINIMUM military standards while Bush, Clinton and millions of other avoided the shit. It’s always driven me.
And this history has already happened thanks to progressive activism, IMHO…
I believe anyone will stand up and defend their home if it is under attack. There are no threats to this nation from outside.
More 100,000 died in auto accidents from all sorts of causes last year. Can we have a war of auto accidents please?
What will become of the blimp?
Good morning pups!
Reading through this whole thread has been the best experience I’ve had this week. Thank you all for sharing stories from your lives. As I’ve said several times before, FDL is a beacon.
Time to take the dogs for their Sat. morning hikeathon. Read you all later.
Good morning Christy, good morning Firedawgs -
Very nice post this morning, and “Moondance” rules.
Let me get my thoughts together and I’ll jot something down.
Good Evening, Christy, from Okinawa.
Great post. I’m very much enjoying reading the formative backgrounds of so many FDL pups that are regulars here — it’s fascinating.
I guess my political leanings were mostly influenced by my father, who served as a career naval officer (started out as a mustang), yet he was a very strong Democrat, undoubtedly influenced by growing up in the the Great Depression and then by the events of WWII. He would tell me about FDR and the events of WWII, which I still can recall quite clearly, even though I was only 7-8 years old when he was relating those historical accounts.
Among other memories, one of the strongest for me is how he posted a large sign in the front yard of our house in Point Loma, San Diego in 1972 that stated: This household is for George McGovern.
The Vietnam war was a significant political framing event for me. I was very vocal about the dishonesty of the Nixon administration. This was rather difficult when I was working on construction survey crews for CALTRANS alongside Vietnam vets and even some Marine WWII vets. The drawn-out and stumbling way that we finally got out of the quagmire of Vietnam was definitely a major influence in my decision that I would align myself to the Democratic Party.
I resisted at first serving in the military, in spite of my father’s urgings, mostly because of the very prominent negative consequences of the Vietnam War. He pushed me to try and get a Navy ROTC scholarship, primarily because it provided the funding for a college degree, but I blew that effort off, much to his chagrin. But it was inevitable, I suppose, that I would join in the Armed Forces, ending up in the Marines. I became fascinated with the history of service by my great-great grandfather on my mother’s side, who came over from Ireland in 1857 to enlist in the U.S. Army. He served out West in the regular Army prior to the Civil War, and then he was brought back to flush out the volunteer units in 1862. He was wounded at Petersburg in 1864, and discharged a year later. He evidently was too used to being a soldier, as he re-enlisted in 1866 and served for another 20+ years out West. That family history provided the germ for my decision to become an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. There was a slight detour, however, when the U.S. Army told me that they wouldn’t allow me to become an infantry officer in my senior year of ROTC. They were slotting me for a regular commission as an Ordnance Corps officer. The Marine OSO out of Spokane, was able to intercede with my PMS at ROTC, and I ended up going through OCS at Quantico in 1979, where the Marine Corps without any hesitation allowed me to become an infantry officer.
Being a Marine has been bitter-sweet, mostly because being a liberal Democrat and a Marine officer were almost exclusive categories, especially during the Reagan years. But I’ve survived, and now I proudly let these Marines that I work with daily here on Okinawa know that I am a liberal Democrat, that I voted for both George McGovern and Jimmy Carter, and that George W. Bush is an absolute walking, breathing disgrace of an American.
Thanks again for this post, Christy. It’s a great way to spend some time on a Saturday evening out here on the Rock.
Semper Fidelis,
Dave in Okinawa
Good morning Christy and all. I want to leave a little comment about our great Democratic Party in NM. I know there is a lot of negative press that we have not counted our ballots yet and etc. etc., but I want everyone to know that this is because we have encouraged everyone to participate by allowing any voter to vote at any location even if they are not in their “correct” voting location, where their name would appear on a roster. We are doing a heroic job of trying to make sure that we count every vote and value every voter and all the volunteers (we were all volunteers) who ran the polls.
Democracy is hard work. People who expect demoracy on a platter, that one should just show up to vote occasionally and have their vote counted instantly are getting a demonstration of what it REALLY takes to make democracy count. You know, the 17,000 provisional ballots.
Since I can’t seem to find the linking option at FDL this AM, I hope people will go to the Democracy for New Mexico site and read the latest post on the Presidential Caucus in NM, because it describes how the votes are being counted. If anyone else can get that link up, I think it would be worthwhile.
BTW, the campaign lawyers have also supported our efforts to count the votes, see at DfNM.
Happy Saturday to all.
My mom was raised in Alabama by one of the few families of Lincoln Republicans. She and my dad divorced when I was 5 after he came home from WWII. We had moved to South Texas during the War and my grandfather had purchased a citrus orchard and another piece of land which he planted with new trees (the old grove and the new grove). My first political memory is sitting at the square table that holds my computer now and keeping tally, with Grandpa, of the votes at the Republican convention between Taft and Eisenhower, as reported on the radio, in 1951. When Falcon dam was dedicated , we went to see Ike drive by.
I read those orange books, too. Lives of great folks with the childhood portion of their lives filling the first 3/4s of the book. Made being a child important for anything that might come later.
When I was in high school, I volunteered at a charity children’s hospital and came in contact with so many families with grievous burdens, not of their own making, that I have expected universal health care to be obvious to anyone as the only humane and sane way to “promote the general welfare.” The children who were admitted usually had malnutrition, TB, and what ever was wrong with them.
One of the most creative things I’ve been a part of is creative spite.
My childhood friend, Elizabeth and I were absolutely appalled by Newt & Company bad mouthing single parents. Our mothers had worked their hearts out to raise us and we didn’t turn out dreadful. So we started a scholarship fund at Central Texas College for single parents, and every year we can encourage ten people who are trying to make a life for their families. The scholarships are small ($500) but they do encourage.
NM Dem Prez Caucus: What’s Happening Now
Came to activism thru how women were treated in a way that was blatantly discriminatory. At Cornell women had to be on average 100 points higher on the SAT test, there was early admissions only for boys, and the marching band was boys-only which completely broke my heart. I refused to apply to Harvard because they had a boys-only library which was just an evil concept, separating me from books.
The Vietnam war became important and I realized we needed to work towards peace. I always wanted to work overseas on something medical, that was from childhood. But I think working against the war helped me understand from the Quakers that it is necessary to work very hard for peace and reconciliation. It’s not enough to be against something, you must be for something.
This time around it took me a couple years to understand the depths of this administration’s intention to rip apart our constitutional democracy. In the summer of 2005 I took a deep breath and decided to get involved a lot more in order to help turn things around for the sake of my kids and nieces and nephews. We cannot make things right in a short period of time. But we owe it to the next generation to get in there and do as much as we can.
Irish Jim,
I se you have been commenting for us DFH’s on this article. Email me at amyfencl@msn.com and lets get something going to welcome MCRove in a style befitting his legacy.
http://www.desmoinesregister.c.....056/NEWS09
Good morning everybody!
FYI - from the EFF: House Committee Leaders Unite to Oppose Immunity for Telecoms
The rest of the letter (pdf) is here.
Maybe there is some hope for the 4th Amendment after all.
here’s the link :)
Democracy for New Mexico
Morning all. Had a sleep-in this morning (yay, Mr. ReddHedd, who cleaned up the kitchen and made coffee while I was sleeping…gotta love it.)
Priscilla — lovely to see you!
It is the one thing that drives me nuts…. why do we have to have instant results from an election?
Maricopa country (the most populous county in the US)had over 40,000 provisional ballots which need to be resolved.
THANK YOU Repugs for Prop 200 Voter ID law which we can’t get struck down which became law because of their brown fear.
I don’t know how to describe my father’s politics. He was a registered republican but I don’t think that translated into his having a republican mindset. He was an immigrant. Came to this country when he was 8 and his one opinion that trumped all others was that this was the greatest country in the world. You could not criticize this country in his presence, even during the Vietnam war. He wasn’t a ‘love it or leave it’ guy but he surely felt lucky to be here and while he wouldn’t actually support the war, he never criticized the govt.
He was also a self-employed building contractor and my favorite story told at his funeral was by the son of one of his acquaintances. This man was a factory worker who’s job was in jeopardy. The son said his father rec’d a call one night from my dad. My father told him not to worry about work. If the worst happened, he could always have a job with him. The son went on to say that a great weight was lifted from their family by that offer. They had all been sitting around fretting about the future. After that phone call, his dad relayed the message and the feeling of relief was palpable.
Good Morning Friends
I was raised in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles, the eldest of three daughters to WASP parents who made their way here from Illinois and Indiana. Very consertive, Republicans and there was never a talk of politics. My mother made openly racist, mainly through ignorance, comments about people of color. My dad mostly kept his mouth shut when mom spewed her venom. But, she did me one favor, she urged to learn a musical instrument.
In band and orchestra, I met some interesting kids. One of them was a geeky Jewish kid who was Always talking politics.
Throughout jr. and sr. high school we formed an ever closer friendship. The first time I was in a synagogue was at his Bar Mitsvah and the first time I went to a Country Club it was for the party for the same.
We sat down during the pledge of allegiance, put together Anti-War protests and I helped him get elected to positions in school politics. He turned me on to Pacifica Radio and radical books.
Those of you who know me will know who that guy was: Greg Palast.
*wiping away a tear*
I’m what Michael Weiner-Savage would call a “red diaper doper baby”, except that may parents were in no way dopers. They were, however, and still are, what used to be called “Reds”. Both of my parents were activists on the left in the late 40’s and early 50’s until they settled down and had me. They both worked in motion pictures and television through the blacklist, which my dad has written a very interesting book about. He is turning 89 soon and is still active, blogging with me at Amachewahwah, and also at Smirking Chimp,.
I am a child of the 50’s and 60’s, was politically awakened by John F. Kennedy and Bob Dylan at the age of 12, became a member of SDS and the W.E.B. DuBois Club when I was still in high school, and got beat up by the cops at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968.
I’ve been politically active ever since.
My grandparents on my father’s side were born and raised in Sum