Worried? Scared about tomorrow? Step in here for a minute....

[The Straight Story]

Let's take a trip back in time for a second. I am using some photos from my video I made (link later on).

Just take a look, and think for a sec before I rant my ass off:










------------ My Rant ------------

Scared, worried? These people faced a lot back in the day. And they did not give up. And there are many more as well.

They were scared and worried too. Some were even killed off.

But by God they Stood up and fought. They never cut and ran from this country, even when it was in dark times.

YOU PEOPLE are the REASON gays have some rights now, why blacks are not segregated and on the back of the bus, why women have a vote in the first place.

It was the Liberal mindset that has fought against wars, that gave us choice, that stood up to assholes in charge for the little guy.

YOU are the DREAM and the HOPE of those who have sacrificed before, and are the hope of those yet to come.

And we won't give up now on the dreams this country has given us. We didn't in 2000 or 2004. It is BECAUSE we fought so hard that now we have a damned good chance of taking back this country. YOU preached, researched, and marched.

The only ones who need to be scared and worried now are the thugs in power.

Chin up, and here is that link to a video I hope brings you some fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-10_iPus9g

[Redstone]

1. Can you hear me clapping in appreciation? Great post.

Redstone

[The Straight Story]

9. Thanks old friend

Lord willing someday we will meet in real life.

Tomorrow I make a stand at the polls, I get to DO SOMETHING about this mess beyond whining an researching and reporting on the crap being pulled.

They may steal my vote, but they won't steal my spirit. And the more they back people into a corner, the more dangerous it will get for them. Awaken a sleeping giant and you may well get trampled.

[texpatriot2004]

2. Applause and thanks. nm

[RoyGBiv]

3. Not worried, not scared ...

My generation has faced nothing like the generation depicted in those photographs, and I damn well wish people my age and younger would wake up to that fact.

These are scary times, but a good deal of the fear has been enforced upon us. We're made to be afraid by those in power (today), which is what has kept them in power.

Come what may tomorrow, I am not afraid. They cannot make me be afraid.

K&R, btw...

[thingfisher]

39. Dear RoyGBiv

The truth of the matter I think is that your generation is facing the same evil forces that our generation faced in the sixties. Only the danger you face is even greater because these people have entrenched themselves in government.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the John Kennedy murder (and the others)and their relevance to current history. We are still under attack by the same forces that were so openly opposed during the Vietnam War. I urge the young generations to delve into our past and not shrink from the awful truth that lies hidden there.

[RoyGBiv]

41. I think you're correct ...

What I had in mind though, and expressed poorly, was that my generation has not taken a stand in the same way that generation did and has not suffered in quite the same way. With no disrespect intended to anyone on these forums or throughout the countless others that coordinate and do good work, being an Internet Warrior is not quite the same as facing down the National Guard with sticks, and water canons, and in some cases bullets. It's not the same as actually having heroes and seeing them clearly and openly murdered. There is some fear and conjecture of what might happen. There's not the conscious knowledge that every day when you wake up and go about your business of demanding the changes you seek, that you will be arrested and you will be beaten.

I went to a protest not long ago. Ten of us showed up. It was more like a picnic. We joked about be harassed by the cops, but the cops merely drove by and waved. It was, in all reality, a social gathering.

We live in an age of amorphous fear. We're afraid, but we're not quite sure what it is of which we are afraid.

[Quixote1818]

4. Thanks for that nt

[silverweb]

5. Thank you!

I've been a bit of a wreck lately, too. It's good to be reminded of those good, brave people who went before us.

I'd like to add one more to the list of those above, one of my greatest inspirations:



Chin up! Never give up on what's right!

:toast:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. Great post, great vid. You know you've done a good job when the

freepers spam the comment section the way they have.

[proudlibal]

7. WOW

I am deeply, deeply moved by that. Thank you so much. :patriot:

[Arugula Latte]

8. Wonderful!

Kudos! :applause:

[dalaigh lllama]

10. Great inspiration, greatly needed

And now tomorrow -- let's go get those B*sh bastards!

:dem: & :thumbsup:

[tblue]

11. A few more, and thank you!

"What ever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass."

Paul J Meyer

[Tigress DEM]

12. I have two more inspirational people to add - Richard Oaks

I saw a special on NPR (Alcatraz Is Not An Island) that spoke of the beginning of Indian's really getting into activism and the sacrifices involved. I am often afraid of the sacrifices that may be required of us, but at the same time, it is up to us to get the job done.

Richard Oaks jumped into leadership in a moment of bold decision and he paid quite dearly for daring to pave the way towards having the US Government treat the Indian community with some respect.

TO HONOR THE HEROS WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE, WE MUST STAY STRONG AND DO THE RIGHT THINGS EVEN WHEN ALL WE WANT IS FOR THE EVIL TO GO AWAY AND JUST LEAVE US ALONE.. INSTEAD WE MUST STAND UP UNITED AND KICK IT'S ASS.

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland





I also found info on the web at the Support and Believe blogspot

JUST SAY KNOW

(It literally is one paragraph as displayed, but it also references original source, so I included that too.

http://supportandbelieve.blogspot.com/2005/11/occupation-worth-applauding-celebrate.html

Monday, November 28, 2005
An Occupation Worth Applauding Celebrate Un-Thanksgiving By Mickey Z.
Until the federal penitentiary was closed in 1963, Alcatraz Island was a place most folks tried to leave. On Nov. 20, 1969, the island's image underwent a drastic makeover. That was the day thousands of American Indians began an occupation that would last until June 11, 1971. The 1973 armed occupation of Wounded Knee along with the siege at the Pine Ridge Reservation one year later (which led directly to the incarceration of Leonard Peltier) are etched deeper in the public consciousness in terms of recent Indian history, but is was the Alcatraz Island occupation that ushered in a new era of Native American activism. "The occupiers," writes Ben Winton in the Fall 1999 issue of Native Peoples magazine, "were an unlikely mix of Indian college activists, families with children fresh off reservations and urban dwellers disenchanted with what they called the U.S. government's economic, social and political neglect." "We hold The Rock," proclaimed Richard Oakes, a Mohawk from New York. Oakes became the occupiers' spokesman...and his words became their motto. "The occupation of Alcatraz was about human rights," said Winton. "It was an effort to restore the dignity of the more than 554 American Indian nations in the United States." Over the course of the occupation, over 5600 American Indians took part-some for a day, some for the entire 18 months. Twenty-three year-old John Trudell, a Santee Sioux from San Bernardino, California heard about the occupation, packed a sleeping bag, and headed to Frisco. "He became the voice of Radio Free Alcatraz, a pirate station that broadcast from the island with the help of local stations" explains Winton. "When he hit the airwaves, the response was often overwhelming. Boxes of food and money poured in from everywhere-from rock groups such as The Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival (who staged a concert on a boat off Alcatraz and then donated the boat), Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, city politicians, and everyday folks." For the first time in modern American history, the plight of Native Americans was making headlines. The fledgling American Indian Movement (AIM) visited the occupiers and soon began a series of their own occupations across America. AIM would soon become a powerful multi-tribal protest organization...just one of the many important outcomes of the Alcatraz takeover. "Despite its chaos and factionalism, the event resulted in major benefits for American Indians," Winton states. "Years later, Brad Patterson, a top aide to President Richard Nixon, cited at least ten major policy and law shifts." Some of those policy shifts include: •Passage of the Indian Self Determination and Education Act •Revision of the Johnson O'Malley Act to better educate Indians •Passage of the Indian Financing Act and the Indian Health Act •Creation of an Assistant Interior Secretary post for Indian Affairs Even today, Alcatraz Island remains part of Native American culture as every November since 1975, on what is called "Un-Thanksgiving Day," Indians gather on the island to honor the occupation and those who continue to fight today.

****** Excerpted from "50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism" (Disinformation Books) by Mickey Z. For more info, please visit: www.mickeyz.net. http://tinyurl.com/ohshittv

[Tigress DEM]

20. And May Chidiac -- One of the 2006 Courage In Journalism Awards recepients

http://www.iwmf.org/courage

May Chidiac, 43, a broadcast journalist for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. Chidiac, one of the best known faces on Lebanese television and a critic of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon, every Sunday presented the program “Nharkom Said” (Good Day). But last September, she lost her left hand and left leg when a bomb exploded under the driver’s seat of her car. She had just hosted a show addressing Syria’s possible involvement in former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination. Chidiac is recovering from her injuries but plans to resume her broadcasting career in Lebanon.

Read full bio here. http://www.iwmf.org/courage/06award.php#chidiac






From Anderson Cooper's blog
(Love his tag line btw - Be honest about what you see, get out of the way and let the story reveal itself.")


http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/03/crawling-away-from-wreckage-with-hair.html

A series of mysterious bombs have killed or maimed several politicians and journalists I knew well, none more so than a remarkable and courageous woman named May Chidiac, a fearless Maronite Catholic journalist who I came to admire during the war years.

Back then, May was a field reporter for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. In recent years, she has come to be known throughout the Middle East as a kind of Barbara Walters. She is fiercely independent and has made many enemies through her opinionated commentary and TV news reports.

Her last broadcast came six months ago when she poured scorn on Lebanon's powerful neighbor, Syria. Her televised discussion focused on alleged Syrian involvement in a series of assassinations in Lebanon. A few hours later, May was blown up by a bomb attached to the underside of her SUV.

She was sliced to shreds, somehow crawling way from the wreckage with her hair ablaze.

[Quixote1818]

13. HOLY SHIT! THAT VIDEO IS AWESOME!!!!!

Did you put that together? I was stunned by it and had tears running down my cheeks!!!

That was AWESOME!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!

THANK YOU!

[The Straight Story]

18. Yes

Threw it together the other night, not as good as I had hoped, but it is a start :)

Thank you!

[Quixote1818]

19. I alerted the moderators to post it on the home page!

It's amazing to think you use to be a regular at free republic????? Thanks for making all the years of hard work seem like they had some meaning. That means a lot to me and I am sure it will mean a lot to everyone on DU!

Thank You! :dem:

[The Straight Story]

28. I was blind back then - but had the passion deep in me

I just bought the 'evil liberal' line.

Now it is payback time :)

Thanks for the kick my friend!

[K8-EEE]

14. DAMN STRAIGHT!

I myself am happy and optimistic....I really feel like if they try to pull anything it won't work. The worm has turned, and that's it...

[understandinglife]

15. We the People ... will overcome. We will prevail. We MUST. Humanity is in the balance.

Recommended.



Never Forget: George W. Bush willfully violated National Security to cover-up his willful launch of a war of aggression and illegal occupation of Iraq .... and, now he willfully provided nuke-making instructions to terrorists -- if you doubt it, just check 'the google'

[69firebirdconv]

16. I'm not worried...

The vote will go the way I expect it too. The freedoms I love will remain and I will feel safe in my own country.

[southerncrone]

17. Great pep talk! Rally the forces!

Thank you, The Straight Story, for the infusion of true inspiration on the eve of this very important day for America. I was around for all of those moments, and they are an intregal part of our national spirit. They made America stronger & united us. * had the ability to do the same after 9/11, but he chose to divide us instead...another of his unforgivable sins.
Let's hope that John, Martin & Bobby are looking down on us tomorrow.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. that's the SS we know and love!

Excellent use of emotions.

:loveya:

[The Straight Story]

29. Thanks, and I LOVE the comment on your profile!

" THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED but by God it WILL be blogged!"

Damn straight!

[Quixote1818]

22. Don't just look at the pictures look at the video he posted. It's AWESOME!

and it's dedicated to everyone at DU.

[Quixote1818]

23. Kick

[shifting_sands]

24. 1963 -1974

I cannot even begin to describe the pain and fear of those years. How it felt when JFK was gunned down, then Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, the violence of birthing Civil Rights, Kent State, Vietnam, the draft, young men running to Canada, Mexico just trying to get away from a government gone mad and willing to let them die because they were making too much money on the war. It was horrible and anxiety ridden, but even with that and as bad as it was, we felt there was hope and we could somehow move policy and get out of the hole that had been dug for us. I don't feel that hope from people today, from the day the Supreme Court gave away the presidency in 2000 and the Constitution was broken, we've acted as if there was nothing to do, we would just have to wait until the next election. So we waited and the next election mysteriously turned on a dime, just like the 2000 election, in spite of the fact that there were public announcements from this administrations friends and family that they would deliver Florida, deliver Ohio and wow they did just that.

I was just 21 when John Kennedy was killed and for my generation it left a gapping hole that has never healed. We've been looking for a JFK leader ever since then. We've long stopped wondering "who" killed him, it's the "why." John Kennedy painted a picture of strength and vision for my generation and even if we are just listening to his words stretching out to us over time, I encourage everyone to listen to those words and grab hold of that vision, it's still our hope. Sometimes when I listen to a clip of one of his speeches I can't help but wonder "how on earth did we get from that to this in just one lifetime?" When JFK spoke you didn't capture his imagination or wisdom or strength of purpose, you captured your own.

"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." (John Fitzgerald Kennedy)

[The Straight Story]

27. Thanks for sharing that

I was born in 1965. The one story mom used to tell us about JFK (that I remember vividly) was that she was shopping for a freezer at Lazarus when she heard the news. Mom died 12/31/2004. The Freezer lasted until 2005.

[DemBones DemBones]

43. As bad as those years were, I feel that the past six have been worse.

How do you feel about it?

[fooj]

25. TRUTH is our most powerful weapon.

Note- with hope in your heart- that these earlier Americans always found their way to the light and we can, too.- K. Olbermann

:patriot:

[Chulanowa]

26. Adding another...

Mary "Mother Jones" Harris, union activist, all around asskicker, and "Most dangerous woman in America" according to Theodore Roosevelt... at age 83 and of a hight of 4' 9" :)

[The Straight Story]

30. Gotta watch out for them short old ladies :)

They are like a pit bull in a hen house at times, gotta love em!

[More Than A Feeling]

31. Love the video...

Reminders of fallen and victorious heroes set to music are always tearjerkers for me.

[Cetacea]

32. correction:It was Liberals who fought and won the Great Wars

Great work though.
But we need to remind people of this Inconvenient Truth.

[rosesaylavee]

33. Thanks for that! We SHALL Overcome!!

1. We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Chorus:
Oh deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day


2. We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand some day
Chorus:

3. We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free some day
Chorus:
4. We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid today
Chorus:
5. We are not alone
We are not alone
We are not alone today
Chorus:

6. The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around some day
Chorus:

7. We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day

My loins are now firmly girded. I'm going to go vote! :kick:

[GeorgeGist]

34. I think American's are prepared for the worst...

even if the Republicans 'win'; the seeds of truth have exposed the futility of a false philosophy.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

35. I love that Video

It makes a powerful statement.

[NoSheep]

36. I'm crying NOW! It took most of the day but I knew I would.

:kick:

[KarenS]

37. very nice,,,,

:cry: and :applause:

[Raffi Ella]

38. Incredible post. Thank You

:patriot:

[The Straight Story]

40. Thank you! And LET'S BEAT THE R's TODAY! WOOHOO!! (nt)

[DemPower]

42. *

[Maraya1969]

44. 'Nother video that made me cry. Thanks straight story.

:pals:

[NoSheep]

45. My favorite DU thread EVER!

Can I recommend it again?

[NoSheep]

46. I guess not. Woooohooooo!!!!!!!

[Giant Robot]

47. So I just teared up

reading this thread. I am not sure if I should thank you or yell at you. For now, thanks for the reality check for my almost unending supply of frustration.

[butterfly77]

48. Thank, I need to hear that....

[Beelzebud]

49. I LOVE that picture of Kennedy!

[Lifelong Protester]

50. Great Job...

I am a real easy 'crier' too, and when I see the brave and courageous who laid it on the line for their convictions, I have to say I am ashamed that I have days of despair... it is nothing like the sacrifice so many of them gave.

Yes, chin up, and forward.