The New Frontier (A Question)

[H2O Man]

{1} The New Frontier (Kahlil Gibran; 1925)

"Are you a politician
asking what your country can do for you
or a zealous one
asking what you can do for your country?
If you are the first,
then you are a parasite;
if you are the second,
then you are an oasis in the desert."


{2} The New Frontier (defined by John F. Kennedy)

"Too many Americans have lost their way, their will and their sense of historic purpose. It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership -- new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities. .... I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch three thousand miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort, and sometimes their lives to build a new world here in the West. They were not the captives of their own doubts ....

"We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier .... a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils -- a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats. The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them .... Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will? .... Are we up to the task -- are we equal to the challenge? .... That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make -- a choice ... between the public interest and the private comfort -- between national greatness and national decline .... All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try."


My question is: What does the idea of a "New Frontier" mean to you? There is no right or wrong answer; I am only asking what you think about this. And I will offer my own brief opinion ....

I believe that the USA entered a new and dangerous era when the Bush-Cheney administration assumed power in 2001. I think that their taking power was a consequence of a series of events that had been in motion for decades -- a progression in a direction that is very different than what I believe our Constitutional democracy should be heading.

I believe that the strength of the democratic party is found primarily at the grass roots level. I do not think it is as evident in Washington, DC as it is in the other cities and towns and rural areas of this nation. I think Gibran's term "parasite" is, sadly, an accurate description of the politicians in all three branches of our federal government. I prefer the zealous ones that he speaks of.

I am convinced that the possibility of a New Frontier is only going to be opened up by the grass roots progressives. That is not to say there are not a few good and decent elected officials in the congress. But it is my opinion that they are not able to institute the changes that are needed, as Kennedy noted, to move us in the direction of national greatness rather than national decline.

There are, of course, very real differences between the demands of the grass roots progressives, and the ability of even those few decent politicians to deliver. And there are far greater differences between the grass roots and the majority in congress. That has become more evident in the past week.

"This is what separated us from you; we made demands. You were satisfied to serve the power of your nation, and we dreamed of giving ours her truth." -- Albert Camus

[Solly Mack]

1. I like the Camus quote

I'm a firm believer in grass roots change

[H2O Man]

2. Well, then,

I suppose that I'll post another:

"As I have already told you, if at times we seemed to prefer justice to our country, this is because we simply wanted to love our country in justice, as we wanted to love her in truth and in hope."
-- Albert Camus

(Camus quotes found in "Make Gentle the Life of this World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy," by Maxwell Kennedy.)

[Solly Mack]

3. Tailor - made for me :)

Stop...or my soft underbelly will be exposed. :)

[Me.]

4. It Should Never Have Happened

The last week, the vote from last night. They can spin it, explain it anyway they like but if it was so imperative they all would have voted for it, It should never happened, but it did.

Some have asked why are we so mad at the dems instead of the pukes. I guess love betrayed feels worse than love you never had.

[H2O Man]

5. Though I share

the feeling that those who supported the bill in question betrayed the democratic base -- and, indeed, betrayed the Constitution -- I think that there is some value in having the true nature of the crisis we face so clearly defined.

[Me.]

7. Now That's Interesting

And the first positive I've heard about what has happened. Brilliant! Because yes it did do exactly that, define what we are facing. It has truly woken us up.

[H2O Man]

10. He who bemoans

the lack of opportunity, ignores the fact that small doors can open into large rooms, as my friend Rubin used to remind me.

[Solly Mack]

8. Can't fix the problem unless you see it for what it is...exactly

[speedoo]

6. Thanks, H2O Man.

While the context is very different, FDR's words from 1933 in his First Inaugural Address are apt today (as they always will be, most likely):

"This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

[H2O Man]

9. That is

a great quote. And great truths are important, because they can be applied to many different contexts. What FDR said in '33 is just as true today as it was 74 years ago.

Thank you for that!

[speedoo]

11. My friend, it's always a pleasure...

to particiapte in your threads.

Actually, I don't even have to participate to enjoy them!

[warrior1]

12. Charles Schultz wisdom.

Back to square one. Everyone is Charlie Brown.



Who's holding the football now?

I love mankind; it's people I can't stand.
Charles M. Schulz

[Me.]

14. Aah Lucy!

Who is holding the football, really?

[TahitiNut]

51. I tend to see it even more in FDR's SOTU speech in 1941 ... when he articulated the "Four Freedoms."

In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.

That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

If not these, what?
If not now, when?

Instead, we are a nation that has committed its resources to the infringment on these freedoms. We are, imho, a nation of cowards and outlaws unless and until we bring justice to those who'd abolish these freedoms by 'zoning' free speech, making health a narrow privilege of the wealthy, and promulgating FEAR in the world and this nation.

When we, at DU(!), sneer at those (e.g. Kucinich) who'd have the temerity to advance the vision of Four Freedoms, we are truly and deeply FUCKED.

[speedoo]

75. It's very troubling that our country has abandoned that course.

Having only thought about it for a few minutes, my conclusion is that the middle class that FDR esentially created, turned its back on those four freedoms. The Reagan Democrats are the best example. And when the rethugs got the middle class, they had what they needed to do whatever they wanted.

[rosesaylavee]

13. This 'New Frontier', this historical moment in time

has been the most frightening of my adult life. I struggle with the fear it has brought me. I worry about what will happen to my son, my husband, my friends, my extended family, my life as I have known it. Will we survive? Will we be arrested for promoting justice as we think it should be? Most days I overcome this fear and find positive action to promote the peace and justice I think this country was founded upon.

Other days, I don't know that I have the faith necessary in my fellow Americans - can we do what needs to be done? We will need to be united in our fight - do we have it in us to do it together? Will there be a leader eventually who will help us find the way? Will we see what needs to be done in time to keep our democracy intact? to protect people from suffering needlessly?

Perhaps we needed to have this crisis to make us all aware of what we had prior to 2001 and give us an appreciation of the courage and energy needed to maintain a healthy, viable democracy.

[H2O Man]

16. I think that

it comes down to the old saying about "we must change to master change," which we used to hear in the 1960s. We cannot change America by staying the same. We cannot seriously believe that meaningful change will result from actions taken by congress, which would then allow us to remain the same as we remember being yesterday. (I'm speaking in general terms, of course, and not about you, me, or any specific DUers.)

We are not so much in need of a "revolution," as a few of our DU friends are saying, as an evolution .... and that starts with each of us. And that is the point that I'm hoping to raise in the OP here: what evolutionary changes do the zealous citizens make, in order to institute revolutionary change in this country? That is, I believe, the question that Al Gore's wonderful book "The Assault on Reason" asks us to consider. Gore is describing a psychological move to that New Frontier.

[rosesaylavee]

20. The crisis has changed us

or I know it has changed me for certain. I am more politically active. I am more public about my political leanings (a detriment to keeping and getting employment btw). I am more vocal in calling and writing my elected officials. I am more informed about what is happening in my state capital and in DC and at deeper levels of understanding than I was before.

My friends have changed. Those that lean exclusively and unforgivingly to the right - have become more acquaintances and we seldom seek each other out. Family who listen to Rush Limbaugh and espouse RW policy, we avoid at family gatherings. The common ground there is dwindling to concern for the elderly members of the family. Once they are gone, it wouldn't surprise me that there will be even less contact.

And at the same time, I find I am more tolerant of these people than I was prior. I know I won't change their minds. I hope that if I am peaceful enough and tolerant of them enough, it will dawn on them that the problem is within them - not me. I have ceased 'telling' them what I think. That really doesn't work. Their telling me what they think doesn't move me toward their position either.

I am not completely peaceful - someone said in a conversation I was in the other day that we have Al Gore to blame for not getting oil out of the Alaska wilderness. It came from nowhere and I was as shocked as if she had said my brother was a serial killer. I recovered enough to state an opinion about it but don't think I was convincing.

I am evolving... I think. Is it enough? Are there actions I am still not thinking of? Will others change too and will we be able to evolve adequately enough together to save the country?

[H2O Man]

39. Because we are human,

none of us are completely peaceful. We are all prone to certain human frailties. We must be patient with ourselves, as well as others.

I can remember speaking with a person about her negative view of the world. She had developed a viewpoint that made finding fault with others her first nature. I asked if she thought she could go an entire day, without insulting or saying something negative about others? She gave it serious thought, and admitted that she could not. How about an hour? No. Ten minutes? She tried.

Ten minutes of change is a start. In ten minutes, we can experience something that helps promote evolution: "YES" is more powerful than "NO." It provides more opportunities. And saying "yes" to change is the start .....

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a friend a while back. She was discussing options for dealing with the energy crisis -- and our culture is facing an environmental crisis because of our unhealthy misconceptions about "energy." We have to change those misconceptions, but we cannot do so by staying the same. We cannot resolve the pressing issues by saying "No!" to change. And I can say with zero chance of being wrong that our culture can not "solve" the energy/environmental crisis without making meaningful, evolutionary advances in our thinking .... and, indeed, in our being.

[KoKo]

15. This post is a boost this dark morning....

I'd just add: Many of us thought we knew the evil beast. We'd been tracking it for years with photographic and physical evidence. Finally we had it cornered and were ready for the kill. But just when we were poised to thrust the spear through it's heart... the thing turned on us and we saw with amazement it had TWO HEADS! TWO HEADS! and one of the heads suddenly turned and glared and SPIT FIRE at us...and many were stricken down without warning and the rest stood in shock....too stunned at the horror before them to move. All of our careful tracking and cataloging of evidence had failed us. TWO HEADS! How does one deal with the unexpected? How does one deal with that awesome surprise that this beast was so stealthy that it could conceal a whole other part of it's body from us for so long? And the part that would wound us so terribly when we finally got close enough to destroy it...

Now that we know the beast has two heads....we have to find another way of dealing with it....I suppose that can be positive....knowing one's enemy and all that...

Many of us are stunned ...it will take awhile before positive starts knocking on our door. And, some have been burned so badly....they might not make it. It will take a bit to sort it all out and find "a new way," methinks.

[H2O Man]

18. I can remember

that at the Washington, DC dinner for JFK's 44th birthday on 5-27-61, the President said, "When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we'd been saying they were."

I tend to feel that way reading DU this weekend. I can remember saying before the '04 election, that if Bush & Cheney were able to maintain power, we would not recognize the country when they left office. There were a few DUers who told me that I was being overly dramatic; by no coincidence, they were some of the DUers who express opposition to my stance on issues like impeaching Cheney, and rapidly ending the US war of occupation in Iraq. One of the things I would prefer Americans to bring with them to the New frontier would be the Constitution, including an intact Bill of Rights. I do not think that is overly dramatic.

[tomp]

78. and i will simply add...

...that many of us were not fooled or suprised by the two-headed beast, but were amazed by the failure of others to see it before. i personally have been repeating this message for the last six years on du (and long before that elsewhere). yet even now, look how many here just don't get it.

[malaise]

17. Thanks H2O Man

This is reality.

[H2O Man]

30. I was hoping

that it might help re-focus some attention on things we can change.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Unfortunately, we live in a non-participant "democracy".

In the process of hiring the "leaders" who are supposed to be representatives, we make them into celebrities, icons, heroes, who are to be worshiped. and idolized. Many feel an obligation to the idols they erected and a need to protect them from those that dare to note the emperor's lack of clothes. We are loathe to call them to account when they inevitably make a hash of it, because we would have to take responsibility for hiring them.

In a democracy, we are supposed to be the masters, the politicians the servants. But, we haven't just allowed that ideal to be turned around, we have demanded that it be, so that we can avoid our responsibilities. We make excuses for "our" guys, we cover-up their misdeeds, mistakes, failures, by blaming the other guys, or the media, or bad luck, and assure ourselves that the "other" guys would be even worse.

In a democracy, it is our responsibility to hold those we put into power to account whether they're "our" guys or the "other" guys.

In a democracy, we are not supposed to "loyal" to the the government or politicians. We are not supposed to "trust" them because we elected them. In fact, it is our responsibility to do be disloyal and untrusting.

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." Thomas Paine

[H2O Man]

27. It seems to me

that one of the things that progressive democrats should do is focus (including "continue to focus," as I know many DUers already do) attention on the local level, where we often have a greater impact as participants in our democracy. It's slow, hard work. But it is as important as anything else we can do.

[riderinthestorm]

21. There are glimmers of hope, even still.

For example, I believe Micheal Moore is doing his part to try to lead us down the evolutionary path of change, and he was smart enough to pick health care as the issue du jour to rally around.

Markos Moulitsas (Daily Kos), TPM and others are muckrakers who are working hard at the edges.

For as controversial as they are, MoveOn.org works hard to try to rally activism amongst grass roots progressives.

We need to build however on these movements. I don't have any real answers, I wish I did. I live in a very red area of a very red county and trying to jolt even the apathetic pink people I come in contact with is close to impossible - if they couldn't get motivated to vote for someone like Tammy Duckworth or join in a candlelight vigil with Cindy Sheehan I'm not sure what it will take.

We need something overwhelmingly compelling that can/will shake the military industrial complex to the foundations and that would finally shake the apathetic populace to join progressives. Health care is a potential issue. I believe a draft would definitely do it.

[H2O Man]

22. In order to get

a good look at a picture, one must step outside of the frame. For when we try to view the picture from inside that frame, we can only have a "subjective" view .... and in our society, we need to be able to have a balanced view, that includes the objective and the subjective.

This weekend, many people on DU are expressing a lot of contempt for those elected officials who supported the Cheney administration's FISA bill .... as well as disappointment in the democratic leadership for not harnessing the votes needed to defeat this anti-Bill of Rights policy. That's good -- people should feel that contempt, and that disappointment. There is every reason to.

Yet we must also step back, outside the frame, and see that the grass roots is growing in strength. It is becoming more powerful, and that power includes the energy we harness on the internet.

I think that it is fair to say that, despite their differences of opinion on many important issues, none of the Founding Fathers would have voted in favor of giving King George the ability to spy on them. In fact, that Bill of Rights is definitive proof that they opposed the type of spying that congress just approved. The only person who favored providing old King George with the Founding Fathers' private information was Benedict Arnold. We do not benefit from his ilk in congress.

Despite the troubling move by congress -- or perhaps because of it -- we need to continue to focus on harnessing our energy at the grass roots level.

[riderinthestorm]

24. Yes, we definitely need to understand our strengths and weaknesses

The civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, women's rights' movements - none of them have been very tidy but they did have at least one unifier that we seem to lack right now (what I perceive as one of our "weaknesses") - a sense of outrage at the injustice. Outrage is a powerful motivator. Micheal Moore has provided at least one arena for motivating outrage in our apathetic populace. There are other arenas but must be tapped.

The power elite are keeping a lid on anything that would fan the flames of the public's sense of injustice and outrage: through the media, with blackmail or other forms of coercion worked upon our elected reps to keep them in line, propaganda and other forms of bread and circus', fear - perhaps especially fear.

Contempt and disappointment are just too civil. We need to go waaayy beyond that to be effective progressives imho. I have to admit, I'm not even sure mass protests would work anymore upon the power elite. They would probably laugh at the populace's puny displays.

My gut instinct is that economic pressure is our best hope for forcing evolutionary change that hurts and compels the elite (aside from violence which I reject).

I know you are an advocate of the LTTE, what other actions do you believe are part of the New Frontier if you don't mind putting them out there.

[H2O Man]

28. One of the things

that I think is essential is that progressive democrats, working at the grass-roots level, begin a serious voter registration/education campaign. We should be investing time in the areas where many people are unorganized, and unregistered. Low-income neighborhoods and college campuses come to mind -- largely because that's where I have usually gone myself.

It doesn't mean that the residents in a low-income neighborhood are going to be as active in the on-going party work as others .... but they will be a group that progressive activists can bring to the voting booth. That is how we take a step towards power, which we can exercise in local, state, and national elections.

When you have the ability to turn out a block of votes, those in office do take notice. It doesn't mean they will always do the right thing, but they will be aware that you are watching, and organizing. That's one form of progressive action.

[Me.]

26. As To Move-On

They are such an easy target, no problem in branding them the loony left for the punditry and right wing screeds. They are fooling themselves when dismissing Move-On, for it is developing into a formidable alliance to the progressive movement. My respect for them grew in leaps and bounds during the '06 election when I decided to participate in their phoning for candidates campaign. I was a little squeamish about it as I had volunteered in '04 for GOTV and the system set up for the calling was disorganized and hard to use. Along came Move-On with their set-up. and it was a thing of beauty. Easy to understand and use, easy questions to answer which would allow them to target certain people and areas with follow-up calls. If someone didn't know where their polling place was, you had their info on your screen before you called. They even had people calling me on the phone to see if I could possibly put in extra hours. I called all over the country that last week and days leading up to the election. I even spent considerable time calling for that stinker Ellsworth who voted against us last night. My hat is off to that group and their organization. Let people keep thinking and calling them the radical fringe. While they are dissing them, organizations like Move-on are becoming smarter and more organized and they can't even see it.

As to others like Cindy, and Code Pink...Iknow people on the left like to B**ch about them but as far as I'm concerned, they're braver than most. They're out there every day, not afraid to stand up for what they believe in. And don't think they don't know how much flack they garner. They know, they're smart people, but I believe they simply don't care. They consider what they are fighting for to be more important than the sticks and stones heaved at them.

[Gregorian]

23. Forgive me if this is way off target.

I believe you have a specific idea in mind. And as usual I probably won't be able to state was is in the deepest corner of my unwieldy mind.


In general, I see our downfall in engineering terms. In mechanical terms. And after all, this is a mechanical world. Our wars are fought for and by mechanical things. Our lives are now lived with the aid of mechanical devices. And we are now captives to the comforts they bring us.

I believe we are living our lives beyond the scope of our intelligence. And it is enabling those with power to control us in a way no different than if we were in the jungles. Metallic jungles now.

We're faced with two things that are so important and overwhelming, we must begin to change in order to literally survive. And both are enabling them and disabling us.

We must bring our level of intelligence up to meet our present living situation. We are living and using and controlling a modern lifestyle, and most of us do not even understand what we are doing. Because when we do understand what we're doing, we will then have the ability to decide. To control our destiny.

Congress is no different than a car. We're in control. We always have been. But when one is asleep at the wheel, the car goes wherever it wants. Or wherever the passenger turns the wheel for you.

I strongly believe that when educated, people discover truths. And when they know these truths, they cannot easily be fooled. Having said that, I know two engineers in my life who think that global warming is hype. But I would argue that the vast majority of engineers are Democrats. And even more so for artists. Artists keep their eyes and minds open. Even if they don't know how the machines work, they see them working. And see where they're taking things.

There are too many brainless fools running around with awesome power in their control. I am talking about petroleum. Whether it's a car, or the ease of which life can be had. And it's not real. It's not sustainable. And it has allowed us to become detached and overly independent from everything and everyone. Including the direction in which this country is being taken by it's passengers. Not all of Congress is on it's own agenda. But the momentum isn't going in the right direction.

An educated society is the only way we're ever going to take the first step. And we're a long way off. Many more years. And I don't just mean a college degree. This is a cultural thing. Art. Humor. Neighbors. Math. Food. Music. We're just plain an immature country. We need to grow up and learn what Europe already has learned. It's like we're a light year away. They don't even exist. Furthermore, I see so many who call themselves progressive, doing things that are so counterproductive, I have to wonder what progressive means anymore.

I'm not sure what else to say. Or if I've even said anything meaningful. It all just seems like common sense to me. I watch with disdain and disbelief.

[H2O Man]

34. I think that

you are right on target. Thank you.

"In 'The Fourth Way,' Ouspensky described a man who attaches two horses to an airplane and uses it as a carriage. Then he learns how to use the engine and turns the plane into a motor car. But the plane never takes flight. 'That is what we are doing with ourselves,' Ouspensky explained. 'We use ourselves as a carriage when we could fly'."

-- Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter"; James Hirsch; page 172.

We can fly.

[TahitiNut]

56. When that vehicle, wherein we've gone asleep at the wheel, is headed into the ditch ...

... we CANNOT get it back on course by steering neither left nor right but straight ahead into the ditch. This, I believe, is a metaphor for the fundamental error of the 'moderates' and 'third way' and 'DLC' and appeasement politicians. We're off course, headed for the ditch ... and we MUST steer left to get back on course. The road is SLOPED at the edge and it's only becoming more so.

[H2O Man]

66. Right.

We've gone off the road. We need to correct the errors that got us into the ditch, not drive in any deeper.

[antigop]

67. And when that car is veering off the road to the right, we need to take a hard left ...

just to get back to center....

[Annces]

25. I don't know how you change the people in government

However I do know when I come across people who think there are forces to big to contend with, and we should just go along as best we can, those people are living in straight jackets of their own volition. Like in those Carlos Castenada books, people are usually the source of their own biggest problems and to get them out of those problems takes trickery.

[H2O Man]

60. There are a number of posts

on this thread which compare the democratic party to a vehicle which we use to reach our goals. Using this, I think it is fair to say that some of our elected officials are soft tires, others are losing tread, and some are just flat.

There are times when it's good to repair soft tires. But those that are without tread pose risks, and a flat tire simply has to be changed.

I say that, to say this: grass roots progressives should appreciate how important their warnings that a tire is getting worn out are. Nor should they underestimate their ability to replace flats. I know that there are many other forces within the party who are fully aware of the potential power that progressive democrats have to organize and spread the word .... the example of Joe Lieberman made that clear. And anyone who tells you that that primary was a defeat for progressives is most likely a used tire salesman, trying to sell you on an old, worn-out tire.

The grass roots are in pretty good shape. That's why our enemy is investing so much energy in attempting to convince us otherwise.

[DemReadingDU]

29. Interesting discussion in this thread

Thanks for all the thought provoking ideas

[H2O Man]

31. A quote:

I'm sure that many DUers will recognize this one. I post it fairly often, and I think that some of the things I'm reading today on DU provide evidence that it is true.

"We must seek out the spiritual people because only that is going to help us survive. We have a great force -- a great brotherhood. This brotherhood involves all living things. And that, of course, includes us all. We are talking about the natural world, the natural force, all the trees, everything that grows, the water. That is part of our force.

"But when you gather spiritual force in one place, you also gather the negative force. We begin to perceive the enemy now, the power and presence of the negative force.

"There is a great battle coming."
-- Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons

I hope that other DUers will take a minute and post similar quotes on this thread, and others on DU:GD. We need to invest in the good energy now.

[H2O Man]

32. Principles

"Our principles do not change. Justice is always justice; freedom is always freedom. Great principles are constant. And so what they call the 'old way' is nothing more than principles. And they say you can't go back to the old ways -- which means you can't go back to justice, you can't go back to equality, you can't go back to what is right and what is wrong. Principles are how you exist above and beyond the emotions that you feel; to control and have discipline of one's self. Self-discipline, not people making you behave, but the discipline where you don't need police. That is how our people lived. There were no police. There were no jails. There were basic laws -- you don't lie and steal. Tell the truth. Be strong. Look out for your brother. Look out for the ones just underneath you. Look out for the elders. Use your strength on behalf of the Nation, on behalf of the people. Conduct yourself in a proper manner."
-- Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons

[BeHereNow]

38. That is beautiful-

Thank you for posting that.
BHN

[stellanoir]

42. . . . here's some neutralizing energy

http://theshiftmovie.com/index2.html

&

http://www.globalcommunity.org/flash/wombat.shtml

it's that simple folks. take it from the wombat.

have a nice day

[BeHereNow]

49. Thanks for that! I just watched it and passed the link on to others.

More than a few indigenous leaders have advised
us to prepare spiritually for the great change in recent years.
BHN

[H2O Man]

50. Great!

Thank you!

[Me.]

33. Lincoln

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it."


"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."


"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.


"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."

[H2O Man]

61. Very good.

Thank you, Me.

[BeHereNow]

35. "greater differences between the grass roots and the majority in congress." And that is our work.

The new frontier is described perfectly in your statement about the differences.
Increasingly, the regular folks in BOTH parties are becoming aware of the
fact that something is terribly wrong and most Americans have no idea
what to do about it. Their way of life is crumbling and their representatives
appear to be completely out of touch with that fact.

The new frontier is more formidable than most can even contemplate,
but the work in that frontier must be focused on "cleaning the house"
of individuals who serve the God of greed, and not the good of the people.

It may take decades for that frontier to be cleared of the rotting weeds
and vermin so that it may be rebuilt but at least people are starting to
understand that our government must no longer be run by individuals
doing "business as usual."

BHN

[H2O Man]

62. One of the nicest

Beatle songs was George's "Within You, Without You." 40 years later, the message is still good:


We were talking
about the space between us all
and people who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
never glimpse the truth
then it's far too late
when they pass away

We were talking
about the love we all could share
When we find it
to try our best to hold it there
with our love, with our love
we could save the world
if they only knew

Try to realize it's all within yourself
no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
and life flows on within you and without you

We were talking
about the love that's gone so cold
and the people who gain the world
and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see
Are you one of them

When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you

[annabanana]

36. The "New Frontier" to me is the same one it was in the beginning.

Can a people insist on self-rule? Can we avoid becoming just another sad, doomed empire? Is it possible for a collective desire for the well being of our fellow man to figure in the steering of the ship?

[H2O Man]

63. "A real revelation

is not 'an eye for an eye' or 'do as others do, but just do it first,' but a revelation is to change worse to better; hate to love; it means turning things around; a total change from the opposite of what it is now." -- Rubin Carter; quote from one of his prison journals

[Shine]

37. Here's what the words "new frontier" mean to me:

it's about a shift in consciousness, a new way of being in the world that moves us from Separation towards Oneness. I firmly believe that if we are to survive as a planet, as a species, we have to awaken to our fundamental connection with each other. The longer we continue to focus on our differences, the harder it is to create common ground. This conversation is much more than about "Democrat vs Republican", or other simplistic distinctions....I see it as an orientation of the heart.

My two cents.

[Gregorian]

48. That is the centermost core of it.

I don't think you can get closer to the heart of things.

And it has been donning on me how we could and probably should be finding ways to find ways to connect with Republicans.

I think now that we are living in a modern society where we are literally isolated from each other, we need more than ever to exercise a conscious effort to find oneness with each other. I am particularly bad at this. I find myself living aloof. And rightfully so. I don't live as frivolous and flagrant a life as many do. I mean that in a carbon footprint sense. But it's the use of modern inventions that has enabled us to be separate. To be free of the need of each other. There was a time in the not too distant past where we literally needed each other, personally. We still do, but it's a more remote need. A need sustained and supplied by corporations. And as such we have lost that connection to each other.

[Shine]

53. Have you seen this yet, Gregorian? It's very uplifting...

http://theshiftmovie.com/index2.html
It's only about 4 minutes, but made me feel a bit better about the world & our future. :)

[Gregorian]

71. I see.

You know, I have to thank you for that. I've done my part. By not doing. I know that's one of the most important things one can contribute to the world now. Not doing. But it has had it's effect on me. I've isolated. I could have traveled the world. But I chose to refrain from doing. It's quite helpful to see the sentiment and awareness of this subject in others. I've been on this trail for thirty years. Now I see others waking up to it. It's very helpful to see. And it's interesting that you'd send that my way. I've wanted to be a part of something. I'm glad to be on this forum. So glad.

I couldn't help but think that this is the Garden of Eden. One of the guys in that clip mentioned decisions. We make tomorrow. Wasn't it Martin King who said tomorrow is today. It's like we're always faced with saving what we have, until it's gone. I don't know. Just thinking out loud.

[Shine]

72. I'm happy to stand in cyber circle with you, my friend.

:hug:

[H2O Man]

64. That's it.

The New Frontier can indeed be the Promised Land that Martin spoke of.

[antigop]

68. I kind of think Michael Moore got it right in "Sicko"....

We need to move from a "me" society to a "we" society.

[blogslut]

40. Mr. Sellack

I've waited for some things
that you would not believe
to come true...
Ooh

- 1979 The Roches - Mr. Sellack

I'm in this for the long haul.

[H2O Man]

65. "With this faith

we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.; I Have a Dream

I'm in for the long haul, too.

[spanone]

41. Great.....thanks

recommended

[rosesaylavee]

43. Here are quotes from Dorothy Day

Love casts out fear, but we have to get over the fear in order to get close enough to love them.

Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action.

*******

"Fear" is my personal bugaboo. Talking about it doesn't make it go away, does it? It makes it bigger most of the time. I think maybe a little more bravado and strutting around would make me feel better. :) It would at least make me laugh.

[Shine]

44. Have you ever heard how the word "fear" is actually an acronym?

F E A R = False Evidence Appearing Real

I like that. :thumbsup:

:hi:

[rosesaylavee]

46. That's right

I need to remember that!

[Me.]

45. For You Rose

"When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go." ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 6


And this for all those to whom this applies:

"All morons hate it when you call them a moron." ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 6

[rosesaylavee]

47. Thanks Me!

I have to confess I have read **everything** that Salinger wrote ... except Catcher. I just couldn't get into it. I know I will try again and maybe there is something for me there now that I am older.

I do like that moron line. :)

[Annces]

59. Dorothy Day was a good friend of my parents

My father worked closely with her for several years when he had a farm in Missouri. He had a open house for alcoholics for a while that stayed at our house. Dorothy was visiting and my Dad was talking to her about not trusting these men to drink again or something. And Dorothy said, "Oh Jack, at some point you have to put trust in them". Or something very similar. She also helped my parents adopt my oldest sister.

[rosesaylavee]

73. How lucky you were to have that contact with her!

She did a lot of good in her lifetime. I hope I can muster her level of courage to do the same in mine.

[AntiFascist]

52. I remember the end of the Apollo program...

I was just a young kid at the time, but I recall someone like Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite saying something that I found really depressing, as the final Apollo moonshot was coming to a close: they indicated that astronauts wouldn't be returning to space for at least another decade. In the meantime, we needed to focus on the Earth and solve its "emotional problems." At the time it sounded like he might be referring to East vs. West issues, particularly focused in the Middle East. The New Frontier will come about through solving these emotional problems: religious extremists must abandon their global xenophobia and self-centered rituals, while those who plan to dominate the world must confront their own personal fear.

[H2O Man]

54. Rastaman Vibrations

Live if you want to live
Rastaman vibration yeah! Positive
I and I vibration yeah! Positive
I a man iration yeah! Irie ites
Positive vibration yeah! Positive

If you get down and quarrel everyday
You're saying prayers to the devil, I say
Why not help one another on the way
Make it much easier

Say you just can't live that negative way
You know what I mean
Make way for the positive day
Cause it's a new day
New time, new feeling yeah!
Say it's a new sign
Oh what a new day

Picking up,
Are you picking up now
JAH love, JAH love protect us

Rastaman vibration yeah! Positive
I and I vibration yeah! Positive
I a man iration yeah! Irie ites
Vibes, got to have a good vibe
Picking up,
Are you picking up now

[Shine]

55. I'm feelin' irie....

:loveya:

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

57. I had to take a moment to clear the blur from teary eyes after reading the JFK quote.

Even I have allowed myself to be diverted from a basic quality that make human beings unique: the ability to dream AND REALIZE ways we can make the world a better place.

As always, my response to your question will be rather brief (I tend to be more of a 'listener/reader' than a person of many words).

The "idea of a New Frontier", to me, means: (1) establishing a clear objective or framework which, in my case, would center around a more pure form of democracy making way for ALL people to have a substantive opportunity to contribute, flourish and benefit off what each sews leaving AMPLE resources for the 'troubled'; (2) while holding that clear objective/framework closely, tearing down the habit/system/prison placing barriors to such an ideal; and, MOST IMPERATIVE, (3) focused, focused, focused ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION (e.g. unified activated purpose) towards activity achieving (2) then (1).

That is all.

[donkeyotay]

58. Thanks for reminding me of the good energy.

I was eady to jump out the window, but I'm on the first floor. Deep breath...

[bridgit]

69. For me The New Frontier, may only be exist-able just beyond a fossil fuel based economy...

having pierced that membrane; higher levels of psychics are introduced that in themselves contain hosts of enlightened endeavor: New Frontiers!!

While our interplay is based upon so finite a resource as fossil fuels, we are captured within & between a Malthusian Nightmare Sequence of war, resource acquisition, and the grey-to-black, shadowy Ebenezer Scrooge/Dick Cheney people that maintain it where there is no 'new frontier' there

[antigop]

70. M. Moore:"The main thing is don't be depressed. That's exactly what those in power want you to do."

http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/03/Michael_Moore_031302.html
>>
Well, the main thing is don't be depressed. That's exactly what those in power want you to do. They want you to feel hopeless and powerless, when, in fact, the exact opposite is true because you live in a country where it's one person, one vote. And there are more of us than there are of them. There'll always be more of us than there are of them. So we should just look at the sheer numbers -- always be in charge.

It's only because we don't choose to exercise the power we have that we find ourselves in the place that we're in. And anyone who's reading this now and who says, "Well, yeah, but I do. I'm active. I'm involved. It's the other people who aren't." Well, you've got to kind of see yourself on a bit of a Mother Teresa mission here. You've got to go to those places where you're not used to going. And you've got to start talking to people. And you've got to start talking to them in a way that engages them in our political system, instead of turning them off.

Most people have become cynics, and they don't like to talk about politics. That's not true in other countries. You go to other countries, you go to a bar in Canada or wherever, people talk politics like they talk about sports or the weather. We don't do that here. We think it's un-cool. We just sit back and say, "Yeah, they're all crooks." Well, that's pretty damn lazy.

And if you just want to hang back, then I guess, hey, that's what happened with that Australian skater, right? He just hung back there at the end of the pack, let the five guys crash into the wall. He won the gold medal, you know? If that's the kind of citizen you want to be, then I guess you're a lot like George W. Bush because he's lived his whole life like that skater -- just hang back, do very little. And then skate through and collect the gold medal, even though you really didn't deserve it because you really weren't the best.
>>

[tomreedtoon]

74. How about the Kingston Trio, sung in JFK's time?

Let the word go forth from this day on
A new generation has been born
Born to the task to keep us free,
but proud of the rights of the home country.
This is the new frontier...This is the new frontier.

(Chorus)
Some to the rivers and some to the sea
Some to the soil that our fathers made free
Then on to the stars in the heav'ns for to see
This is the new frontier...This is the new frontier.

Let us begin for it shall take long
Let ev'ry man sing out freedom's song
Not for ourselves that we take this stand
Now it's the world and the freedom of man.
This is the new frontier...This is the new frontier.

(Chorus)

The day will come. It's got to be
The day that we may never see.
When man for man and town for town
Must bring the peace that shall resound.
This is the new frontier...This is the new frontier.

(Chorus)

[Octafish]

76. The New Frontier isn’t a place.

It’s an idea: The Future.

JFK always interested in the Future of our Country. Planet. Persons.

Didn’t live there. But he worked to make it a better one for ALL Americans.

He knew the difference between courses of action, in diplomatic matters.

From "JFK Wants to Know: Memos from the President's Office, 1961-1963" by Edward B. Claflin (pp. 178-179:

Kennedy was acutely aware that the image of the United States overseas was of a wealthy, overbearing nation that spent lavishly on the rich and often ignored the poor. The most striking symbol of arrogance and power, especially in the third world nations, were lavish U.S. embassis and official residences.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

I was concerned when I read the newspaper report of costs of embassy residences. Of course I believe that the residence of an American ambassador should reflect credit on him and his country. On the other hand I feel that excessive expenditures for such a residence will make us look ridiculous in the eyes of the people in the countries concerned. Knowing the type of house that $300,000 will buy in the United States, it is difficult for me to see the need for ambassadors' residences in that price range in such places as Senegal, Cyprus, and Seoul unless there are unusual factors involved. I believe that embassy residences should present an image of dignity and charm without being ostentatious or luxurious. Careful thought should be given and possibly some reexaminiaton of plans made to assure that they relfect a proper impression of our ambassadors and of our country.

/s/ John F. Kennedy

Minds like that know ideas rule the world.

Imagine the kind of world this would be if ALL human minds were valued?

Imagine if they all worked together to make this a better world, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

[Me.]

77. !

http://theshiftmovie.com/index2.html

[H2O Man]

79. The Power of Ideas.

A healthy society encourages the Power of Ideas. It is indeed the approach to the future which says, "Yes, we can." An unhealthy society discourages that Power of Ideas; it seeks to convince its citizens that, "No, you can't." The healthy society believes what JFK had learned from studying the past: that people should live in such a manner that they harness all of their potential. The unhealthy society is based upon crushing the individual's potential, and producing cogs in a wheel that crushes others.