I see you

Neytiri, AVATAR

A few weeks ago, I saw Avatar, and I loved it! I thought I was going to like it okay.. and I figured the graphics would be beautiful, but it totally exceeded all of my expectations. I loved it. I still find myself randomly thinking about the characters, and the story line. That doesn't generally happen to me.

The movie reminded me of Pocahontas.. and of Dances with Wolves.. obviously spun a different way. I heard, before I saw the movie, that people were showing signs of depression after seeing the movie because they wanted to move to the planet on the movie: Pandora. I can see that.. I liked the planet too. Minus the scary flying things.

I think the movie can teach us a lot though, about how we have treated natives in different lands. Parts of the movie made me pissed off, not only at the Americans in the movie for doing what they were doing, but at the world for what we've done in the past. I heard it was political, and that it pointed fingers at whats happened in Iraq. Maybe that's true, and I should watch it again, but what made me mad during the movie, was how our record, in the past, really could be seen as the same as the awful things they do in the movie. Or.. perhaps that's just my always there, historical conscious. I've always been mad at the "white men" for abusing the native americans, even as a child.

I think I will see it in 3D again, because it was awesome! And THAT, going to see a movie, in the theatre, again is also something that never happens. I usually don't like paying for things twice.

I wonder if they'll have Avatar costumes, I want to be Neytiri for Halloween.. HMMM

I see you

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He had a dream..

... and I love him for it!

I Have a Dream - Address at March on Washington
August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [Applause]

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. 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.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Enjoy your MLK Day! :)

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The Ebony Experiment?!

This is another one of those news stories where I am like Say What?!?? I don't understand this. I really truly think that it will bring about the wrong kind of change. This family, the Andersons, an African-American family living in Chicago, have decided that they are only going to buy from black merchants, and only black made products, for the year 2009. They are calling it The Ebony Experiment . I think that this is crazy. It's like reversing the civil rights movement. Discrimination is discrimination, no matter your color or ethnicity.

See the article here, Their year of buying black, from the Chicago Sun Times.

I swear the country was past thinking like this...

I really believe that it is a very bad idea. That it will only bring about more discrimination and bad feelings, rather than good. Right now, everyone is having a hard time, not just the African American community. It so reminds me of the Germans not wanting to buy from Jewish shopkeepers pre-World War 2. What happens when the white Americans want to buy white-only products from only white store owners??

The divide of race has been America's constant curse. Each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt, cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction, are no different. They have nearly destroyed us in the past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. They torment the lives of millions in fractured nations around the world. These obsessions cripple both those who are hated and, of course, those who hate, robbing both of what they might become.
~ I love me some Bill Clinton

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YES WE CAN.. And we did!!

VICTORY FOR OBAMA!!

Yay for President-elect Barack Obama!
I still feel like I need to pinch myself. I can't believe it. I am so happy!!

"They understood his vision of a fairer and more just America
and embraced it. They heard his call for a new generation of Americans to
participate in government and were inspired. They believed that change is
possible and voted to be part of America's future," ~ Senator Ted Kennedy

They also showed Dr. King's daughter, Bernice, last night on CNN. When I see her, and think of her father's "I have a dream" speech, made less than half a century ago, it almost makes me cry. I think it is awesome that Martin Luther King Jr's children really did see the day where the American dream truly opened up to African-Americans more.

Nevertheless, don't get me wrong. I did not vote for him to be MY President because he is black. I voted for him because I believe in him, I believe in his ability to bring people together, I believe in his ability for change, and I agree with him on his policies. I agree with him, and believe in him, and oh yeah, he just happens to be black. He IS the change the country needs! Boy, it's going to feel strange having a president I actually like and respect. Only 76 more days America!

It was also a big night for Democrats across the country. The Democrats in the House of Representatives also clinched the biggest majority they've had in the House in 15 years!

I am proud to be a Democrat. But mostly, I am proud to be part of an American that can look beyond prejudice, and racism and choose the right (left!) man for the job. Congratulations President-elect Obama!

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Racism

Let us hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away, and that in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Racism. It's such an odd concept to me, and it seems as if it has been happening in one form or another since the beginning of time. I am reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and I really like it. However, it always makes me a little sad when I hear about the racism and prejudice that happened in Nazi Germany. Not only are there the horrors of the Holocaust genocide and the awfulness of it all; but the racism in general, before it went that far. The stars of David that were placed on the Jewish German's shops, clothes and houses. Like because there was a star of David, like just because they were a little different, this made it okay to treat them so terribly.

How fortunate for leaders that men do not think. ~ Adolf Hitler

Unfortunately, the United States hasn't escaped the scar of Racism. Because this great country has, as well. I never understand it, I guess I never will. But I am excited that we have a black man running for President - as an official party nominee, and one that 19 days before the Election, he is leading in the polls. Whether Barack Obama wins the Election and becomes the first African-American President of the United States, or not, he will have made history this year. And I hope, that if (in that very slim chance) he loses the Election, I hope that the next African-American man or woman, or when there is a Latino, American-Indian, Jew, Asian or an Arab runs for president there won't be people saying "Are we ready?". Shouldn't the poll numbers speak for themselves??

In the past 2 years I have often wondered, if there wasn't access to TV or internet, and no one knew that Barack Obama was African-American, and all you could listen to was him speak, or him debate on the Radio, and only hear the issues.. Would that change anything?

The only tired I was, was tired of giving in. ~ Rosa Parks
(on refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man)

The following video is of Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist and Campaign Manager for the 2000 Al Gore campaign. If she looks familiar, that's because she's also a CNN contributor and a Democratic Super Delegate. What she says is interesting, it breaks my heart that not too long ago, she really was told to go to the back of the bus.

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