Thursday, September 29, 2011

PS TO LAST POST

Thanks to my older son Miles here's a link to Cornell West visiting the Liberty Plaza demonstrators and their "human microphone"—and Mario Savio in December of 1964 in the UC Berkeley protest against the university's president's, and board of regents', hamhanded response to student requests for some say in the way their lives were regulated, a protest and speech that many believe inspired what followed in the 1960s and '70s, and beyond, in the struggle for freedom for all (I was in the service at the time and married and remember the impact just reading about Savio's speech, just a quote from the segment shown here, had on my wife (Miles' and his sister Caitlin's mother) and me, realizing we weren't alone in our feelings about the changes we hoped for in our schools and governance and society...and future, a future that did fulfill that hope for more freedom for all (until we became complacent and those who would reverse that expansion of freedoms in order to ensure more power and profit for themselves and their corporate leaders, as well as those who knowingly or not serve the interests of those rightwing oligarchs, built a movement of think tanks and media and political lackeys to enable their agenda)...

Hope these young people never get complacent about the fight to keep the greedheads from taking over our world as they so obviously did under Bush/Cheney and continue to resist any effort to take it back from anyone other than their seemingly unwitting defenders (the Tea Party et. al.).

9 comments:

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

There's truth to the cliche that it's darkest just before the dawn, and that clouds have silver linings. There is so much goodness in this world, humanity is like a plant a flower, a lotus blossom rising through the mud and reaching to the light. This is not some new age dribble, it is truth backed by history and massive, ongoing, growing evidence. There will be the end of cars, the end of meat, the end of war, the end of cancer, maybe not in our lifetimes, but before long in what we call history. Look at the goodness and advancements that have happened recently and in the past century, decades, groups of ten years of which most of use have lived through several. Humans are inherently good, strong, peaceful. We must nurture hope and goodness and it will come to pass. Dylan Thomas says foster the light.

Miles said...

Amen Robert!

JIm said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Miles said...

Not apropos of anything except for serving as an example of nurturing hope and goodness (in me anyway) as you say Robert.

Feist doing a Ron Sexsmith tune Paris 2005:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj1w0vxCC2w

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

thanks Miles, love her passion...love her.

I probably posted this before, sorry if redundant, but here's another you tube celebration of human potential and uplift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw

Miles said...

Robert, I love that clip. It reminded me of this video (which is distinctive because skating in the rain is nearly impossible, never mind doing it with grace and style!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RFCVbGncgE

Which then reminded me of this Etnies project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_qu5KpvQc4

Lally said...

Miles, thanks for those links (I don't know why they don't show up in the comments as direct links, you have to cut and paste instead, but it's worth it folks!). I'd seen the rain or shine one before thanks to you (or your son or your little brother, I don't remember which) but it's still mesmerizing and fascinating.

Those who don't skate or have children and grandchildren who do might not get how difficult some of the more simple seeming "tricks" can be, or even get what the "trick" is (reversing feet or board to do what is essentially a basic "trick" on a much more challenging level, etc.).

But the "house" interior is self evident and amazing, and interestingly evokes the kinds of "homes of the future" that were prevalent in popular culture in the 1950s but never happened and now very well may because of the popularity of skateboarding!

Miles said...

Dad, to make the vids into links I have to manually type out the code which is time consuming and counterintuitive for me. Also, links redirect from the comment page, so for my taste "right clicking" or the similar function on mac (control clicking) is easier. I can highlight the link address, then hit control+click to select "go to address in new window".

And yeah, skateboard tricks can be big (like jumping down huge sets of stairs), or small and technical, and almost invisible to the untrained eye. There is one trick in the rain vid where he goes up a few steps while getting the board to hit the bottom step, pop up and spin along the lengthwise axis all with out manipulating the board with his feet!

JIm said...

Congradulation to President Obama. He has become quite accomplished at killing Muslim terrorists. He got two American enemy combatants in Yemin. Obama is proving more effective than W in killing bad guys. Way to Obama. Who needs Gitmo as long as Obama keeps killing them.