Tag: march for our lives

Haiku & Other Poetry, Random Rants, tutto e niente

the circle of change

Tina Stewart Brakebill

belief sustains hope

hope ignites radical change

change nurtures belief

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I am trying to retain belief in our system. I hope that things aren’t going to get much much worse before they get better. But I’m really really struggling with both. All hope seems lost. And I find myself believing that our system is too frickin’ broke to fix. BUT, when this mood threatens to overwhelm me, my mind returns to the songs of two of my favorite artists. The words make me feel better. Because I do believe in those children trying to change their world. They make me think that all hope is not lost.

So I leave you with words so much more inspiring then mine.

David Bowie Changes

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They’re quite aware of what they’re goin’ through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don’t tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Where’s your shame?
You’ve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can’t trace time

(Songwriter: David Bowie)

Elvis Costello  What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love, & Understanding

As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin’ for light in the darkness of insanity
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time I feel like this inside
There’s one thing I wanna know:
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding? Ohhhh
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding?

And as I walked on
Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony

‘Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me wanna cry
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding? Ohhhh
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding?

So where are the strong?
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony

‘Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me wanna cry
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding? Ohhhh
What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding? Ohhhh what’s so fun about peace, love and understanding

(Songwriter: Nick Lowe)

 

 

Better late than never? Thanks #FOWC and RonavanWrites

Haiku & Other Poetry, History, Random Rants, tutto e niente

The American Way

Tina Stewart Brakebill

Is This the American Way?

Enough is enough!

But Freedom Ain’t Free They Scream

Now Ready Aim Fire

And Slaughter Just One More Child

It’s the American Way 

Yesterday, the March For Our Lives: Road to Change Rally  came to town. Students from local Pinellas County high schools joined with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas to demand their voices be heard. They spoke eloquently about their continued anger, sorrow, fear, and frustration. They reminded us that guns kill nearly 100 people a day in the United States. That’s 13,000 people a year! Every day we lose seven kids and all their potential. Each month fifty women are shot and killed by their intimate partners. And it’s not just homicides and avoidable accidents. Over 60% of gun deaths are suicides.

They also reminded us that the vast majority of Americans support gun control in some form. They are rightfully angry and frustrated because they understand that money and politics and money IN politics has stymied efforts for change up to this point. But they also know that they are the future. They believe that their voices and their will to change things is stronger than the NRA’s stronghold on policy. They warn policy makers that if their demands for change are ignored, they have the numbers to vote them out. Their passion is undeniable. They rally like their lives depend on it.

And I want to believe change is coming! I am moved by their passion. But my cynicism has proven to be remarkably resilient. I want that cynicism to be washed away. I want to have that just-dunked-evangelical-cleansed-of-my-doubts-oh-so-fresh baptismal feeling. But dirty thoughts keep rising to the surface. Like, for example, the horrifying reality that between 1998 and the fall of 2017, the NRA spent over 203 million dollars on political activities. And that spending has spiked significantly since 2012 (in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre). Dirty thoughts about a lot of dirty influence.

Those dirty thoughts lead me to doubt and the doubt tries to lure me into apathy because, if nothing is going to happen then why try. Right? But then I look at a picture of the young people fighting. Or I think of the seven kids that are going to die today. Or I wonder how many of those fifty women that were gunned down last month would still be alive if guns weren’t so easy to get. These thoughts demand attention, so I push back against the apathy and cynicism. I pledge my support to the kids, my vote to the least NRA corrupted politicians, and my money to forces for change.

administration america art banner

This is My American Way

Enough is Enough!

Freedom Claims A Road to Change

So March for Our Lives

And Save Tomorrow’s Future

That’s the American Way

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Stats courtesy of Everytown for Gun Safety and Politifact

Thanks to Hello Giggles for a great article on gun control organizations, if you’re looking to donate your time and/or money.

And finally thanks for the “Enough is Enough” Writing Prompt Putting My Feet in the Dirt