User Name
07-05-2005, 08:51 AM
Floating down
Through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now
But in the space between the heavens
And the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream
Goodbye Max
Goodbye Ma
After the service, when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bells as you touch the silk in your lapel
And as her teardrops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream
A place to stay
Enough to eat
Where old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud about your doubts and fears
And what's more
No-one ever disappears, you never hear their standard issue
Kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
Where everyone has recourse to the law
And what's more, no-one kills the children anymore
Night after night, it goes round and round my brain
His dying dream is driving me insane
In a corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight
What's done is done
We cannot just write off his final scene
So take hold of the dream
Take heed...
-Pink Floyd, "The Gunner's Dream"
I don't consider myself a very patriotic person, I pretty much detest what our government's doing in almost everything these days. But tonight, seeing Bellevue's citizens all out on the streets, putting on massive fireworks shows all over the city (since the city government didn't have any), it reminded me that for all the government's actions that you guys out there may or may not agree with, the people in this country are just as good as they always were. Our neighbors are good people (especially the ones that broke the law and fired Missouri-legal fireworks into Nebraskan skies).
And tonight, while I was over at Aaron's lighting off fireworks, I remembered that when this country was first founded, there was a major reason to celebrate, and liberty was a perceptible thing. "The Star-Spangled Banner" wasn't written in the depths of Capitol Hill or in the tip of national majesty, it was written by a guy who was looking desperately to see if Baltimore was going to fall to the enemy (and with Baltimore, Washington DC). And if that happened... there might not have been any America. So from the deck of a British warship, by the glare of a Royal Navy bombardment, he scanned the skies above Fort McHenry to see if the American flag still flew above it. Desperately he sought for the preservation of his beloved Republic, and his emotions guided the pen when he wrote our national anthem.
I guess the whole point of the 4th for me is that we can't forget the sacrifices our forefathers made for our liberty. Like the Pink Floyd song I posted above, they fought and they died for our right to be free, so we can't fritter it away over silly things like "security". As Ben Franklin said, "He who would trade away essential liberties for a little security deserves neither." I'm not going to get into one of my libertarian rants here, it'd distract from the central point of the message. Just remember-people bled and died for your liberty, so don't vote it away, don't shrug it away, don't take it for granted. If you do... your children might not have the luxury, and your forefathers bled in vain.
Have a happy 4th, and take hold of the dream.
From: www.foraaugusta.com
I didn't write this, but think about it as the parties come to a close.
Through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now
But in the space between the heavens
And the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream
Goodbye Max
Goodbye Ma
After the service, when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bells as you touch the silk in your lapel
And as her teardrops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream
A place to stay
Enough to eat
Where old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud about your doubts and fears
And what's more
No-one ever disappears, you never hear their standard issue
Kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
Where everyone has recourse to the law
And what's more, no-one kills the children anymore
Night after night, it goes round and round my brain
His dying dream is driving me insane
In a corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight
What's done is done
We cannot just write off his final scene
So take hold of the dream
Take heed...
-Pink Floyd, "The Gunner's Dream"
I don't consider myself a very patriotic person, I pretty much detest what our government's doing in almost everything these days. But tonight, seeing Bellevue's citizens all out on the streets, putting on massive fireworks shows all over the city (since the city government didn't have any), it reminded me that for all the government's actions that you guys out there may or may not agree with, the people in this country are just as good as they always were. Our neighbors are good people (especially the ones that broke the law and fired Missouri-legal fireworks into Nebraskan skies).
And tonight, while I was over at Aaron's lighting off fireworks, I remembered that when this country was first founded, there was a major reason to celebrate, and liberty was a perceptible thing. "The Star-Spangled Banner" wasn't written in the depths of Capitol Hill or in the tip of national majesty, it was written by a guy who was looking desperately to see if Baltimore was going to fall to the enemy (and with Baltimore, Washington DC). And if that happened... there might not have been any America. So from the deck of a British warship, by the glare of a Royal Navy bombardment, he scanned the skies above Fort McHenry to see if the American flag still flew above it. Desperately he sought for the preservation of his beloved Republic, and his emotions guided the pen when he wrote our national anthem.
I guess the whole point of the 4th for me is that we can't forget the sacrifices our forefathers made for our liberty. Like the Pink Floyd song I posted above, they fought and they died for our right to be free, so we can't fritter it away over silly things like "security". As Ben Franklin said, "He who would trade away essential liberties for a little security deserves neither." I'm not going to get into one of my libertarian rants here, it'd distract from the central point of the message. Just remember-people bled and died for your liberty, so don't vote it away, don't shrug it away, don't take it for granted. If you do... your children might not have the luxury, and your forefathers bled in vain.
Have a happy 4th, and take hold of the dream.
From: www.foraaugusta.com
I didn't write this, but think about it as the parties come to a close.