My Beautiful America 2 weeks ago
To those whose faith in America had wavered over the past eight years, even crumbled beneath blatant injustices and a total disregard for the sanctity for what it truly means to be American; to those who questioned the future of this nation as little more than a tragic, domino-ing series of embarrassing, cruel inevitabilities; to those who wondered why their government was simply stepping over them dirty in the streets as medical bills shoved bankruptcies down their throats and the once strong, often imitated American economy dissolved into a Main Street crisis treated as a Wall Street nuisance; to those who thought their voice too weak against the Bush wall of noise - last night was yours. Last night was ours. The closing argument in Democracy vs. Well-Dressed Greed. The first splash of paint on a new canvas.
Barack Obama's victory, making him the first African-American president and 44th President overall, is a swift brushstroke of change, a gorgeous flush of relentless promise. But it doesn't stop here. It won't stop here. We're all holding brushes, and it's up to us to finish the painting. It's up to us to craft a masterpiece from the fragments and debris left scattered from 8 years of flagrant, unshaken incompetence and - furthermore - decades of racial, political, and religious divide in this country. Our country. Last night, a dream was reclaimed by the sheer power of democracy. Torn from the clutches of fear-stricken political indifference.
Traffic came to a complete stop in Times Square, as people emerged from taxis to literally dance in the streets. Spontaneous, rousing National Anthems sprouted up in crowds from Berkley, California to Austin, Texas, even right outside the White House gates. You can change the world in a day, but the very next day can change it back again. We will not allow this.
Barack Obama has inspired us to not only reclaim this dream, but to nurture and respect it. To cherish and understand its value. With this inspiration and the strength it so surely brings, we can not only paint ourselves a better tomorrow, we can one day wake up to a better forever. The original Van Gogh of nations, and thus, not just a dream any longer, but something very real indeed. A new reality is born. A gorgeous, infinite, breathtaking reality.
And we shall call her...America.
The Beatles, Blink 182, Angels & Airwaves, Boxcar Racer, KanYe West, Third Eye Blind, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, U2, Bright Eyes, MxPx, Cat Power, Bob Dylan, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Green Day, New Found Glory, Eisley, Oasis, Basia Bulat, Weezer, Lily Allen, My Morning Jacket, Coldplay, Maria Taylor, Death Cab for Cutie, Paul Simon, Good Charlotte, NOFX, R.E.M., Amy Winehouse, Simple Plan, Yellowcard, The Killers, Tegan & Sara, The Rentals, Johnny Cash, Meg & Dia, Semisonic, Fenix TX, Eve 6, Tom Petty, Prince, many more., many more.
Annie Hall, Garden State, What About Bob, Lost in Translation, The Godfather, Star Wars, Juno, The Savages, Capote, Ocean's 11/12/13, About A Boy, Stranger Than Fiction, Bee Movie, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Ghostbusters, The Untouchables, Walk the Line, Iron Man, Knocked Up, V for Vendetta, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, American Dreams, American Beauty, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, Rattle & Hum, Moulin Rouge, Across the Universe, I'm Not There, Sideways, Spider Man, Spider Man 2, Indiana Jones, School of Rock, Hot Rod, Enchanted, Life is Beautiful, The Pianist, Possession, Mean Girls, so forth
Seinfeld, 30 Rock, The Office, Saturday Night Live, The Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, Letterman, O'Brien, Leno, The Colbert Report, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, The Daily Show, Larry King Live, Larry King Live
Holy Bible, To Kill A Mockingbird, Candy Girl, Beatles biographies, books/etc. on extraterrestrial activity, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Paste, Alternative Press, Time, Q, Stereogum.com, Google news
lauren. says:
Well I can say, I've never been to Eastaboga or even Alabama, but if it is anything like how you say 'Eastaboga', I am sure I would love it. So is everything going swimmingly with you or not? Anything less than floating is a lose situation, which I expect you would never get yourself into.
posted Aug 31