The Greatest Speech Ever Made

The message of this speech, its language, its delivery, and the images that accompany it are so powerful and true. I had to share and transcribe it here. This speech, made in Charlie Chaplan's 1940 fictional film The Great Dictator, was delivered in satirical defiance of Adolf Hitler. But how relevant and brilliant these words are today:



I'm sorry. I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone, if possible: Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one-another, human beings are like that. We want to live by each others' happiness, not by each others' misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another.

In this world there is room for everyone, the good Earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls. It has barricaded the world with hate. It has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little.

More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The airplane and the radio have brought us closer together, the very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man, cries out for universal brotherhood, for the unity of us all. Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world: millions of despairing men, women, and children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

For those who can hear me, I say do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers, don't giver yourself to brutes! Men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think, and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle! Use you as cannon fodder! Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate. Only the unloved hate. The unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty!

In the 17th chapter of St. Luke it is written: the kingdom of god is within man. Not one man nor a group of men, but in all men, in YOU. You, the people, have the power! The power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful. To make this life a wonderful adventure.

And in the name of democracy, let us use that power, let us all unite! Let us fight for a new world! A decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future, and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people.

Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason! A world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!!

The Queen of Mean vs. The King of Cruel

So it looks like the horrid Westboro Baptist "Church", which has been labelled as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and others, is in the news again. The "church" had formerly made a name for itself by cruelly protesting outside of military funerals, and for its notoriously confrontational slogan: "God hates fags." There are many reasons to lament the attention given to such a hateful group by our news media, but this time it seems as if the joke was actually on them.

Lisa Lampanelli, a comedienne who was the focus of their most recent protest, has found an ironic way to teach them a bit of a lesson. The church had promised to protest a show of hers in Topeka, KS, because of her outspoken support of the LGBT community. In advance of said show, Ms. Lampanelli announced that she would donate $1,000 to the Gay Men's Health Crisis for every protester who turned up.

What a dilema for Fred Phelps and his people! Do they show up to take advantage of the first amendment rights they so enthusiastically abuse, and by so doing enable a sizable donation to an organization fighting HIV/AIDS? Or do they take a rest from their belligerent hate-mongering and just sit this one out?

Well, it turns out that 48 of them decided to show up, and in so doing they raised $50,000 for the GMHC. This is probably the most productive thing that the group has ever done. Good job, guys.

Lisa Lampanelli's smart move was undoubtedly an inspiring gesture, and a big boo-yah to the angry and hurtful actions of the Westboro protesters. It's hard to argue with a group who thrives on controversy, and whose primary system of action is belligerent ignorance mixed with uninhibited hatred. But, somehow she found a positive way to censure them. As the CEO of GMHC put it: "She is holding up a mirror to bigotry and hatred, and reflecting back love and generosity."

As the self-titled "Queen of Mean" herself put it: "I'd love to see their inbred faces... hopefully their jaws will drop so fast that their three remaining teeth and cro-magnon foreheads will plummet to the floor."

Ok, so I never said she was a nice person... only that she did something great. Well done, Lisa!

If It Were My Home

For many of us, the lack of a direct or personal connection to an issue or event can too often lead to feelings of apathy and disregard. As long as it's happening over there, not here, we seem not to mind too much the travesties of the world that we read on the front page with our morning coffee, never to address again during the course of our days. Of course, this is not because people are inherently bad. On the contrary, as long as our media sources are sustaining interest in an issue, we might donate money, canned goods, people power, and picket signs in order to combat the evils that we see on T.V. But then again, once the problem is not longer in the news, too often it is no longer on our minds.

But for the people who are affected by these "stories" we hear and read, the struggle does not end when the camera crews up and leave. Especially in developing countries, natural disasters, wars, and famine, are issues that often bear consequences for a lifetime or more.

For the people who are living along the gulf coast, the life that they knew before the BP oil spill will be forever changed now in the wake of our biggest environmental catastrophe. While the damaged well will eventually be repaired, and over the upcoming months and years we will find new sensational news to divert our attention, these people, these ecosystems, will be living with the aftermath of the BP disaster for decades to come.

And unlike the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, and the people of the ninth ward in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the people of the gulf must not be forgotten. For a frightening and somewhat jarring dose of reality, the website IfItWereMyHome.com allows its visitors to visualize the size of the oil spill by superimposing its image over their home town. This gives us a perspective on the disaster that we might not have previously had, and perhaps a glimpse of the severity of the problem, by showing us how this disaster might impact our own familiar grounds.

It is worth noting that even this shocking image is based only on surface oil, and does not take into consideration the unknown mass of oil underwater. It is also based on a rough estimate of the size of the spill, which could be larger or smaller depending on the source. Still, having a visualization of the spill's physical size might help imprint this disaster in our minds, and help us to call for sustained accountability and clean up throughout the entirety of this disaster- at least until life in the gulf is restored to normalcy. Because although it might seem as if we who do not live near the gulf are unaffected by this problem, it is something for which everyone in our country will face ramifications for years to come.

Boycott BP!

After all, they are the face of the largest and most devastating environmental disaster in U.S. history. We, as citizens, have the power to reflect a clear message that those profligate companies who recklessly pursue profit without a measured consideration for our environment and our livelihoods will face certain consequences as a result of their actions. Already BP's shareholders are pulling out of the company, who's stocks are plumeting because of a perceived lack of trust in its dealings. And the more customers BP looses, the more BP's future will be compromised, and a significant directive will be implied to other negligent corporations: your lack of environmental consideration and sustainability will result in the uncertain sustainability of your business goals. We have this power as citizens, and as consumers.

Of course, it is important to recognize the context of the situation, and that BP is not the sole offender in this crime against the earth. A lack of government regulation , a culture addicted to oil, and the unchecked power of the corporate complex have resulted in a situation that both fuels and encourages such behavior as was brought to light with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig. It is important to examine the systematic infrastructure that prescribes these types of disaster, and to hold accountability at all levels: the government, the corporate, and the individual.

Still, it is up to us whether we explore all the avenues of our power to get the message across that this type of destruction is not o.k. with us. Public Citizen has put together a great petition to show BP and the world that this type of behavior does not reflect our choices as consumers. It features the haunting live-feed video images of the surging oil spill, as well as all of the products and companies that fall under the BP umbrella. Sign the petition here, and let your dissent be heard.

Public Citizen's Boycott BP Petition

50 Best Protest Signs

When Buzzfeed put together this list of the 50 Best Protest Signs of the year, I'm pretty sure they meant the 50 most hilarious. Check them out, they will certainly brighten your Friday! This one is my favorite:

Congrats, D.C.!

Congratulations to the Washington, D.C. city council who made a monumental decision yesterday to recognize gay marriages. This means that same-sex couples who had been married elsewhere may be granted their inherent civil right to benefit from all of the privileges of legal marriage within the nation's capitol. Of course, the council's decision will now have to go to Congress to be reviewed, as is done with all of the district's legislation. And while there is some sneering opposition within the GOP, the outlook is mostly positive for the Democratically-led House of Representatives to give little effort to stop the bill from passing.

The 12-1 decision to pass the measure was ranked with some controversy within the city council itself, as its one opposing member, Marion Barry, cited an obligation to remain faithful to his religious constituents, many of whom were on the street protesting as the council deliberated. Barry was accused by council member David A. Catania, an openly gay representative, of being "bigoted," a charge which Mr. Barry denied, claiming that, despite his vote, he is a supporter of gay civil rights.

But despite the little bit of conflict, the council's move was brave, and has set the stage for a possible full-fledged legalization of same-sex marriage within D.C. Overall, it is a victory for marriage and for civil rights in the U.S. But most importantly, it is a victory for LOVE.

Discovering Truth Through Action

Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the monumental protests in Seattle, which rocked the city to its core, halted the odious goings-on of the World Trade Organization, and created the conflict which came to be known as the "Battle in Seattle," as a result of the violent outcome of police intervention on the streets. The protestors of those days have been praised for their tenacity and their bravery, as they clashed with officers, refused to back down, and refused to allow the imperialist agenda of the WTO to continue. At the time, the agenda of capitalist globalization was left largely unqualified, and it took hundreds of arrests and the shut-down of the down-town area of one of America's largest cities for people to take notice of the issue. For this, Walden Bello writes in Yes! Magazine about the truth that was brought to light because of these audacious protestors, who took a stand against injustice and put a temporary wrench in its works in his article "The Meaning of Seattle: Truth Only Becomes True Through Action." To read it is to reflect back on a time when the wool was removed from our eyes, and the outrage of thousands became the the burden of millions. It is to relive the shock that was experienced that day, and the lessons that have been learned thereafter. To read it is to remember a time when the concept of Democracy was ripped open and reconsidered, and people's freedom was a wild, unhinged force to be reckoned with.

This is Great.

Say what you will about Greenpeace, but these guys know how to get a message across. A group of activists associated with the organization scaled Mount Rushmore yesterday in response to the messy failures that have been prevalent during G8 talks in Italy this week. They hung a banner next to the chiseled faced of Abraham Lincoln which read "America Honors Leaders, Not Politicians. Stop Global Warming."

They are not alone in reproaching the goings-on of the G8 conference, as leaders and environmental activists around the world have been extremely vocal in calling on the group to seriously address climate change by providing real tactics and incentives, instead of simply setting figures. They are also not the first to acknowledge our own president's apparent hesitance in tackling this most important global issue. Although president Obama has made some small strides towards achieving certain clean energy goals, like improving automobile mileage standards, there are still a few among us who remain skeptical. Many have criticized the newly passed clean energy legislation, the Waxman-Markey bill, as being loophole-ridden and too politically influenced, have questioned the president's integrity when it comes to integral issues such as mountaintop removal, and are becoming increasingly disillusioned overall with the messages of hope associated with climate change.

So, this statement by Greenpeace is spot-on for those of us who wish to encourage our president to remember his role in history. As my good friend Amy has pointed out, this first step is a milestone in American environmental policy, and if so much could change within only a few months of a new administration, imagine what could be done in four years. President Obama has an opportunity to be a great leader and facilitator of change, and it is important to hold him accountable to his campaign promises. I want to congratulate these twelve individuals, who were arrested immediately after their action on Mount Rushmore, for the simplistic message that makes so much sense.

If you want to read the activists' blog and find out more about greenpeace, click here.

What's so bad about Cuba?

So, Cuba is a country that is rich with a vivacious cultural tradition, a progressive social system, highly developed political theory and practice, hearty food, beautiful landscapes, and a very high-profile history. It's a place that lures students of a multitude of disciplines, boasts beaches that sparkle on famous Caribbean waters, and has some of the best damn cigars in the world. But we can't go there. Why not, you ask? Well, our constitutional rights as U.S. citizens have been compromised because of an exaggerated embargo policy that frankly has caused more ill for all American people than it has benefitted anyone. In the past 40 years we have seen the struggle of the Cuban people under harsh sanctions imposed by the U.S., ideological divides that have often resulted in conflict, and even the redefinition of what a family member is, as according to George Bush.

Now it seems like the tides are turning, ever so slowly, but in a new direction. The new U.S. administration is opening up restrictions that were previously placed on family travel to Cuba, and the OAS has recently admitted Cuba into the organization. Politicians are realizing now what one group has been saying for 40 years.

The Venceremos Brigade is a group of socially conscious individuals who have made it a point to defy the outrageous U.S. policy year after year by traveling to Cuba and engaging in community development endeavors and political activities with people there. They are making big moves this year, leaving on July 19th to mark their 40th anniversary of carrying out meaningful political and social activism. My good friend Diego Iniguez-Lopez has made the trip several times, and has been featured on New York One news program, as well as in a local news story which talks more in depth about the Brigade and all of the amazing work that they do year after year to bring a change to the world. Check out this great article and find out more here.

Keep fighting the good fight, guys :-)

Oh, and by the way... in terms of my last post, We could learn a thing or two from Cuba. check it out!

peace.