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Tag: freedom

Early Morning

Published on December 29, 2004

There is something liberating about
waking up early. Not too
early, mind you. But earlier
than you need to be
awake; and if you’re lucky,
early enough to see the
last of the night disappear
in the whitewash of the
morning sun, and to hear
the birds when they first
rise and start practicing their
songs, like violinists warming up
outside the concert hall for
a performance later that afternoon.

It’s a sense of freedom,
definitely — and an opportunity to
feel the earth’s slow glow
as it stretches its muscles
and wipes the traces of
sleep from its opening eyes.

29 DEC 2004

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Untitled

Published on June 28, 2004

Freedom of speech doesn’t do any good
If no one has time to stop and listen;
Not that anyone actually could
Listen, with their mouths also open.

So I will stop talking, at least for a while,
and let everyone else have their say;
I will listen to the same things repeated
by countless others, who each think
they are repeating something for the first time
or that no one else has ever heard it.

And the quotations from third sources
(like reading the Bible and believing its happening to you)
will continue; with interpretations regurgitated
verbatim again and again.

But there is no point in me talking.
All I can describe is my own path;
I cannot begin to talk about yours.

And that’s what you want, isn’t it?
An atlas that shows where you could be going,
but doesn’t make you describe where you are.
Where YOU are.
Not where your philosophy is at present,
or your political agenda,
or the lack or abundance of your education,
or the number of newsfeeds you can consume each day.

You can keep that frame of reference
for someone who wants to be hung on a wall.

It ain’t me babe.

28 JUN 2004

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Overly Simplistic Solution #43293X/B

Published on June 17, 2004

Thanks to a thread over at Have Your Say Today.

The question: should guns be banned?

My answer is, and I dedicate it to Charlton Heston, Tom Selleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger – each who may use it as they see fit:

No. Banning guns violates the Bill of Rights guarantee of the right to bear arms.

We should instead ban the manufacturer, sale, distribution and use of ammunition. There is no constitutional right to LOAD those arms.

That way, both sides can be happy. You get to tote a gun around, decorate a rack (either in your house or your truck), wave it at parades, but you can only hurt anything with it by swinging it at arms’ (it and yours) length — a distance that puts the target both in perspective, and within range of a suitable defense or counterattack – which would serve you right for waving that thing in their face to begin with.

Don’t outlaw guns. Outlaw the bullets.

Peace out.

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Obscenity and Free Speech

Published on March 22, 2004

Is it real obscenity, or just a lack of taste?
To legislate morality seems such a useless waste.
For standards vary by observer, and from day to day;
Leaving little black or white, but only shades of gray.

Let Washington decide the content, and it won’t be long
Before no matter what you say, it will be judged as wrong.
If personal objections are imposed by a select few
You can be sure that who decides will not be me or you.

I wonder if those who cry out against culture’s decline
Have paused to look at their actions, their own state of mind?
It seems to me that feeling tempted comes of false pretense
that man cannot discern between paths to experience.

And worse, to think that being tried is not required for faith,
that we can become wiser by remaining stale and safe,
leads only to destruction as we weaken from within
and learn to label evolution as some kind of sin.

So, what is real obscenity? And what makes it obscene –
The context, or the message, or delivering machine?
If you would have your own opinion, mind the censor’s might,
Before you want to disagree, and do not have the right.

22 MAR 2004

Instead of letting each of us choose what we want to watch and hear, Congress is moving quickly to require large fines on “indecent” content. This economic censorship would dramatically infringe on the First Amendment and would hinder the diversity of programming available to consumers. We each have a right to watch what we want on television, and change the channel if we don’t like what we see. If a television show is offensive we can complain to the broadcaster and choose never to watch that show again. This market process allows us to find programming that meets our individual tastes and is free of government interference. New legislation, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 (S. 2056), would allow the government to levy large fines on broadcasts that the Federal Communications Commission considers “indecent.” This vague definition would lead to broadcasters censoring their content and forbidding their staff from playing controversial material. The proposed legislation would even allow the FCC to impose large fines on Musicians, comedians and other artists who it considers “indecent.” — ACLU Free Speech Alert

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Into Independence Blues

Published on September 6, 2003

Feelin’ in my bones I just can’t shake these lonesome blues
Standin’ at the crossroads thinkin’ either way I lose
If I leave that girl in Birmingham the fault will just be mine
But things will be no better done this time

Woke up in the station, morning breeze around my head
Standin’ at the counter wonderin’ what was left unsaid
If I tell that girl the honest truth we’ll both just end up cryin’
But things will be no better down the line

Standin’ at the station, mama, heard you call my name
Holdin’ to my ticket and dividing up the blame
Guess it makes no difference when you know you’ve got to choose
The long road into independence blues.

Feelin’ in my bones that tells me to leave her behind
But I can’t help thinkin’ she’ll be lingerin’ on my mind
If I leave that girl in Birmingham I’ll hang my head in shame
But things won’t get no better in this game

Stood there in the ticket line, now my train is pulling in
What we did and what we said keeps coming back again
If you ever think of me I hope your thoughts are kind
But either way I’ve got to keep on moving down the line.

Standin’ at the station, mama, pain inside my soul
Conductor, take my ticket, let those engines start to roll
Guess it makes no difference when there’s nothing left to choose
I’m headed into independence blues.

You might say I’m running out and trying to get free
But indecision takes its toll and it’s been killing me
So no regrets and let that whistle echo out its cry
We’ll understand it better by and by

Standin’ at the station, mama, heard you call my name
Lookin’ out my window and dividing up the blame
Guess it makes no difference if it’s right or wrong to choose
The long road into independence blues.

1998

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Highway Blues

Published on August 24, 2003

I hear the highway calling, but I will not catch a ride;
Where I’m bound and where roads lead never seem to coincide.
For interstates link places that are pretty much the same,
and each draw certain travelers, like moths drawn to a flame.

The maze of concrete that connects these places on a map
(A strange device that makes you think the world fits in your lap)
Can make your journey quicker, but that’s never been my quest;
For me, often the detour is the route I like the best.

Besides on those big four lane stretches cut across the land
It takes a certain frame of mind and quite a steady hand
To keep oneself alert while in a sedentary state;
And too, each traveler is required to keep a certain rate.

That doesn’t suit my motives, nor my wishing to explore
but gets me to and fro again, and really nothing more.
For me there is no timeline to discover where I’m bound,
And direct routes are typically not where it can be found.

I much prefer the rural route, where no dividing line
splits up the coming and the going – that path suits me fine.
If I must take the big roads, then I feel my fate is set;
Besides, often my turnoffs don’t have lighted exits yet.

The open road calls when you’re young, when you can travel light
And live on junk food, drive on fumes and stay up half the night.
But as you pass through town and city, each place starts to blend
into the next, and soon you long for that strange journey’s end.

I’ve crossed this country now four times, and each trip made it clear
That there’s no difference where you go, your past is in the mirror;
By truck or car or motorbike, weighed down or flying free,
It’s not the road that moves you on to where you want to be.

I’ve heard it said that all roads led to Rome – a source of pride;
But once arrived in that fair city, you must then decide:
Can one place be the final stop? Of this, I have some doubt;
For every avenue that comes in also leads back out.

24 AUG 2003

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Ownership

Published on December 9, 2002

My country, our freedom, our way of life –
A gift from the gods, or a two-edged knife?
Our neighborhood, to be patrolled from within;
not defined by what we take out, but what we put in.

True ownership lies in accepting the charge
Of nurturing a thing, and so, by and large
We only possess what we put ourselves in,
and so those things own us as well.

And what of those things that we get as a gift?
Like family, or friends or a nation of birth?
If you put nothing in, and for life, merely get,
Then you use, but you never own.

The law says possession defines who owns,
yet what does it take to possess?
And if your religion states you possess by right,
that’s a little too convenient.

09 DEC 2002

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