"...To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing."
Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)
In this, perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare's soliloquies, Macbeth speaks of sorrow for the future, of the bleakness of reality, of hopeless resignation to the futility of action. Today, I would beg to differ.
Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, marks a first baby step toward ending one of America's darkest hours during my lifetime to date, a time when torture became the order of the day, when civil liberties were not just disregarded but scoffed at as naive, irrelevant and perhaps even unpatriotic. I yearn with all my heart for America to once again live its beliefs and to resolve itself to lead by example.
Tomorrow marks a profound step in the march toward full equality for all of America's marginalized groups. With the inauguration of Barrak Obama and his choice of Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State we will have a black man and a woman in the two most powerful offices in America. This in a country that a mere 40 years ago turned water hoses, and attack dogs on peaceable protesters advocating not for an overthrow of our government but a place at the table of discourse. This from a country that eighty-five years ago first heard the simple proposition that the "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."; eighty-five years and counting (only three more states to go). In slightly more than 12 hours as I write this we will cross a major milestone toward knitting together the gaps in the fabric of our Unity. Perhaps soon we can look for LGBT Americans to receive their full measure as well.
Tomorrow, I look to my President to set the tempo for change. He cannot create change, he can only act as a catalyst. I will be that change, and you will be that change. Our friends and our neighbors will be that change. As Mr. Obama takes his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution" I too will take an oath: to reach out beyond myself, to think beyond my own needs and my own fears, to take ACTION to create the change I look for.
Tomorrow I take ACTION by volunteering my time and my money in my own community for causes in which I believe. I have chosen to begin that journey with:
The National Abortion Rights Action League
Planned Parenthood of America, Phoenix Chapter
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Phoenix Chapter
Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County
Maricopa County Democratic Party
These are just the organizations I have chosen. Choose your own, but CHOOSE!
To quote our new President: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to make a difference
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to become the change you wish to see
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to take ACTION
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow...
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing."
Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)
In this, perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare's soliloquies, Macbeth speaks of sorrow for the future, of the bleakness of reality, of hopeless resignation to the futility of action. Today, I would beg to differ.
Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, marks a first baby step toward ending one of America's darkest hours during my lifetime to date, a time when torture became the order of the day, when civil liberties were not just disregarded but scoffed at as naive, irrelevant and perhaps even unpatriotic. I yearn with all my heart for America to once again live its beliefs and to resolve itself to lead by example.
Tomorrow marks a profound step in the march toward full equality for all of America's marginalized groups. With the inauguration of Barrak Obama and his choice of Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State we will have a black man and a woman in the two most powerful offices in America. This in a country that a mere 40 years ago turned water hoses, and attack dogs on peaceable protesters advocating not for an overthrow of our government but a place at the table of discourse. This from a country that eighty-five years ago first heard the simple proposition that the "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."; eighty-five years and counting (only three more states to go). In slightly more than 12 hours as I write this we will cross a major milestone toward knitting together the gaps in the fabric of our Unity. Perhaps soon we can look for LGBT Americans to receive their full measure as well.
Tomorrow, I look to my President to set the tempo for change. He cannot create change, he can only act as a catalyst. I will be that change, and you will be that change. Our friends and our neighbors will be that change. As Mr. Obama takes his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution" I too will take an oath: to reach out beyond myself, to think beyond my own needs and my own fears, to take ACTION to create the change I look for.
Tomorrow I take ACTION by volunteering my time and my money in my own community for causes in which I believe. I have chosen to begin that journey with:
The National Abortion Rights Action League
Planned Parenthood of America, Phoenix Chapter
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Phoenix Chapter
Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County
Maricopa County Democratic Party
These are just the organizations I have chosen. Choose your own, but CHOOSE!
To quote our new President: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to make a difference
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to become the change you wish to see
Tomorrow YOU can Choose to take ACTION
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow...
franny:
thank you 