Rant Colony

Welcome Comrades,

Oh, life could be a dream (sh-boom)
If I could take you up in paradise up above (sh-boom)
If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love
Life could be a dream sweetheart
(Hello hello again, sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again)

Y'Know this song runs through my mind a lot. I remember rummaging through my Mom's old 45s, looking for songs I liked. I found all the roots of rock there, Bill Haley, Elvis, Little Richard, The Crew Cuts... I really loved Roy Orbison... I used to play "Cryin'" over and over - what a great song. Those days were rock'n'roll magic. It wasn't until years later that I found out about the reason Rock'n'Roll was so important to the nation. It was a response to the repression of the era, the moral and spiritual stifiling of personal expression. The arts always signify a counterpoint to politcal trends from Aristophenes to Mozart and Beethoven to Marilyn Manson and Eminem. Freedom of expression is the sacred right and privelege of any society, free or otherwise. It always creeps in, no matter what barriers are placed in front of it. The powers that be always try to bury it, whether it's Pericles or President 'What's-his-name' (Ok, I mean Bush,... Sheesh!)

Seriously though, isn't it vital to the health of the nation to acknowledge dissent? Isn't it essential to listen to voices of opposition? Thomas Jefferson said, "A little revolution every twenty years is good." Aren't we supposed to listen to the Founding Fathers? Don't we have a Bill of Rights that protects the minority from the oppression of the majority (moral or otherwise?) Thank God we have a right to remove the Ten Commandments from some government building in Alabama. Whether or not we are Christian, shouldn't Muslims be represented? How about Hindus? Maybe some Tibetan monks would like justice. They don't get it in China, perhaps we should just follow suit? That's not the America I grew up in, am I old-fashioned?

Sorry, but I guess I follow the examples set before us of equality... and mercy, isn't that a Christian value? I think think that we need to recgonize the values passed on to us by our forefathers - the Bill of Rights. Whether or not they foresaw the potential problems associated with 'justice for all,' I think we need to accept it. It's the right thing to do.

Hasta la victoria siempre,

TVD

--- 9/05/03

©2003 TVD