The Injustices of the Past, The Fight for Today, and The Hope of Tomorrow

After reading an excellent opinion piece written by the wonderful Paul Wallis, I read the comments that led into a discussion of How it is not just the Government's reaction that is at fault, but also how Wikileaks is handling the release of information. Feeling the urge to join in and participate in the conversation, I began to write a comment.....and instead began writing another blog. Disclaimer: this blog entry gets sickeningly optimistic at the end. I am not naive enough to believe that all that I hope to see in my life will happen, but one can dream. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." ~The First Amendment to the Constitution. For the last 100 years the Supreme Court, law makers, and other powerful entities have chipped away our rights to a press that is free to speak out against government and political corruption when it is found with solid evidence. And with this suppression of information for "security," we have fallen further and further away from the power that the people of this country held for the first 130 years. The draconian response that will be felt throughout the nation if Assange is silenced will mean victory for those nations, and their corporate and political allies here that wish us to fall further from our "upright and honorable" high horse by furthering the suppression of the free media. (Note: Though I have lost all respect for the man because of the blackmail threats, to silence him at this point would only serve to make him a martyr, a title that is unfitting for this now criminal.) In essence, those in power are scared because my generation is waking and has woken up, and we are taking back our country one vote at a time. I predict things will get ever worse, as the dying animal that is our current system lashes out in it's painful and slow death. But when we have won the fight for true democracy once more, I believe we will see a brighter day on the horizon. But until that time, we shall hold on as tightly as possible and pull ourselves through the intense dark that comes just before the dawn of a new era. In closing, I offer these words of encouragement to those who are growing weary of the fight already: That which is battled hardest for is appreciated all the more. We must raise our voices in a rallying cry and continue to secure our country by volunteering in the campaign camps of those we truly believe in, encouraging others of our generation to vote, and we ourselves doing our civil duty by voting in EVERY election. The fight is not over, it will continue for a while yet. But the fruits of our labors shall be enjoyed for generations to come and soon the morning light of a new free age will come. I now submit to you a message of hope from the past. For while we have moved closer to racial freedom, we have stepped back in the freedoms that make America what it ought to be. "This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, 'My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.' And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" ~Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream